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Markbass combo: 2x8 oder 2x10?

Frank Kreber

Frank Kreber

Mar 5, 2022
335
616
Germany
#1
Hi, my band is moderately loud (keyboards/bass/drums). I haven't had any problems with a Trace Elliot Elf cabinet (1x10) during rehearsals so far, but I want to upgrade for the upcoming gigs (around 50-80 people, no PA). I've narrowed it down to two Markbass combos:
1. Markbass 802 N 300 (second picture) or
2. Markbass CMD Traveler 102 PV combo ( first picture)
I like that the 802 only weighs 12 kg and that you can remove the Little Mark head and use it with my existing 4-ohm cabinet to get 300 W RMS. The Traveler's advantage is that it already delivers 300 W with the built-in cabinet. However, it's a bit heavier, and I'm wondering if I even need 500 W for the gigs mentioned above. What do you think? What are your experiences? Thanks in advance!
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#7
ahbradot said:
I bought the 2019 Markbass Ninja 102 500 Richard Bona Signature 500W 2x10 Amplifier.
I've been using it at home every day for the last six years.
It's small, light and sounds great.
I love it.
View attachment 7423922
ahbradot said:
I bought the 2019 Markbass Ninja 102 500 Richard Bona Signature 500W 2x10 Amplifier.
I've been using it at home every day for the last six years.
It's small, light and sounds great.
I love it.
View attachment 7423922
Click to expand...
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I believe the Traveler 102 p is the successor model to your amp?
 
#10
The 500w Markbass head is a monster. It'll get loud enough for almost anywhere. When I was considering the CMD-121P, I asked a working pro who had one. She said it's been loud enough for every gig she'd done. She went bigger only "for show" (as in, needing the look of a big stack). I bought one and that was my experience as well. It's crazy loud by itself and with an extension cab, was obnoxiously loud (and that was for an outdoor gig). I believe you'll never need another amp more powerful than the 500W one, and you'll play most of your gigs with the volume on 3.

I've been playing a Markbass 802 N 300 for a couple of years now and it's been perfect for my kinds of gigs. I play mostly smaller gigs nowadays (mostly bars/restaurants with 20-30 people in them). I run it around halfway up on the volume. It's much more powerful than the older 2x8 Markbass combos, because I think the 4-band EQ, coupled with the preamp and master volume (as opposed to the master volume and "scoop" EQ in the old ones) lets you boost the frequencies for more volume. The old one was rated 150W/250W, but the newer N300 one (150W/300W) was much louder. I'm convinced it's the EQ and preamp volume in the newer one, because a 50W power increase usually isn't all that much noticeably louder.

Fun fact, I showed up to a jam session in this guy's house when they had multiple dual cab guitar stacks and very loud drums. His whole living room was converted into a Spinal Tap level rehearsal room. (Luckily, I brought ear plugs.) They had a somewhat crappy bass head in the bass stack, so I figured I'd try using my 802. I figured I'd use one of his bass stack cabs if I needed it as an extension. Surprisingly, my little 802 (running about 3/4 of the way up on the volume in both preamp and master volume) was actually loud enough for me to hear myself. None of them said they couldn't hear the bass, although they might not have heard much of anything but themselves.

Anyway, the 802 N300 gets surprisingly loud for its small size. I've played it in loud bands in bigger bars and it holds up well.

But the safe choice will always be doubling the power. I know I don't need to get any louder than I am now with this 802. If you aren't sure about that, go with the 2x10 combo for a few hundred dollars more.
 
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#14
ArteK said:
I've been playing a Markbass 802 N 300 for a couple of years now and it's been perfect for my kinds of gigs. I play mostly smaller gigs nowadays (mostly bars/restaurants with 20-30 people in them).
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You mentioned playing smaller gigs – what kind of music? Mostly acoustic? What's the lineup? Do you play a passive or an activa bass? This information would be very helpful for my decision. Thanks in advance
 
#17
Frank Kreber said:
Hi, my band is moderately loud (keyboards/bass/drums). I haven't had any problems with a Trace Elliot Elf cabinet (1x10) during rehearsals so far, but I want to upgrade for the upcoming gigs (around 50-80 people, no PA). I've narrowed it down to two Markbass combos:
1. Markbass 802 N 300 (second picture) or
2. Markbass CMD Traveler 102 PV combo ( first picture)
I like that the 802 only weighs 12 kg and that you can remove the Little Mark head and use it with my existing 4-ohm cabinet to get 300 W RMS. The Traveler's advantage is that it already delivers 300 W with the built-in cabinet. However, it's a bit heavier, and I'm wondering if I even need 500 W for the gigs mentioned above. What do you think? What are your experiences? Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
Headroom. You will likely want clean headroom and for whatever cabinet/amp speaker combination to not sound pushed when it should sound effortlessly clean and full. I recommend 2X10 minimum and 300 Watts at least with ANY kind of drummer that will play with solid wood drumsticks. With this kind of a configuration, you're less likely to push the amp too hard (which means you don't harm the longevity of your amp), and you don't push the speakers and cabinet to deliver a tone and at a volume it isn't designed to deliver, which ALSO improves the chances of long term reliability of the speaker(s) and cab. My general rule is I turn the amp/combo, whatever up NO MORE than 60-65% for volume, and if it needs more than that, the wrong amplfier/combo was brought and/or it needs PA sound support. I've played 30+ years and NEVER blown an amp, combo, speaker or component, if that helps you decide. But you do you. Good luck with it!
 
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#19
Thunderthumbs73 said:
recommend 2X10 minimum and 300 Watts at least with ANY kind of drummer that will play with solid wood drumsticks. With this kind of a configuration, you're less likely to push the amp too hard (which means you don't harm the longevity of your amp), and you don't push the speakers and cabinet to deliver a tone and at a volume it isn't designed to deliver, which ALSO improves the chances of long term reliability of the speaker(s) and cab. My general rule is I turn the amp/combo, whatever up NO MORE than 60-65% for volume, and if it needs more than that, the wrong amplfier/combo was brought and/or it needs PA sound support.
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very helpful because very specific. Thanks !
 
#20
Frank Kreber said:
Based on your experience: would a 300W RMS amp with a 2x10 cabinet be sufficient for gigs without a PA system? Or should it be 500W?
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This depends entirely on the gig. I've played tons of shows in the original rock/metal scene and there have been many shows where a 2x10 would have been insufficient regardless of how much wattage you ran through it. Unless my playing circumstances changed I personally would not gig with anything less than a 4x10 or equivalent and 500w amp, and even that is smaller than optimal for some shows. However, my rig needs to be able to handle very loud environments with wildly varying levels of PA support and monitoring in situations where the audience typically expects to hear loud amps, sometimes outdoors, and I like to use a very clean sound with headroom to spare for more aggressive moments and kicking on heavy drive pedals at times, so my specific situation does not apply to many/most players.
 
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