Gigged with the Markbass 151P cab

[Russell L]

Well, I've played three gigs now with my new Markbass 151P cabinet as an extension to my Markbass CMD 121H combo (single 12", 300w@8/500w@4). Basses used were '01 American Jazz and '87 Jazz Bass Special (P/J set-up).

Overall, I must give it a 10 on a scale of 1-10. I have read others' comments that it is lacking in lows due to its diminuitive size, and at first I thought that might be the case while checking it out at home. Last night, however, the thing was every bit as full as any 410 I've played (along with the 12" in the combo). My E-string was almost even boomy. At first I was about to roll off the lows, but I was running flat with the VLE and VPF filters off. Gain was at 1:30, master at noon. It was LOUD. Fairly loud band playing classic rock and country, one guitar and keys, me and a drummer. I was NOT in the PA. That was by choice, though, to see what it would do. The room was a fairly large club, big enough that you could hear some bounce-back off the back wall.

Placement was different last night. I played an outdoor gig with nothing behind the rig, and played another gig with it about 8 in. from the wall (no choice due to space). Last night I was about 4 ft. from the back wall. Still sounded great. The outdoor gig was interesting, but it wasn't a loud gig, so I had plenty of bottom. The second gig was very full-sounding, and last night was also very full, surprisingly since I wasn't standing right in front of it, and considering all the room behind the rig.

I tried using the VLE and was surprised to hear that the notes still cut through the mix even with the knob at 2:00. That says a lot for the Little Mark II amp, I think, considering that the VLE filter cuts some highs. Actually, when running flat without the filter I didn't hear much of the highs anyway while in the mix. I also tried boosting the low mids when I felt I needed more volume. That worked better than turning the master or gain up, as far as getting my sound through.

Tried the VPF filter, but since it cuts mids, I didn't use it much.

Back to the 151P cab. I think it might be a bit under-rated. I was able to push it some (at the risk of the 12") and found that the notes can get very loud and still be very tight. Depending on where I plucked the string I could get a variety of sounds. Toward the bridge I could play louder, and at that point the notes would seem to "burn" through. I liked that. I really can't tell how much the 12" added to the color of my tone, especially since the 15" is rated at 100db as opposed to the 12"'s 99db. But, I can say that together my rig becomes something that neither speaker alone can be. It all comes to life. Frequencies that were not noticeable before stand out when both speakers are at work.

Trying not to be too long here, but there's so much to tell. The main point is that I am pleased. The next speaker size up would've been the 151HR, but I don't think I would want to carry 15 lbs. more just to get the little bit of extra lows, plus it's a tad bigger. My 151P is the one. Actually, I'd like another one and a separate head. All in good time.

Thanks for reading, ya'll. I hope this is helpful in some way to someone.

[pacojas]

yeah! great stuff. i sometimes use 2 LMIII's in a master/slave config to power a 102P and an old Peavy 2x15!!!

it moves so much air your pant legs ripple like a flag.

[JxBass]

I owned both the CMD 121P and 151P combos and though the 121P is one cool little box, I much preferred the overall depth and loudness of the 151P. Your experience with the 151P cab sound very similar. Enjoy!

I do regret never having tried out the CMD 121H combo. I know I would have liked it over the 121P.

[Russell L]

The 121H combo is definitely deeper-sounding than the 121P combo. The 151P cab is deeper still. I know I can get deeper with other cabs, but this one is all I'm willing to transport (or two of them). 37.3 lbs, while the 121H combo weighs 39.5. Both meet my 40 lb. personal limit.

Forgot to mention that I didn't notice any notes getting phase out or boosted, other than the usual, the way some notes do anyway.

As for the piezo tweeter, I had it off or in the middle. Couldn't tell much difference, actually. I would like to elevate the whole rig about two feet to hear more directly into the speakers. I'm pleased that I had so much sound without going through the PA. I really should have, though. The worst thing is that had I needed to be much louder I would have run out of head room fast. But, this band is about as loud as I play, mostly. There is one other band that gets louder, but I'm always in the mains with them. Always.