Markbass TA503

This is an update on my previous review.
I had a chance to try it in LOUDER conditions with my Avatar 212 cabinet.

See previous review for detail about feature.

First I want to rectify something I have said about the configuration of this amp. It is not a digital amp but rather an Analog amp with Digital (mode switching) power supply.

What makes those amps so light is the power supply, not the amp section operation mode.

The TA series (like this one) is Tube preamp with analog power amp section.
The SA series is solid state preamp with analog power amp section as well as The Little Mark (their non expensive Flagship).
The SD series is solid state preamp with Digital power amp section
as well as the tiny F1.

They all have digital power supply.

According to Marco, the Analog amps sound warmer and the Digital amps sound more detailed.

I had a chance to try it in LOUDER conditions with my Avatar 212 cabinet. My cab is 4 Ohms, so it sucks the best out of this amp.

So here is my impressions at high volume.
Compare with my GK 700RB II, I have much more presence in general, regardless of the level I'm playing and the bottom seems more controlled. I had plenty of bottom with GK, but with this amp, I get as much bottom without the woofers going hysterical, meaning I don't see the them moving as much (that's what I mean by more controlled), so I have more reserve of power to play with.

The Avatar cab is rated 500 watts, so I rely on the fact that the amp does not distort at all to preserve the drivers from damage.

What surprised me the most is that I now have enough room with this amp to be TOO LOUD, even competing with a loud drummer. And there is still some juice left and the cab is not giving up yet. While recording live with quite loud drummer and guitar (let's be fair, we're talking Peavey Classic 50/212 here, not a huge screaming Marshall full stack with 2x412), I realized I was too loud for the mix, yet the tone was uncompromized, so I had to low down. I felt in paradise. I could have gone louder actually if needed. With the GK in similar condition, the bottom was fair, but the mids were never as present and creamy.

The tone remains fat, silky and the sound level is always very well controlled. One would say this is normal for a $1000 amp. I agree, but we should also consider that the power section is the same as the $600 Little Mark II which is the amp that caught my attention in the first place. Marco is very modest about this and he says on his web site that the tone differences between the different heads is subtile. The major difference between the Little Mark II and this one is the tube warmth and extra flexibility of the semi-parametric EQ which is more expensive to implement.

I personnaly prefer the flexibility and slightly warmer tone of the TA503, but with more limited budget I would have been very happy with the Little Mark II. The reason I went for the TA503 is that I wanted a definitive portable amp that will not have me look somewhere else anymore.

I plan to buy a Markbass cabinet because they also sound awesome.

Called the distributor "Guitar Center" this morning for info about potential customer support. It's a 2 years warranty.

The gentlemen on the phone told me Markbass is proprietary technology and in case of failure, the amp is replaced (if available) or sent to Italy for repair because there are no technician in this 300 Millions+ population country to take care of such product. Hmmm!

I whish there was a Markbass service center in US like they have in UK and Canada where they can do repair localy.

Ok it's a new product line at Guitar Center/Musicians Friend/Music123/and all. I assume this situation will improve. I have dealt with outsiders contracting for Guitar Center in my region. They are pretty smart indeed and they are certainly able to maintain such technology. Your tech guy is your best friend.

So what happens in case of failure after the warranty is over????

Maybe Guitar Center or Markbass would be kind enough to post a reply to this question on this site. After all, Musicians Friend also own Harmnony Central isn't it?

Fortunately, Markbass is known for the quality of their products and service. That's encouraging.

Do yourself a favor, go at a your local Guitar Center and try out any these.

One last thing, some magazine reviewers (such as Andrew McKenney of Bass Guitar Magazine) have spent many lines *****ing about the yellow color of Markbass gear. What does the color have to do with anything? Even if it was pink, what does it matter? I find the yellow speakers awesome and can't wait to get one for myself and show off.

So do us a favor next time Andrew and focus on functionnality/performance/reliability/price. Save the paper and let the readers decide for themselves about the color.

See Review on Top. Only the Footswitch EQ Bypass doesn??t include the Effect send/return.

Very Good. With the tube-preamp tehre is a mix of clera defined sound and the warmth of the tubes. It have very much Power (i have the master mostly below 9, Gain at 2). It coukd be used for any Style, it sounds neutral,but with the Semiparametric EQ you are very flexible. With MarkBass Cabinets, there is a very warm, fine Sound.

Had no problems yet.

It??s a perfect Amp for Multi-style Players. With the Tube-Preamp you have a profesional Sound. Gratulations on MarkBass. Only the (new-)Price is a little high compared to the Little Mark.

4 bands semi-parametric EQ
VLE Vintage Loudspeaker Emulator (that's a unique feature that improve high frequencies management)
VLF Variable Preshape Filter
2 stage tube gain section for passive input
1 stage tube gain section for input input
tube buffered send and return loop section
XLR out with level control on the front
Gain and master control
tuner out on the back
footswitchable mute and EQ bypass
500W at 4 ohms digital amp section.
only 9 lbs and runs cold.

This is a very versatile amp, due to 2 major features called VLE (Vintage Loudspeaker Emulator) and VPF (Variable Preshape Filter). The VLE rolls off the highs to sound like, old school speaker cabinet. The VPF cuts some mids and boosts the lows and highs, to achieve that modern slap tone. The VLF is a feature we see in many amps like GK and Thunderfunl, but it goes to more extreme almost sounding like SansAmp.

I actually sold a GK 700 RB-II and a SansAmp RBI to buy this Markbass amp, for many reasons, like simplicity, and better reliability then GK.

