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Markbass CMD 102P

BassyBill

BassyBill

Gold Supporting Member
In Memoriam
Mar 12, 2005
18,174
4,621
West Midlands UK
#1
I have at present 2 Hartke heads (5000 and 3000) and 3 cabs (115xl, 210xl and 2.5xl). This gives me a fair bit of flexibility for different gigs and I'm actually pretty happy with the range of tones I get and overall performance of my Hartke gear. But - surprise, surprise - I have GAS for something a little better. One of the main reasons for this is weight. For many gigs the cab I take is the 2.5xl, but just on it's own this cab weighs 66lb. I'd like a portable, powerful combo (wouldn't we all?) and this is likely to end up as my main amp for most gigs I do with both of my bands.

So now I'm seriously close to getting a Markbass CMD 102 P... because it's a 2x10, 450W combo (280W with the internal speakers at 8 ohm, 450W if I use an extension cab for a few bigger gigs), has useable EQ and connectivity options for me, can be angled back on stage which I often find useful, and reputedly is loud and gives a fairly uncoloured sound, just what I'm after. And it weighs 44 lb!

I've read the two magazine reviews from the website and it sounds all good to me. Price is £845 which is also good by UK standards for a pro quality combo of this type.

And so my question is... your thoughts please? I'm especially interested to hear from people who have this particular combo, but other people with experience of the brand please feel free to chime in. I've read some of the Markbass threads here, but haven't found a lot about this actual model.

EDIT The store I'm thinking of getting this from (best price I've found) is about 2 hours drive from me, so I will probably get a chance to try before I buy providing they have one in stock.
 
#2
Bill
im guessing you have read my posts on MB amps so i wont tell you how brilliant they are here.
what i would say is that the Amp section of the combo you are looking at is the LMII so any good (or bad) things you have read about this amp applies to the combo as well although the output of the LMII is slightly louder.
Its worth checking with the store as MB gear can be hard to get here in the UK as they tend to sell very quickly.
I know of at least one other bass player who ordered his SA450 same time as me from different shops and we both were told 2-3 days and both had to wait well over a week for MB to get them in over here.
Hope that the helps a bit
 
#3
Yes, I've read your posts Dave - thanks for the input. I can't believe just how good these are from what people are saying about them, it's amazing. Really looking forward to trying this one out. I'll call before I make the trip!

44 pounds! Brilliant. That's as light as my 210xl unported cab. It's a breeze to carry, but unfortunately absolutely useless on its own without the 115xl :D
 
#5
JUst had a quick listen Dave - I see what you mean by "Jam songs"! :D Sounds pretty good to me. Obviously can't judge the tone of the amp from listening to these, but I can at least tell that it seems to cut through alright.

I'm more or less certain to get this combo in the next couple of weeks, unless the quality and tone are absolutely nothing like what the reviews have led me to expect. Design wise it's exactly what I'm looking for. I'll post a review when I get my hands on it.
 
#6
yeah, the mic was placed on a table at the back of the stage so it picked the room up rather than the direct sound on stage. the sound clips are quite low res but i can assure you the rig was shaking the glasses on a near table and this was with the Eq flat, just using the two filters.
It a very uncoloured sound but can get warm and gritty if you want it to but its never hi-fi. it wont compete with a Ampeg if thats the type of sound you like but can sound like a ABM without the tube turned on.
The reason i went for the SA450 over the LMII is it has better EQ and also a few other bits but so far i havent even used the EQ.
Look forward to reading your review.
 
#8
BUMP

Any more? I may get the chance to drive up north and try one of these tomorrow.

Toasted - you posted a very short but unfavourable comment about this combo on bassworld.co.uk - care to expand on it here in a bit more detail?
 
#9
Hey, yeah. I think this combo sucks. Big time, in the price bracket I think that there are many much better options - my favourite being the GK700rb 210. You can even get a second hand super redhead for this price.

