JUICY BEAST
Markbass most definitely knows bass. Their amps and speaker cabinets are used by pros the world over, and are prized for their punch and clarity. But bass amps aren’t all they do. The company also makes a handful of neat little effects pedals, such as the Markbass MB Octaver. This little yellow beastie has just one calling in life: to thicken up your low end and make you funky.

STOMP IT
There are three controls: a level control for each of two available octaves, and another for your dry signal. The two octaves give you one octave down or two octaves down, and if you wish you can fade out your dry signal altogether for cool synth-type sounds. The pedal is true bypass so it won’t suck your tone when you turn the effect off, and it runs of either a 9v battery or an external power supply. Construction is particularly rugged and the foot switch itself is nice and sturdy to the stomp.

DOUBLE DOWN
Where a lot of octave pedals really fall down is in the tracking. Since the signal itself is an analog sound which is triggered by the input, it’s not actually a pitch-shifted reproduction of the actual sound of your bass. This means that any triggering problems will really stand out since the note can sound all garbled or even drop out completely. The MB Octaver doesn’t have any such troubles, especially if you use proper technique in playing closer to the neck. The octave sound triggers best when it’s presented with a deep, strong sound. And in addition to providing brilliant octave and two octave down doubling, the MB Octaver sounds great feeding a fuzz pedal when you turn the dry signal all the way down.

The Markbass MB Octaver is a very sturdy, roadworthy, gigworthy, recordworthy, funkworthy pedal that lets you explore the sub-bass area or just thicken up a higher part without having to sacrifice its detail by throwing in unnecessary open strings and what have you. It’s voiced to really work well with bass, whether you’re using it for a subtle background effect or as a full-on three octave stack of bass power.

By Peter Hodgson

Price: RRP $275
Distributor: CMC Music
Phone: (02) 9905 2511
Website: www.cmcmusic.com.au

For more information on the Markbass range of products, phone CMC Music on (02) 9905 2511 or visit www.cmcmusic.com.au

HARBINGER OF DOOM
You see, advances in technology and an investment in quality materials mean you can pack a heck of a lot of wallop into a small enclosure. The Micromark 801, the big brother of the Micromark 1X6” amp and step-brother of the Minimark 2X6” amp, weighs in at only 5.2kg and it offers a single 8″ neodymium speaker in a very roadworthy but small box that, if it wasn’t just on loan for review, I would feel comfortable standing on to hang a picture or get something out of a high cupboard. The output power is 45 watts at 8 ohms or 60 watts at 4 ohms, and it can also be connected to any 8 ohm cabinet for a big 60 watt rig of doom. The frequency response is a respectable 60Hz to 8kHz, giving you enough in both the low and high ends for slap and pop techniques or to get a decent rasp from your fuzz box, but if you need even more high end for even higher ‘fi,’ Markbass offers an optional satellite tweeter.. The controls are dead simple: Level and VPF, the latter being ‘Variable Pre-shape Filter,’ designed to boost lows and highs while cutting mids. Outputs are an auxiliary in, headphone out, XLR line out, and the speaker out for optional additional speaker or aforementioned tweeter.

MAKING JAM
The key to the Micromark 801’s tone is the VPF, which gives you a nice straight bass tone at its lowest setting (otherwise known as ‘off), great for standard, rock, pop, dub and jazz tones, while higher settings increase the low and high end for funkier settings. Since the range of control relatively limited — you can’t boost the mids at the same time as boosting the highs and lows, for example — I found that a great way to approach the sound was to set the VPF around halfway then use my bass’s active electronics to add or remove whatever else was needed. This also seemed to be the best way to make the most of effects, particularly chorus and distortion. It’s a very versatile but simple amp that sounds great and is very portable. Use it in a jam, a small gig or as a live monitor while sending sound to the PA during a bigger gig.
Finally, another thing I really like about the Micromark 801 is that it looks like it means business — after all, the colour scheme is the same one that bees and tigers use to warn you that they can kick your arse!

By Peter Hodgson

Price: RRP $995
Distributor: CMC Music
Phone: (02) 9905 2511
Website: www.cmcmusic.com.au

For more information on the Markbass range of products, phone CMC Music on (02) 9905 2511 or visit www.cmcmusic.com.au

For more information on the Markbass range of products, phone CMC Music on (02) 9905 2511 or visit www.cmcmusic.com.au

For more information on the Markbass range of products, phone CMC Music on (02) 9905 2511 or visit www.cmcmusic.com.au

ON YOUR MARKS
The Traveler 102P is one of the smallest and lightest 2x10-inch bass cabinets on the market. It’s designed so you can use it in either vertical or horizontal position, which, apart from being very practical (you’ll hear slightly more high end of it’s standing up on its side compared to if it’s on the floor), makes it handily stackable with other cabs, and also means that if you’re using one of the smaller heads that seem to be all in vogue at the moment, it’ll sit neatly on the cabinet’s side if you’re standing it up that way.

