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NAD! Markbass Minimark
- Thread starter selowitch
- Start date
Bit of a derail here, but since it has been mentioned I'll jump in here on the PJB vs Markbass stuff.
My current gigging rig is two PJB Compact Lites with a Little Mark II on top. In the past I've used a heap of Markbass heads and cabs including CMD151P and various Traveller cabs particularly the 102P's.
The Compact Lites are 4 x 6" drivers, and they can get seriously, properly loud when driven right. Compared to the MB's they have a much flatter response and a fuller range, although I wouldn't classify them as FRFR. So that's one big difference with the PJB's. The other is the response time which is something I thought I would *never* notice. But I do, and the PJB's are just crazy faster in response than the MB's, or for that matter anything else I've tried. The one gig where I use a house rig which is MB 2x102P's I'm always immediately surprised by the slowness of them, and I have some adjustments to make in my playing.
If you were looking for the old JJ flat thump, I think I would not choose the PJB's, but I'm not so I don't care. I imagine with some careful eq and the right signal chain you might get close, but I think it would be tough. In fairness I don't think any of the MB that I've owned (CMD151P, CMD121P, 102P's+LMII) would be that great for it either, although the CMD151P would get you closest. But that's not my thing anyway, I want to hear pitch and articulation and plenty of it, and the PJB's float my boat.
Again, apologies for the derail, I'll justify it by saying that it's not that often something comes up on TB which falls within my realm of direct recent experience so I jumped in.
To the OP, congrats on the baby rig, bet it sounds great.
I have two CMD121Ps. Yes, they are relatively small and light, but not when you are going down a flight of stairs and are also carrying a bass, a music stand, my valise, the amp, and a guitar stand as I routinely do.
This is the earlier Minimark with two 6-1/2” speakers. I, too, have one of these as well as a Mini CMD121P. The current production Minimark is the Minimark 802 with two 8” yellow cone speakers. I’ve had a lot of use of mine for practice and in small venues and it sounds great. Congrats on getting a good deal on it!
Glad you got one made in Italy - have not liked the Markbass stuff coming out of Indo and IMO it is not of the same quality as what they made in Italy. Really liked the Minimark, but when I bought one years ago new returned it to buy what else? More gear! Love the tone and in a lower volume playing situation its really pretty sweet, enjoy!
My gigging experiences with mine prove that wrong. What are you real-world experiences with the Minimark?
I think that’s a needlessly pessimistic outlook. For larger gigs, one can use it via DI to FOH with the internal speaker on or off. I play a lot of small gigs where the keyboardist and I are the only two amplified instruments (the others are flute, violin, and clarinet) and I expect the Minimark to be able to handle those. I think it'll be great for rehearsals even with a loud guitarist and full drumkit. Got one such rehearsal at 1:30pm EST today. I’ll let you know.
i have the 2x6 version, i use it for teaching and its also a great amp for upright
i really, really love mine. it's so small and so useful. not going to overpower any drummers, but thats fine, we have our 8x10 rigs for that..
i really, really love mine. it's so small and so useful. not going to overpower any drummers, but thats fine, we have our 8x10 rigs for that..
He appears to only comment on his lack of experience. Every chance he gets. In every thread started. Near and far..... Always and forever.
BobDeRosa
Commercial User
- May 16, 2012
- 2,445
- 4,403
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- Owner, Tritone Jazz Fantasy Camps
I'll bet it's twice as good as my Minimark 801, which I love! If you're dissatisfied with the permutations/combinations possible with the amp's filters, just bring a preamp/DI with you. I find the combination of my 801 and Aguilar Tone Hammer Preamp/DI pretty frigging amazing.
He must not be that loud. One guitarist I play with is so loud that I can't use my Ampeg B-100R when playing with him. Will the Minimark get louder than a B-100R?
That I and others have often done so suggests that you are incorrect.
“Those who say it can't be done are usually interrupted by others doing it.” James Baldwin
Rehearsal report: The Minimark got very good reviews from my bandmates, all of whom were impressed that although it was smaller, they could scarcely tell the difference between it and my Markbass Mini CMP 121P. The volume knob never got past 12 o’clock even as the guitarist’s volume went up.
Now, to be fair—it was an outdoor rehearsal and our usual drummer was doing bongo and not a full kit. Let’s see how it goes when that is in place.
Overall, though, I am pleased. Although the CMP 121P is not unpleasant to lug, the Minimark is easier still. I carried my chair in one hand, the bass on my back, and the amp in the other hand quite comfortably.
Now, to be fair—it was an outdoor rehearsal and our usual drummer was doing bongo and not a full kit. Let’s see how it goes when that is in place.
Overall, though, I am pleased. Although the CMP 121P is not unpleasant to lug, the Minimark is easier still. I carried my chair in one hand, the bass on my back, and the amp in the other hand quite comfortably.
You can't absolutely say so, because there are different music styles being played in different volume levels, where this minimark can be heard or totally unheard and useless.
So I now have five levels of amplification:
I forgot to mention that I also own a QSC K8.2 and a Roland BA-330, the latter of which can run on 8 AA batteries and sounds pretty good outdoors for vocals, guitar, and bass. Not bad in a pinch—and during this pandemic we have had to play in some pretty unusual situations.
- Phil Jones BG-75 Double Four (2×4" @75w) for solo practice and low-volume rehearsals (also great mic'ed in the studio or used with Switchcraft DI). It can even be used as a monitor/preamp at a gig going via the Line Out through a DI to FOH;
- Markbass Minimark 602 (2×6" @150w) for moderate-volume rehearsals and low-volume gigs (or mic’ed or via Markbass DI in the studio w/ option to disable built-in speaker);
- Markbass Mini CMP 121P (1×12" @250w) for full-volume rehearsals and moderate-volume gigs;
- Markbass Mini CMP 121P & Markbass New York 121 (2×12" @500w) for full-scale gigs, clubs, arenas, etc.); and
- Two Markbass Mini CMP 121P @ 1 Markbass New York 121 (1×12 @250w & 2×12 @500w) for G-d-knows-what.
I forgot to mention that I also own a QSC K8.2 and a Roland BA-330, the latter of which can run on 8 AA batteries and sounds pretty good outdoors for vocals, guitar, and bass. Not bad in a pinch—and during this pandemic we have had to play in some pretty unusual situations.
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@nilorius I’m really not disagreeing with you. One can’t be certain the amp will achieve all that is hoped for without trying it in a real-world situation. In this case it was a good risk because for what I paid for it, it would be a useful tool in my arsenal regardless of the outcome of any testing.
Probably where the Minimark would indeed get lost is if you tried using it at a loud rock gig onstage without connection to FOH as a standalone amp. But if I were worried that was going to happen I would simply bring the Mini CMP 121P and perhaps the New York 121 instead.
