NAD! Markbass Minimark

[StatesideRambler]

Don't think You can gig with it, as to home practice - it's ok.

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.

In your earlier post, quoted above, you didn't specify a particular style of music nor a venue nor anything else to support your contention of inadequacy. Therefore I didn't specify any particular kinds of gigs either.

I can "absolutely say so" because I have gigged this Minimark many times in small venues with as many as 14 other players (strings, percussion, horns, et al.), played jazz standards gigs and jams, acoustic and electric folk/Americana, relatively low volume blues, et al. I've used it in a theater orchestra gig where low volume was essential because I DI'd to the board. Not every gig calls for a rig that throws shade on Metallica at the Rosemont but if that was my calling I'd show up with appropriate gear.

 

[nilorius]

In your earlier post, quoted above, you didn't specify a particular style of music nor a venue nor anything else to support your contention of inadequacy. Therefore I didn't specify any particular kinds of gigs either.

I can "absolutely say so" because I have gigged this Minimark many times in small venues with as many as 14 other players (strings, percussion, horns, et al.), played jazz standards gigs and jams, acoustic and electric folk/Americana, relatively low volume blues, et al. I've used it in a theater orchestra gig where low volume was essential because I DI'd to the board. Not every gig calls for a rig that throws shade on Metallica at the Rosemont but if that was my calling I'd show up with appropriate gear.

Every body chooses their best gear. I have nothing wrong to that 2x6'' 150w minimark, but i have my own long experience what is right and good, so let's stop it right here.

 

[SJan3]

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!

I'll never understand why people propound
the myth that Markbass Indonesian products are of lesser quality than the Italian products. FYI, all products are inspected in Italy before distribution. So, in effect, the product is inspected twice.
Unless you have concrete evidence of your claim, I'd refrain from such statements.

 

[steelbed45]

I'll never understand why people propound
the myth that Markbass Indonesian products are of lesser quality than the Italian products. FYI, all products are inspected in Italy before distribution. So, in effect, the product is inspected twice.
Unless you have concrete evidence of your claim, I'd refrain from such statements.

I've had two Italian MB products - no issues

I purchased an Indonesian CMD 121P, and after raving about it here on TB, shortly after it developed a buzz that I could never pin point.

Not that I owe you an explanation for anything, nor am I claiming that ALL Indonesian products are inferior based off my single experience. What I am saying is that sometimes lemons happen.

 

[SJan3]

I've had two Italian MB products - no issues

I purchased an Indonesian CMD 121P, and after raving about it here on TB, shortly after it developed a buzz that I could never pin point.

Not that I owe you an explanation for anything, nor am I claiming that ALL Indonesian products are inferior based off my single experience. What I am saying is that sometimes lemons happen.

I agree. Nothing is perfect but I don't know that it's fair to generalize like some tend to do. Now, if someone has multiple issues with a product, I could understand why they might develop a bad taste. To be fair, the poster did say, "IMO".

 

[selowitch]

I've had two Italian MB products - no issues

I purchased an Indonesian CMD 121P, and after raving about it here on TB, shortly after it developed a buzz that I could never pin point.

Not that I owe you an explanation for anything, nor am I claiming that ALL Indonesian products are inferior based off my single experience. What I am saying is that sometimes lemons happen.

We all know that the plural of anecdote is not “data.”
Nevertheless, I will share my personal experience:
The new Minimark was made in Italy in 2008;
One of my Mini CMP 121Ps was made in Italy in 2009;
The other Mini CMP 121P was made in Italy in 2012.

The only thing I’ve had to replace on any of them was the carrying handle on the 2009.

 

[Jeff Scott]

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.

Of course, the type of gig will determine the appropriateness of using the Minimark to be used for it, just like it is with anything else.

But don't say that it is only good as a practice amp, because the Minimark is capable for far more than that.

 

[mikecd1]

I'll never understand why people propound
the myth that Markbass Indonesian products are of lesser quality than the Italian products. FYI, all products are inspected in Italy before distribution. So, in effect, the product is inspected twice.
Unless you have concrete evidence of your claim, I'd refrain from such statements.