The Traveler 102P features a pair of ultra-light neodymium speakers, and is available in both 4 ohm and 8 ohm models (the T102P-4 and T102P-8 respectively). Make sure you test out the right one for your amp – impedance mismatches can be pretty embarrassing/dangerous. There’s a piezo tweeter between the two 10-inch speakers, with a crossover frequency of 3.5kHz, and a tweeter volume control which is either side-mounted or top mounted, depending on how you choose to stand the cabinet up. This little monster puts out 400 watts RMS, with a frequency response of 45Hz to 18kHz. And it weighs only 15kg, so it’s very portable – hence the name, no doubt.

GET SET
To test the Traveler 102P, I plugged in the Ampeg Micro-VR, reviewed elsewhere in this issue. In contrast to the Micro-VR’s matching Ampeg SVT210AV cabinet, the Traveler 102P sounded deeper, punchier and more modern. While the Ampeg cabinet softened the amp’s tone around the high end and constrained the low end, the Traveler 102P let these qualities come through loud and clear. It’s interesting, because the Ampeg’s specs list a frequency response of  58Hz-5kHz – deeper in the low end than the Traveler but not as bright in the high end – but the Traveler definitely seems to project its low end more efficiently. There’s more depth to each note with the Traveler, and better individual note separation within chords or octaves. The sound is almost “hi fi” compared to the Ampeg, and this makes the Traveler a great option for styles where the bass really needs to stand out in the high end, such as fusion and funk, while the low end projection makes it equally useful for pop and hard rock styles. I found that the tweeter volume didn’t seem to make much difference with the amp I tested, but that’s got much more to do with the frequencies pushed out by the Micro-VR than anything to do with the Traveler – after all, its crossover frequency is not too far below the Ampeg’s highest treble setting. It was interesting to note that through the Traveler, the Ampeg seemed more flexible than through its own cabinet – although with less of the distinctive midrange-thick Ampeg character.

GO!
The Traveler 102P is versatile enough for a huge variety of styles, and high-quality enough to get more out of an amp like the dead-simple Micro-VR than I’m sure even the amp’s designers expected it to be capable of. That makes it an ideal way of upgrading your rig. And besides, it feels very road-ready and studio-capable.

By Peter Hodgson

Price: RRP $1295
Distributor: CMC Music
Phone: (02) 9905 2511
Website: www.cmcmusic.com.au

“I love DV Mark equipment!” says Nguyên. “Marco de Virgilis is a smart and great creator of musical equipment, very much attached to listening to what musicians play and say, and very aware of the possibilities of today’s technology. That’s the best way to get your own perfect sound.”

Well, there you have it. If that’s not a testimony to win you over then I don’t know what is.

To inquire about the DV Mark range of products, phone CMC Music on (02) 9905 2511 or visit www.cmcmusic.com.au

For more information on Markbass products contact CMC Music on (02) 9905 2511 or visit www.cmcmusic.com.au

BACK IN THE NEW YORK GROOVE
The NY804 (New York 804) is an 800 watt RMS cab with four custom-designed eight-inch B&C neodymium speakers designed specially for this cabinet, plus a one-inch compression driver with custom horn. The speakers are designed to bring the unit closer in sound to a 4x10 cab. The crossover frequency is up at 3.5kHz and the frequency response goes from a respectably low 45Hz in the bass all the way up to 20kHz in the treble. There are two bass ports around the back, too, for extra low-end oomph, and a side-mounted control for boosting or cutting the output of the high frequency horn. The unit is designed as a bigger brother to the New York 604 4x6 cab released a year ago.

GETTING TO FIRST BASS
I tested the NY804 wit the Gallien-Krueger MB Fusion amp head with Spector Coda four and five-string basses, an Ibanez TR series five-string with passive pickups and a Fernandez J-Bass copy with DiMarzio Area J pickups.

The NY804 pushed out a ridiculous amount of low end, quite literally rattling the bejesus out of the windows. Cranking up the bass of the Coda 5’s active preamp was a powerful experience, which, combined with a bit of extra treble juice thanks to the NY804’s horn output control, turned me into a slapping and popping machine (even though I kind of suck at that technique). The cab also handled the MB Fusion’s more distorted tones with incredible ease. When I switched to the more traditional-sounding Fernandez J-Bass, the NY804 faithfully translated the more rounded tone and squashed dynamics of the instrument. And when I went into full metal meltdown with the Ibanez and a Way Huge Swollen Pickle fuzz pedal, well, I don’t think there was a tree left standing in the neighbourhood. Y’know the scene in Terminator 2 where Sarah Connor’s having the nightmare about the nuclear holocaust? It was kind of like that, except with slightly less screaming.

Maybe it’s because I’m getting older and I’m kind of over lugging heavy gear (after doing so with alarming regularity since I was about 13, and I started jamming with other musos), but I was really appreciative of how damn light the NY804 was. It weighs a mere 47.8 pounds, which is just 21.7kg. Certainly not a lot when you consider some other enclosures out there, and the heft is made easier still by the comfortable handles on either side.

SPEAK TO ME
The NY804 is incredibly portable and tonally flexible, and thanks to MarkBass’s distinct design philosophy it carries great onstage bragging rights – people will know exactly what brand cab you’re playing through. It sounds great and seems tough enough to throw down a stairwell with nary a bump – although please note that I did not attempt this at home.

By Peter Hodgson

Price: RRP $1695
Distributor: CMC Music
Phone: (02) 9905 2511
Website: www.cmcmusic.com.au