debz Posted February 5, 2023 Share Posted February 5, 2023 Hi everyone... I have had a GK MB150 for 20+ years which I really need to replace. I'm looking at 1x12 combo and have two come up that spark interest. One is the GR 800 combo and the other is minimark CMD 121P. I've not tried either of these with my double bass. I'd be interested to hear what you think about these combos, especially if you've played through the GK MB150 because I was super happy with the GK. Just to add * I have a crazy 8 + acoustic imagine for quiet type gigs but like the 12" speaker for other situations. Has anyone got any feedback you'd like to share...?? Much appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickA Posted February 5, 2023 Share Posted February 5, 2023 Nothing wrong with those mini marks.. surprisingly loud for the size. Though care required with those weird vle and vpf knobs. Totally change the sound and not really for the better imo. Try some pjb kit too ( lots of tiny speakers) surprisingly neutral... but you do need a lot for volume. my pb300 + flight case has 10x 5" speakers and is the minimum for playing with a drummer plus electric guitar I think; though I take just the flight case to rehearsals ( equiv to your crazy 8 I guess) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
debz Posted February 5, 2023 Author Share Posted February 5, 2023 Thanks Nick.. Have you ever tried a GR Bass combo by any chance? I'm a bit fixed on a 12" probably because the GK has a 12. Good feedback though on the Markbass.. cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreek Posted February 5, 2023 Share Posted February 5, 2023 (edited) There's a PJB combo for sale on eBay currently. IIRC it's due to finish today. Gone.... Edited February 5, 2023 by TheGreek Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickA Posted February 5, 2023 Share Posted February 5, 2023 1 hour ago, debz said: Have you ever tried a GR Bass combo by any chance? Actually no. I'd never even heard of GR before now. Not over impressed with the GK combos though. I had a huge complicated trace Elliot 1x15" for years; sounded awful at low volumes and worse with dB...so went out hunting for something modern, with smaller drivers. A pro bass player I had some lessons with had a minimark and HIS teacher had a micromark ... But couldn't find one and happened on pjb (both combo and powered extension off basschat at very fair prices). The older ones with "neo" drivers are very neutral ( sounds like a double bass but louder sort of thing) the more recent ones ( eg compact suitcase) with piranha drivers are a bit brighter. I'd be happy with a markbass too i think. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruno Maia Posted February 9, 2023 Share Posted February 9, 2023 (edited) I own a GK MB210ii a combo with 2x10" + tweeter. It has a wonderful GK sound, class D digital combo yielding 340W, more than twice the power you will ever need for a double bass on stage, with possibility to add an extra 8Ohms speaker to unleash 500W. Besides that you can add powered MBP cabinets to stack up to 2000W, if you are going to share the stage with Vinnie Colayuta or Dennis Chambers... Power apart, I also own a Markbass Micromark 8" 50W with 8Ohms extra cabinet outlet, likely an unique feature for its size. That is my work combo for pub gigs. My major concern lately is the headroom/weight ratio + NOT made in China + nice sound. (Yes, I do boycot China as much as possible for many reasons, including slavery, tyrany, etc.) For me as a Jazz double bassist power is not about volume. The fact is that power for double bassists is about clarity from having more headroom. Larger venues will have a PA that is suitable for the bass as well. Combos become mere stage monitors in that case. My GK combo weighs about 16KG and "assembled in the USA" under their QA specs. (Still it's made in China, which sucks to me.) The GK sound is happy days. The Markbass (made in Indonesia) CMD 121P weighs about 12KG, which would be an advantage IMO. It sounds great. In France I played in a basement on a Jeff Berlin Black Line Series 15" which also sounded great. The gain knob was at 10% and master at 50% and I was asked to turn it down... Same usually happens to my GK. My little Micromark (also made in Indonesia) is my choice for pub gigs because it weights about 7KG and does the job for Jazz double bass gigs in pubs. Be in no misatake that little box can get really loud and amazingly fat for its size, in detriment to the sound clarity. That analog amp starts to kick in a compressor which ruins any £30k double bass timber when playing above 70% power. Unless you are a rockabilly player going loud on a small 8" box is not a good idea. Recently, I have also spotted the GR . They build in Italy a new carbon fiber box, a 12" GR Bass SLC800 combo that weights just 9KG, currently priced at £1.4k. More specs can be found here