Bought a Marshal MB30

[Duff]

Got a Marshall 30 watt bass amp and have to delve into its hidden secrets, sweet spots, etc., with my Schecter Stiletto 5 Elite.

It has some features not usually found on practice amps, like an adjustable compression and two channels; classic with drive and volume, and modern with just volume, both of course share the eq section which is also different with a three position voice knob and a level knob of any of the three selected positions plus bass and treble. Ten inch quality speaker and I can get some sweet tones out of it straight up without a pedal and it has a very large range of tones available with just it's own controls.

I will post further when I get more into it. It is a very cool looking amp and should make an excellent practice bass amp. Its volume is not extravagantly loud for 30 watts, but hopefully quality is superceding quantity here; hopefully.



Duffy

[Duff]

After further playing thru the Marshall MB30 I am finding that it definitely does have superior tone, if not great volume. But it is a practice amp and quite substantial at that, quite heavy and fairly big, definitely well made, and perfectly suited to the intermediate player; as it has some advanced features that a beginner might become confused with: the adjustable compression and the classic overdrive channel not found on most amps of this size, with the gain and volume knobs that work interactively like on a two channel guitar amp, commonly.

I have seen that another thread suggests at least 100 watts. I recently bought a Fender Rumble 100 that I like and it is totally suitable for me but very heavy, came with rolling casters that I should put on it.

It probably doesn't, definitely doesn't, have the features that pro level gigging amps have or the qualities that pro gigging dudes like or need to use. It's only 100 watts. But for my large den it is perfect for loud practicing and will drownd out even a loud acoustic drummer with no problem. Considering that the rumble cost me 198 at the GC 4th of July sale, brand new, I am very happy with it and like it's vibe, tone, 15 inch speaker, etc. I bet that speaker could be upgraded to something more sensitive and give me way greater volume although volume is not a problem for me; but it would probably also yield a fabulous increase in tone if I got the right speaker - this I could appreciate and I'd be willing to do it if it didn't mean tearing up the sealed cabinet and defeating the purpose by introducing a lot of buzzing from breaking seals, etc. But it could probably be done from the front with no ill effect.

So, for an amateur learning bass the rumble 100 is totally more than adequate and quite satisfying with a cool vibe.

Back to the Marshall MB30. This is not an extremely loud amp, probably even compared to other 30 watt bass amps. But the tone is superior and the features are amazing, line out, speaker extension that doesn't mute the speaker, FX loop, footpedal, etc.

The new Marshall 30 is not quiet either and I'm sure that it could fool you into subtlely harming your hearing. It is smooth and cool sounding and produces a mellow tone up to a biting, cutting tone depending on which channel you use and how you adjust the unique "voicing", similar to a mid contour or high and low mid but not the same at all.

The fact that you can attach a 4 ohm "extension" speaker to it suggests that you could push a lot more air and get a lot more sound, volume, out of it with no problem and for a minimal investment. Therefore, I don't think it should be sumarilly dismissed as being an amp not worthy of serious consideration by those looking for a small practice amp or an amp for playing with others that can play at lower volumes. Nevertheless, it is not a "blasting" type of amp but rather has substance in the quality of sound area.

I have seen comments degrading the amp suggesting that it is a bass form of the MG line Marshall makes for 6 string guitars. The MG line, as most of us know, is either liked or disliked by many. I played afew MG amps and was not overwhelmed. I liked the mini stack and it sounded almost exactly like my old Valvestate II 30 watt combo that I should have kept but sold at a deal price to a kid that plays great but was using a 10 watt Ibanez amp from the pack. He now has a new B52 half stack, ss, and loves it but is keeping the Marshall and uses it for a lot of things. Also, for the non pro the MG line is affordable and has some sense of the Marshall tone available if you tweak it for a while. The MG line is an extremely popular line and probably does a lot to keep Marshall in business in this highly competitive market where really good amps can be had for very reasonable prices.

So maybe it is true that the bass MB series is in some design way similar to the MG. But it is a new or renewed venture into Marshall bass amps. I talked to the Marshall tech guy and he explained a lot about the amp and, of course, expounded on its attributes. I think it represents a great little amp and the MB15 is probably also a decent very little bass practice amp. As I said the MB30 is quite substantial and weighs about 35 pounds and is fairly large, probably larger than the MG30 or maybe it's th 50 I'm thinking of.

It sounds, to me, way better than the SWR LA10 I played and the Peavey Max 112. Sounded way better than the Hartke 20 watt one also. And others that I can't remember. Plus it has a nice visual vibe, which of course isn't really very important compared to tone; but it produces excellent tone, if not overwhelming volume. And it stays tight and well organized sonically all the way up to almost full volume on the modern channel. On the classic drive channel it goes into progressively more distortion depending on how you balance the gain and volume, limitting the maximum volume you can get before it starts to sound rough. I will try a Grunge or Bad Monkey in front of it or in the loop and see how that affects the classic channel. My Zoom B2.1u multi pedal does a great job in front of it and I will be experimenting with it much more in days to come.

