Jakester

Bought a preamp off Chris, a pleasure to deal with - thanks!

Just bought a GSS Baby Sumo off Rich, a pleasure to deal with, thanks!

I don't have that exact combo, but the heads in all of the combos are the same. I think generally the consensus is they're great heads, excellent sound and the CMD121P (what I have) is regularly recommended as the 'go to' one box solution. IME it sounds great, is an easy carry and certainly doesn't lack power. That said, and my personal experience is, if the head *does* go wrong, it's likely an expensive fix indeed given the class D heads are very difficult to service. I've given an estimate of in excess of £200 for mine (before they saw it) by the UK service agent and I have seen others have higher quotes. Sadly the private vendor of mine never replied to my messages so I wasn't able to see if there was any warranty cover available, but that's part of the cost/benefit analysis when buying second hand. I gather from what I have read on here and elsewhere MB Italy service is poor, though I haven't personally experienced that myself. The good thing is that the LM form-factor heads are in effect interchangeable, so if it does go, you could always pick up a replacement second hand. I've decided given lockdown meant I've not been playing much to go with a backup/alternative option for now, but I will try and get it fixed down the line. If you're buying new then I'd say go for it - if second-hand, factor in that repairs might be costly, but I think I have been unlucky - faulty heads seem fairly few and far between.

Has anyone seen any of these in the wild yet? I can't find anywhere selling them, and they're not on the MB site, but wondered if anyone else had seen one?

Why, if it's a P-only, does it have three knobs?

They are...

I have the M-Audio and it’s been faultless since I bought it. Easy to use and sounds good.

That’d be great, thanks. Let me know.

This is what really did my head in at first! Once I figured it out, it was fine.

*Shrugs* As ever, YMMV. I've been in and out of recording since using tape and Atari in the mid-90s, but I just didn't find Reaper that easy to work with. Many of the controls and settings were, IME, counter-intuitive. Once you get used to things, it's great, I just found the initial learning curve very high.

Good to hear. I doubt they will, but good to be prepared!

The point is not whether the repair sorted it, but that the goods (whether repaired or replaced) are still not of satisfactory quality. A damaged cab is still not of satisfactory quality. I would just reject and demand a refund.

If it's a business under CRA 2015 goods should be of satisfactory quality. Under s24(5) of the CRA2015 if a customer requests a repair or replacement and the goods still do not confirm with the requirement to be of satisfactory quality, you can insist on a refund.

Bought from shop, or private seller?

I have Reaper. Cheap it is, easy to use, less so. If you want proper basic, and the ability to collaborate online try Bandlab. We've used it recently to compile demos and it's been fine.

Ah, I'd love these but I'm nowhere near...

Thanks Steve - I claim no credit other than the performance of the bass part, it was arranged by one of the orchestra founders who also does a lot of the management, and arranged for someone else to compile all the video. It came out really well, considering the range of different methods people recorded their parts - some used mics, some (like me) used a proper audio interface into a DAW, but others just played into their phone etc.

Thanks! If I were doing it again I’d make sure to heat the frets to melt any glue (to hopefully prevent tear outs), and possibly use plastic rather than maple veneer in the slots.

Here’s the evidence to back up my assertions:

In my experience, it’s easy to do, but hard to do well! I did an old Yamaha I had lying around and it worked well enough, in that it doesn’t have any frets any more, but I think to get a decent finish I’d have had to have been a lot more careful and/or skilled.

Having experienced ongoing problems with the head in my CMD121P, I was on the lookout for a relatively cheap, similarly-powered amp head that I could use as a backup. I mainly play in a local community orchestra, so huge volume isn't always needed - here's a video which shows the sort of thing we do: However, I occasionally do other gigs etc which necessitated an extension cab with the CMD121P so I needed something that as a back up could push some air at 4ohms. I considered the Trace Elf, but although all the reviews were positive, I thought it may have been a little light on welly. I'd been after a cheap LMII or III but, despite seeing them everywhere for months at really good prices (i.e. sub £300), I'd not seen one for ages. I came across @thebassist's ad for the GR Mini, and kept coming back to it. It seemed just the job - small enough to keep in the pocket of a gig bag, but with *just* enough welly to keep up if the combo head crapped out. Anyway, the orchestra had our first post-Covid, fully socially-distanced rehearsal at the weekend, so I chucked the GR Mini in the bag. It was a good thing I did in the end, as the Markbass carried on where it left off - volume dropping and jumping etc (which isn't great during quiet orchestral moments!) so at the break, I switched to the GR Mini. I just disconnected the MB head and plugged the internal cab speaker into the new amp, and straight away it it was on the money. I'd noodled a bit with it in the bedroom, so I'd rolled up the bass a smidge, and rolled off the mid and treble (I tend to roll off the mids and highs generally - I like the VPF on the MD) and it was bang on - clearer than the MB (though a possibly unfair comparison given it wasn't feeling at its best) and it really cut through. There's a piece with a double-time walking bass part which I always struggle with, and after the rehearsal the guitarist (sat the other side of the drummer) complimented me on that part, so it definitely cut through! I didn't have the gain more than 1/4 up, and master about 1/3 max, so there's definitely more to come. I haven't tried it with an extension cab (at 4ohms it supposedly puts out 350W) but nothing makes me doubt that. I haven't had a chance to try it with upright (I have an EUB which I can just about manage one song on...) but I'd have thought it would fit the bill nicely. Now, I find myself considering whether I could fabricate a 'holder' for the GR to fit in place of the Combo Head... Definitely a good buy, and thanks again to @thebassist as it was in mint condition when it arrived.