MrBone Posted May 19, 2015 Share Posted May 19, 2015 Hi, got a couple of questions surrounding this combo I hope some of you can help me with. Going to try one at the weekend - thankfully local music shop has one for demo. 1. Has anyone tried using this combo with a Trace 1048H extension cab? good sound combination? I already own this and was considering hanging onto it to use together for bigger gigs. Added weight not much of an issue as will probably only use couple of times a year. Using a Stingray 5 bass mostly and playing varied music styles. 2. What are the differences between the original cmd 102p and the 'mk2' that is available new? (other than new ones are made in Indonesia) I can see the addition of volume control for line out, anything else? 3. Given I can pick up a new one for just over £700, how come people seem to be willing to shell out around £600 for second hand version that are several years old? 4. Should I keep my now near 20 yr old Trace Elliot 7215 combo just in case? - still sounds great after all that time, looking a bit tatty, but man I won't miss the weight..... All advice gratefully received Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leroydiamond Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 (edited) No experience of the trace cab, but that MB combo is stellar. Super portable, punchy, reliable and oodles of power. Holds its value really well Edited May 20, 2015 by leroydiamond Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xgsjx Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 Adding a cab that isn't the same as the combo (that'll be the 102 STD) is going to change your sound & most likely sound different at different venues. It might sound good, it might not. As for the combo, I had one for many years & only sold it as I'd stopped playing live. If I start again, I'll possibly get another. The Italian built ones were around the £1k mark in the shops & had B&C drivers (no idea what the drivers are now). I think folk are willing to pay for that, knowing that it's a solid built combo. As for sound, it's probably the loudest & best sounding combo I've ever played through. Blew the old TE 4x10 combo back to the 80s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cliffyspliff Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 Just to say I did have TWO of the older more expensive versions blow circuit boards when using them live a couple of years ago .... Luckily both were covered by warranty from GAK.... It wasn't loud enough either when I played with my rock covers band .... Maybe they blew as I was pushing it too hard or something ... But I had the 2nd one replaced for new and then got rid as they seemed unreliable Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrBone Posted May 20, 2015 Author Share Posted May 20, 2015 Thanks all - some good opinions there! With ref fault issues, anyone know what the standard markbass warranty is in the UK? Think I'm leaning more to getting new version (as long as I like the sound it makes) - I'm assuming it's still a quality product, even if the speakers are not B&C brand. Anyone already own the new version? Interesting point about not being loud enough for live band situation - given it's rated at 300W, and my current Trace GP7 combo is also 300W, I would assume perceived volume would be broadly similar? If so, that's plenty loud enough for me ;-) This will be difficult to gauge on the shop floor. Read some more on the ext. cabinet options - There is a lot of opinion out there that if the ext. cabinet does not match the combo speaker array, (i.e. not matching a 2x10 combo with another 2x10 cab) then you risk overdriving the smaller one. For example, If I add my trace 4x10 as ext. cabinet, the 2x10 speakers in the combo will have to work twice as hard, as watts power is split evenly between the two. Still, I've spent around the last 16 years driving my 4x10 cab from a 1x15 combo and never encountered any problems... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leroydiamond Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 (edited) [quote name='MrBone' timestamp='1432117685' post='2778261'] Thanks all - some good opinions there! With ref fault issues, anyone know what the standard markbass warranty is in the UK? Think I'm leaning more to getting new version (as long as I like the sound it makes) - I'm assuming it's still a quality product, even if the speakers are not B&C brand. Anyone already own the new version? [/quote] The standard warranty in the UK is 2 years. If you buy from Thomann the warranty is 3 years. With regard to reliability, I have used Markbass kit for several years in a rock setting and it always delivered and never gave trouble. A friend of mine in the trade, who sells various bass amplifiers maintains that Markbass is the most reliable kit he stocks. This Markbass really comes into its own when matched with the Markbass traveler 2x10. With this arrangement you get a 500 watt stack that goes really loud and punchy, super light and portable. Whats not to like? Edited May 20, 2015 by leroydiamond Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xgsjx Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 I find it strange that cliffy couldn't get loud enough for his band. I played in a loud band & had no trouble being heard. I'm guessing either he has one really loud band, had it set up poorly, just wasn't suited to his bass or was really unlucky & had 2 faulty units. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cliffyspliff Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 Ha ha ... I'm usually unlucky lol ... But the TC gear I have used since is much better Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorks5stringer Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 (edited) Only the later Mk 2 heads in the combo are Indonesian, off the top of my head I think they ran for around 3 years with Italian Mark 2 heads before switching. The different heads are really just the difference between the LMII head and the LMII head also. Edited May 20, 2015 by yorks5stringer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrBone Posted May 23, 2015 Author Share Posted May 23, 2015 Well I went to Andertons in Guildford today, had good play on the demo unit with my own bass, and came out £709 lighter and with a massive box that wouldn't fit in the boot of the car. Really pleased with the punchy sound - I think this is massively aided by fact you play with it angled up towards you, but tonally I love it. Lord knows how anybody thinks it might not be loud enough. Will take it to a rehearsal on Wednesday for detailed analysis, but if it's not loud enough for you, I regret to inform your ears are completely knackered! The Vle filter is quite good for knocking the top edge of the sound - good if you need to blend in a bit with a few softer numbers, but I dont like to turn it up much, just a little otherwise too muddy sound. I'm not a big slapper, but even so am not so keen on the vpf filter control. I have active bass so am happy to keep the sound flat and boost/cut where necessary using the controls on the bass. Haven't tried it yet with my passive jazz bass. The tweeter/horn does emmit a feignt hiss when amp switched on ( did this on the demo unit and the new stock one Ive now got) but not particularly intrusive, you can only tell when standing right in front of it and not playing anything. So, it might be a class d amp and the drivers may not be from b&c anymore, but it's still a high quality sounding amp, and by god it's light! Have