I’ve been looking to buy a bass amp for quite a while now and I was pretty sure about the Fender Rumble 100. However, when I was doing my late night GAS session on the internet, I stumbled upon the Markbass CMB 121 Blackline Combo.
What I am looking for is an amp which will be good enough for the upcoming years to do practice at home, but is also enough to do band pratice & perhaps even play some gigs.
These two options seem spec wise the best option for my goals without spending a fortune. However since the Markbass CMB 121 Blackline Combo just arrived on the market, there aren’t any decent reviews yet.
I’m definitely planning on going to a music store and testing them both. But as I’m also still quite a nooby, so I was wondering if anyone here maybe would like to share their thoughts on this particular amp.
if you’re looking for a one size fits most solution then a combo will certainly fit that bill, however, the 2 you mentioned will likely not be loud enough for gigging.
If this is the case, I’d be looking at a combo that’s at least 500w. I have the Ampeg Rocket Bass 210 and it’s been loud enough to cover all these situations and also portable enough for my aging body to carry around. Alternatively a good friend of mine has the Markbass CMD 102P combo and that also sounds fantastic. Not sure about the Markbass but the Ampeg I have has both an Aux in and headphone jack which makes for silent practise at home.
Well… Oddly enough… I went amp shopping yesterday, and that’s the one I came home with! Lol. don’t really know much about amps n all that, still a bit of a noob there
But I’ve had a handful that all ended up refunded for various reasons, would have liked something a little lighter, but was sold on this one soon as I heard it though punchy little thing, I like it
Thanks for the advice! The options that you’re mentioned are not in my pricerange unfortunately. But I will definitely keep your advice in the back of my mind if I end up playing gigs in the future and I’m in the financial position to buy one of those
That’s good to hear, hopefully you have lots of fun playing on this amp!! Just out of curiousity, which amps did you send back before landing on this one?
Blackstar Unity 60, Orange Crush 50, and Ampeg RB-112, been super unlucky with faults of some kind on all of them lol, (all from the same shop too though, so… ), but at least I know the markbass is fine, cos it literally was the one I tried, was the last one in stock
I’m not gonna make a recommendation here but rather add a couple of important points to consider while shopping. One of which is wattage alone won’t tell the whole story. You have to look at the rig as a whole because other factors come into play such as how efficient are the speakers in the combo you’re shopping and how efficient is the enclosure itself. A 100w amp playing through a speaker measuring 97dB SPL will be much louder than the same 100w amp playing through a speaker measuring 93dB SPL. So check out the combos specs carefully.
Some combos employ a 4 ohm speaker to get maximum wattage out of the amp while others employ 8 ohm speakers which will require an 8 ohm extension cabinet to get the full wattage output out of the amp. An amp rated for 500w @ 4 ohms is only producing 50%-60% of that wattage at 8 ohms. And wattage itself can be a mystical thing when it comes to loudness. I’ve played 500w heads with more clean headroom then another brands 800w head.
So you’ll want to try out what you’re looking to buy to get a comparison between several that fit your needs and always buy as much power/clean headroom as you’ll need if you decide to gig with it. I currently play a 350w amp which I can always turn down when playing at home. But if that’s not enough to cover my needs outdoors or in a large concert hall I need more power and more speakers. Adding speakers is another way to increase perceived volume.
Just some things to keep in mind when you’re shopping. Best of luck finding what you like!
I ended up taking mine back
Not because there was anything wrong with it though, just because reasons, lol.
I felt like it was a little too much for here. If I’m gonna turn it down/use headphones, it’s kinda pointless having lol.
(The next day I was thanked by having to listen to the neighbours argue like crazy for god knows how long, from across the hall, with doors closed I still heard most of it word for word! Typical! )
But I can tell you, thing’s got some serious kick! Lol, the gain & volume halfway like they had it in the video is f@#cking loud for the size of it! And you’d definitely be feeling that bass! Lol. Try one out if you can
Both the Markbass MB121 and the Ampeg RB-210 that @BK mentioned have XLR outputs and a similar weight. Depending on the band you’re gigging with, you can use both.
Personally, I find 150 W is plenty of punch to hear yourself at reasonable volumes. And beyond that, you’ll probably use a PA. You’d run an XLR cable from your amp to the PA and use the amp as a stage monitor for you and the band. You can also get the XLR from a DI box, which is an inexpensive way to use any amp as a monitor.
Hehe, I think they are great amps but the looks keep me from buying them. I just don’t like the yellow/orange and the name “Markbass” sounds weird to me in my German inner ear. Glad you like 'em.
The Ampeg weighs 38 lbs / 17.7 kg, which is not bad for a 2x10. The Markbass weighs 35.27 lbs / 16 kg. My 1x12 weighs ~14 kg, and I find that just too much to carry around for an extended period of time. When you park a car around here, you’d have to walk for about 4-5 minutes, btw.
punchy little thing, I like it 
), but at least I know the markbass is fine, cos it literally was the one I tried, was the last one in stock 
lol.