As a matter of fact I do have evidence and stand by my claim. Being the owner of a NY121 cab I wanted a second and had no knowledge of new design changes and on second look the words "B&C" and "Italian poplar" were missing in the GC ad though the weight was stated to be same as my existing cab, but it wasn't close. I don't blame Indo assembly at all for the new design and perhaps the design is my gripe. Lots of companies outsource production and materials to increase profits and arguably that can change the final product quality. The differences became clear to me and now are well documented - the B&C speakers many feel are superior in tone to the new speakers both in reviews and to my ears most notably with the Italian era having a "warmer tone" IMO and the B&C are cast frame, the new yellow line are stamped frame and I felt the B&C handled more power and smoothly. In addition, I weighed the new cabinet and it was over seven lbs heavier than my existing cab when I opened the cab saw it was particle board not plywood. IMO the lack of performance of the speaker in power handling, the overall sound of the cabinet was nowhere near as warm as the original cabs I owned and together with the weight difference and composition were all factors and concrete evidence backing my statement. If you or others like or prefer them, that's great. To be fair, I would change my comment to "prefer" the Italian made products and remove the word "inferior", but still feel them to be "superior" for the reasons above. YMMV

 

[Sparky Mark]

I've owned both Italian and Indonesian Markbass cabs and the B&C speakers were much better than the MB Yellow Line equivalents. The B&C had a more powerful sound at all volumes. I still have an Indonesian NY121P cab (loaded with a B&C speaker I swapped out of another cab) and it's noticeably heavier than my Italian made NY121P. It's still relatively light so it's not a problem, just heavier. My only Markbass head that ever developed a fault was made in Indonesia. My experience isn't statistically significant but based on it I now only own Italian Markbass heads.

 

[DJ Bebop]

I've owned both Italian and Indonesian Markbass cabs and the B&C speakers were much better than the MB Yellow Line equivalents. The B&C had a more powerful sound at all volumes. I still have an Indonesian NY121P cab (loaded with a B&C speaker I swapped out of another cab) and it's noticeably heavier than my Italian made NY121P. It's still relatively light so it's not a problem, just heavier. My only Markbass head that ever developed a fault was made in Indonesia. My experience isn't statistically significant but based on it I now only own Italian Markbass heads.
View attachment 3947836

Do those heads come with those bags or are they aftermarket?

 

[frankie5string]

I've tried one a few times over the years. It couldn't handle the double-bass - at least not one with a Full-Circle pickup. Yours looks like the older version - which I had. I think they changed the design of the limiter in the power amp at some point that actually negatively affected the perceived power output. The newer model doesn't seem as ballsy - for what little balls it has to begin with.

Perfectly useable for folk or singer-songwriter stuff.
I just preferred the "feel" of the PJB double-four, myself - so I stopped renting the Minimark and bought a Double-Four.

 

[SJan3]

As a matter of fact I do have evidence and stand by my claim. Being the owner of a NY121 cab I wanted a second and had no knowledge of new design changes and on second look the words "B&C" and "Italian poplar" were missing in the GC ad though the weight was stated to be same as my existing cab, but it wasn't close. I don't blame Indo assembly at all for the new design and perhaps the design is my gripe. Lots of companies outsource production and materials to increase profits and arguably that can change the final product quality. The differences became clear to me and now are well documented - the B&C speakers many feel are superior in tone to the new speakers both in reviews and to my ears most notably with the Italian era having a "warmer tone" IMO and the B&C are cast frame, the new yellow line are stamped frame and I felt the B&C handled more power and smoothly. In addition, I weighed the new cabinet and it was over seven lbs heavier than my existing cab when I opened the cab saw it was particle board not plywood. IMO the lack of performance of the speaker in power handling, the overall sound of the cabinet was nowhere near as warm as the original cabs I owned and together with the weight difference and composition were all factors and concrete evidence backing my statement. If you or others like or prefer them, that's great. To be fair, I would change my comment to "prefer" the Italian made products and remove the word "inferior", but still feel them to be "superior" for the reasons above. YMMV

Interesting. Marco claims he never used particle board other than in a short run of 102p cabs. He also claims the yellowline speakers meet the performance of the BW speakers.
I own an Italian LittleMark3 head but Indonesian speakers (121HR and 102P), and they all sound excellent to me.
I'd contact Marco and dispute his claims if you feel that the newer products don't live up the the Italian made goods.
I'd love to hear his response if you'd be willing to share.

 

[Sparky Mark]

Do those heads come with those bags or are they aftermarket?

