Author Topic: Malthumb's Mark King Dlx / Series II (Read 2196 times)

Paul Lindemans (palembic) · « **Reply #1 on:** January 17, 2003, 03:52:51 AM »

Martin,

I discovered this spot in our club a litlle late but I have to say: one hell of a nice bass!
1. What you mean by Gold mother of pearl inlays. Is that an option? I thought mother of pearl was just mother of pearl?
2. Why is it called a Mark King Signature? It seems a straight and beautiful SII 5 string to me with some nice options?

Paul

(Message edited by palembic on January 17, 2003)

Michael Walker (rockandroller) · « **Reply #2 on:** January 17, 2003, 09:28:01 AM »

... you can get MOP in a naturaly golden color

have a look here: luthiersupply

James L. Martin (malthumb) · « **Reply #3 on:** January 17, 2003, 11:45:59 PM »

Paul,

You'd get a better impact if you saw this bass next to my Series I with MOP. The gold tint to the MOP plays off the gold plated hardware very nicely.

I ordered it as a Mark King Deluxe to get the coco bolo as a standard feature, then optioned up (SII electronics, LEDs) to get more of the SII content. The difference between this and just ordering as an SII are that an SII would be semi-hollow. Signature basses are solid body. Also, an SII would have 2 more body laminates. I like the looks of a 7 layer sandwich, but 5 suits me just fine.

malthumb · « **Reply #4 on:** April 11, 2003, 10:06:41 PM »

More pix of my Mark King Dlx / Series II

malthumb · « **Reply #5 on:** April 11, 2003, 10:09:47 PM »

Here's the back. Love those continuous plates

jake · « **Reply #6 on:** April 12, 2003, 06:42:52 AM »

wow that really is an incredible bass! i could get lost in that swirly coco bolo!

jorge_s · « **Reply #7 on:** April 17, 2003, 11:04:22 AM »

Very lovely bass!!! Do you gig with it a lot? How does your back hold up with the weight? Even though my SII has hollow chambers, my back does complain to me during long gigs. If yours is solid it must weigh even more.

malthumb · « **Reply #8 on:** April 17, 2003, 06:16:11 PM »

Jorge,

I don't gig that much anymore. I mainly play in miscellaneous church concerts (our Praise Team disbanded). When I do play out though, this is my primary bass. It weighs just under 13.5 lbs, so it is heavy compared to my other basses.

It doesn't bother me to play it for a couple hours at a time. I have a really nice 3-inch wide leather strap that has fleece on the bottom. The width of the strap distributes the weight very evenly. The fleece makes it grip my shirt, so that it doesn't slip and slide. The bass is very well balanced and the strap keeps it in place. Life is good.

Peace,

James

malthumb · « **Reply #9 on:** May 26, 2003, 06:06:25 PM »

Jake wrote (a long time ago)
wow that really is an incredible bass! i could get lost in that swirly coco bolo!

What's really funny about Jake's statement is that I ordered the bass long before this board existed, so I didn't have the benefit of having Mica post pictures of the boards or any progress shots. From many (and I do mean many) telephone conversations Mica figured out what I liked. I told her just make me happy. The first time I saw the coco bolo pattern on this bass was in the parking lot of the Federal Express terminal where I picked it up. Yes, I'm that impatient that I opened it in the parking lot. I thought I was gonna faint. Easily the most gorgeous instrument I had ever seen. Mica and her team exceeded my expectations.

Peace,

James

dannobasso · « **Reply #10 on:** May 26, 2003, 07:41:19 PM »

I just wish that the shipping places had receptacles for the peanuts and such that get strewn across the ground when we rip open the boxes to get a gander at our babies. I share your enthusiasm James. (and rightly so in every case, no pun intended on the case some of course don't come in cases. All of mine came sight unseen. Holy *&^%$#$#@! is the usual response. Make a joyful noise with loud drums and clanging cymbals and big azz basses! I like to think that it is God's hand coming out of the cloud in the logo.

malthumb · « **Reply #11 on:** January 12, 2014, 10:31:55 AM »

Thirteen plus years later, still going strong. From yesterday's run at the Pit Party before the Monster Jam at Detroit's Ford Field.

charles_holmes · « **Reply #12 on:** January 12, 2014, 10:53:34 AM »

Glad you're still gigging! I was considering getting two of the Mark Bass Amps to run my Series I Distillate. Hows does the Alembic sound going through Mark Bass? Do you get enough bass as well as treble? That's really a nice axe too!

charles_holmes · « **Reply #13 on:** January 12, 2014, 10:53:47 AM »

Glad you're still gigging! I was considering getting two of the Mark Bass Amps to run my Series I Distillate. Hows does the Alembic sound going through Mark Bass? Do you get enough bass as well as treble? That's really a nice axe too!

malthumb · « **Reply #14 on:** January 12, 2014, 11:37:32 AM »

Charles,

I like the MarkBass setup. Been rolling with that for a couple years now. It replaced a Crown Xs500 / F-1X / SWR cab setup. That setup would have probably been a better fit for this gig, but for most of our gigs, it would be just too damn heavy. I can carry the combo in one hand, the extension cab in the other, my bass on my back. With the other rig, one cab was 85 lbs, the rack with preamp, power amp, tuner, and DS-5R weighed about 70 lbs.

The MarkBass setup has plenty of power and a couple tone filters that help you dial in the right amount of highs / lows for small to mid sized venues. Can you get better tone with other rigs? Yes. But for the tone / weight / price balance that I was looking for, this us it.

Author Topic: Malthumb's Mark King Dlx / Series II (Read 2196 times)

James L. Martin (malthumb)

Paul Lindemans (palembic)

Michael Walker (rockandroller)

James L. Martin (malthumb)