Mako preamp

[just42dave]

Wow 8 week wait????
I was planning on buying another xtc of this board but kinda wanna try one of these with good power amp...Its cheaper but damn 8 week wait.
Anyone else have one 4 sale???

 

[killertone]

Man, there have been a lot of those for sale in the classifieds. At one time there were like 3 or 4 recently.

 

[just42dave]

I want one...Whats a good power amp for it???

 

[threadkiller]

I'm on week 10 of my 8 week wait but Andrew says he is working his ass off and should ship next week. If I don't like it (which I doubt) I'll have one for sale. Otherwise, want to buy a early serial number triaxis?

 

[Ventura]

I want one...Whats a good power amp for it???

I waited 10 weeks for mine and I didn't care.

I'm powering mine through a Fryette 2:90:2 poweramp, the Mak4's like lots of headroom, not a lot of power valve saturation, this coming straight from Andrew at Mako.

Fryette's are a good choice - highly in demand though - so not cheap. They've got excellent Presence and Depth controls on them, the 2:90:2 has a 1/2 power switch, the 2:50:2 has a Class A/AB switch. Well built, super quiet.

I've been running my Mak4 through the back of my Diezel and it sounds bloody awesome - but I want it to be on its own, as there's still a little jingle of "Diezel taste" in the sound. I went with the 2:90:2 and a Fryette Deliverance 4x12 - all of this is being picked up/delivered on the 16th of this month (was supposed to be last Sunday but they screwed up the model of rack I was supposed to get, so the whole delivery got delayed - whatever).

There have been many for sale for a couple reasons:
a) the initial run of Mak4's had inconsistencies with the 12AX/AU7's on board
b) Andrew "assumed" everyone who bought one was going to use a noise gate
c) there wasn't enough low end

The latest orders are getting a better taper/mod in the bass/low end frequency department, the 12AX/AU7's are all coming from the same source now, and the hiss/noise problem that was inherent to the Mak4 has been modded out now... No one needs a noise gate anymore.

If you wanna go apeshit, google YT's videos of FastRedPonyCar - he's got some great clips of the Mak4, and this is a model well before the mods were done!!

I'm sooooooooooooooooooooo stoked man, the tones outta this baby are righteously wicked, sinister, and potent. Very awesome - love it. And haven't cared about waiting as long as I have (I got this thing back in early December) because I know it's the shit - and hey, honestly - I've been busy as hell anyway.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it!!
V.

 

[just42dave]

sweet just might

 

[srommes]

The Mak4 matted with a VHT2150 is fucking brutal. As crushing as any Bogner, Diezel, or Engl head that I've had the chance to play. You won't be dissappointed!

 

[The_Mako_Maker]

Thanks for chiming in guys!

I'll be caught up next week back to 10 weeks on US orders...... the final specimen Euro Xformers(4th time!) are also due here shortly so I can bust those out. Their math was off lol.

I pay for shipping on late orders(US and International ).

Unfortunately I'm going to change the lead time to 12 weeks for breathing room. All it takes is one chassis batch/laser work to get redone and then I'm weeks late waiting for metal.


There should be a healthy used market on these. For the numbers out there and the sub $1k price more guys are willing to try it and flip it fast.

Thanks!
Andrew

 

[Bevosss]

I want one...Whats a good power amp for it???

According to Erock, the MAK4 sounds huge through a Diezel Herbert...6 tubes for high headroom (6550s recommended), awesome depth control, yada yada...that's what I'll be running my Mako through in a few weeks anyway.

Don't forget Andrew is bringing out his own awesome line of power amps this year! I imagine they will rival the Fryette in tone...I hope he makes a 6 tube mono version!

I'll be caught up next week back to 10 weeks on US orders...... the final specimen Euro Xformers(4th time!) are also due here shortly so I can bust those out. Their math was off lol.

I pay for shipping on late orders(US and International ).

