Best Gallien Krueger Bass head?

[Pedulla-Player]

Originally Posted by Chef

Heh, look at me stirring the pot

I'm not trying to induce any fisticuffs from either side.

btw: the Orange Terro is a mighty fine head, plenty powerful, and well voiced at what it does.
However, if an MB series head is what you like, I totally get why the Terror would be one you -wouldn't- like. It was not my flavor either, but dang, really good at what it does.

Also: the MBF and two NEO 212's is a mighty potent deal too.

MBF and two Neo 212's is my decided goal that I'm trying to achieve. With a used RB (not sure which) as my back up. Living in the boonies (as stated previously) has made me come to the realization that I need a back-up head.

[B-string]

As far as reliability issues. When Genz has as many units in the field under similar conditions, for as long as G-K, we can talk with some degree of certainty.

[Pedulla-Player]

+1 to that.

[ljazz]

When you buy, check out RMC Audio. Normally, they have the best prices around on the GK stuff.... you just gotta ask for a quote. I'm not sure if they still do this, but back when I bought my 700rbII, they would do a 24 "burn-in" on the heads (I think they would just leave it on for 24 hours and made sure it still worked before reboxing)....... I hope I'm remembering that correctly.

[ljazz]

You know, I get a little leary of those reviews on MF. I took the time to read through those this morning, and I can't help but think of several things......

1) Power issues. If I bought three and all died right out of the box, I think I'd begin to question the outlet i'm plugging into.
2) How many of those people understand ohms? The dude who used it several times at rehearsal and one day it didn't work..... someone here reported in a recent thread about accidently hooking up to less than 4 ohms and had the same thing happen.
3) Fretting after a few years.

You just see more of it with the gk because they sell so many. I have several bass playing buds that use the rb stuff, because it is reliable, especially if you know how to use your gear and hook it up properly.

[micgtr71]

My friend had an 800RB back in the late 80s that sounded fantastic through 2 Hartke 410xls. I got an opportunity to play a 2000RB through 2 goliath 3 410s and that was a fantastic sound. Unfortunately, when the amp got hot, it shut down...sometimes right in the middle of a gig.

I tried an mb210 combo and did not like it as much as the rb series. Maybe it was the speakers and maybe it was the time needed to tweak a sound. I would like to try the mb series through a hydrive combo. In the past, gk/hartke was always the sound I preferred.

[KJung]

Originally Posted by Pedulla-Player

+1 to that.

Not really. The denominator has very little to do with percentage of failures (edit: of course, if a brand is very small and boutique, e.g., Glockenklang or whatever, then it is hard to get a feel for anything regarding failure rates or consistent problem issues. Once you get to the shipping volume of a GK, Markbass, Genz, Ampeg, etc., it becomes pretty obvious regarding systematic issues... like, for example, the Markbass piezo tweeters blowing,or those lower line Ampeg solid state amps failing at a high rate, etc.).

Also, the issues mentioned a few posts above would impact all brands equally. One thing you learn is that once you start 'blaming the customer', things go rapidly downhill for a brand.

Again, no dog in this hunt at all. The issues with GK are long known and seem to be continuing, and are very well documented. Great sounding stuff, just more of a 'buyer beware' thing.

Again, as one who evaluates failure rates in new and existing products for a living (as part of my consulting business), the percentage of problem posts on social media is a VERY good indicator of underlying issues, and good companies pay very close attention.

That is what is so great about TB. Lots of real info here with a minimum of spin if you read carefully and consider the source of various posts. I understand the emotion involved though, especially if you are a current owner of one of these brands (been there, done that).

Not the end of the world, but a good piece of info to consider when purchasing IMO.

[AdamR]

Originally Posted by micgtr71

I got an opportunity to play a 2000RB through 2 goliath 3 410s and that was a fantastic sound. Unfortunately, when the amp got hot, it shut down...sometimes right in the middle of a gig.

I believe there was a known issue with the 2000RBs which is why the were revamped as the 2001rb

[RockBobby]

I have had a 2000RB for many years that replaced a Mesa 400+ and an SVT. That amp just had raw Balls and great tone. It crapped out and I bought another one. My needs changed and I went lower power with an 800RB. Loved the tone! This amp mated best with an 8 ohm D410XLT but I now use it with VT pedal and a NV215. I also have a ABM500 UK, that gets 2nd fiddle to it. My 1972 V4 and 1969 2000S stay home....with my semi-sick VB-2

The 800RB gets more compliments and blends with the band. It just has "IT"




.

[stugotz]

I play an MB500 with two Hydrive 4x10's. Hands down the best "little" rig I have owned. I have used the MB500 for several "jam" nites at local clubs, 4-5 hours of constant loud volumes. Not so much as a hiccup. I must say I was leary at first about how rugged the little guy was gonna be. No worries here!

[B-string]

Originally Posted by KJung

Not really. The denominator has very little to do with percentage of failures (edit: of course, if a brand is very small and boutique, e.g., Glockenklang or whatever, then it is hard to get a feel for anything regarding failure rates or consistent problem issues. Once you get to the shipping volume of a GK, Markbass, Genz, Ampeg, etc., it becomes pretty obvious regarding systematic issues... like, for example, the Markbass piezo tweeters blowing,or those lower line Ampeg solid state amps failing at a high rate, etc.).

Also, the issues mentioned a few posts above would impact all brands equally. One thing you learn is that once you start 'blaming the customer', things go rapidly downhill for a brand.

Again, no dog in this hunt at all. The issues with GK are long known and seem to be continuing, and are very well documented. Great sounding stuff, just more of a 'buyer beware' thing.

