Markbass CMD121P + NY121 extension cab = 300w as a combo or 500w full rig. Clear full and versatile tone and great construction quality. Very happy with it!
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Modern Combo amps
- Thread starter f'nar f'nar
- Start date
I had vouched for Markbass earlier, but my rig was dependent on a screaming used deal. I never would have paid the new prices for my rig.
Good points being made for separates, but If budget is a concern, combos will save you some cash. For example a GK MB 210 is $800 USD, where a comparable GK head/cab is a little over 1000. I think the key with combos is extension cabinet out. This makes them essentially a head and your first cab; kind of an in-between option.
As far as “flat,” if that’s what you want, I’d definitely scratch Rumble off the list. I found GK MB scooped, but pretty clean. They have a “boost” knob, which lets you dial in the “GK Growl.” I found the amps pretty versatile, and I’ve heard plenty of TBers say this as well. If you want clean on a budget, I’d also look at Peavey, Hartke or TC.
hopefully you can get out and try some yourself. Good luck!
The reason that you shook the room was more about the 6x10 drivers than the wattage. If we're limited to combos only with no extension cabs, then I'd look at one of the handful of 2x12 combos like GK. I'd ask if you're 100% certain that it has to be a combo. With class D heads weighing 6-7 lbs for 800W, there are a lot of options out there to go with, say an 800W head and two 2x10 cabs or a 2x10 and a 1x15. Personally I'd look at Mesa's Subway series first and the Genzler cabs secondly. Both are great, but I have to give the nudge to Mesa overall. I have a 2x10/1x15 and a D-800+ that I love. Also have a Genzler 350 combo with the 12" vertical cab. The combo has seen more use this year than the Mesa gear because I really don't need the volume that the Mesa is capable of and the Genzler basically stays in my car because I'm lazy and it makes practice / gig load in / out super easy.
I have had MarkBass amps, combos and speaker cabinets made in Italy and Indonesia. They were equal in all ways, I don’t get the issue some have with MB stuff made in Indonesia.
As far as GC/MF is concerned, they just sell MB products, they don’t service them. If they go under, I am sure MB will not have a problem finding another US outlet for their products.
Instead of a combo, something like this, 800-watt head 7 lbs., 400-watt 1x15 cabinet 38 lbs. :
Not my pic but, someone's from TB
Not my pic but, someone's from TB
I also have a Rumble 500 - but I have the Rumble 112 when I want to move more air! Play with a loud guitarist and heavy drummer and never had gain past noon as well - with or without ext cab.
And I say poppycock to the ones telling you combos are heavy and bulky. The Rumble 500 gets the job done by itself and weighs a mere 35lbs. No extra cords needed (unless you add an ext). Used many different separate heads and cabs over the years and I just love the convenience, weight and performance of the Rumble 500.
how much money are you looking to invest? I agree with other comments that small heads with small cabs are better than combos, because they are scalable. I use a Genzler Magellan 350 with several different cabs that I can combine or use alone as needed.
I would be inclined to get a separate head and cabs instead of combo where if you decide you need a different cab or head than what it comes with, you don't have to go out and buy everything all over again.
Now, fair warning, I am an Endorsing Artist for DNA (David Nordschow Amplification). I don't get anything from them for free, but I do get a discount. Before DNA I used Eden gear and I still have some I use. Same guy designed all of it and I love a clear, warm and articulate sound with a tight and well defined low end. I would suggest that you get a [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] and pair it with a [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] from DNA. I have the cab myself and I bought it because I already had the DNS-410 and I needed something smaller - the 410 would scare small venues even though it sounds great played low, loud, or anywhere in between.
I use my Eden WT500/800 to run it and I run it bridged at 800-watts into my DNS-210 cab. The cab will handle 700-watts rms (both mechanically and thermally), but I can never get close to putting that much into it because it is just too loud. Max SPL on it is 134db. I use mine on all indoor venues because it is more than loud enough for any of them. It has the same sonic qualities that my DNS-410 that I bought back in 2015 does. It's clearer than any cab I've heard; it has a full, articulate sound with a very low and tight bottom end; and as I mentioned above it's very loud. It takes very little power to bring it up to gig level volume.
I typically run the master on my 800-watt amp between 9:30 and 10 o'clock with it and I don't want to be standing directly in front of it at the 10 o'clock setting if the cabs are anywhere near ear level. I made that mistake the first time I used it. Set it on top of my 410 in case the 210 wasn't enough for the room because I could unplug one and plug the other in within just few seconds and I knew that my 410 was more than enough. I actually had to move the stack over to the side and up about even with me on the stage to get out of that 60° dispersion cone of the speakers - they were killing my ears.
DNS-210acb weighs 52-lbs and the DNA-800 weighs 4.8 lbs and that will easily handle any indoor venue. Street price new runs $849 to $969 for the cab and $799 for the DNA-800. They do show up "used" on Reverb from time to time and I once saw the cab there for just $449. More commonly the cabs run around $600 used.
I don't have the DNA-800 amp yet myself because, in the interest of domestic tranquility, I promised my wife long ago to only use gig money to buy music gear. I do get a discount being a member of DNA's Endorsing Artists, but it's not hardly free. I had a couple of hundred $$ saved up towards this purchase when the Covid-19 lockdowns hit and that put the kabash on my new amp hopes anytime soon. Reason I wanted it is that I believe I can get the same sound out of it that I get out of my Eden WT500/800, but it weighs only 4.8-lbs, which is over 31-lbs less than my Eden amp weighs in its rack. I'm all for light weight with great sound.
And the nice thing about buying these separates is that if you want to get a different cab later, such as the DNS-410 for outdoor venues and music festivals, you can still run it with the same amp, plus that amp can run both of them at once if you really want to...you wouldn't need to, but it can run both if you want. I have both cabs but only run one at a time and at outdoor festivals using just the 410, I get told to turn down if I approach 10:30 on my master.
I've got a GK MB212. I wanted to get a separate head and cab when I upgraded but it was going to cost me nearly $1000 more to get a separate GK head and cab of similar specs and the MB212 actually weighs less than the Neo212 cab. I couldn't quantify the extra spend.
I have both an Italian (2011) and an Indonesian (2019) CMD 121P combo right now to compare them side by side. I agree the quality has not changed in terms of build. However, there’s a substantial sound difference when you A/B them right next to each other. The Italian one is noticeably louder, fuller, and clearer. It just sounds better, there’s no mistaking it. The Indonesian one also starts to fart out way before the Italian one when you’re pushing them, especially with a low B string.
- Oct 7, 2000
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- Endorsing artist: Musicman basses
But when they call it a Rumble 500 you would expect 500w out of the box, well I would anyway. I won't go as far as saying it's false advertising but maybe a little misleading.
With the GK MB212 you get what they say.
Quilter makes the bassdock system. It’s a series of cabs with a built in dock for Bassblock 800 or 802 heads. I have been playing a BB800 head through various cabs for the last 18 months. They will shake the room. Currently shopping for a quilter cab to make into a light and portable combo. The cabs are all 8 ohm so a single cab will get 400 watts. Quilter sound is relatively neutral compared to many more “colored” amps.
According to what the CEO of Markbass says in this video (after 6:30), such differences shouldn't be the case.
I can attest that my CMD121P combo is Italian made while my NY121P cab is Indonesian made and I don't notice any differences, neither in therms of build quality nor in terms of sound. In fact the cab sounds better than the combo (perhaps due to its larger internal volume).
+1 for this amp. I've played one at gigs for years with no issues. PLENTY of power.
