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80% ready to make the Markbass buy

#21
Cycho said:
I have a NY151 (which I thought sounded better than the Traveler version) and a LMIII. That's easily enough for the bands I play in. If your band is much louder you might need a second cab or PA support.
Click to expand...

Not to hijack this thread, but I was considering getting the CMD121P and a New York 12" to complete the rig. Is the general consensus that 2 single 12 cabinets aren't going to be loud enough to compete with most bands? Should I pair the 121 with a 102HF instead?

I never thought 500 watts into 2 12" cabs wouldn't be enough.
 
#22
I love markbass

I have a LM2, a F1, and a cmd151P (basicly a lm2 with a ny151)

The CMD151P is enough for 85% of my gigs, and I play everything, from pop jazz to hard rock. I agree the Transporter 210 sounds good, but is not my favorite cab. It does miss something on it's own. With a TP 210 and 115, wow, great combo.

I am going to get a NY151 to add to my CMD151P soon, and then, I don't think my Bergantinos are going to see much travelling.

I did try my combo with a 210 standard, and was very pleased too, but the 2nd NY151 will look better and sound just as good, I think.

I think you will be very pleased with a LM2 + 151NY (or 2)

Good luck
 
#23
Hippos Melas said:
Not to hijack this thread, but I was considering getting the CMD121P and a New York 12" to complete the rig. Is the general consensus that 2 single 12 cabinets aren't going to be loud enough to compete with most bands? Should I pair the 121 with a 102HF instead?

I never thought 500 watts into 2 12" cabs wouldn't be enough.
Click to expand...

My experience with MOST 12's is not great (in general). The CMD121P sound fantastic, but seems to not want to be played very loud (gig volumes). I'm sure it's better with a 2nd cab, but I would recommend something maybe a little more dominating on its own, and add an extension when needed. My 151P, with a 2nd 15, will cover pretty much any venue. Same with a CMD102 + a standard 102.

However, I still want to buy a CMD121P in the near future. It is the ultimate small gig, jam, rehearsal, practice combo.
 
#24
My 2 cents:

I have the CMD102P and the 151P cab. Like someone mentioned above, I removed the head and had a piece of metal cut to fill the hole. Primary reason being that I simply love the D.I. tone from the head (One of the best I have ever heard) and I freguently play in-ear gigs. I wanted to be able to just pop-out the head and go. Now, to get back on topic, the rig seriously KILLS. I have brought the cute baby stack on gigs really loud rock gigs and had headroom for days. I really enjoy the versatility of being able to bring the combo or head/151P. The whole rig tips the scales at 70lbs. I do not miss my Ampeg 610 at all. I will say this, I had the pleasure of being able to A/B the Traveler and the NY extension cabs and if you have the opportunity to do so, I would because the Traveler totally smoked the NY for me. Cycho prefers the NY... Different strokes for different folks. Hope this helped at all.

I think it is important to note though that removing the head and adding the lid as I did voids the manufacturers warranty. Not sure if that bothers you but it is something to think about.

Best Wishes-
Jeff

*EDIT*
In case anyone is interested: I painted the lid and attached it with a tiny bead of silicone in each corner. It could easily be removed, if necessary by prying it off.
 
#26
Well, showing the impulse control I'm well known for, I lasted 4 hours from getting the discount card in the mail to getting new toy in the truck.

I'm now the happy owner of a CMD102P. With the VLE knob I can really get the tone I want, and it seems to have the oomph I want. Band practices on Thursday and Friday, those will be the test. Until then, I am going to annoy my dog (who seems to be licking her chops at the prospect of hearing me make some music on it) and my neighbors finding its limits.
 
#28
yamaha said:
My experience with MOST 12's is not great (in general). The CMD121P sound fantastic, but seems to not want to be played very loud (gig volumes). I'm sure it's better with a 2nd cab, but I would recommend something maybe a little more dominating on its own, and add an extension when needed. My 151P, with a 2nd 15, will cover pretty much any venue. Same with a CMD102 + a standard 102.