I really did not like the tone at all, it was wooley and really midrange focused. I feel that the combo lacked bass and any kind of 'nice' high end. Sparkling highs something that we as bassists tend to look for and from what I heard, this combo didn't have any sparkle to speak of.

I honestly wouldn't touch one with a barge pole. It just sounded bad. BT68 and OBBM from bassworld have had similar experiences if you feel like getting in contact with them :)
 
#10
Toasted said:
Hey, yeah. I think this combo sucks. Big time, in the price bracket I think that there are many much better options - my favourite being the GK700rb 210. You can even get a second hand super redhead for this price.

I really did not like the tone at all, it was wooley and really midrange focused. I feel that the combo lacked bass and any kind of 'nice' high end. Sparkling highs something that we as bassists tend to look for and from what I heard, this combo didn't have any sparkle to speak of.

I honestly wouldn't touch one with a barge pole. It just sounded bad. BT68 and OBBM from bassworld have had similar experiences if you feel like getting in contact with them :)
Click to expand...

so what are you saying?:D
 
#12
Toasted said:
Hey, yeah. I think this combo sucks. Big time, in the price bracket I think that there are many much better options - my favourite being the GK700rb 210. You can even get a second hand super redhead for this price.

I really did not like the tone at all, it was wooley and really midrange focused. I feel that the combo lacked bass and any kind of 'nice' high end. Sparkling highs something that we as bassists tend to look for and from what I heard, this combo didn't have any sparkle to speak of.

I honestly wouldn't touch one with a barge pole. It just sounded bad. BT68 and OBBM from bassworld have had similar experiences if you feel like getting in contact with them :)
Click to expand...
Thanks for that - sounds like you weren't impressed! I like the GK stuff and I have heard very good things about the Super Redhead (haven't tried one myself) but they both weigh in about the 80lb mark which really defeats the object for me a bit.

I think I'll try the Markbass out of curiosity now, but I won't buy one with out trying, so thanks for the warning. You may have saved me a few quid!!

It's weird how some people can really rate a piece of gear highly and others hate it. Just goes to show, one man's mid-punch is another's muddy sound; what passes for sparkling highs to some might be nasty scooped hi-fi to others, etc, etc. The old adage try before you buy triumphs once again! I was seriously thinking of ordering one of these online on the strength of the reviews - thanks again for making me check it out properly. I'll let y'all know what I think when I get my mitts on one.
 
#13
Well, I went for one, and have to say I think it's a fine bit of gear. Just my sort of sound actually, very clear without being too hi-fi. I think Toasted was right about the "mid-focused" comment, but no way does this lack bottom end, unless you're really pushing it to the limit and then it will fart out a bit. But it is a 210 combo and not a 115 and 410 stack, after all. Should be fine for small gigs or for onstage monitoring with PA support. The highs sound fine to me, very "present" rather than "sparkling" I guess, but as I said overall it sounds like just what I've been after. And light!! Wow!!

I'm gigging with it at the weekend, will post full findings then. They'll probably go in this thread here...

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?p=2972825#post2972825...

... as more people may read and reply in that one.
 
#14
Gigged it yesterday. Absolutely top amp. Toasted, you either tried a duff one or you like a completely different sound to what I'm after. Your mention of the Super Redhead and sparkling highs makes me think you might be after a more scooped sort of hi-fi tone, maybe, and the Markbass isn't perhaps that kind of sound. Anyway, not trying to start a row here, different strokes, agree to differ and all that. ;)

More comments about my happy experience yesterday here...

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?p=2973781#post2973781
 
#15
I thought I'd resurrect this thread as I've used the amp on quite a few gigs now. Bigger gigs (for us - maybe 500 to 600 people) through the PA with the combo as a stage monitor, smaller gigs just the combo with no PA support. It's doing a great job, I'm really glad I bought this.

