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Markbass Mini CMD 121P combo addition?

d rick man

d rick man

Jun 28, 2016
212
348
#1
I have a Markbass Mini CMD 121 combo and I am wanting to add another cab to it to make it 500w @ 4 ohms.
I was thinking about adding the Traveler 102P. Is this a good choice? Or do I need to add the new york 121p cabinet like the Markbass website suggest. Or can I bump it up to the 151p cab. Any suggestion on what would go good with my Mini 121?
 
#2
Any of the three cabs you listed will work, but the NY121 really is designed to go together with the Mini CMD. It's the only Markbass rig that I thought sounded passable, but that's just me.

The Traveler has different dimensions that may not stack well, and there are those who will disallow having a 12" and a 15" in the same stack. But you could try it and let us know what you think. If I remember correctly, I didn't like the sound of the 151P and thought that the cab was too small for the speaker. It didn't have the full bottom I expected.
 
#3
Thank you for the info. This 121p is the first Markbass I have owned. I have had it about 3 years now and I love it. It has the best quality sound and tone of any amp i have owned so far. Even though the 121 does a great job by itself, I think I need to expand for the big auditorium gigs. We (5 piece band) do anywhere from small cramped to large venue. My stage presence seems to get lost on the bigger venues and I try to keep my mix low in my monitor. The stacking issue is important to me, along with weight.
 
#6
d rick man said:
Cool, Thank you. What is the best way to tell if it is the older Italian made one with a B&C cast frame speaker?
Is there any obvious features that I can look for?
Click to expand...
If it's new in a shop it'll be a pressed steel Markbass Yellow Line frame which were introduced around 2012 when Markbass production moved to Indonesia. If you have a newish combo it will have a yellow line inside. If you love that then a new NY121P will be the same so nothing to worry about.
 
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#8
I have an Italian-made CMD 121P, bought it new, and bought a new NY121P cabinet two years ago, made in Indonesia, I presume. They get along just fine. I play in five piece and nice piece groups (w/horn section), quite loud bands. Using both cabinets, I have never lacked for volume or head room using my passive Fender basses. Yes, I sometimes miss my SVT II and 4x10 cabinets, but I do not miss the aggro of all that weight and difficulty with transport. I'm certain there are other great lightweight rigs to choose from, but I'm very satisfied with mine.
 
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#9
I use an Indonesan-made NY121 as a single-cab with a non-Markbass head. Nothing but positive experiences - I've even gotten consistently positive responses from a handful of open-mic/jam guests with "vintage gear snob tendencies." Given that it's designed to pair with the combo you have, I think you'll be in great shape.
 
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#11
I have this. Sound great!
IMG_2767.JPG
 
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#12
d rick man said:
Thanks for all the info. With that, I think I have made up my mind to get the new york 121p cab. Once I do, I will let you know how it goes. Thanks again.
Click to expand...

Great choice. You wont regret it.

I have some REALLY nice x2 112 cabs, but I play 90% of my gigs w 2x MB NY112.

Why? Because they sound good enough, but more importantly, since i also own and haul the PA and lights, at the end of the night, those two light weight little cubes are waaay easier to move around. You wouldn’t think it would make much of a difference, but at 3AM a 10lb lighter cabinet means you can carry both cabs up the stairs at the same time versus making two trips.

Good luck.
 
#13
Barton Lee said:
I have an Italian-made CMD 121P, bought it new, and bought a new NY121P cabinet two years ago, made in Indonesia, I presume. They get along just fine. I play in five piece and nice piece groups (w/horn section), quite loud bands. Using both cabinets, I have never lacked for volume or head room using my passive Fender basses. Yes, I sometimes miss my SVT II and 4x10 cabinets, but I do not miss the aggro of all that weight and difficulty with transport. I'm certain there are other great lightweight rigs to choose from, but I'm very satisfied with mine.
Click to expand...

I have the exact same system (CMD 121P+NY121P), also playing passive Pbasses. Any tips on how to set it up or regarding its possible particularities?
 
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#14
I run my CMD 121P with the controls (bass-mids-treble) set flat/at 12 o'clock and the VLE and VPF set at around 10 o'clock or slightly more depending on bass and room. I've read many opinions about the usefulness of the VLE and VPF with folks saying they never use them. I've tried that more than once and always find that sound far too bright for my taste and lacking in any warmth. With those two knobs I feel like I can fix those issues and have a sound that is close enough to what I once enjoyed with my all-tube Ampegs.

