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Just about to pull the trigger on CMD121P. Any advice?

#61
Jeff Bonny said:
You think any of the amps that would be a "better deal" don't have the same kind of markup in Australia? They do.

An anyway the CMD121P doesn't have any serious competition in terms of volume and portability in any less expensive combos.
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How does the GK MB112 compare in terms of volume and sound? Anyone out there played both? It comes in at $700 here in OZ. Unfortunately the powered extension cab is basically impossible to find over here.

If I had $1600 to spend I'd probably buy the MB112 and then source the powered extension cab from overseas (found this one for around $530 delivered from the US). You'd be looking at less cost (around $1300) and then you have the combo for smaller gigs and rehearsals and you can take the extension cab to bigger gigs. Unless you play in a loud rock band with a drummer that can't play softly this combination would cover just about any eventuality.
 
#62
BAG said:
How does the GK MB112 compare in terms of volume and sound? Anyone out there played both? It comes in at $700 here in OZ. Unfortunately the powered extension cab is basically impossible to find over here.

If I had $1600 to spend I'd probably buy the MB112 and then source the powered extension cab from overseas (found this one for around $530 delivered from the US). You'd be looking at less cost (around $1300) and then you have the combo for smaller gigs and rehearsals and you can take the extension cab to bigger gigs. Unless you play in a loud rock band with a drummer that can't play softly this combination would cover just about any eventuality.
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I actually had the GK MB112 and used it as my first amp when I changed to bass, I probably used it every day for 2-3 hours on average over 2 years. The big reason I dumped and won't go back to GK is reliability. According the guy at the shop who fixes everything, the GK 12" speaker cone has a very long travel compared to other 12" cones in order to get the deeper tones (it's also a 4ohm box which may have some impact). Consequently the wires that attach to the cone have extra stress and come loose. I had it fail twice in 18 months and even though it was a $50 fix I was without it for a fortnight each time it was in the shop and, to be honest, I don't go back to a brand after this level of failure. I found the Rumble 100 combo to have a somewhat nicer tone over the GK for my style of playing but it's a bit underpowered.

I used the GK as a standalone amp in a couple of larger rooms and it was stretched. Put it through FOH and it's fine as a monitor. It was better in small venues of course, small as in The Old Boatshed in Manly if you know the venue.

Mall Music in Sydney have the GK powered cab as a regular stock item in my experience but they always said that the GK distributor here was quite difficult to deal with at times.
 
#63
GManfromOz said:
I actually had the GK MB112 and used it as my first amp when I changed to bass, I probably used it every day for 2-3 hours on average over 2 years. The big reason I dumped and won't go back to GK is reliability. According the guy at the shop who fixes everything, the GK 12" speaker cone has a very long travel compared to other 12" cones in order to get the deeper tones (it's also a 4ohm box which may have some impact). Consequently the wires that attach to the cone have extra stress and come loose. I had it fail twice in 18 months and even though it was a $50 fix I was without it for a fortnight each time it was in the shop and, to be honest, I don't go back to a brand after this level of failure. I found the Rumble 100 combo to have a somewhat nicer tone over the GK for my style of playing but it's a bit underpowered.

I used the GK as a standalone amp in a couple of larger rooms and it was stretched. Put it through FOH and it's fine as a monitor. It was better in small venues of course, small as in The Old Boatshed in Manly if you know the venue.

Mall Music in Sydney have the GK powered cab as a regular stock item in my experience but they always said that the GK distributor here was quite difficult to deal with at times.
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Nothing like real world experience with a product. I haven't had a chance to try the GK so thanks for that info as i'm in the market for a small combo myself and, being in Jindabyne, getting a chance to play a decent range of gear is difficult.

I know The Old Boatshed and that's the sort of room sizes we play. I always DI and a small combo is enough for stage sound. I like the little Ampeg B110 for its sound and kickback cabinet but it doesn't have a DI although i've got some passive stage DI's I could use. If I had the budget i'd probably go for the CMD121p but I don't play out often enough to warrant the spend.
 
#64
BAG said:
Nothing like real world experience with a product. I haven't had a chance to try the GK so thanks for that info as i'm in the market for a small combo myself and, being in Jindabyne, getting a chance to play a decent range of gear is difficult.

I know The Old Boatshed and that's the sort of room sizes we play. I always DI and a small combo is enough for stage sound. I like the little Ampeg B110 for its sound and kickback cabinet but it doesn't have a DI although i've got some passive stage DI's I could use. If I had the budget i'd probably go for the CMD121p but I don't play out often enough to warrant the spend.
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Bang for your buck and reliability I'd go for the Rumble 200, easily enough for most venues.
 