https://www.thomann.de/gb/gr_bass_slc800_superlight_series.htm I have never heard its sound live but I bet I would not regret it. My lightweight MB210 combo feels heavier by the day as I grow older. That headroom/weight ratio is unbeatable. The GR may be my posh suggestion (again, not heard it live yet) I would strongly suggest anyone who plays the double bass to think about a HPF which can cut under 40Hz to eliminate the sub-harmonics feedback buzz typically bugging bassists when the drummer starts to hit it harder just like Vinnie Colayuta and Dennis Chambers and you must turn around and go up a notch on your amp to even hear yourself. High Pass Filters (Low Cut if you want) are present on some amp heads, but hard to buy separetely. Rafferty, an Irish pedal maker makes some. He can be found somewhere in FB. Also placing the amp to my right side to avoid resonating the bass chamber as much as possible works for me ( plus because the drummer is usually to my left if he/she/it wants to hear me the hands will not be so ruthlessly heavy on the drums like VC/DC... ) Good groovers, all the best. Edited February 11, 2023 by Kev Removing reference to sale 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickA Posted February 11, 2023 Share Posted February 11, 2023 Great post! I used that GK 2x10" in our local university's practice rooms during some jazz lessons. Great improvement on my old trace for dB, but I like the pjb and markbass stuff a lot better .. especially for doubling with fretless electric. The pjb has a built in fixed low cut filter and an input impedance that suits piezo pickups well... and I presume the markbaß does too. You can buy piezo pre-amps (sansamp etc) if you want more adjustability and features. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay Carter Music Posted February 11, 2023 Share Posted February 11, 2023 I’ve owned mini mark and GK MB150S and a PJB cub I now have a GR bass mini head and GR bass AT 110 cab. I’m totally sold on all of the GR stuff, it’s very loud and sounds very transparent but still very nice sounding. Also it’s extremely light. I really don’t see the other options as being in the same league for upright or electric IMO! It’s a little tricky to get your hands on though but bass direct have stuff in stock or can order it in. Some people don’t trust the carbon models for stability but I personally do and there’s wood options if you prefer that anyway! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickA Posted February 12, 2023 Share Posted February 12, 2023 On 11/02/2023 at 17:07, Jay Carter Music said: I’ve owned mini mark and GK MB150S and a PJB cub I now have a GR bass mini head and GR bass AT 110 cab. I’m totally sold on all of the GR stuff, it’s very loud and sounds very transparent but still very nice sounding. Also it’s extremely light. I really don’t see the other options as being in the same league for upright or electric IMO! It’s a little tricky to get your hands on though but bass direct have stuff in stock or can order it in. Some people don’t trust the carbon models for stability but I personally do and there’s wood options if you prefer that anyway! Dam you. I'm getting combo GAS (CAS?) which I thought I'd bansihed forever with my PJB rig. I'll admit that to get the PJB up to gig volume, the total kit (flightcase and PB300) is almost as heavy as the old 1x 15 trace .. the weight advantage is that you only have to take as much as you need and if you need all of it it carries in sperate bits, being modular. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinyd Posted February 13, 2023 Share Posted February 13, 2023 I also have an aging GK MB150 combo that I'd like to replace with something lighter. The Micromark looks interesting - as well as jazz gigs I play in a rockabilly band, but we're comparatively quiet so I'm wondering if it'll be loud enough. The other option I think is a TC BAM200 and BC208 which I think will be louder and still portable. I don't really want to spend more than €400-500 either so some of the nicer PJB etc gear is probably out of my range... If anyone has any thoughts on these or any other small, light and relatively cheap setups that would be great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruno Maia Posted March 4, 2023 Share Posted March 4, 2023 On 13/02/2023 at 13:16, tinyd said: I also have an aging GK MB150 combo that I'd like to replace with something lighter. The Micromark looks interesting - as well as jazz gigs I play in a rockabilly band, but we're comparatively quiet so I'm wondering if it'll be loud enough. The other option I think is a TC BAM200 and BC208 which I think will be louder and still portable. I don't really want to spend more than €400-500 either so some of the nicer PJB etc gear is probably out of my range... If anyone has any thoughts on these or any other small, light and relatively cheap setups that would be great! Just to clarify a bit more about power, both TC BAM200 and Warkick Gnome are not so accurate in their specs. They lure consumers saying the power is 200W. To start , they are class C amps which waste about 30% of the power to heat. Then comes the total power consumption which is about 80W. It is impossible to create power like magic. The output is about 50-60W RMS just like the Micromark. 