spongebob Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 My current bass amp - a Trace Elliot 150w combo, serves me well with a teriffic sound, and output is more than good for me. However, at around 30k's or more, it weighs a ton (not literally, please forgive my calculations). Basically, I'm looking for an combo of 150w or similar that I can lift on my own, without risking a double hernia. I'd also like to be able to leave the gig without any help - I always find my amp is the last to get lifted out of venues whilst I'm helping the others! It would be nice to have amp in one hand, and bass in the other! I've seen the Markbass Mini Mark - seems to give out 150w, but they say it weighs under 10k! Has anybody got/tried one of these? How do they sound? I'm really interested to hear everybody's thoughts, as they seem quite expensive for a combo - just under £800. I was also searching the net for more pictures - I can only find the front, not the switches/inputs, etc. All help and suggestions please!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannybuoy Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 I've read good reviews of it that say it sounds great, not much deep low end, but generally a similar clean warm sound that Markbass are known for. It will struggle however if you try to crank it in a gig situation; you're fine if you're playing the quiet jazz trio kind of thing, but you'll need an extension cab to get 250W out of it or PA support if playing in a loud rock band. I have a CMD121P which weighs a bit more and is a bit more cumbersome at 13kg, but is still an easy one hand carry compared to most bass amps. It has twice the power of the Minimark so you'll get gig volumes out of it without the extension cab... and you still have the option to add one for big gigs or outdoor stages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sk8 Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 have you thought about the Shuttle 3.0-10T? Only a single ten but plenty loud and extremely light Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spongebob Posted March 24, 2009 Author Share Posted March 24, 2009 Nice avatar Sk8! TBH, I've always found my Trace to have a fine amount of power for me. Other places where there's been a dediacated soundman, he's just line'd me out to the PA. I tend to use it in small clubs/pubs, and it's always had enough power to cut through. Then again, I'm a biased Ric player....and they sound great through anything! I've noticed a few Mark Bass players on here, so there's quite a following? I'm just looking for a way to plug 'n' go, whilst matching the quality and sound of my Trace..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexclaber Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 [quote name='spongebob' post='443998' date='Mar 24 2009, 05:28 PM']TBH, I've always found my Trace to have a fine amount of power for me.[/quote] 150W into two 6"s will be far quieter than 150W into one 15". Alex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cLepto-bass Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 [quote name='alexclaber' post='444005' date='Mar 24 2009, 05:33 PM']150W into two 6"s will be far quieter than 150W into one 15". Alex[/quote] Please forgive my ignorance but how does this work. I'm in the market for either a small combo ar cab too and this comment has intrigued me. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexclaber Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 [quote name='uzzell' post='444017' date='Mar 24 2009, 05:44 PM']Please forgive my ignorance but how does this work. I'm in the market for either a small combo ar cab too and this comment has intrigued me.[/quote] Basically the electrical power from the amp goes into the speaker which attempts to turn it into acoustic power in the form of pressure waves in the air. This process is extremely inefficient with most of the electricity turning into heat and only 1-2% turning into acoustic energy. If all else is equal then the larger the total speaker area, the greater the conversion efficiency. Furthermore when you put 150W of low frequency power into a typical loudspeaker in has to move rather a lot to turn that into big bass waves. An expensive 4x10" cab will handle at best about 300W of lows so you can imagine that a 2x6" cab has no hope of handling 150W of bottom. The 15" in a TE combo will handle quite a bit more of your 150W than that 2x6". So there you have it: Efficiency aka sensitivity is the first thing that matters. True low frequency power handling (not the manufacturer's claimed power handling) is the second thing. You need enough of both to get loud. See these 1x15" cabs awaiting being finished off - 150W into all four of these at once will flatten even the loudest rock drummer. It's not about using electricity, it's about moving air! Alex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Etienne Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 Sorry for going OT a bit, but it's interesting to finally see the innards of the Compact cabs Alex! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spongebob Posted March 25, 2009 Author Share Posted March 25, 2009 My 150w Trace has a single speaker.....so I would assume output would be fairly similar to the Mini Mark? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirkThrust Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 [quote name='alexclaber' post='444065' date='Mar 24 2009, 06:26 PM']See these 1x15" cabs awaiting being finished off - 150W into all four of these at once will flatten even the loudest rock drummer. It's not about using electricity, it's about moving air! Alex[/quote] One of those is mine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peted Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 As an alternative solution to the original problem (carting round a heavy combo) - have you thought about buying a sack cart or similar? I think it's a great way to have 'termporary' wheels for moving an amp around and you could push it around with your bass on your back or strapped to it in some way. A much cheaper solution than buying another amp too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexclaber Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 [quote name='spongebob' post='444905' date='Mar 25 2009, 12:41 PM']My 150w Trace has a single speaker.....so I would assume output would be fairly similar to the Mini Mark?[/quote] But what is that single speaker? For starters, how big is it? It takes almost three 6" speakers to equal the cone area of one 10" speaker and almost seven 6" speakers to equal the area of a single 15". Alex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d-basser Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 [quote name='peted' post='445886' date='Mar 26 2009, 12:29 PM']As an alternative solution to the original problem (carting round a heavy combo) - have you thought about buying a sack cart or similar? I think it's a great way to have 'termporary' wheels for moving an amp around and you could push it around with your bass on your back or strapped to it in some way. A much cheaper solution than buying another amp too.[/quote] Tesco extra I was in yesterday had sack trolleys for 15 or 16 quid, not a bad cheep solution Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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