MarkBass Mini Mark CMD 102p Volume Issue

I had similar volume issues on my CMD 121p. Also heard of a lot of members here with the same.

All my attempts to repair were dead ends or $400+. I ended up dropping a new LMIII in to replace it. Very easy swap.

Happy to provide more info if you’re interested.

 

I had this problem and my CMD121P needed a new preamp board. It also had fractured solder joints on the speaker output connectors. You could remove the combo head and take a careful look inside for mechanical faults such as poorly soldered joints on the speaker output connectors or loose ribbon cable connectors.

 

I already had the 12” extension, leaving me with a headless combo and a cabinet. I seriously considered a different head to power them. Something cheaper, most likely would have been a Peavey Minimax

But I really like the form factor of the combo, I use that alone most of the time. an open box on a Little Mark III from GC for $475 out the door with warranty sealed the deal. (At the time the LMIII was on sale for $499, but looks like they’re back up.)

If you dont yet have an extension, and want to stick with Markbass- your “new combo” idea sounds totally viable and cost effective.

 

You bet. Two things come to mind:

1) you could try running a patch cable from the FX send to the FX return, and see if the volume issue goes away. IDK what this “means” in terms of diagnosis; but I read that here on TB and my local tech even suggested that. I think I could perceive a difference when I tried it; but in the end I felt like I couldn’t trust the head anymore and just wanted to replace it.

2) if you do take the head out, you’ll be left with a speaker with a male plug end. You could easily convert it to a permanent cabinet with the female end and plate (I think my tech quoted me 20 bucks to do this) or get a female-to-male speaker cable. I even know another guy in town that has the same CMD combo with the same dead head, and now runs it with a GK head. (Can’t remember his connection solution though)… my point is it’s definitely an option as a stand alone cab, with a few different routes to get there.

 

Just Google "male to female speaker connector/cable". There are plenty of good quality adaptors and cables that mean you won't need to mess with the combo connector.