“compact rig with enough tone and power”
Yes, those bass gear makers from Italy with the yellow obsession have been at it again with a range of modular heads and additions to their cab range. Seemingly obsessed with making everything smaller, lighter, more compact (a damn lot easier in my book!) without tonal sacrifice Markbass really set the bar with their redesigned cabs and use of neodymium speaker technology. Today we have an often overlooked member of the bass community – a 1 x 15″ combo in the form of the Markbass CMD 151P 1×15″ combo.
A large mark combo…upsized?
It’s a fact, combos are often overlooked by bass players. The modular idea of having a head and cabs is very much seen as the way to go. Whilst I do understand the flexibility angle, what about those that use smaller rigs and indeed don’t need a head and 4 x 10? Guitarists have embraced the combo idea for a long time yet bass players haven’t seemed to follow this lead. Maybe it’s not cool as your favourite band that only uses 8 x 10 cabs? Or perhaps it’s the perceived restriction in tone? Or maybe you just downright hate ‘em? Whatever the reason MarkBass are here to try and sway that stubborn mind of yours over to the dark (and yellow) side.
Little Black Box
Opting for the rugged black carpet styled exterior the CMD151P is a pretty sturdy looking beast with tough black corners and a solid grill and handle. The faceplate is located at the rear of the top of the amp making it easy to access in a gig situation when it’s sitting on the ground or even on a riser. With the success of the Little Mark II head you’ll be pleased to see that this section has essentially been included as the amp for the CMD151P with a solid state 330 watts @ 8 ohms or 500 watts @ 4 ohms.
With a four band eq section (Low, Mid Low, Mid High and High Frequency) there’s plenty of room to move. Balancing the Gain and Master Volume levels is a great starting point keeping in mind the Gain controls how much signal is passed through the preamp stage, which includes equalisation and the effects loop whereas the Master determines the output of the power amp into the speaker. The inclusion of the Clip lead next to the Gain control makes for easy monitoring and gives the flexibility of boosting or dropping when working with various basses. With all this on board it was easy to setup a clean round thumpy tone without a hint of distortion. Pushing the mids and highs made for a slightly more hi fi tone with enough edge to keep the slappers happy (that is, the slap players amongst us…you know what I mean!)
Special Filter
MarkBass have again included their VLE and VPF filter controls on the CMD 151P adding to the EQ possibilities and scope (pretty cool for a single speaker combo styled amp I must say). The Vintage Loudspeaker Emulator (VLE) filters out highs as it’s engaged giving a mellower tone – perhaps even suiting double and acoustic basses. In contrast the Variable Pre-Shape Filter (VPF) boosts lows and highs and cuts mids – often a fave of harder edged or rock players for sitting in alternate places in the mix. Whilst these type of filters ain’t everyone’s bag they are a cool addition and can easily be dialled out if you’d prefer to leave your eq settings untouched.
1 x 15?
MarkBass are the first to admit that 1 x 15 combos haven’t been the toniest of rigs in the past, in fact the website states ‘ fifteen inch speakers used to sound big and dumb, lacking definition…But our 15’s custom made by B&C will change the way you think about speaker sizes!’. A fair statement, and from what I can see and hear the CMD 151P is definitely a step in the right direction with some real depth and volume for 4, 5 and 6 string players.
Old Yeller?
I’m not saying the CMD 151P will cover all your basses bass amp wise (ha!) but if you need a small, compact rig with enough tone and power to compete on small to midsized gigs it’s definitely worth some consideration. The fact that it weighs only 18.5 kgs and measures a measly 50cm x 50 cm x 50 cm (approx) means you could sit this on the front seat next to you (even in the missus’ pink barina when your trusty gig bus is out of action) and stil have room to juggle Hungry Jacks on your knee on the way to the gig.
Price: RRP $2295
Distributor: CMC Music
Phone: (02) 9905 2511
website www.cmcmusic.com.au
By Nick Brown
