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MarkBass CMD 151P Jeff Berlin
- Thread starter Durockrolly
- Start date
Alright. I hit my local Guitar Center today and tried many combo amps. I tried the MarkBass CMD 102P as mentioned here and it just didn't have that thick low sound I like. The bottom line is I liked the CMD 151P over all the amps I tried. That fat low the 1x15 this amp puts out is orgasmic!!! Mind you I have spent many hours in GC over the past week and a half trying amps with my own bass. I have dealt with this salesman for the last three years spending a good share of money and he assured me he could get me out the door for a good bit under my budget. I explained this wouldn't happen for about four to six weeks and he again assured the offer stands!!! While I have some time to reconsider or find something else I can't see that happening. I just love this amp!!!
Thanks for all your input! I appreciate it!
Thanks for all your input! I appreciate it!
Love my Berlin combo. I've had it over 3 years with zero buyer's remorse. Plan to get the NY151 extention cab someday. All my 8 basses sound great plugged straight in-no effects.(one at a time that is)
I like the sound of the 210 combo, but still love 15s and can't help myself. I don't like the cab shape of the 210 and it's lack of corner reinforcements/protectors the Berlin has.
Funny thing though, I admire Jeff Berlin's skill, but not crazy about his tone. Too chorusy.
Agree with him about tweeters too. If I get the extention, I'll just turn it all the way down.
I like the sound of the 210 combo, but still love 15s and can't help myself. I don't like the cab shape of the 210 and it's lack of corner reinforcements/protectors the Berlin has.
Funny thing though, I admire Jeff Berlin's skill, but not crazy about his tone. Too chorusy.
Agree with him about tweeters too. If I get the extention, I'll just turn it all the way down.
TN WOODMAN. At my age I don't plan on doing anything more than blues jams. It's what I've been doing for the past 20ish years and it works well for me. In my younger days I gigged a lot but those days are long gone! A combo is perfect for me and I dig this one. It's the sound/tone that 15 inch with that amp gives it. The 2x10 inch just didn't work for me. I'm excited and looking forward to this amp!
Markbass CMD151P is my weapon of choice. I played a bunch, and this one took the cake, hands down. Pure clean uncolored tone when set flat, you WILL hear the tone of your bass. I love the EQ section and filters. My 'Ray sounds magical through it. Plenty of overhead, standing alone it can pin my drummer's ears back and it is perfect for small-to-medium stages. Add a cab, push it into 4 ohm mode, confuse migrating birds and disrupt the earth's axis. Great for large theater and outdoor stages.
Bought the CMD 121 used a while back. I thought I would mainly use it for rehearsal. Everyone in the band liked how it sits in the mix. I usually gig with it now when there is decent PA. I liked the Jeff Berlin even better so I say you can't go wrong there.
Durock you sound like me-I'm 52, started on guitar in 1969, got into bass in 2007 and loved it.
Me and some buddies get together when we can( I have a 5 year old daughter and younger wife) and play a little blues or two just for our own grins with no aspirations to gig or anything.
You'll find this amp fits the bill nicely for these purposes. Great blues amp,capable of Ampeg B-15 type tone.(what I was looking for originally). With 300 watts (@8 ohms) , the power is there, but I still want the extention cab to get the full 500 watts (@ 4 ohms) to unleash on occasion. (mini rig of doom)
This is a combo, but the cool thing is, the LMIII is an awesome amp as a seperate in it's own right. True, it can't be seperated but you don't have to worry about it getting knocked off the cab either and you get the quality of a seperate head and cab.
Me and some buddies get together when we can( I have a 5 year old daughter and younger wife) and play a little blues or two just for our own grins with no aspirations to gig or anything.
You'll find this amp fits the bill nicely for these purposes. Great blues amp,capable of Ampeg B-15 type tone.(what I was looking for originally). With 300 watts (@8 ohms) , the power is there, but I still want the extention cab to get the full 500 watts (@ 4 ohms) to unleash on occasion. (mini rig of doom)
This is a combo, but the cool thing is, the LMIII is an awesome amp as a seperate in it's own right. True, it can't be seperated but you don't have to worry about it getting knocked off the cab either and you get the quality of a seperate head and cab.
I don't personally own one, but have heard one on stage and have played one at my local GC. Based on that, I have concluded that the Jeff Berlin is an excellent amp all the way around. I'd like to say up front that I like an "old school" sound and generally prefer my bass sound without the increased treble associated with tweeters so the sound of the Jeff Berlin was right up my alley. If your intention is to play blues through it, then the lack of a tweeter is a positive attribute, IMHO. If you ever want/need a more modern tone down the line, you could always add a 1x12 or 2x10 w/tweeter extension cabinet.
I have a MB New York 151 and a MM Classic Ray and IMHO the cab sounds soft and not defined. I've tried different Tweeter settings, but usually turn it off. Now, it is a great cab and I will not be getting rid of it any time soon however, I just purchased a TC Electronics BG250 and I am really digging it. A lot of bang for the buck.
Here is a TB link:
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f15/tc-electronic-bg250-club-901664/
They have them at GC and it might be worth a look. It's very versatile.
Here is a TB link:
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f15/tc-electronic-bg250-club-901664/
They have them at GC and it might be worth a look. It's very versatile.
I chose to go with a separate Little Mark III head and Traveler 151P cab (now two 151P cabs). I have never played the Berlin, though. But, I wonder if the bigger box of my 151P cab adds any "bigness" to the sound, or if it may even have an altogether different tone. Anyway, going modular is still an option for you while you wait.
Oh, I also have a CMD 121H combo (the big brother of the CMD 121P combo). It has a really nice tone, but the 12" will run out of excursion at higher volume with any lows boosted at all. But, it is a great combo for more moderate gigs and rehearsals.