I have seen Markbass products on magazines, and one time I tried a Markbass Mini CMD 121P combo at Guitar Center and I couldn't believe how good it sounded. It sounded like nothing I ever tried before. How would you describe fatness and clarity combined with tube like mids and absolute control of highs?

Meanwhile I sold by GK amp along with my SansAmp and many great pedals I never used, and I was anxiously waiting for the new GK Fusion 550 to come out because I wanted better sound in a simpler package. Since I started considering the Markbass TA503 because it has all the features I ever dreamed about.

I went to Guitar Center and tried out a Little Mark II (which is the same power) and a 104HR cabinet and I was blown away by the punch, the power and the details. Of course they did not have the TA503 on stock so I went and purchased it on internet.

I ordered it the day it arrived at Musicians Friend and it looks like i was one of the few lucky ones to get it, because a few days later, they were already out of stock, and they remain out of stock to this time.

A note about digital amps Class-D. They were used a lot for subwofer because of the reliable power potential, but it was often limited to subs because of limited high frequencies. However, it was developed originally in the early 80' for high end audio. The implementation seems simple, but it actually requires more knowledge about applied physic to design such an amp then regular class AB amps, because there are strange phenomenon related to digital power supplies to deal with like Eddy current an so on.

It doesn't have useless features, only useful ones. It's minimalist but extremely flexible.

I use it with a US Jazz Bass with custom shop pickup, a 70' US P-Bass, a 54' Japanese P-Bass and a Shector Studio 5 with Bartolini Electronic. The whole thing is hooked to an Avatar 212 speaker which I would replace to a Markbass 104 as soon as my budget allows it.

I thought the Avatar sounded average until I hooked the Markbass amp. It still sounds like a 212 but the sound is more rich, with more controled bottom and high.

I have heard often that such and such amp could mimic all modern and vintage amps. In general this is not true, each and every amp has it's own signature sound.

In the case of this amp, well it is actualy true that it sounds very natural, and this is due to both very musical preamp and power amp sections. That being said, it is easier to mimic other amps when you start from a natural sound. Now how do you describe natural sound comming from an electric instrument....eh I don't know because you cannot compare it to an unpluged instrument.

But I think it is fair to say that each instrument and speaker caries it's own distinctive sound, and in this area, the Markbass allows you to distinguish easily between instruments you play on it because the instrument signature sound is more prominent then the amp sound.

You know whatever you plug on an SVT will sound like an SVT, but everything you plug on a Markbass has the signature sound or that particular instrument. That's probably what people mean when they say Markbass sound is natural.

What I like the most with thisamp is that you can have a very liquid mid even with a dark tone and that is due to the VLE knobs. So the mids remain in order to support the fatness of the midbass, but you can roll off the highs and it gets really easy to get classic Funk punch.

Now if you set everything flat, the balance is excellent and you don't feel like you need to crank up the bottom at all.

The sound is so detailed that when set flat I hear some detail I have never heard before, including flaws of my playing technic, and that doesn't mean the high frequencies are overwelming. It sounds like a high end home entertainment tupe amp, you know those pricy tube amp that people usually buy to listen to classical music.

So it brings a natural mid that is just beautiful. Now add to that the tone shapping feature and you can really tweak all kind of extreme sounds.

It has the flexibility of a Thunderfunk, but it really sits in it's own category of sound.

When you fire up the amp, it sounds like you are turning on a weapon of mass destruction device for one second, and then it becomes completely quiet, no noise at all (great for studio).

When connected to a Markbass 104 cab, it is really awesome, great punch, rich mids as I have never heard before, very well controled bottom.

Clean tone all the way, not designed for distortion, but the preamp clips if crancked too much. A led indicates when it clips.

I have a big mamoth for hard rock if I need distortion, but I purchased this amp for clean sound and flexibility.

I used myne only in studio and at Church so I did not push it to the extreme so far. I can't wait to try it ourside, that's where my Avatar 212 shines.

If you want to know how it behaves in live situation, look at Little Mark II amp review from the same manufacturer, because it's the same power section.

I have noticed that in the studio I get heard much better then with my GK. Great presence and I don't have to cranck it so much to cut through the mix.

The sound is easy to manage and with the paremetric EQ you get to chose the frequency you want to boost or cut. Do you want the bass crancked at 40Hz or 100Hz. Cranck 200-250Hz to add fatness if your instrument sounds lean. Cut at 400Hz to mimic an SVT and cranck both 3K and 6-7K. Possibilities are endless.

Cranck the VLF 1/2 to 3/4 for slapping or 3/4 to max for vintage Mid Scoop or th get this SVT signature sound in one spin of a knob.

One of the reason why I payd the extra $$$ for this amp over the GK is OBVIOUSLY reliability.

The company claims less then 1% of failure which put to shame many Bass Amp manufacturer, even US ones. Just for fun, look for unsatisfied Markbass customers on Harmony Central.

I have been playing for 5 years, and I have owned many gear already because I'm always looking for that perfect sound. I have been looking at GK, Eden, Thunderfunk and many other brands. I have owned an SVT IV as well. Now I have a Bassman 300 Pro and it's 215 cab for old school and larger venues and when distortion is required, and I was using my GK/Avatar rig for church and small venues. Now I start using my Markbass/Avatar rig for bigger venues and the more I use it the more I like it. I'm putting money on the side to buy a Markbass cab.

It is difinitely a keeper, and since Class D amps are knowned for reliability ofer all other kind of amps, I bet I will keep it for a long time.

If you like Markbass sound but cannot affort the pricy amp, go try out a Little Mark II (599). I really recommand it.