Markbass Mini CMD121P combo review

[JimmyM]

Ahh...it's a slippery slope Jimmy...from tube heads and B-15's...to a 100% class D solid state combo. Prediction Time....now that the mental block has been overcome...I predict a future Genz Benz love affair. As a dude who walked a similar path and did a 2 year tour of duty with a Markbass head, I predict that the next time you play thru a GB Shuttle or Shuttlemax (or the new Streamliner) you will realize that the impossible is actually possible...indeed there may very well be an even better sounding lightweight head out there. Only time will tell....like sand thru an hourglass....or whatever.

edit: uh...just noticed that your last post was from May 2009... I am curious if and how your perception has changed?

well i'm still using ampeg tube amps. and i own no more markbass products. i still think their stuff sounds great, but i think there are more tubey sounding ss products on the market now. as for genz benz, i have a lot of respect for what they do and how great their cs is. but i loves my tubes!

 

[Mixu]

Oh my... I'm becoming nervous :/

What should I buy, a 121p, 151p, a genz bez st-6.0, an eden wtx-500 plus cabinet...

Any more to compare and talk about?

Thanks Alper! What can you say about a 5th string? Would the amp support that low end and high end?

 

[ElMon]

I just decided to keep mine last minute, and I'm glad I did. To answer your question this little sucker handles the B string remarkably well. Now, that IS keeping in mind that the amp itself isn't going to move the amount of air, b string or otherwise, that a big rig will. I use my Sadowsky PJ5 and a BSX 5 string EUB that has a MASSIVE sounding B string, and this amp handles them both with ZERO strain.

 

[Alper Yilmaz]

Hi Mixu,

In live situations, I mostly play 5-string basses with a high C. So, I am not sure if my answer would be satisfying. I tried my F Bass BN5 and my fretless 5-string (both of which have a low B) quite a few times at home, though, and I think the low B was quite there.

Also, in my recent performances of my own material, I use lots of effects including octaves, envelope filters, ring modulators, overdrives, distortions, and loop devices. Even though we do not play as loud as an average rock band, the speaker has not farted out at all. Using these effects in combination should be, most of the time, sending the amp a much more complex load at lower frequencies (particularly because of the octave) than a simple low B; and again, my experience has been quite positive.

Theoretically, the low B should be more of a bass issue to me, rather than an amp-speaker issue, as most cabinets out there cannot go as low as the fundamental of a low B string (most of them cannot even go down to ~41Hz of the E string) anyway; so as long as the amp-speaker can handle some of harmonics/overtones of the low B note decently, there should not be any problem. On its specs, 121P is said to go as low as 45Hz and this should be more than enough to give you a decent low B. But please note that I am not talking about some mediocre gear; at the end of the day, we are discussing some top of the line equipment most of which would yield satisfactory results.

Disclaimer: Someone should correct me if my chain of thought is flawed! I would very much appreciate it...

In short, I think a bass with a floppy B string is more of a problem than the amp itself, when we talk about good quality amplification. So, as long as you do not have a problematic low B string, 121P should be good to go.

Hope this helps... Best,

Alper

Oh my... I'm becoming nervous :/

What should I buy, a 121p, 151p, a genz bez st-6.0, an eden wtx-500 plus cabinet...

Any more to compare and talk about?

Thanks Alper! What can you say about a 5th string? Would the amp support that low end and high end?

 

[Alper Yilmaz]

On another note, it would be best to boil your choice down to combo versus head/speaker, as there are so many great choices for a bass player these days. I personally prefer a separate head/speaker combination, since I love Bergantino's and I try to design my systems around those.

So, if budget is not an issue and you are fine with carrying your separate pieces of gear around, I would go for the separate route, preferably with a Bergantino cabinet and Markbass or Genz-Benz head. You must have read the recent posts on AE212, for instance. With a Markbass F1/F500 on top, that combination is amazing. I have also played F1 through one or two AE112's; that setup smokes as well. I know Ken (Jung) is in love with his Audiokinesis 1x12" with his F500, so I believe you won't go wrong there, either. However, as soon as you the separate route, budget can be an issue.

A combo like 121P or 151P would give you great results as well at a lower price and you can still get full performance from them by adding an extension speaker. Combos are not as flexible as separates (you cannot match one brand of a head with another brand of speaker), but 121P has been more than enough for most of the gigs I play, even without the extension cabinet. Also, in the past there have been great combos like SWR's Red Head or Baby Blue, which were used by professionals both live and in the studio. So, I do not think staying away from a combo is justifiable when it comes to a good one.

I personally stay away from companies like Eden, though, as I think they missed the train quite a few years ago. Just in my opinion... But, at the same time, I know a lot of fellow bassists love their products. So, no arguments there...

Cheers,

Alper

Oh my... I'm becoming nervous :/

What should I buy, a 121p, 151p, a genz bez st-6.0, an eden wtx-500 plus cabinet...

Any more to compare and talk about?

Thanks Alper! What can you say about a 5th string? Would the amp support that low end and high end?

 

[selowitch]

I certainly like my Markbass CMP 121P, too. It's a true Swiss Army knife. I get compliments all the time on its tone.

 

[JimmyM]

I'm not a fan of solid state bass amps. I use them, but only as concessions to aging. And none of my solid state amps have ever been totally tubeless because I find most totally solid state amps to be lifeless and dull sounding. That's over now! My new Markbass Mini CMD112P combo amp is the best amp I have ever used in my life, bar none.

