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Markbass Traveler 102p as a Standalone?

S

slapmanpop

Jul 19, 2009
23
1
Vienna, Austria
#1
Hey,
I found a good offer on a Markbass Traveler 102p, and I was wondering if I could use it as a standalone, for home and small gigs. I like to play slap bass, so I'm also wondering this cab can handle that style. I would be running a 50W All Tube Bassman 50 Head through it.

Thanks,
Slapmanpop
 
#5
I've used it stand alone with a passive P bass and a LMII. Works fine for small/medium situations. Good note definition, but like Jimmy said, not a tremendous low end. I also run it with a MB 15" cab (151HR) and it sounds much bigger (as it should).

I'm fine with the tone I get from it alone though. You have to know the size room you're going to be in and scale your rig accordingly.

John
 
#7
I use it as a standalone all time at gigs, home practice and band practice. It sounds great this way. I play Steinberger 5-string basses (Synapse and a graphite neck XQ-25A) and power with a LMII head. I bought the setup thinking I would want to add another 2x10, a 1x12 or a 1x15 cabinet, but I have not had a need to do that. All eq is flat except a slight decrease in the mid-high and high. It works very well for the blues, rock and jazz music I play. The rooms I play are not large, the largest one will hold about 200 people. I always get compliments on my tone from musicians and non-musicians and never had a negative comment.
 
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#10
You have a number of responses all saying that the MB will do fine on its own. Not sure what else you're after. Of course, there are cabs that get louder and lower - there always will be.
Maybe give some better parameters and you're more likely to get responses.
 
#11
slapmanpop said:
Hey,
I found a good offer on a Markbass Traveler 102p, and I was wondering if I could use it as a standalone, for home and small gigs. I like to play slap bass, so I'm also wondering this cab can handle that style. I would be running a 50W All Tube Bassman 50 Head through it.

Thanks,
Slapmanpop
Click to expand...

I tried it for a few nights with a genz benz shuttle amp.
I really liked it. I play a american standard j bass, alot of slapping and popping.
Loved it.
I would like to check it out with a 2nd cab (a 12" or 15")
for a bit more low end.
 
#12
This cab should get more love.
There is always a tradeoff.
For the small size, light weight, and small stage footprint, this cab rocks. Stacking two of them vertically gives a fine sound, enough low end. Sure they won't break any records for sub woof, but (a) super lows generally cause more problems than they're worth in a live situation, and (b) a pair of these fit nicely in a sports car :D
 
#13
I use it as a standalone at band practice at times.
It is not bad at all, but due to the shallower height of the cab, I think it has less "bass throw" than some 210s.
To my ears it is very midrangey and cuts pretty good.
I don't slap a lot on it, and to me it isn't the best cabinet for slapping even with the tweeter turned up. I think the tweeter in them isn't very good (and this goes for all Markbass cabs I have played)
But for the all important size/weight/price ratio, it is a serious contender.

I probably will vertical stack it along with my SWR Golight 210 for gigs, which gives me a nice portable 410 sound with more definition.
 
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#14
Can anyone here tell me the sonic benefit of the front-ported 210 (the Standard 102HF) over the cabinet the OP is asking about (the rear-ported Traveler 102P)?

Will the front-ported cab provide more low end than the rear-ported cab with identical speakers? To a layman such as myself, it would seem that the F-P cab will move more air towards the room, but does it cause a "boominess" or do you lose a certain amount of clarity?

Sorry for the rudimentary questions, but it may help the OP decide (and will answer some of my own questions without starting a new Markbass thread). Thanks.
 
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#15
ack said:
Can anyone here tell me the sonic benefit of the front-ported 210 (the Standard 102HF) over the cabinet the OP is asking about (the rear-ported Traveler 102P)?

Will the front-ported cab provide more low end than the rear-ported cab with identical speakers? To a layman such as myself, it would seem that the F-P cab will move more air towards the room, but does it cause a "boominess" or do you lose a certain amount of clarity?

Sorry for the rudimentary questions, but it may help the OP decide (and will answer some of my own questions without starting a new Markbass thread). Thanks.
Click to expand...

Here's a quote directly from Markbass on their site regarding Front vs. Rear Ports. Hope this helps:

  • Invalid Link Removed
    The HF (front-ported) and HR (rear-ported) models have a different character of bottom end due to the location of the ports (also called reflexes). Front-ported cabinets are physically larger, and are generally preferred on bigger stages, venues where the bass doesn't go through the PA, and in musical situations where you want big, full, round bottom end. The HR (rear-ported) models tend to have a tighter, more controlled bottom end. They tend to be preferred in situations where the bass sound is needed to be punchy and focused, with more emphasis on melody and detail, for example in pop, jazz fusion, etc. When using two cabinets, many players choose to use one HR and one HF cabinet.
 
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#16
I bought this cab as an extension to my Ampeg ba210v2 (producing a total 4x10). I want more headroom and less 'boominess' at volume. So far, it does the trick. I considered an Ampeg extension cab but I thought that the sole, occasionally-reported weakness of the Markbass - inadequate low end - would actually be a strength in this combination, inasmuch as the ba210v2 has lots of low end, notwithstanding that it's only a 2x10. So as expected, the Markbass delivers midrange without adding boominess, creating, overall, a nice balance.
 

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