They are all Markbass amp bags. They don't come as standard with the heads, they were purchased separately.

 

[frankie5string]

As a matter of fact I do have evidence and stand by my claim. Being the owner of a NY121 cab I wanted a second and had no knowledge of new design changes and on second look the words "B&C" and "Italian poplar" were missing in the GC ad though the weight was stated to be same as my existing cab, but it wasn't close. I don't blame Indo assembly at all for the new design and perhaps the design is my gripe.

Funny you mention this. I own an "Italian" NY121, myself. I've had it forever. It developed a problem with the driver long after warranty that they repaired, but I remember when Markbass first came to Canada, and everyone scooped up those NY121 cabinets and CMD121p combos. The idea of a cabinet about the size of the old Roland Cube-100 was really attractive to a lot of people. Then, about a year or so later, I started to see lots of repairs on them, or people dumping them on the used market. Tonnes of people were getting rid of them and this was still before they moved production of those speakers to Indonesia. The CMD121s often showed up with replaced power supplies, scratchy pots, or failed XLR jacks. Weird.

All this time my NY121 kept going, but I saw lots with blown tweeters, and cracked SpeakON connectors, and even a bunch of blown woofers.

 

[Sparky Mark]

I've tried one a few times over the years. It couldn't handle the double-bass - at least not one with a Full-Circle pickup. Yours looks like the older version - which I had. I think they changed the design of the limiter in the power amp at some point that actually negatively affected the perceived power output. The newer model doesn't seem as ballsy - for what little balls it has to begin with.

For me, Markbass amps lost a certain amount of their "balls" when they switched them all from Class AB to Class D power sections. The 800 watt Momark is my only Class D head and its nominally flat tone is definitely not as "ballsy" (punchy) as the others.

 

[DJ Bebop]

They are all Markbass amp bags. They don't come as standard with the heads, they were purchased separately.

Thanks!
Just wondering.
My Mesa WD 800 head came with a bag

 

[mikecd1]

Funny you mention this. I own an "Italian" NY121, myself. I've had it forever. It developed a problem with the driver long after warranty that they repaired, but I remember when Markbass first came to Canada, and everyone scooped up those NY121 cabinets and CMD121p combos. The idea of a cabinet about the size of the old Roland Cube-100 was really attractive to a lot of people. Then, about a year or so later, I started to see lots of repairs on them, or people dumping them on the used market. Tonnes of people were getting rid of them and this was still before they moved production of those speakers to Indonesia. The CMD121s often showed up with replaced power supplies, scratchy pots, or failed XLR jacks. Weird.

All this time my NY121 kept going, but I saw lots with blown tweeters, and cracked SpeakON connectors, and even a bunch of blown woofers.

I remember having some blown LeSon tweeters and discovering SWR used the same tweeter in one of their cabs and had an easier time getting one thru them after one popped. They were better than a regular piezo, less than $20 to replace, but not as good as a real horn. Put an EV tweeter in one of the MB cabs and it sounded great and fit easily. Never had a problem with a B&C though and until some change occured with the warranty moving to another company, GC used to be very liberal with the exchanges. The minimark I had was a great little amp and think the OP got a great small amp.

 

[Sparky Mark]

Thanks!
Just wondering.
My Mesa WD 800 head came with a bag

The inclusion of bags appears to be factored into the Mesa prices which are at a much higher price point. (LM800 is £500, D800 is £820 in the UK).

 

[seamonkey]

We all know that the plural of anecdote is not “data.”
Nevertheless, I will share my personal experience:
The new Minimark was made in Italy in 2008;
One of my Mini CMP 121Ps was made in Italy in 2009;
The other Mini CMP 121P was made in Italy in 2012.

The only thing I’ve had to replace on any of them was the carrying handle on the 2009.

I think MB could do better on their 2-year warranty which shows they have minimal confidence in their product reliability in the long run. If they are as reliable, and they have the Data to show it, they could bump up the warranty period at not additional cost to their customers.

Other affordable brands have 3 years, premium brands have 5 years.

 

[DJ Bebop]

The inclusion of bags appears to be factored into the Mesa prices which are at a much higher price point. (LM800 is £500, D800 is £820 in the UK).

The inclusion of quality, dependability, 5-year warranty and customer service is also factored into Mesa's price point, not just a bag