For those of you who want the short version of this review, Markbass has found my sound. For those who want the long version, here 'tis...

It's a 1-12" combo with a piezo tweeter, and it puts out 300w as it sits at 8 ohms. With an 8 ohm extension cab, it puts out 500w. The head is the same as the Little Mark II. It's got a 1/4" and an XLR input, and they say you can plug in a mic and sing with your bass playing without degrading either signal, though I haven't tried. Knobs are gain, low, low mid, high mid, treble, VLE (a variable treble cut knob for you old schoolers,) VPF (a variable mid-scooping knob for you clanky sounding slappers), and master. On the back it has an effects loop, a tuner out, an XLR DI line out with ground lift, and a speakon jack for the extension cab. Nothing fancy but has everything your average bassist needs. It's about a 14" cube that weighs 29 lbs. and the head itself weighs 6.5 lbs. Cost was $850.

Bought it Friday evening while testing out combo amps at GC. Played 2 notes and fell in love with it. But I had no idea the degree to which I'd fall in love with it. The more I played it, the more I realized that this is the sound I have been looking for all my career. I cranked it as loud as I could stand and got no rattles of any kind, except from the walls. I plugged the head into my Tube Works 4x10" and my sound was there, only it was massive. All night last night, I had it on a volume quiet enough not to wake my neighbors at the apartments, and my sound was still there. Every bass I have came to life through it. Active, passive, Beatle bass, 8-string, didn't matter.

I took it to my gig Saturday. I ran my SX P copy and my Upton Hawkes upright with Clef Revolution Solo II pickup into an EBS Microbass II and into the amp. It was in a medium sized hotel ballroom, and we had no instruments in the PA. The way I usually set up my rig, the upright side of the Microbass is set with just a tiny little bass rolloff and a tiny treble bump to get a little more slap. The P side of it has a slight mid boost at 750hz so I can hear it over the band. The amp was set flat with the gain up halfway. The first two sets I only played the upright for some standards. By the end of the 3rd song, I set the Microbass flat. It didn't need one bit of EQ. Every note popped out of it like never before, and whereas some solid state amps feel ultra-compressed, this amp felt like it was totally responsive to my every dynamic yet never let me get overbearing.

The last set we turned it up considerably and played a mix of 50's rock and doo wop, 60's pop and 70's funk and disco. I figured I'd try setting the Microbass flat for the P, too. Turns out it didn't need that mid boost, either. Again, it was amazing! I put out enough volume to get over a very loud drummer and had enough clarity to where I could hear every single note clear as a bell, but plenty of low end kick on it so it didn't sound the least bit out of place for Motown songs. And the master volume never got past 2!

I have played a lot of different amps because I live near Bass Central, and I've had a chance to sample all the major brands on gigs, as well as a couple lesser known fancy-pants boutique amps on rare occasion. I have never heard an amp sound this good on everything I throw at it. I got tons of compliments from the other guys in the band, and a guy who plays bass in the audience was flabbergasted when he saw how little it was vs. how much it filled the room.

I've experimented a lot with placement for this combo. I tried it on the floor, on top of my rack, on top of my 4x10", and tilted back slightly, and it sounds great no matter how high you raise it, but it really sounds best if you just leave it on the floor. Don't worry, you'll hear it. Takes a little bit of getting used to if you're used to having speakers at ear level, and if you like to have your tone bright and in your face it's not the best place for it, but if you're listening to it from the audience, it sounds better on the floor, as do all bass cabs.

Knobwise, I think it sounds best set flat for solidbodies. With my Beatle bass, I had to cut a little bass response to give it some definition, but that was it. The VLE knob is good if you're into reggae and dub, but I like my old school tone with some definition. And I have no use for the VPF knob scooping all my mids out. Leave it flat and it's fine.

The only other combos I've ever heard that sound better than the Mini CMD112P are the other Markbass combos with more than one speaker. The 2x10" combo is to die for! And I must admit that I prefer the complexity of tone and the air movement that only comes from having more than one speaker. I bought the 1-12" combo because it's 15 lbs. less than the 2-10" combo, but if I didn't have to pay back the money I charged for it, I would have bought them both. The Mini sounds better than anything else I've ever used. The 2-10" sounds noticeably better. So I'll be heading down to Guitar Center today to snag their 12" extension cab. And then I'll have the mini-Markbass 500w rig of doom that will work for any gig I'll ever play anywhere. And if that's still not enough air movement, I can use the Tube Works 4x10" instead, and that WILL be enough air movement. I could do arenas in a metal band with this combo and a 4x10".

I'm ready to sell off every other amp I own except this one. I'm even thinking of selling the 1966 Ampeg B-15N I said I would be buried with. For sure, every other amp but the B-15 is going because I really don't need another amp. And I'm either going to take the amp out of this combo occasionally or buy a separate Little Mark II if I can't, stick it in my suitcase, and take it with me on fly dates. I have never played an amp that made me not want to play my B-15N anymore, but this one does. And it's only a 29 lb. combo amp! Simply put, Markbass amps are pants-****tingly great!

Where did this thread come from??? .

But seriously, I did mean this at the time, but then I got my B15 overhauled by Jess Oliver a couple months later and my SVT overhauled by a guy local to me a few months after that, and that was the end of my Markbass fandom. I did like the head, but some things about the cab grew to really irritate me.