#65
I'm actually currently running just a Peavey Max115 which is basically the same size as the Rumble 200 but heavier and with more punch. It's not that it's too big or heavy but in 80% of gigs and rehearsals for me I don't even need as much as it puts out and every inch saved in the van helps, so i'm looking for something smaller. As mentioned, the Ampeg B110 would do the trick. If I don't get a chance to try any others of similar specs i'll probably grab one.
 
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#66
BAG said:
I'm actually currently running just a Peavey Max115 which is basically the same size as the Rumble 200 but heavier and with more punch. It's not that it's too big or heavy but in 80% of gigs and rehearsals for me I don't even need as much as it puts out and every inch saved in the van helps, so i'm looking for something smaller. As mentioned, the Ampeg B110 would do the trick. If I don't get a chance to try any others of similar specs i'll probably grab one.
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Where do you play in Jindabyne? I one of those damn winter visitors. I'd guess the pub, club or out at the Station.
 
#67
I have a CMD121P. I love it. It's plenty loud for most anything I do (up to moderately loud rock). Adding an extension cab can add projection and color as needed. Using the VLE and a subtle overdrive helps it cover more old school tones.
The selling point is that you get that in a box that is 18" cubed.
 
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#68
GManfromOz said:
Where do you play in Jindabyne? I one of those damn winter visitors. I'd guess the pub, club or out at the Station.
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You "damn winter visitors" keep us all alive.

I'm actually the CEO at the Bowlo in Jindy. Drop me a line when you're next coming down.

We don't do too many gigs during winter as we're usually pretty busy but we've done the Perisher Peak Festival the last few years. We do the Berridale pub semi-regularly, have done poolside at Thredbo, Mid Station at Perisher, Siesta Villa in East Jindy and numerous other places. We're starting to get gigs down Merimbula as well. Not too bad for two teenagers and their dad. My girls are only 16 and 13 but they are better muso's than me.

Here's a couple of live recordings from the Bowlo we did for promo. It's just a single condenser mic out front of the PA going into Reaper on the laptop. I then added bass at home. I'm pretty happy with the result considering how basic it was. Make sure you listen with some decent bottom end so you can hear the kick drum (cajon) and bass.

Cover of Counting Crows "Round Here"

Satin Rose original "Devil From Hell"
 
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#70
djasterix said:
I did a lot of reaserch before investing my $$$$ in a new rig, and ended with the same rig CMD 102P combo + Standard 115HR cabinet; that combination is loud and clear; and have no issues with a loud drummer. Price seems to high, I'm in Peru, and the 2x10 Combo was US$950.00 and the 1x15 cab US$ 650.00, so it was US$1600.00 for the complete rig.
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I think ended paying about $850 for the combo and 1x15 was around $600.
 
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#73
Pumpkin said:
It's not USD. Check the details before you harp about $$.
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With exchange rate, shipping and import duty the amp the OP is talking about that costs $900USD works out to about $1500AUD. How many times has this been pointed out in this thread? If I weren't curious about what he ends up getting I would have unsub'd a couple of pages ago. There are other places besides the US represented on this forum.
 
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#76
BAG said:
You "damn winter visitors" keep us all alive.

I'm actually the CEO at the Bowlo in Jindy. Drop me a line when you're next coming down.

We don't do too many gigs during winter as we're usually pretty busy but we've done the Perisher Peak Festival the last few years. We do the Berridale pub semi-regularly, have done poolside at Thredbo, Mid Station at Perisher, Siesta Villa in East Jindy and numerous other places. We're starting to get gigs down Merimbula as well. Not too bad for two teenagers and their dad. My girls are only 16 and 13 but they are better muso's than me.

Here's a couple of live recordings from the Bowlo we did for promo. It's just a single condenser mic out front of the PA going into Reaper on the laptop. I then added bass at home. I'm pretty happy with the result considering how basic it was. Make sure you listen with some decent bottom end so you can hear the kick drum (cajon) and bass.

Cover of Counting Crows "Round Here"

Satin Rose original "Devil From Hell"
Click to expand...
You'd be a pretty proud Dad then, the girls are terrific.

We stay over at the Big 4, 2nd week of the school holidays every year. In fact I've been staying at Jindy and Berridale since the 60's. I was never keen about staying on the mountain, too cold and too boring if you're snowed in. I haven't been to the bowlo for yonks but now the kids are older I can drag them around a bit more. l'll see you there in 2017.
 
#80
I would not recommend the CMD 102P bass combo (similar component wise to the CMD 121P) due to past experiences. I purchased one used from a big box music store. Everything sounded great at the store but once at home the amp lasted about 20 minutes before it started hissing and popping and then I was unable to get any sound from the amp. Long story short I ended up bringing it back to the music store for a full refund and a sales associate candidly told me that they had 2 other units currently being assessed in the back room due to this same issue. Another thing to think about is the fact there seem to be very few Markbass service centres authorized to work on the amp should any issues arise. I believe the risk is too great in this case.
 

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