The biggest compliment I can pay it is that there isn't a whole lot to say about it. I just set it up, tweak the EQ slightly to suit whatever stage/room we happen to be dealing with that night, and that's it. I like the intrinsic sound of my main bass a lot (that's why it's my main bass :)), and it's pretty versatile 'cos of the J-Retro, so all I want the amp to do is put out that sound at a decent level and send a good signal to the desk if I'm DI'd. That's exactly what it does. I get the tone I want at the volume I want, and it does it without hassle and in a dependable way.

I've tried it with two different extension cabs at home (Hartke 115xl and 2.5xl) and been pleased with the results, but never felt the need to lug one to a gig. That says a lot about the output capabilities of the amp, and also about my reason for getting it!

Anyway, as the Markbass stuff is now getting shipped out in the US I thought I'd bump this to see if anyone's had any Stateside experience with this particular combo. Thoughts? Do feel free to compare my experience with this to your own with other Markbass gear if that's what you have, especially the Little Mark II as that's the same head as this combo.
 
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#17
Since someone reading this thread may not have read all the other MB threads I will point out that the output power of the combo amps is identical to the LMII since it is the exact same amp in the combos.
I too think the 210 combo is a kicking amp. I ended up with the LMII head as I wanted 12's instead of 10's (a lighter weight with a single 12). But I really liked this amp!
 
#18
I too am interested in this combo.

I played the SD800 head through the Markbass 104HR cab recently and was really impressed.

Can anyone tell me how the tone of this combo compares to using a LMII with the 410? I know the 410 will move more air and will probably have better lows and will be louder but I don't really need that anyway, so from strictly a tone perspective how do they compare?

How about the LMII with the 102HF cab?

How about the LMII with various 12"cabs (MB, Epi, Bergs, etc)?
 
#19
I use a CMD 102P too, and for bigger gigs I also bought the Standard 151HF. Too much power, really, I have to turn it down every time (well not really, last time the PA-guy was so kind as to adapt his volume to mine) and I'm only at vol. 2.5

I love the sound (warm & crisp, not dull & woolly as Toasted said), and the amp is very versatile thanks to the filters.
The Combo on itself is loud enough for rehearsals and smaller gigs, and a kid can lift it.

I wanted a combo that wouldn't kill my back, that was good enough to "plug in and play" and that could handle a B-string at higher volumes without farting. Well it's quite a difference to my previous Ampeg, and I think I'll be happy for quite a while...
 
#20
I just purchased a 102P. I played through lots of amps, some more expensive, some less expensive.

The MB 102p is exceptional. Amazing actually.

I've read that some people think it's too strong in the mids, and that's true if you leave the EQ flat and don't play with the effects. If you do a little EQ tweaking, the tones you can get out of this thing AMAZE me. For two 10's it plays VERY deep. Deep enough that the sound of stuff shaking in my house makes it sound like the walls are caving in. When I practice, I don't set the output to more than about 1.5 or 2. It's THAT loud. The output is amazing!

At GC, I plugged in a single 15 MB cabinet and it sounded pretty good, but when I connected the MB 4x10 cabinet...HOLY COW....it sounded great.

Take it from a die hard bass head playing a 5er....I LOVE my B string, and the 2x10 combo seems to handle it just fine. Again, you need to mess with the EQ a bit. The highs are pretty bright if you don't dial them down a bit.

You can turn up the mids and get a HUGE punch out of the combo, or you can dial them back and get a nice deep sound. You can use the EQ to get that "bowl" shape for a nice slap tone (I can't slap for squat, but a guy at GC wore it out on a 6 string Modulus and it sounded GREAT). There is even an effect that will boost at 35hz, cut the mids, and bump the highs.

The sound that comes out of such a small package is truly amazing. Will it fill a 600 seat room....no. But will it work a smaller venue or club...oh yeah. Will it blow your drummer away when used as a stage monitor...oh yeah. It has two line outs...one XLR for balanced and one 1/4" for unbalanced, so PA support is easy. The XLR even has a level control.

If you want a lightweight rig with big sound, give the MB 102p a serious look. Be sure to tweak on the EQ to find you "sound". It's there!
 

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