200W refers to peak power from capacitors which buffer some power for the sake of puch atack like a flashlight from a camera. It lasts miliseconds. The continuous power is about 30% less than the input power for Class C transistors. Class D digital amps however lose only 10% of the power. My GK 210ii class D for example has an input power of 600W max which makes 500W sound about right. I am not sure if BAM or Gnome woud sound louder than a Micromark with an external cabinet. I found a video of me playing a Fender with the Micromark, as captured by a GoPro (plus u2b upload audio compression which is a shame), also was using a Zoom B1xOn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mottlefeeder Posted March 4, 2023 Share Posted March 4, 2023 May I ask where you found the information about Class C amplifiers being used for audio? My Google searches only give me sites saying Class C is suitable for RF and tuned circuits, but not audio. David 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickA Posted March 4, 2023 Share Posted March 4, 2023 (edited) On 04/03/2023 at 18:00, Mottlefeeder said: Indeed class B or class AB was the trad hifi amp. Class A being better but much too lossy. Class C high efficiency but lots of distortion. Class D (pwm) getting so good now that A and AB likely to disappear. The gnome, the elf and the pjb power amp in my pb300 and flight case are all class D. Run pretty cool. It's true that my 450W of pjb is quieter than my old 350W of trace ( class ab) ...but trace watts were always bigger! No-one would use class C for audio surely. Awful distortion. Edited March 5, 2023 by NickA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimmyN2 Posted April 21, 2023 Share Posted April 21, 2023 Some really interesting posts here. I use a Mark bass CMD121P combo and generally very happy with it. Just wondering if the EQ section ‘bass, low mid, high mid and treble knobs’ could do the same work as an HPF? We (Jazz quintet) played in an old school room last week with an audience (who thought the sound was good) but our usual method of recording has a very boomy sound with my bass and the kick drum. I usually have the bass and low mid dialled back a bit from 12 o’clock. Maybe I should have put the amp on a chair. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassace Posted May 1, 2023 Share Posted May 1, 2023 Just as a heads up, I have a Genz Benz 3.0 Shuttle Combo advertised in Amps and Cabs for Sale. It has a 10” cab and weighs in at 18 lbs and is perfect for in an out DB gigs. I’m only getting rid of it because I’m not playing anymore. Heres a pic of the controls, including the versatile eq section. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickA Posted May 1, 2023 Share Posted May 1, 2023 (edited) Not playing any more?!! What happened? Hope you're ok. Ps: I'll vouch for the amp. Works nicely. Edited May 1, 2023 by NickA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassace Posted May 1, 2023 Share Posted May 1, 2023 19 minutes ago, NickA said: Not playing any more?!! What happened? Hope you're ok. Ps: I'll vouch for the amp. Works nicely. Hi Nick Thanks for asking. I just got old and it’s about time I stopped. I’m 82 now and nobody has got any business inflicting themselves on an audience at that age. Mind you, I’ve still got a bit of gear and a nice double bass. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted May 1, 2023 Share Posted May 1, 2023 13 minutes ago, bassace said: Hi Nick Thanks for asking. I just got old and it’s about time I stopped. I’m 82 now and nobody has got any business inflicting themselves on an audience at that age. Mind you, I’ve still got a bit of gear and a nice double bass. Kudos @bassace 👍 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickA Posted May 1, 2023 Share Posted May 1, 2023 Well all the very best and hope you keep playing for your own amusement at least. And if we manage another double bass bash one day, please come to listen and advise! Also nice to know I might manage another 22 years! Thread Hijack over!!! 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted May 1, 2023 Share Posted May 1, 2023 6 minutes ago, NickA said: Well all the very best and hope you keep playing for your own amusement at least. And if we manage another double bass bash one day, please come to listen and advise! Also nice to know I might manage another 22 years! Thread Hijack over!!! Seconded 👍 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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