However, I still want to buy a CMD121P in the near future. It is the ultimate small gig, jam, rehearsal, practice combo.
Click to expand...

Ah, crap. I was hoping my gig rig could be 2 single 12's in that setup I mentioned. Looks like I'll save for the 102P combo. :scowl:
 
#31
cchorney said:
Specifically, I've narrowed it down to the Traveler 151 cab (or NY151, still undecided) and the Traveler 102P cab (or a second 151) and the Little Mark III amp. I am thinking of starting with just the LMIII and 1 cab, probably the 151 but I'll A/B them both to see.

My question is:

1) While I do get PA support at a lot of my gigs, sometimes at the smaller bar type gigs I don't. Will the LMIII and the 151 cab carry me over the acoustic drums and my tube amp guitar player? Or with these smaller lighter pieces do you basically always need to be running 2 cabs parallel at 4 ohms and 500 watts to get the necessary oomph for things bigger than a living room practice session? We play Fleetwood Mac, ZZ Top, some Motown, and other misc fun rock music. I'm not a slap player, if that matters. I play a Fender Jazz with round wounds and a Washburn Chicago (P style) with flat wounds.

Thanks for your opinions, Chris
Click to expand...

I experimented with both the Markbass 2X10 and the 1X15 using the MB LMIII. I favored the 1X15.

I can pin my drummer's ears back with my CMD151P. Keeping up with acoustic drums, no problem.

I have an extension 1X15 cab, but I've only needed it a few times on large outdoor stages. Most indoor club and bar stages (short of theater-sized stages), your single cab will be plenty.
 
#32
Here's my experience.

I played 60 shows last year with a MarkBass CMD 102P and an extension cab STD 102 HF. This rig gives me 4 10s. I've never even turned it up half way, even at outdoor shows. It cuts the mix and punches very well. Variety of possible tones is exceptional. You should be able to dial almost anything in you want with enough power to cut it.

Only show I used PA support with it was a club show we recorded and we simply did that to get better balance in the live recorded mix.

This rig is terrific. We play blues, country, roots rock, rockabilly, honky tonk and swing and this rig has never failed to cut it. I expect to play 100+ shows with it in 2011.

I have used the CMD 102P without the extension cab in a couple of small venues and it has been enough power, but my taste says I sacrifice a bit of tone without the 2 additional 10s, so now I exclusively use both units.

Additionally, I have a MarkBass CMD 121P, which I use for rehearsals and practice at home. It is great for this use and I would use it as the bassist for an "acoustic" gig, but will always go back to the 4X10 for full shows.

I have played shows using the Mark Bass rig with my 1975 Fender J, my 1978 Fender P, fretted and fretless StingRays, along with a couple of others. My go to basses now are Drake Customs, because of the weight factor. I had a heart attack in August 2010, and to prolong my career playing after recovery, I needed something lighter. The Drakes fill this bill and are wonderful instruments. All of these basses perform exceptionally well with the Mark Bass units.

I've been playing 47 years and I'm very discriminating in terms of power and tone with bass. I formerly played an Ampeg SVT Classic through a 6X10. In my opinion, the MarkBass units I own deliver everything the Ampeg did except for 200 pounds to deal with.

Each the CMD 102P and the STD 102HF weigh about 42 pounds. The CMD 121P weighs 29 pounds. I really appreciate that when it comes time to load. My bandmates don't bitch about the bass player either!

If you've got the $$, go for it. MarkBass is the real deal.

Koog.
 
#33
An F1 into a pair of Aguilar GS112 cabinets definitely does the trick for me. It gets plenty loud for my needs, which I wouldn't consider quiet. The little light amp is great. I still have my great sounding Ashdown ABM, but the punch of the F1 is really nice. I'm also old and tired of lugging large heavy objects.
 
#34
Here's my 2 cents. I've owned Markbass combos including the 121P and the minmark and settled in after giving up on combos first on a Little Mark II (which I loved for a couple of years) then needed more power and got the LM 800 and just LOVE that head. I play it almost flat most of the time and it has tone for days...

