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

[woodyng2]

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.

Based on your single experience with a used amp?
I've had the opposite experience,found the 6 new and used Markbass products i've owned over the last decade to be absolutely reliable. I bought a used Schroeder cab a month ago,that started having issues,and took it back for a full refund. (GC),but i'd never say avoid Schroeder products because of that.
Someone probably just didn't take very good care of your combo,or my cab.
It's always a crapshoot buying anything used....

 

[MrLenny1]

Mark Bass is pricey !
Personally I do not like the tone of their amps.

 

[woodyng2]

The cmd121p combo's on sale at MF. About $220 off the regular price.

 

[BAG]

As mentioned earlier, I have been looking for a decent smaller amp and I just scored what I hope turns out to be a bargain.

I just won an Ebay auction for a Schertler Bass Fidelity B10 for $599 Aussie dollars (about $450 US). The recommended retail here in Oz is $1699 however from what I have been able to find they are not actually imported here. You can get Schertler acoustic amps from numerous stores but nobody appears to be bringing the bass amps in.

I asked the seller a few questions last week and he stated that they had brought in one of each of the bass amps (B10, B12 and B15) as they were looking at possibly being an official importer. That deal fell through so they put them up on Ebay with the starting price being their cost price. The fact that they only had one of each amp brand new for sale tends to support this.

I'm guessing that due to the lack of name recognition and information on the net most bass players in Australia wouldn't know of Schertler's good reputation in the acoustic amp market. I'm hoping that this bass amp turns out to be half as good as their other gear.

Gmanfromoz, they still have the B12 and B15 for sale (both of them received zero bids in the first auction and are still available) on Ebay.
The B12 may be just what you're looking for. Actually, the B10 pretty much ticks the boxes for you but I wasn't going to say anything about it till the auction ended. Didn't want any bidding competition .

 

[BigBigGuy44]

It's been about 5 years since i did it,but i think you just unscrew the tweeter from the front panel and pull the wire plug from the tweeter. I think i wrapped the loose plug end in black electrical tape as a precaution.It's functioned perfectly for years now.

This worked perfect. Thanks for the advice and instructions. I took the grill over offer, puled the tweeter out and disconnected the harness. Also taped up the connector pins for safety. Amp sounds fantastic and now there is no noise at all. This was probably my best purchase of 2016.

 

[woodyng2]

This worked perfect. Thanks for the advice and instructions. I took the grill over offer, puled the tweeter out and disconnected the harness. Also taped up the connector pins for safety. Amp sounds fantastic and now there is no noise at all. This was probably my best purchase of 2016.

You can also remove the Markbass logo from the speaker grill panel,it's attached with some sort of "supersnot" gunk. I like the yellow speaker cones,but the plastic logo was too cheesy for me.
(Ps-i wasn't worried about it,but if you need to have your markbass serviced,you need to reconnect the tweeter,as disconnecting it may be a warranty void).

 

[GManfromOz]

As mentioned earlier, I have been looking for a decent smaller amp and I just scored what I hope turns out to be a bargain.

I just won an Ebay auction for a Schertler Bass Fidelity B10 for $599 Aussie dollars (about $450 US). The recommended retail here in Oz is $1699 however from what I have been able to find they are not actually imported here. You can get Schertler acoustic amps from numerous stores but nobody appears to be bringing the bass amps in.

I asked the seller a few questions last week and he stated that they had brought in one of each of the bass amps (B10, B12 and B15) as they were looking at possibly being an official importer. That deal fell through so they put them up on Ebay with the starting price being their cost price. The fact that they only had one of each amp brand new for sale tends to support this.

I'm guessing that due to the lack of name recognition and information on the net most bass players in Australia wouldn't know of Schertler's good reputation in the acoustic amp market. I'm hoping that this bass amp turns out to be half as good as their other gear.

Gmanfromoz, they still have the B12 and B15 for sale (both of them received zero bids in the first auction and are still available) on Ebay.
The B12 may be just what you're looking for. Actually, the B10 pretty much ticks the boxes for you but I wasn't going to say anything about it till the auction ended. Didn't want any bidding competition .

LOL, I hate auctions with more than one bidder too.

I've never come across Schertler but I'll have a look. It doesn't look like it has an ext speaker output though. Also, 21kg seems like a pretty hefty little box - one of the main reasons for going down this route is because of injuries I can't lift much or have pressure on my shoulders, I can't even wear a backpack these days.

TBH the more I ask about the Markbass the more polarised opinions I get. I'm on the verge of just getting a Rumble 500 combo and spending the change of a cheap Ibanez 5 string for fun.

 

[BAG]

I think you're right about there being no external speaker ability.

I don't think you could go wrong with the Rumble if you like it.

Personally I didn't like the sound when I was looking for my first bass amp. Can't put my finger on it but I actually ended up going with a Peavey Max 115. Not only could I get the sound I wanted straight away but it cost nearly one third of the Rumble...... and yet I like the sound of the Rumble 100.

 

[GManfromOz]

I know you're all waiting with bated breath to see how I've squandered my children's inheritance, so here goes.

Lots of good points raised in the comments, thanks everyone. Also some good feedback from other players I know. I'm a bad shopper I admit, if I don't "feel" it I'll dither.

So today, for a little bit less than the A$1520 the Markbass would have cost I picked up a Rumble 500 combo AND a nice little Squire Mike Dirnt P bass. (Remember, this is Australia dudes, pricing is very different, don't get started on what's on offer at GC, the list price for these two items here is A $2800 - gulp.)

Why the Rumble? It matches my practice amp and has a couple of features the Markbass lacks. It's also very predictable (to me at least) and in my experience v reliable. And it sounds good to my ear for the covers I play. (The overdrive is dodgy thought, never got the hang of it)

Why the Squire? It weighs in at 1.5kg less than my Ray34, a blessing for an old bloke. And I just liked it. And I had the cash in my kick.

So there's there value of a well moderated forum largely inhabited by grown ups - information. Gotta love that.

 

[bigtone23]

Very cool! Only thing better than getting an amp is getting an amp and a bass. The V3 Rumbles are great amps. I have a bandmate who uses a Rumble 500 live and it carries many rooms without PA support. I like the overdrive set rather low with the gain at around 9:00, vintage switch in and level to balance with the clean. Gives it a classic, amp on the edge tone.
The Squier Dirnt is cool. I have one and it's pretty darn light--8#9oz (3.8Kg). The only original parts are the body and control plate. I switched to a Squier Dirnt black pickguard, put in a US Fender pickup and S-1 for series/parallel, CTS tone pot & .068uF cap, Switchcraft jack, CV '51 P maple neck, Schaller Bridge and straplocks, custom neck plate, 80s Peavey string tree and Chromes. I put a sticker over the star. It plays and sounds as good as any bass that's 3-4Xs the price. The combo of a 55 style body with the split coil was what got me into it.

 

[BAG]

I really like the look of the Mike Dirnt P and through the Rumble it should sound great.