My main gigging bass is a Fender Tony Franklin Precision fretless and the settings above also generally work as well with my passive Fender Jazz basses. Each venue or stage of bass can require a little more tweaking of course. The only other thing I use is a Darkglass Vintage Microtubes effect, which I have on all the time and set with the levels roughly even with the amp, the "era" in the early to mid 70s (9 o'clock?) and the drive on just a bit. This adds an additional level of somewhat tube-like compression and grit and really helps the fretless Precision to growl when desired. I'm not a big Markbass fanboy but I'm very satisfied with my sound and feel no desire to try to upgrade my gear. As always, ymmv.
 
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#15
F9C87AA0-A390-4467-9930-5FD4AB206818.jpeg

I just got my CMD in February of this year, so I haven’t been able to gig it a ton. These have become my favorite settings. When I first got it I was pretty committed to exploring the sound without the filters. But I had one indoor brewery gig where the mids were particularly present and the sound was just too harsh. The hi-gain and the filters at noon gives me a gritty, warm sound I’m used to (Coming from Ampeg and Fender Amps) but with the improved Markbass clarity. I just added the extension for a few outdoor gigs at the end of this summer- it’s downright beastly! Love my mini stack of doom!
F8FF8C48-06FD-404C-9AF9-8A94C9F0C9CB.jpeg
 
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#16
d rick man said:
I have a Markbass Mini CMD 121 combo and I am wanting to add another cab to it to make it 500w @ 4 ohms.
I was thinking about adding the Traveler 102P. Is this a good choice? Or do I need to add the new york 121p cabinet like the Markbass website suggest. Or can I bump it up to the 151p cab. Any suggestion on what would go good with my Mini 121?
Click to expand...
I added the Traveler 123 to mine: 12” bass speaker, with a 6” mid speaker, and a tweeter; really great sound.... yet to do a gig where that hasn’t moved enough air!
 
#17
CallMeAl said:
View attachment 4030131
I just got my CMD in February of this year, so I haven’t been able to gig it a ton. These have become my favorite settings. When I first got it I was pretty committed to exploring the sound without the filters. But I had one indoor brewery gig where the mids were particularly present and the sound was just too harsh. The hi-gain and the filters at noon gives me a gritty, warm sound I’m used to (Coming from Ampeg and Fender Amps) but with the improved Markbass clarity. I just added the extension for a few outdoor gigs at the end of this summer- it’s downright beastly! Love my mini stack of doom!
View attachment 4030132
Click to expand...

I have had the Markbass c121 combo for a while now and am thinking of adding the New York cab because it is also light and they seem to go together well. Never having used this sort of configuration before, do they connect up easily? Is the original Markbass sound enhanced in any way, apart from being louder of course!
 
#18
garethbarnes said:
I have had the Markbass c121 combo for a while now and am thinking of adding the New York cab because it is also light and they seem to go together well. Never having used this sort of configuration before, do they connect up easily? Is the original Markbass sound enhanced in any way, apart from being louder of course!
Click to expand...
Hook up is very easy. You can use a short speakon or 1/4” speaker cable to connect.

I find the pair to be just a little fuller, richer and deeper. The extra headroom is nice and I can get great dynamics. I actually just got home from a gig with the pair, and it was fabulous! Highly recommend, if you need the extra firepower
 
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#19
At one point I owned a CMD121P combo, a CMD121H combo, two Traveller 121H cabs, and two NY121P cabs and a LM3 head. Having tried all combinations of both combos with both size of extension cab my favourite was the CMD121P with a NY121P.
However, the LM3 with two NY121P is marginally better still, possibly because the low end of the CMD121P is slightly compromised by having some of its internal volume occupied by the Combo 2 head.
 
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#20
garethbarnes said:
I have had the Markbass c121 combo for a while now and am thinking of adding the New York cab because it is also light and they seem to go together well. Never having used this sort of configuration before, do they connect up easily? Is the original Markbass sound enhanced in any way, apart from being louder of course!
Click to expand...


I use that same set up today. It's easy as all get out to hook up. Takes about 10 seconds.
 
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