For what it is I think the Marshall is neat, cool, and has a great vibe and sound.

It isn't inexpensive either I don't think, at 199 thru MF. I got mine brand new out the door of a local store for 180. I'm happy with it and it gives me the portability I needed because I don't want to lug the Rumble 100 around unnecessarilly. Rumble 100 - doesn't that just sound heavy. It is. I'm 58 and can appreciate a light but not too light amp.

I was surprised that the SWR LA10 couldn't handle the B string. It is otherwise a neat amp. It also, with the alum. speaker, quite biting in its tone. Probably some seek that tone. The Marshall has quite a bit of bite when you set the channel to modern and adjust the two voicing knobs; then you can also click it down two notches to a really smooth bluesy sound. With my Schecter Stiletto 5 Elite, with neck thru design, it sustains indefinitely everywhere on the neck, which I really like. It's the best bass I have ever played in my amateur exposure to bass guitars.

Also, all of my observations above are based on a developing ear. Some of you have much more expertise in understanding what you are hearing when you listen to an amp, irregardless of your style of preferred music. I personally have become aware that my ear is becoming progressively more perceptive. I suppose every amateur is surprised by this new found ability to understand sound and notes and chords.

So, my comments are not based upon extensive pro experience, but I hope they are of some value to us here at the fret; a great place to hang out needlesstosay.

When you see the Marshall MB30 in the stores, check it out and see if you agree with me or let me know what you think.

Duffy

[TS808]

I can't comment on the Marshall bass amps as I don't play bass, but I can comment on the MG series guitar amps...

If the bass amp you are describing is a "knock off" of the MG series (but for bass), I would think that it would be pretty decent. I was very satisfied with the tone of the MG100DFX that I owned.

One suggestion I can make if you are looking for a compact bass amp with pretty good tones....check out the Line 6 Lowdown series of amps. Affordable, digital, and packed with features and tone.

[marnold]

A local shop started carrying those Marshall amps a little while back. I didn't know much about them and since they've had them, they haven't had a bass I wanted to try (they keep no more than about 10 basses in stock). Well, I take that back, they did have a Lakland I wanted to try be I didn't want to fall in love with a bass about 4x out of my price range. Glad you like it! I may have to check one out.

I'm of the opinion that unless you're a pro or semi-pro bass player a solid-state ampf is the way to go. You need an awful lot of power just to be heard. Tube ampfs with that kind of power are not cheap.

[Mr Grumpy]

I have an MB15 and for my needs its fantastic. Its solidly built, the tone is great, good and solid (my old P bass copy sounded better on the modern channel, my new Ibanez RD300 sounds better on the j-neck pickup on the vintage channel :dude: ). For living room use and attempting to record its great, I also use it to run my toneport GX into the CD in. I think its a great amp, if I was looking for a bigger bass amp id be looking at the MB60 for sure

[Duff]

Great. Thanks for the feedback.

This is exactly the type of info I'm trying to get; from people who have used or own one of these. Or even amps that work in the same type of way.

I think the Marshall bass amps are new enough that you don't see very many around but there are probably more around than I think.

I continue to use mine and continue to find ways of making it sound better. I notice some treble hiss when the treble is turned up more than half way and it doesn't have a separate horn. The treble must be built into the main speaker. The call it "mechanical treble" whatever that means.

Turning down the volume on my active electronics seems like it's a good idea but I'm not sure if that' what I'm supposed to be doing. There is only one jack, I think it is switching.

One thing I noticed and am not familiar with in a bass amp is that on the vintage channel I can get that speaker to really put out some buzz tone distortion. Really low frequency notes. It is a really neat sounding overdrive but sounds like it could possibly hurt the speaker. Know what I mean? It growls with force. Is this growling hurting the speaker or is that the purpose of the overdrive channel? It is way more growly than an electric guitar amp.

Also, the book doesn't say anything about using the compression button and adjustment knob, other that the green light turns red when it reaches its threshold. So, my idea is that when the green light turns red, that is when the compression kicks in and starts compression; that this is the threshold over which the compression component is engaged, not the threshold past which the compression is overloaded. It's not a limitter red led, it's an indicator light that the compression is working I think.
Otherwise it would not make sense because the green light turns red rather quickly even at the lowest compression setting on the compression level knob.

Experimenting will help me get the best distortion tone on the vintage channel, but I don't want to do something stupid and wreck something by overdriving it too much. The documentation seems to indicate you can dial in as much growling distortion as you desire without ill effect. As far as the active eq on the bass itself and its effect on the amp, I'm not sure. Not sure if I should back that off or back off the tone controls on the bass.

Ideas are appreciated. I imagine this is a similar set up to many amps and nothing really new.

Duffy