Markbass CASA Michael League 500W Bass Head Overview
Markbass top-artist Michael League from Snarky Puppy has partnered with Marco De Virgiliis and Markbass team to develop a signature amp with classic tone and impeccable sonic integrity. The Markbass CASA adds to the very cool vintage design the benefit of new modern standard.
As bassists, we all know that good tone starts in our hands. But once we start seeking out the gear to best amplify it, we have almost unlimited options for our sound. Between our choices of instrument, strings, and cabinet, it can get a bit overwhelming. Marco and I wanted to create an amplifier that makes things simple, one that makes you feel at home with an old-school versatility that can suit practically any genre of music. The great amps of the past have all share the same qualities: rich and deep lows, a warm and punchy midrange, and the ability to get a great sound the second you plug in. The Markbass CASA has all of these. Out of curiosity, I ran a blind listening test for four professionals- two recording engineers and two musicians, using five different amplifiers and over a dozen different basses. On almost every single pass, the Markbass CASA was unanimously chosen alongside the classic amps as the favourite sound for each instrument." - Michael League
Solid state preamp, complete EQ section: The Markbass CASA's solid-state preamp has a warm and natural sound, and faithfully reproduces the true tone of your instrument, the treble and bass basic tone controls offers great 'plug & play' and thanks to the complete and effective 5 band EQ section you can have a wide range of tones, allowing instant access to two different EQ settings as it’s foot-switchable—a very useful feature for live applications.
MPT (Mark Proprietary Technology): Markbass products are known for their clarity and loyalty to the source of sound. People often use words like warm, punchy, clear, honest, accurate- even aggressive to describe Markbass. They also say that Markbass amps allow them to sound like themselves! What is our secret? MPT
About all the bass amps on the market use the same power amp from different manufacturers, which are not specifically designed for bass. At Markbass, Marco De Virgiliis invested a lot of resources in R&D to develop a proprietary power amp technology, specifically designed to respect and glorify the tone of your instrument. The Markbass CASA's 500-watt MPT power amp supplies great attack and definition with impeccable bass frequency reproduction.
Vintage design with the benefit of new modern standard: The Markbass CASA has a very cool vintage design but with the benefit of new modern standard, with a long term reliability thanks to our advanced production procedures, state-of the-art testing, quality control facilities and top-quality components.
Winner of 'blind listening' comparative test vs classic amps Michael ran a blind listening test for four professionals- two recording engineers and two musicians, using five different amplifiers and over a dozen different basses. On almost every single pass, the Markbass CASA was unanimously chosen alongside the classic amps as the favourite sound for each instrument.
- Controls: Gain (range: -46 ÷ 23dB)
- EQ Controls:
- -LOW (level ±16 dB - freq 60 Hz)
- -HIGH (level ±16 dB - freq 5 kHz)
- -5 band graphic equalizer disabled by footswitch
- -(freq 67, 184, 520, 1400, 3800 Hz - level ±16 dB)
- Inputs:
- -INPUT: Impedance 500 Kohm/ Maximum Voltage 9 Vpp
- -RETURN: Impedance 33 Kohm// Max 10Vpp
- Output:
- -Line Out: Balanced, Maximum Voltage 6 Vpp | (GND Lift - Level - Pre/Post)
- -Send: unbalanced, Max Voltage 20Vpp (Pre Eq)
- -Tuner Out: unbalanced, Max Voltage 2Vpp
- Power: 300W RMS @ 8 ohm, 500W RMS @ 4 ohm
- Power Requirement: 100V; 120V; 230V; 240V - 50/60Hz (tension set inside the equipment)
- WARNING: The MARKBASS CASA is manufactured to be used in the country where they have been sold, and it is factory preset to that country’s voltage. So make sure you’re sending the correct voltage to your amp before you connect it to the AC power.
- Dimensions:
- -Width: 18.97”/ 48.2 cm
- -Height: 8.03”/ 20.4 cm
- -Depth: 10.82”/ 27.5 cm
- Weight: 14.10 lbs / 6.4 kg