AJC08 Posted November 9, 2020 Share Posted November 9, 2020 Hey guys, I'm in a right jam at the moment and cannot decide what on earth to pick. I need something mainly for studio/home work but also able to put another cab under for some live work (when this damn thing allows us to). So my requirements seem to be really specific from what people have told me. It has to be lightweight and easily portable and a combo. Also would be looking to have a tweeter and I'd rather a 12' speaker. It's going to be used in the studio for a prog metal/djent style project. Think Teseract, Karnivool, Leprous type stuff. I'm not after bone crunching distortion or anything like that as I like to keep a lot of clarity as it will be bass driven and almost bass as a lead rather than guitar, with some atmospheric breaks in the music. I've been looking at the Markbass mini cmd 121p as this seems a great choice portability wise and a very clean sound to shape with pedals if needed. Any ideas or advice on this would be greatly appreciated. Sorry for the long boring post! lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted November 9, 2020 Share Posted November 9, 2020 I think you’ve hit it with the CMD121P, it nails all of your requirements. Additionally re the part about being able to put another cab underneath for live work, the Markbass NY121 is an exact fit and you then have a very portable modular set up that’s plenty loud. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassBunny Posted November 9, 2020 Share Posted November 9, 2020 (edited) If you really can't do without a tweeter and it's a deal breaker, you might want to look at the MarkBass CMD121H instead. The tweeter in the 121p can be really brittle and hissy sounding. I disconnected mine. There is a simple mod to change to a better tweeter, (documented here somewhere), and that transforms the 121p. If you were looking at a 2nd hand one, it would be worth going that route. If a new one, you've immediately invalidated the warranty. There are a couple of similar postings to this further down that would be worth a look. Edited November 10, 2020 by BassBunny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorks5stringer Posted November 10, 2020 Share Posted November 10, 2020 Not mine but there's a CMD121P in the ads for £375... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickD Posted November 10, 2020 Share Posted November 10, 2020 I bought the CMD121h a few years ago while playing in a loud, drums, bass, 2 guitars, flute & electric violin band. I figured it would be fine for rehearsals and the quieter stuff I do with other people, and I could put another cab under it for bigger gigs.... I've still not bought the other cab, and I've not really had it over halfway either. It's a little monster. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJC08 Posted November 12, 2020 Author Share Posted November 12, 2020 Seems like this is the one to go with then. I have looked at the CMD121H as well as I've found one for the same price as the CMD121P. I do tend to lean more towards the modern side of sound and I have heard that this is the case with the 121H because of the different tweeter and bigger housing. Anyone know if this is true? I know it's about 5kg more but that's neither here nor there if still under 18kg in all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickD Posted November 12, 2020 Share Posted November 12, 2020 I can't speak with any authority about the tiny one, but I'm a fan of the horn in the 'h' model. I went that way after reading of people disconnecting the tweeter in the smaller model. I don't know how the crossover is set up, but it just works, loud and clear. It does the modern thing very well, and I find if I set it right I can get it transparent enough to put the Helix between the bass and the amp. When running straight in though, I can easily get a more old school sound by dialing in the VLE. It is bigger, but it's a dead easy one handed carry. Having said all that, a local jam night I used to go to use the 121p, I never spoke to it's owner, but it sounded great, and I never noticed any hiss. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorks5stringer Posted November 12, 2020 Share Posted November 12, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, AJC08 said: Seems like this is the one to go with then. I have looked at the CMD121H as well as I've found one for the same price as the CMD121P. I do tend to lean more towards the modern side of sound and I have heard that this is the case with the 121H because of the different tweeter and bigger housing. Anyone know if this is true? I know it's about 5kg more but that's neither here nor there if still under 18kg in all. It may because of getting used to it but I bought a Ninja 250 combo in which I swapped out the amp so it had the LMIII head ( so virtually a CMD121H) and did not like it as much, but only because it was more bulky to move around, the CMD121P ( for me) is much easier. Edited November 12, 2020 by yorks5stringer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJC08 Posted November 12, 2020 Author Share Posted November 12, 2020 Okay so I'm going to go with one of these Markbass Combos, now I can't decide between 121H or the 121P lol! Is there really that much difference in tone between the two considering it's the same amp and same size speaker..? Just cant decide..arghhh! lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassBunny Posted November 12, 2020 Share Posted November 12, 2020 The specs on the 2 are very similar. The 121H has slightly more top end, probably due to the better tweeter . Apart from that there appears very little to choose. I loved my 121P, after disconnecting the tweeter, and combined with an NY121 it was pretty much unbeatable, in my opinion. The 121p "mod" only costs about £10, if you felt so inclined. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorks5stringer Posted November 12, 2020 Share Posted November 12, 2020 (edited) 31 minutes ago, BassBunny said: The specs on the 2 are very similar. The 121H has slightly more top end, probably due to the better tweeter . Apart from that there appears very little to choose. I loved my 121P, after disconnecting the tweeter, and combined with an NY121 it was pretty much unbeatable, in my opinion. The 121p "mod" only costs about £10, if you felt so inclined. My mod cost less than that -£0, just disconnected the tweeter (but put the wires back onto the crossover-there's a post somewhere about it) Edited November 12, 2020 by yorks5stringer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted November 12, 2020 Share Posted November 12, 2020 I never found the tweeter a problem on the CMD121P, tho when I also connected the NY121 I did set the tweeter to the off position on that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJC08 Posted November 12, 2020 Author Share Posted November 12, 2020 So in short the 121p is probably the best option righ guys? Simple mod if needed but can definitely still get some high sizzle type trebles out? Sorry I'm being a pain I'm just super picky when it comes to my sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Dare Posted November 12, 2020 Share Posted November 12, 2020 (edited) You really have to try them to be sure. Fwiw, I find Markbass stuff doesn't have that "high sizzle" treble sound (that's fine by me as I don't like it). What it does do very well indeed is that solid, room filling sound. A guy I know uses a 2x10 MB combo. His band has two guitar playing hooligans with Mesa Boogies and you can hear/feel the bass in your chest over the racket they make. Very impressive. Edited November 12, 2020 by Dan Dare Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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