Something that gets talked a lot about in reference to the Little Mark amps (LMIII inside the combos nowadays) is the low mid control being centered at 360 Hz. Most folks consider that to be too high, including me. But, there are ways to eq to get around it some, or you can add an eq pedal or any number of other pedals to compensate to give you something in the 100-150 Hz range (which is what most folks want to manipulate). Otherwise, I find that my LMIII sounds fine with the eq flat and both filters off.
Beware the VPF filter, as it cuts mids (a sound that can make you disappear in a mix) and adds some sub lows (which can eat up your headroom and run your speaker out of excursion at higher volume). KNOW that both filters are OFF when their knobs are rotated fully counterclockwise, NOT AT NOON). Do you remember where they were when you tried the combo? You might wanna try it again in case your ears were being deceived by the filters being turned on. BTW, the VLE filter simply cuts some highs, so no harm in that. Just be careful with the VPF.
Oh, I also have a CMD 121H combo (the big brother of the CMD 121P combo). It has a really nice tone, but the 12" will run out of excursion at higher volume with any lows boosted at all. But, it is a great combo for more moderate gigs and rehearsals.
Something that gets talked a lot about in reference to the Little Mark amps (LMIII inside the combos nowadays) is the low mid control being centered at 360 Hz. Most folks consider that to be too high, including me. But, there are ways to eq to get around it some, or you can add an eq pedal or any number of other pedals to compensate to give you something in the 100-150 Hz range (which is what most folks want to manipulate). Otherwise, I find that my LMIII sounds fine with the eq flat and both filters off.
Beware the VPF filter, as it cuts mids (a sound that can make you disappear in a mix) and adds some sub lows (which can eat up your headroom and run your speaker out of excursion at higher volume). KNOW that both filters are OFF when their knobs are rotated fully counterclockwise, NOT AT NOON). Do you remember where they were when you tried the combo? You might wanna try it again in case your ears were being deceived by the filters being turned on. BTW, the VLE filter simply cuts some highs, so no harm in that. Just be careful with the VPF.
I have owned the MB Berlin with the NY ext cab and a few other billion brands of amps,,,I also had the BG250, in my book the TC BG250 was the worst, dullest, boring-est sounding bass amp I have ever taken home,,,,, I RAN to the store to return it,,,and after returning the BG250 I went straight home and took a rape shower.
Since returning mine I have also checked them out in the stores to make sure I just didn't get a dud,,,, they sounded just as bad and sucky in the stores as the one I had purchased.
How anyone can like the tone,, or lack of it,,, of the BG250 in beyond me,,,,, I can say 100% for me it was the worst sounding amp I have ever purchased,,,,, I liked the tone print and the built in tuner,,, but that was it.
Cheers
Davyo
Russell L
Thank you for the great information. I played through this amp for about two hours Wednesday, this was my third demo with this amp. I played it with many different settings. I was fortunate enough to have my cousin with me for a while. He is a working musician and has been playing MarkBass for a few years so his insight was valuable.
Thank you for the great information. I played through this amp for about two hours Wednesday, this was my third demo with this amp. I played it with many different settings. I was fortunate enough to have my cousin with me for a while. He is a working musician and has been playing MarkBass for a few years so his insight was valuable.
Durockrolly,
I'm sure you're going to enjoy the MB setup. Like I said, I'm not getting rid of mine anytime soon.
I bought the BG250 as a practice rig. I have 2 rigs for gigging and one is the NY151. I've have been impressed with the BG250 and see it as an option depending on the playing situation. That said, if were buying my first working mans rig, the BG250 would not be on my short list.
Davyo is correct about the BG250 tone being vastly different from the MB. It took me awhile to get it dialed in, but I had a specific function in mind when I bought the BG250.
I look forward to hearing about your final results.
Dimitrius
I'm sure you're going to enjoy the MB setup. Like I said, I'm not getting rid of mine anytime soon.
I bought the BG250 as a practice rig. I have 2 rigs for gigging and one is the NY151. I've have been impressed with the BG250 and see it as an option depending on the playing situation. That said, if were buying my first working mans rig, the BG250 would not be on my short list.
Davyo is correct about the BG250 tone being vastly different from the MB. It took me awhile to get it dialed in, but I had a specific function in mind when I bought the BG250.
I look forward to hearing about your final results.
Dimitrius
I too leave both filters off and tone pots flat/12 o'clock and adjust tone at the instrument. (active,passive,fretted,fretless,various pickups)
I also tried the TC gear (450 combo?) and was disappointed.
I also tried the TC gear (450 combo?) and was disappointed.
I have the CMD 121P for about 3 years. It is just so amazing. It seems that there is no indoor gig that I can't play with just this little box. It sounds great in recordings of the band and has huge power if I add an extension cab. I have super pro friends that borrow it instead of their own gear.
The ONLY possible improvement could be a few extra Hz at the bottom, and that is what you get with the 151P, plus even more output. A sure winner - you can't go wrong with it.
Just FYI - I play it with the tone controls flat, and both filters set about 9'0 clock - on just a little - and it is perfect!
If you want to really blow the walls down, back the cab into a corner, using the walls of the room as a giant horn. I do this with the 121 and other players come up and ask where my "stack" is, expecting to see a giant 8x10, etc.
The ONLY possible improvement could be a few extra Hz at the bottom, and that is what you get with the 151P, plus even more output. A sure winner - you can't go wrong with it.
Just FYI - I play it with the tone controls flat, and both filters set about 9'0 clock - on just a little - and it is perfect!
If you want to really blow the walls down, back the cab into a corner, using the walls of the room as a giant horn. I do this with the 121 and other players come up and ask where my "stack" is, expecting to see a giant 8x10, etc.
