Markbass ninja 102 250 or 500?

[dave moffat]

In the market for a decent cab with plenty of headroom for growth. Currently a bedroom bassist with ambitions and my existing ancient amp is pretty much past it. Was really impressed by Jabba's cab at the midlands bash and am looking at the above. Do I go for the 250 or splash out the extra £200ish and go for the 500. They both weigh the same at 16kg. I guess what I'm asking is whether the extra 250 watts would be worth it?

Yes, I have no idea about the technical side of things so please keep it simple.

[M@23]

I would say so, if as you say, you’re after headroom. 
You can add an additional speaker cab to both. But as is, the 250w version is only 150 watts at 8 ohm without an additional speaker cab. Which may be a little underpowered when playing with a band. Plus, with the 500 watt version, you have the ability to add another cab and have a 500w 4x10 setup. Which, if you want to future proof, would do most any gig. 
Good choice though, they’re great little amps and cabs!

[dave moffat]

Thanks, trigger pulled on the 500.

[M@23]

Think it’s a situation where you could be happy at saving £200 now, but massively regret it and have an even bigger outlay down the line.

You’ll never regret having more power, but could having not enough!

I gigged the 102p cab and LM3 head, which was 300 watts at 8ohm for years. It was a really punchy and versatile setup those 2x10 cabs punch way above their weight!

 

[yorks5stringer]

I had a Ninja 250 and a CMD121P and swapped the heads around ( which was not straight forward as they mount in different directions and not all the holes aligned). The extra poke was not hugely noticable but was there. At the risk of raining on your new purchase I found the increased size/weight of the Ninja cab compared to the CMD121P made it a bit awkward for me so swapped the heads back and sold the Ninja. I'd bought it on the premise  that the sound was not all around your ankles  and punchier with the 2X10's but on stage it didn't really seem to matter that much anyway. The CMD 121 P is a much easier lift for me, if I need more I just bring an extra NYC121 which I know is an additional cab but with the Ninja I was 'bringing' an extra speaker every time....!

[dave moffat]

Yeah, I'm pretty much starting from a position of not having a cab with the capability I want at the moment, so starting from scratch, then thought about what I might need in the future. I had a long hunt through the markbass stuff and decided to go for 2x10, then looked at shape and weight I allready handle 20kg stuff routinely, so the 16kg of the 102 500 isn't an issue, if needed I've got a sack barrow anyway. I even considered the CMD 103. But I know how the minibass I'm planning on buying from Jabba sounds through the 102 which is probably what clinched it for me. It's due arrive in the first week of October.

Edited September 10, 2021 by dave moffat

[yorks5stringer]

1 minute ago, dave moffat said:

Yeah, I'm pretty much starting from a position of not having a cab with the capability I want at the moment, so starting from scratch, then thought about what I might need in the future. I had a long hunt through the markbass stuff and decided to go for 2x10, then looked at shape and weight I allredy handle 20kg stuff, so the 16kg of the 102 500 isn't an issue, if needed I've got a sack barrow anyway. I even considered the CMD 103. But I know how the minibass I'm planning on buying from Jabba sounds through the 102 which is probably what clinched it for me. It's due arrive in the first week of October.

I'm sure it will be fine for you, I was lucky enough to have the option of either and did not lose money on the Ninja when I sold it, in fact I think I bought the extra NYC cab with the money.