Markbass (2) 1x12's - Can the highs be tamed?

[funkysurfer]

Yesterday I played a Markbass Mini CMD 121P combo with the a NY 121 extension. I was blown away by the tone and how my bass came to life. It had all the qualities I'm looking for. It was clean, punchy, warm and articulate. However, it seemed a bit to bright. That was the only thing stopping me from buying 2 NY 121's to put under my LMIII. I tried the LMIII with a NY 121 & NY 151 and a few other configurations. Out of everything, I determined the 2 121's sounded best for me.

I really want what the tone I was hearing with a little less high end. Can this be attained with those two cabs by tweaking the tweeter dials?

Is there another speaker manufacturer that will give me what I described?

[Hobobob]

Piezo tweeters = no dials. You'll just have to use the treble knob on your amp.

[BullHorn]

Short answer: no


Somewhat longer answer:

A resistor soldered before the tweeter will make it quieter or silent.

I heard of some people stuffing a piece of cloth rolled up into a ball into the tweeter as well.

Cutting the Highs or boosting the VLE will make your tone weird and you might not like it.

[Melvin7822]

It's better to use the VLE knob on the combo head. Just turning it up a little bit should help.

[JimmyM]

That tweeter is what ultimately made me give up my Mini CMD121P. You can tame it somewhat with the VLE knob, but it was still too loud for my tastes and I couldn't do anything about that.

[Freddels]

You could always get two NY121's and the LMIII head. Then you'd have attenuators on both cabs.

[staindbass]

pizeo tweeters are normally used from 6-10khz and up in hifi speakers. mostly in the 1970's. asking them to work down to 2-3khz is what i believe makes the sound unappealing. they all sound brittle to me.

[funkysurfer]

Originally Posted by Hobobob

Piezo tweeters = no dials. You'll just have to use the treble knob on your amp.

Actually, I just realized the combo doesn't have the attenuator. The NY 121 does. I tried tweaking the extension cab dial up some but noticed not much of a difference.

[funkysurfer]

Originally Posted by Freddels

You could always get two NY121's and the LMIII head. Then you'd have attenuators on both cabs.

I was thinking this. They didn't have two cabs there. Just the combo and 1 NY 121.

[CpTCrunch]

Every piezo tweeter I've ever owned I either replaced or packed the front with polyfill.

[old-fashioned]

Use flatwound strings

[Hobobob]

If they can get it in the shop, try out the CMD 121H. It has a horn loaded tweeter and should sound better. I'm not sure if it has an attenuator tho...

[JimmyM]

Originally Posted by staindbass

pizeo tweeters are normally used from 6-10khz and up in hifi speakers. mostly in the 1970's. asking them to work down to 2-3khz is what i believe makes the sound unappealing. they all sound brittle to me.

Me too, and I agree that they make them work way too low, and it's not limited to Markbass, either. However, they do have the dubious distinction of being the worst tweeters I've ever heard. Markbass crosses their tweets over at 3.5k, and it's this tiny little 1" piezo in those NY121 cabs. That's why the 3-way designs like the fEarful, the Audiokinesis, and the Avatar TB153 with the 3015LF or 3012LF, a mid driver, and a tweeter are getting popular.

But piezo tweeters are dirt cheap, and we all love our dirt cheap gear, so I doubt we'll ever see the end of them in bass cabs.

[Russell L]

Originally Posted by Hobobob

If they can get it in the shop, try out the CMD 121H. It has a horn loaded tweeter and should sound better. I'm not sure if it has an attenuator tho...

It doesn't.

[funkysurfer]

Ok. So the general consensus is the piezo is too bright.

I am curious what a pair of Traveler 121H's would sound like? Anyone have this cab or try it out? If so, how does it compare?

[Melvin7822]

Both of my cabs are piezo and I do just fine with them and have no complaints. The difference is, I have the tweeter on the bottom cab turned completely off and the top cab set to -2dB. It's really a lack of attenuation from the combo that's hurting you.

At any rate, if you're looking for a new Markbass set up, I'd give the Club 121 a try. It's similar to your NY 121, but has a horn tweeter plus uses the new Markbass drivers. Two of those and a Little Mark Tube or LMIII will give you a pretty nice set up.

However, before you spend money consider setting the EQ flat, turning the attenuator on the NY 121 all the way counter-clockwise and see if you can use the VLE to season to taste. If it's still too bright (even in the mix), then it's time to consider your options.

[ben12390]

fiddle with the VLE on your amp. just a dash here and there makes a big difference at high volumes.

[Musicman20]

NY122!