Yo Andrew, your one and only Oz order here...is that Euro Xformer related to my order? Is my delivery time still good? (10 weeks = Mar04)

 

[The_Mako_Maker]

I want one...Whats a good power amp for it???

According to Erock, the MAK4 sounds huge through a Diezel Herbert...6 tubes for high headroom (6550s recommended), awesome depth control, yada yada...that's what I'll be running my Mako through in a few weeks anyway.

Don't forget Andrew is bringing out his own awesome line of power amps this year! I imagine they will rival the Fryette in tone...I hope he makes a 6 tube mono version!

I hope the power amps rule. The new Dorado heads might come out first as the sheet metal shop is almost done with that order

I'll be caught up next week back to 10 weeks on US orders...... the final specimen Euro Xformers(4th time!) are also due here shortly so I can bust those out. Their math was off lol.

I pay for shipping on late orders(US and International ).

Yo Andrew, your one and only Oz order here...is that Euro Xformer related to my order? Is my delivery time still good? (10 weeks = Mar04)

Yeah, your time is still good, it is the few other 240v that I have to cover shipping on.

 

[sled]

In the long run, 8 weeks is nothing.

Dorado owner...

 

[Ventura]

In the long run, 8 weeks is nothing.

Dorado owner...

I'll second that

Mak 4 owner.

V.

 

[IntenseJim]

Two months wait? That's nothing.

 

[Ventura]

Two months wait? That's nothing.

Yo Braddah, Blackcomb was off the hook today - tons of fresh and bluebird condies, well worth the wait in their opening the alpine

V.

 

[threadkiller]

sweet just might

I'll PM you after I get my mak4 and see if you are interested in buying my triaxis. I wouldn't let the wait time stop you from ordering one new though if the mak4 is what you really want. It's really not been a big deal waiting 10 weeks. I'd rather it take a little time and get something I know is well made. I know it's coming and its going to rock

V, are you using any effects between the preamp and power amp? I'm planning to run my old quadraverb for just some reverb and maybe a little delay. I've got patches made that I'm happy with but the quadraverb currently resides in the effects loop on my preamp. Was wondering if the levels will have to be changed drastically running between preamp and poweramp instead of in an effects loop. Thanks.

 

[Bevosss]

Yo Andrew, your one and only Oz order here...is that Euro Xformer related to my order? Is my delivery time still good? (10 weeks = Mar04)

Yeah, your time is still good, it is the few other 240v that I have to cover shipping on.

Sweeet! I've got a month off in March, a lot of recording planned, that's awesome my baby will be here to experiment with.

Cheers, Andrew!

 

[just42dave]

does the mako have a loop or not??

 

[just42dave]

Im kinda new to the pre amp rack stuff how would I use an effects loop

 

[just42dave]

would I run into the preamp out to effects into power amp>>>

 

[Bevosss]

would I run into the preamp out to effects into power amp>>>

Depends what fx you mean, most stomp boxes work before the amp ok... time-dependent fx like delay and reverb, I definitely prefer after preamp distortion, so after the preamp/before the power amp (although Adam Jones for instance runs his delay before the preamp, which is a different sound). Many stomp boxes won't cope with line-level output from a preamp though, nor will an only-line level input rack fx work well before the amp.

Some fx like wah and fuzz/overdrive only sound good before the preamp...a noise gate (ISP Decimator for instance) will only remove the preamp noise when placed after the preamp, but is better before the time fx so it doesn't cut off the tails.

4 cable method multi fx like the Pod HD500, Boss GT10 or Axe FX, you can place some fx before the preamp and some after it, a good compromise.

I guess you could write a whole lot more on this subject, but that's some general rules I apply. Very important, make sure they don't fuck up your tone, some transparent looper ie the small Keeley one is indispensable for testing this, making sure you have unity gain when bypassed, the most you ever want is a slight buffered change and I mean slight...it's quite easy to ruin an awesome amp's tone with bad fx/cabling. I always want to be able to bypass all the fx and go directly through the amp, very important for say hard rock/metal riffing.

Hope that helps some.