ordered a cover separately - you can get the official cover for about 40 quid at Thomman. Big shout out to the helpful staff at Andertons - the guys knew their stuff, had a long play in the bass room first, no hassle to purchase. There's a lot of nice equipment in that shop, I do like going there even if parking is a nightmare! Good to see a bustling music shop, would much rather buy from there and support a decent business. They had 200 people turn up to the session with Nathan East last week, unfortunately I couldn't make it 😭 dunno where they all parked 😄 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xgsjx Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 I had a little hiss from the piezo on mine too. Turning the treble back a touch or the VLE on a touch gets rid of it. The other options are disconnect the piezo or replace it with a better one. I never used the VPF at gigs, but did mess about with it at home. Found the best way to sit the combo at gigs was on it's side. Have fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorks5stringer Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 Good price on that from Andertons, I think Thomann were on at £700 for the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
booboo Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 Used one of these for a few years now. I like the MB sound and generally run eveything flat unless it's a boomy room and I just take the bass back to about 10 o'clock and bump the low mids up about as much. Never struggle to get a sound I can work with. It can lose definition at very high levels, but tbh I'm talking about the sort of levels you would use a PA for anyway. The tilt is great for use as a monitor, or simply to hear yourself better on a loud gig. I've not used it with an extension so can't comment. Hope this helps, but it's occured to me that most of what I've just written probably applies to any decent combo - the most useful thing I can say is probably that I've abused my 102 for about 6 years and its not stopped working! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrBone Posted May 24, 2015 Author Share Posted May 24, 2015 Good to know you think it's reliable - it's got a lot to live up to, my trace gp7 combo is coming up for 18 years old soon and hasn't missed a beat, despite having never been serviced (ok that's a small lie, had to replace the gain pot a couple of years back - 2 mins with the soldering iron) Looking a bit tatty though, I never bothered getting a cover for it, and it's been gigged a lot 😉 - that's why I bought a cover straight away for the new one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UrbanKarma Posted May 26, 2015 Share Posted May 26, 2015 Good call buying from Andertons in the UK. German units not covered by UK warranty so have to go back to Germany for repair either in or out of warranty. Always best to try before you buy and build a relationship with your local dealer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrBone Posted May 27, 2015 Author Share Posted May 27, 2015 Back from first rehearsal using new amp. Went really well, as predicted it was plenty loud enough, once gain was set right, didn't need to turn the master any further past 10 o clock, way too loud, and so masses of space left to crank it up a bit more for gigs. Sound really cuts through well. The low end was really full sounding, I actually thought I'd need to tweek the low end up as I was used to playing through a 1x15, and this is what I did when using at home, but yet in rehearsal I had to dial it back to pretty much flat eq. The hiss from the piezo was dialled down enough with the VLE filter without losing tone (no further than 9 o clock), and as soon as you're playing, you can't hear it anyway. Very good punchy, responsive sound overall, and as such less volume required than previous amp to cut through. And, I can lift it without groaning ;-) Doing first gig with it 6th June...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrBone Posted May 28, 2015 Author Share Posted May 28, 2015 The official cover arrived this morning from Thomann (only about £40 currently)- I can recommend it, it's made of pretty thick denier nylon, feels like very good quality, and it's also well padded. Should be very water resistant. Like all covers though, the bottom of the unit is unprotected, and seeing as there are not feet on the amp to raise it off the floor, think this combo is best stored on its side when using the cover - not a big deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrBone Posted June 8, 2015 Author Share Posted June 8, 2015 Did 1st gig with the CMD 102p on Saturday. Reasonable sized pub, but didn't run it through the PA, just turned the amp onto it's side to get the best sound on stage whilst providing front of house sound too. Having now today listened to the gig recording (portable live recorder used) it becomes apparent that the bass was just too loud! and very clear/punchy. So it's definitely loud enough, and need to use less volume than I thought. Might be better off tipping the amp back into its monitor position next time out, so I don't feel the need to crank it up to hear clearly on stage - should still be plenty of oomph available for front of house sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lonestar Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 Had mine for about 6 or 7 years now I think it's a mk2. No problems at all always been loud enough when playing through a pa or at loud rehearsals. Although recently had a couple of gigs where I've not gone through a pa, felt that I was pushing it a bit hard and would have liked an extra cab Maybe I should look at the 102p traveller cab? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leroydiamond Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 [quote name='lonestar' timestamp='1433770426' post='2793774'] Had mine for about 6 or 7 years now I think it's a mk2. No problems at all always been loud enough when playing through a pa or at loud rehearsals. Although recently had a couple of gigs where I've not gone through a pa, felt that I was pushing it a bit hard and would have liked an extra cab Maybe I should look at the 102p traveller cab? [/quote] Maybe you should. IME adding a 102 traveler cab to this combo transforms what is a terrific combo, into a set up that will give you oodles of volume to cover any situation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lonestar Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 [quote name='leroydiamond' timestamp='1433780645' post='2793906'] Maybe you should. IME adding a 102 traveler cab to this combo transforms what is a terrific combo, into a set up that will give you oodles of volume to cover any situation. [/quote] Thanks. Does sound like a plan. As you said earlier"what's not to like"? The other option I wondered about is a 102hlf. wonder if there is any major gain for the extra size weight and cost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leroydiamond Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 [quote name='lonestar' timestamp='1433787555' post='2793980'] Thanks. Does sound like a plan. As you said earlier"what's not to like"? The other option I wondered about is a 102hlf. wonder if there is any major gain for the extra size weight and cost. [/quote] I have no experience with that cab, but it could be very interesting to A/B it with the 2x10 traveler if at all possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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