I have a 121HR which seems to have slipped under the radar. It is a great sounding cabinet and can be tilted into monitor position, if needed (although you need some Velcro to secure the head in monitor position. This Velcro is provided on the LM3 carry bag). It has a bit more internal volume than the combo or even the 121p. Sadly, they've been discontinued but are still available online.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
R.I.P Markbass CMD121P...3rd time (good riddance!)
- Thread starter elgecko
- Start date
First of all, just because I've only been a "member" for one year doesn't mean jack. I've been reading Talkbass forums regularly for a decade. I usually don't comment because trolls like you start arguments for the sake of arguing.
All I said was that I had 2 Markbass amps and they both were poor quality and I had lots of issues with them. The OP had not 2 but 3 strikes with his. If you don't want to hear about it, maybe you should go to another post that doesn't have "R.I.P. Markbass" in the subject line.
I hotrodded my cmd121p combo with a LM 800 tube amp.
I put the combo amp into a Mesa Walkabout/Scout 1-12 combo, and have that as a backup/alternative rig.
I put the combo amp into a Mesa Walkabout/Scout 1-12 combo, and have that as a backup/alternative rig.
Triggered? Boy, lighten up. Back to the point. You have no hard numbers to back your claim. You don't like the product? Fine, but many do including some of the best world class players on the scene.
But you know better..
Here is what you claimed:
"I don't care what anyone says, I know from experience their Italian stuff was ok but their Indonesian stuff was cheap quality. They are notorious for numerous annoying issues.
You will be happier with Gallien Krueger. It doesn't hurt that they are made in the USA. There is much less of a chance of something going wrong with those and they last longer. I would be willing to bet my bottom dollar on it."
Jason Schulhz
So, you're a betting man. Yep, that's hard data.
Last edited:
Why don't you start a poll and ask if people think Indonesian made amps are more reliable or ones made in the USA? Your argument sounds ridiculous at face value.
I'd suggest you do that. It's your claim that you're looking to back up but unless you can establish total units sold vs total failures you're up the creek without a paddle.
This has become a silly debate. All mfgs have their share of malfunctions. I'd submit that you run the risk of experiencing a failure no matter what you buy and no matter where it's assembled. Indonesian people have 2 hands just like Americans.
And MarkBass has QC inspection both at the manufacturing plant and again in Italy before product is shipped. These are undisputed facts.
Last edited:
Used one of these as my only amp for about 10 years! But after all that time it had really started to deteriorate. Sold it on an even trade for a hartke hd112 cab to pair with a new pf500 that I got for a sweet deal. It was a good amp that served me well, probably did 1000 gigs. Now that I've heard the ampeg tho, looking back it was nice for my upright but sounded very bland with my electric. Like the tone coloring of the ampeg much more.
I remember when there were more than a few Amp Repair Shops in most major cities.
Wounder what them people were fixing in the 60's, 70's, 80's and 90's before this "overseas" stuff came in?
Wounder what them people were fixing in the 60's, 70's, 80's and 90's before this "overseas" stuff came in?
Amps don't have odometers. I've had a GK head utterly fail on me but, in it's defense, I ran that bastard hard and often. On the other hand, I have a crappy Crate practice amp in my room that I seldom use and apparently it's gonna make it all the way to my estate sale.
Depending on the weight of these amps, some don't even make a good boat anchor when you're paddle-less, up the creek.
Aft
At a cost of $500 ÷ 1000 gigs, your Markbass cost you 50¢ a gig. Try renting an amp for that!
After 10 years and appx 1000 gigs, I'd say the amp was good to you.
At a cost of $500 ÷ 1000 gigs, your Markbass cost you 50¢ a gig. Try renting an amp for that!
totally agree! It served me very well for many years, I drove it into the ground. I was very into the sound of it for a long time too, but once it started wearing out I also wanted a change in my sound. Ampeg was the answer!
To settle your dispute, unless there's already been a truce signing, I would post the Indonesia vs. Italy quality debate at the Markbass thread and let those in the know settle it for you.
As for me, I owned an Italian 112 combo and 112 cab and thought the quality was terrific. I just lost interest in its tone after a couple of years.
Earlier this year, I picked up a Marcus Miller 110 combo, Indonesian-built, and love it. I haven't seen (or heard) and quality discrepancies and actually, pound for pound, like this amp better than my old rig.
Good luck gents, may the better argument win!
As for me, I owned an Italian 112 combo and 112 cab and thought the quality was terrific. I just lost interest in its tone after a couple of years.
Earlier this year, I picked up a Marcus Miller 110 combo, Indonesian-built, and love it. I haven't seen (or heard) and quality discrepancies and actually, pound for pound, like this amp better than my old rig.
Good luck gents, may the better argument win!
Yes, my Littlemark3 is Italian, my NANO is Indonesian. I see no difference in quality. Both excellent.To settle your dispute, unless there's already been a truce signing, I would post the Indonesia vs. Italy quality debate at the Markbass thread and let those in the know settle it for you.
As for me, I owned an Italian 112 combo and 112 cab and thought the quality was terrific. I just lost interest in its tone after a couple of years.
Earlier this year, I picked up a Marcus Miller 110 combo, Indonesian-built, and love it. I haven't seen (or heard) and quality discrepancies and actually, pound for pound, like this amp better than my old rig.
Good luck gents, may the better argument win!
For the record, both my amps were Italian made. I chuckle to myself when someone states the Italian amps are more reliable and higher in quality.
I get the impression that quite a high proportion of bassists tend to use their amps EQ set close to what appears to be flat. Some amps that I have owned were definitely closer to flat with all EQ set at their 'noon' position than others. I find my Ampeg and GK heads have a more distinctive tone at noon than my Markbass heads. However by cutting the low mid and boosting hi mid and hi transforms the Markbass tone to a much 'nicer' soloed tone. Stick a VT Bass pedal in front of almost any of my amps gives me whatever Ampeg flavour I want. EQ sections are there to be used and most are very flexible.
I gave it a shot. It possibly seemed better but was still not right. I have 2 preamp pedals and even if it worked, it wouldn't be any type of shenanigans I'm willing to participate in.
Fellow bassist recently had similar problems with MB repair. It seems like the older less hi-fi bass amps were more reliable, and the newer crop with more tone shaping possibilities are quicker to die. More components= more problems? Smaller enclosures=more heat?
Last word, civility goes a long way.
Last word, civility goes a long way.
I think that's actually BS. I know a lot of musicians that toured in the 60s-80s and they always had gear in the shop being repaired. Even the weekend warriors always seemed to have something that needed to be fixed.
There was nothing particularly more reliable about gear then than now. Power amp tubes had very limited lifespans compared to modern solid-state amplifiers, today.
Look at all those old transistor mixing desks which need recaps, new op-amps, and significant work to clean them back up to spec.
You're just hearing it more now because all those old amps that needed repairs have been repaired, long before internet forums existed to turn a couple of issues into something that looked like a big problem.
There are tonnes of folks still rocking first-get Littlemarks with no problems at all. Problems occur, but they're probably not any worse than what came before them.
Last edited:
