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Well folks, I went for the....... MarkBass CMD 102P. Just took delivery of it & got it from the Bass Merchant (Darren's a very nice person to talk & do business with). What can I say? Only tried it for @ 30 mins in the house, but what a sound! I can't wait til Monday just to get it wapped up & see what it's like at decent volumes (I did turn it up a bit in here to about the 10 O'clock position with the gain at about 1/2 & had to turn it down). Here's a pic of it & will let you know how it is in a louder situation later. [attachment=7872:DSC00077.JPG] Back to work for me now

Been playing an Ibanez SR1000 since 1990 & love the sound it makes. Before that I was playing a Vox with a surfboard for a neck and a body made of lead. Still got it but haven't played it for years. Planning on looking for a nice 5 string towards the end of the year.

I was thinking of doing this last year, so had a bit of a look into it. One thing to check, how many hertz it is. I think the US is 50 cycles & the UK is 60 cycles. If you can get a head that runs at 50-60 then you'll have an easy time with the voltage, but if it's just 50 then it's a big job. I would double check this to make sure my findings are correct, but if you get something that runs 50 cycles & run it on 60 it damages components. The Aguilar & Eden sound like safe bets (as well as being quality kit).

I tried a PJB Suitcase in GuitarGuitar & it did have a lovely tone but when I tried turning it up a bit it seemed to sound a little farty. Not sure if this was a faulty combo but it kinda put me off em. As for the Ashdown, I do agree it has a nice sound but the one I tried just didn't suit my style of playing. Just didn't seem versatile enough if you know what I mean (no disrespect there intended). I've used an old trace combo a couple of times, but I don't wanna go 2nd hand & heard that the new ones ain't so great (although I haven't tried one). That's good to know about the GK that I could get away with using just a similar one on it's own til I save for a cab at a later date (you know when that time is near I'll start a similar thread! lol). Thanks for all the good advice, it's been much appreciated.

Adding more cabs (eg: already having a 410 & then adding another 410 or 115) doesn't double the volume. Depending on the cab & amount of speakers decides on the amount of volume you will get. 600 watt X2 does not give you X2 volume & watts are incorrectly chosen as how loud an amp is. for example.. A 200 watt Valve head (Orange etc) with 2 400 watt 8 ohm cabs could sound a lot louder than a 5oo watt solid state head with a 410 and a 115.

Kinda narrowed it a bit better now. Either gonna be the Markbass 102P or the GK 1001 210 combo. Anybody know if the MB is any good for slap & tapping? I use a variety of styles & as far as I understand, the MB is more than capable of getting lows out (tho I know I may need a decent ext cab for larger gigs). At present I'm leaning towards the MB but definitely have not ruled the GK out. & keep thinking about the GK 700 210 combo & a cab at the same time, but I'd rather spend the bit extra on one of the others & add a cab at a later date as the gigs coming up wouldn't need it (fairly small halls & pubs). I really don't wanna go down the 2nd hand route, tho the Super Redhead is a nice bit of kit & I can't stretch my budget as it's been stretched already. Cheers for all so far, your advice has helped loads.

Goodpoint about the weight JJ. But the GK combo has wheels & pull out handle so you only need to lift it out the car (unless you have steps). Other option is the Markbass 210 combo. I haven't tried them yet but hear great things about them. Apparently very light & very loud & have bucket loads of quality tones. You could add the MB 410 or similar later which is also supposed to be very light. If you have a MB dealer near you then maybe give em a try & see what you think?

I'v got kind of an answer that's a question & it will help me decide too...... What about a GK 700RBII 210 combo (or the 1001RBII combo) and adding either a GK (or whatever) cab that suited? eg: add that GK 410 cab to make a 610 for example. Is there really any difference between buying the 700RBII head & GK 210 cab and the caombo other than the fact that the amp is built in to a slightly larger cab & saves a bit of money? I know you're then stuck with them 2 10's, but if you're happy to sound similar to Flea (which isn't a bad thing IMO) then is this not a good option? This is what I'm considering getting (maybe the MB 102P) & to try different cabs with it to see what I like. I'll probably get told to f@*k off and get a proper rig! lol

The Omni 10 cab idea sounds like a good plan, I'll look into that. Pikefloyd, what size gigs do you use the GK 700RBII-210 without PA assistance & do you use a cab with it? This very combo was what I was originally looking at but then found a little extra funds to stretch to the 1001 210 combo or the MB CMD 102P (which I keep hearing wonderful things about) & then if needs be add a cab, maybe that would be to build a Bill Fitzmaurice cab.

Thanks for this, it's helping me narrow things down alot. I'm thinking about now either going down the line of getting either the Markbass 102P or the GK 1001 210 combo & then at a later date (2-3 months) if needs be then add something like the Warwick 211 cab. This is based on reading too many forums on here! lol I like the idea of the combo as it's just one lift, but would I be better spending @ £500 on a head & @£200 on a 210 cab to start with? Surely these combos don't suffer from rattle like some really old combos can (even my wee Vox thing doesn't). I get it narrowed down a bit & make more options I don't really have the option to try before I buy as there is no MB or GK dealers near me (not for a good few hundred miles anyway as far as I know), but I kinda know what the GK sound is like & by the sound of what other BC members are saying, the Markbass is a very good sounding piece of kit. I tried the Ashdown in Soundcontrol & it's not really for me as it's a bit too "old wooly" sounding. I'm not dissing it as it is a nice warm sound, just doesn't suit my style of playing. Tho adding the ABM 15 cab to something might work.

