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Markbass CMD 151P (reliable?)
- Thread starter voodooproducer
- Start date
My experience with them (I’ve had two) is they’re indestructible. I know a bunch of people who’ve had them and loved them.
$600 used is pretty much the going rate.
$600 used is pretty much the going rate.
It looks like it uses a very similar (if not identical) amp section, the Combo Amp II.
I've gigged a cmd-121p for many years now problem free
The CMD 121 and 151 use the same amp so reliability should be similar which, based upon MF reviews is excellent.
I bought a new non Italian 121 which has the Markbass Yellow Line speaker in it, not the great B&C that was in Italian ones. From day one, the speaker badly farted out even at moderate volume. Markbass has no local service centers and you have to ship the amp to California for warranty service. I sold this at a big loss along with my other Markbass stuff and they lost a customer.
I've had a number of Markbass products (cabs included) over the years, some made in Italy, some not, and I've never noticed the slightest difference in performance and quality. My current setup is not made in Italy and it performs impeccably.
Which is the Little Mark III head with a different facia decal.
B&C discontinued that series speaker in MB Combo's and B&C listed new replacement on their website which looked and had spec's almost exactly like Markbass Yellow line.
Not to mention they have sold thousands since change with most all happy with performance and no farting out even at loud levels [any 12 may have trouble if Bass/mid bass is cranked and volume at Heavy Metal level]
Your experience may be real but not common at all; may have been defective unit
Freekmagnet
Commercial User
That MarkBass stuff is tough, gigworthy equipment. I’ve had a MB Jeff Berlin combo for almost 10 years. It’s seen a lot of action, and it’s still just cookin’ along.
Owned both italian made and newer indonesian one, never had an issue in many years of abuse
I had the Italian made 151 combo and it fried some circuitry board component a week after warranty ran out and a few months later, after repairs, the board crapped out...
Then, after more repairs, the wires to the on off switch, being so short they barely made contact with the switch, came off the pins during a gig. Sparks and smoke were flying everywhere and then it died.
Other than that, I found the handle location made it awkward to carry.
When it was working, it had some good volume and was a big performer for its size but I was never happy with the eq section. Constantly fighting with tone controls...
I can live without using another one.
Hope you have better luck than I did.
Then, after more repairs, the wires to the on off switch, being so short they barely made contact with the switch, came off the pins during a gig. Sparks and smoke were flying everywhere and then it died.
Other than that, I found the handle location made it awkward to carry.
When it was working, it had some good volume and was a big performer for its size but I was never happy with the eq section. Constantly fighting with tone controls...
I can live without using another one.
Hope you have better luck than I did.
Hey thanks for heads up, would you know the exact speaker model number on B&C website for 121p replacement? Thanks again!
Looks like you never really liked it and got a defective example on top of that. An unhappy relation of sorts.
I've got an Italian 121 stack AND a 151 stack... all 4 of my cabs have been pretty rock solid since day 1.
This is replacement
12CL64 LF Drivers - B&C Speakers
This was original and if you scroll down to red lined rectangle box it shows 12cl64 as alternative
12HPL64 LF Drivers - B&C Speakers
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My 121p was about 15 years old when the head started acting funny (taking 15 minutes to come up to full volume.)
The cool thing about those combos is you can pop the head out and replace with any Little Mark head. I could have switched brands at that point, but I liked mine so much I got a LMIII head to keep on rocking. Had that head 3 years now no issues.
The cool thing about those combos is you can pop the head out and replace with any Little Mark head. I could have switched brands at that point, but I liked mine so much I got a LMIII head to keep on rocking. Had that head 3 years now no issues.