I've owned the NY 121 cab after I gave up the combo, but that was on the bubble of too small to gig (drummers blew me away) so I got the 121H which is really a nice cross between the 102P and a 151P. More punchy than the 15, but also more "oomph" as you called it than the 102P. For bigger gigs though I really missed the 15 so I tried a NY151 which was okay, but didn't have the "oomph" of the 151P so I got that and then traded my 121H for a 102P which is so punchy and works great for the small club dates. That was my compromise: bigger dates I use the 151P and several times a year I get to use both together for big shows. The 151P and 102P together are incredible especially with the LM800 cause they get the juice they need. The only thing I miss is the horn on the 121H. The Le Son tweeters are okay, but you have to keep them turned down a bit or they blow and they just don't have the sound of a nice horn. I've heard some folks have replaced Le Son's with eminence horns which I may do one day myself. That 102p combo is just too bulky so I'd return it while you can and get a separate head with enough power, the 102P cabinet and maybe a second cab if you like. Think about it while you can still return the rig is my advice
 
#35
Freddels said:
It depends on how loud you need to be. I believe Peter Murray gigs with the CMD121P combo and the NY121 cab. Everybody's situation is different.
Click to expand...

Here's how I'm looking at it, though: I don't want my rig to be in a constant state of flux and trading cabs and all that. I want to get a rig with enough volume that I won't worry about that on a gig and has good portability. I've pretty much accepted that that puts me buying 2 210s or something of related size like a 410. I just want to buy and be set.
 
#36
Band practices tonight and tomorrow night, these will be revealing on how the CMD 102P sounds in actual use (although gig mileage may still vary). But I have gotten my sounds pretty much dialed in. The thing sounds great in my practice room by myself so fat, but I am starting to realize that even with the pop out top, getting to the back of the amp is a pain. Wondering if I should have stuck with separate LMIII + NY151P like I was originally thinking.
 
#38
cchorney said:
Band practices tonight and tomorrow night, these will be revealing on how the CMD 102P sounds in actual use (although gig mileage may still vary). But I have gotten my sounds pretty much dialed in. The thing sounds great in my practice room by myself so fat, but I am starting to realize that even with the pop out top, getting to the back of the amp is a pain. Wondering if I should have stuck with separate LMIII + NY151P like I was originally thinking.
Click to expand...

Ultimate test: Have your drummer pore it on, the way drummers sometimes do, especially in live situations. Now have the rest of the band play loud enough so they are in a good mix with the drummer. Then see how your new combo handles that level.
 
#39
Hippos Melas said:
But that wouldn't give you the same level of volume. The CMD 102P should be louder than a 151, right? Or are you just going for sound rather than volume? I suppose not everyone's as worried about being buried as I am. :p
Click to expand...

I don't know. Warning: I am not up on the scientific side of things but still willing to expound, so I welcome corrections to my minimal understanding. Apparently volume is more than watts + total cone area. There is dispersion, which has to do with how narrow or wide your sound will, um, disperse from your cab, and excursion, which has to do with how far the speaker moves back and forth from its resting place. The analogy I think of is an engine piston, where you have bore (the width of the piston) and stroke (the distance the piston travels). This may not be the best analogy since there is no wrong ratio of bore to stroke, it just runs a range of "better horsepower" to "better torque". But I (wildly) digress.

My concern is largely 2 fold - I want my bass to sound deep (achieve those lower frequencies), to have presence (push some air so people "feel" it), and to be heard over the drums. This is my first new amp/cab gear in a long long time so I am used to "bigger/heavier = more of what I need". So this is new ground upon which I tread.
 
#40
electracoyote said:
Ultimate test: Have your drummer pore it on, the way drummers sometimes do, especially in live situations. Now have the rest of the band play loud enough so they are in a good mix with the drummer. Then see how your new combo handles that level.
Click to expand...

Excellent advice, and exactly what I will do. Which of course leads to the question - if it doesn't handle that level, would a 15" cab with the same LMIII power plant be more able to do so?
 

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