I don't really wanna go 2nd hand. I know your get better gear for your money, but there's no warranty & it could be quite an expensive chance to take. I plan on getting good quality as all my other amps have been cheapo rubbish (carlsbro etc) & don't wanna go down that route just to have to replace it later. I was originally looking at the GK 700 RB 210 combo & may be able to stretch to buy a 1001 210 combo & add a 15 cab later once I save up some more, but is the GK better than the Markbass 210 combo or is the Ampeg B2RE with a Ampeg 200watt 410 gonna be better for adding a 15 cab to without having to upgrade the amp and fill a town hall or use outdoors? The GK 1001 head is verrrry tempting, but my wife would kill me if I bought s/h. The pre & power amp is a good idea, but I don't think I'll get much in the way of quality (although I haven't looked) at this sort of price. Where do you get Schroeder cabs & how much are they?

[quote name='jjl5590' post='170177' date='Apr 5 2008, 11:31 AM']im getting these for the same reason you want yours: Marshall MB450H Bass Amplifier Head £230 - [url="http://www.giggear.co.uk/home/index.php?m=shop&prodid=3178"]http://www.giggear.co.uk/home/index.php?m=...amp;prodid=3178[/url] Marshall MBC410 Bass Cabinet £200 - [url="http://www.giggear.co.uk/home/index.php?m=shop&prodid=3180"]http://www.giggear.co.uk/home/index.php?m=...amp;prodid=3180[/url] Marshall MBC115 Bass Cabinet £150 - [url="http://www.giggear.co.uk/home/index.php?m=shop&prodid=3179"]http://www.giggear.co.uk/home/index.php?m=...amp;prodid=3179[/url] Total Price = £580[/quote] I was looking at these & the Marshall MB450 combos, but I haven't heard anything of them & someone said that Marshall ain't all that good at bass. But if I could find someone who's tried or got, then I'd love to find out if they're worthy as they sure are cheap enough. The more I read through the forums the more confused I'm getting on what's gonna work! Starting to wonder if a 3-400 watt 210 combo is gonna cut it, tho the 100 watt 15" trace combo did the job with a bit of tweaking at the eq. The Ampeg B2RE & 410 1/2 stack seems like a good option but again I hear a lot of mixed stuff, mainly that it isn't very loud & sounds a bit lame. Anyone got or tried this? Cheers

Thanks for the welcome. I'm from Perth (as of recent anyway).

Hi, I'm looking to get new amplification (mainly to save me hiring at gigs) & wondered if anyone could help me narrow down my selection. I need something that could fill a town hall of about 300 folk or have no trouble outdoors in a beer garden & be able to fit in with & not get lost under the noise from a Vox AC 30 & a Marshall 100 watt thingy. I recently used a Trace 715 combo, but it's only 100 watt & felt it was too little power & too much ready to fart. The band I play in is a rock band, & use a lot of different styles from needing the depth of fingers to the punch & pop of slapping. I have been looking mainly at these: Ashdown ABM 500 III 210 combo Ampeg BA300 210 combo Ampeg B2RE Head & 410 cab (£679 from Dolphin) GK 700 RBII 210 combo Roland DBass 210 combo and most recent after reading forums & could push to it if it's gonna be what I need.................. MarkBass CMD 102P combo. Any advice here to narrow them down would be great (and save running around trying to try em all). I need a decent amount of bass but need clarity for playing up high as there is quite a bit of that too. Other question......... Would I be right in going for a 210 combo & adding a 15 cab at a later stage or would it make more sense doing things the other way round, 15 combo & 210 cab later? My initial outlay can't really exceed about £800 & that's at a push as I could get the Ashdown 210 & a 15 cab for that or just the MB CMD 102P. I have also been looking at the Roland & tried it & thought it sounded pretty good, but this was just in a shop so hard to tell if it would sound as good in a gigging situation. Ciao for now, gsj

Hi there, I've been looking everywhere for a decent (or any) uk bass forum & only managed to find usa forums (might have something to do with the web settings at work) but I'm overjoyed at finding this, it's a goldmine of information. I've been playing bass for 20 odd years & been in the current band for a little over 2 years, mainly playing rock that involves a mixture of pick, finger & slap (sometimes all in the one song) & play mostly our own material & will chuck in the odd cover depending on how long the set is. Just now I'm using an Ibanez SR1000e that I bought 18 years ago & cost me more than I could afford at the time, but I loved the sound of it. Amp wise I am using whatever I can hire or borrow for gigs & using a Vox Venue 30 bass for rehearsals & sometimes small gigs. Now I'm in a position to get a decent combo or amp/cab. I'm gonna post my question relating to this in the correct forum so if anyone else is in the same boat, then they might find the answers I get to help. Ciao for now