Again, as one who evaluates failure rates in new and existing products for a living (as part of my consulting business), the percentage of problem posts on social media is a VERY good indicator of underlying issues, and good companies pay very close attention.

That is what is so great about TB. Lots of real info here with a minimum of spin if you read carefully and consider the source of various posts. I understand the emotion involved though, especially if you are a current owner of one of these brands (been there, done that).

Not the end of the world, but a good piece of info to consider when purchasing IMO.

I only take issue with your position as I have sent more users to agedhorse's way in the last 60 days than to G-K's contacts. Maybe just a TB thing? We should know that we are still a small sample here and the problems always get reported, successes not so much.

[willsellout]

The general concensus outside of Kjung in my opinion is that GK is a very reliable brand with excellent customer service. Normally their failures are due to design issues, such as the 2000 overheat and the 1001rb blow up issues. They redesigned to fix the issues and now both the 2001 and 1001 redesigns are highly reliable. Both my 1001rb bad experiences were with the 1st versions. Also, in the case of the 800RB there were a ton of people blowing their amps up because of the confusion over outputs. So much so that they had to redesign it.

I think Genz is a great company but my opinion is that these lightweight amps life span will not be the 10, 20, or even 30 years you see with some of the the GK's. They are throwaways. The only exception, in my view, are the hand built WW heads.

[micgtr71]

Originally Posted by AdamR

I believe there was a known issue with the 2000RBs which is why the were revamped as the 2001rb

Yes,
They also updated his amp to fix the issues. He is still a loyal GK user. Great customer service. This is the route I think that I am going to take when I get a new amp.

[Pedulla-Player]

I'm getting a lot of interest in my SM 9.2 and it looks like it may be selling soon so I need to make a decision.

I'm down to trying the Fusion 550 again because I loved how it sounded so much. Plus I don't have to worry about it fitting on top of my GK Neo 212's like I did with my Neo 112's vertically stacked.
Or ... The MB Fusion 500 because it's a bit cheaper. The weight thing doesn't bother me. I actually didn't like the SM9.2 being so light because I had to bungee it down on top of my Uber 410 cab or it would vibrate right off. Plus - I don't have to worry about pulling the Fusion 550 off my cabs if my cord gets tugged or if I reach my cord limit. Id rather the cord come out then the head fall off my cab.

Any last minute suggestions on which one - Fusion 550 or MB Fusion 500? Just curious.
Thanks again for all of your input on this thread.
P-P

[KJung]

Originally Posted by willsellout

The general concensus outside of Kjung in my opinion is that GK is a very reliable brand with excellent customer service

Amazing. I guess if 'most of their problems are due to design issues' is a definition of 'reliable', then, well... um... OK.

Again, nice sounding stuff, and they do seem to eventually get most of their models settled down after a year or two. That is completely unacceptable to me personally, but I totally respect those who say 'damn the torpedoes, I love the tone and I'm buying one'.

[Pedulla-Player]

Originally Posted by KJung

Amazing. I guess if 'most of their problems are due to design issues' is a definition of 'reliable', then, well... um... OK.

Again, nice sounding stuff, and they do seem to eventually get most of their models settled down after a year or two. That is completely unacceptable to me personally, but I totally respect those who say 'damn the torpedoes, I love the tone and I'm buying one'.

At least the Fusions have been out a couple years now so hopefully if there were any issues they got worked out. More than likely the issue with the 550 that I got was a bad tube. Unfortunately I sent my spare tubes to the buyer of my Mesa M9. When I do make the decision and purchase - I will order at least one spare tube to go with it.

That said - The Fusion 550's warm tone totally blew me away. It has been what I've been looking for. Not knocking the SM 9.2 at all - great amp , but I just couldn't cop the warm tone that I was after. I'm sure that it was in there , and with your knowledge - I'm sure that you could easily find it. I found it with the Fusion 550 with ease.

[willsellout]

Originally Posted by KJung

Amazing. I guess if 'most of their problems are due to design issues' is a definition of 'reliable', then, well... um... OK.

That's a misrepresentation of my post, and I believe you know that.

Again, nice sounding stuff, and they do seem to eventually get most of their models settled down after a year or two. That is completely unacceptable to me personally, but I totally respect those who say 'damn the torpedoes, I love the tone and I'm buying one'.

And once they are settled in they last decades. And really, we are talking about two models spaced decades apart, so it's hardly an epidemic, or even a concern anymore.

I still think it will be interesting to see how many STL900's or TH500's are around in 10 years. To be fair, I'll say the same thing about the GK lightweight heads.

[Jerry Ziarko]

Originally Posted by KJung

Amazing. I guess if 'most of their problems are due to design issues' is a definition of 'reliable', then, well... um... OK.

Again, nice sounding stuff, and they do seem to eventually get most of their models settled down after a year or two. That is completely unacceptable to me personally, but I totally respect those who say 'damn the torpedoes, I love the tone and I'm buying one'.

Ken, I'm n the opposite side of the fence here. I appreciated the way GK tweaked the MB2 500 which is now known as the MB500. As most know, a company can do all the R&D possible and release the product in a small prototype sample for field use, but once in full production, issues can arise. When the MB2 500 was released, issues did arise. GK took a very proactive approach, and even relied on several TB members for feedback and recommendations. EQ points were adjusted, and reliability issues were addressed. The amp went through 7 revisions. With each revision, GK did free upgrades and repairs, often sending new replacement units to purchasers. Robert Gallien was often here, sometimes daily, addressing issues and receiving suggestions. In a way, TB had a direct impact on the final product, the MB 500. I currently own 2 GK's. I just recently traded a MB2 500 (revision 7) only because it seemed redundant to my MB Fusion. Many say they are quite different, but honestly, the differences are subtle. Other than a small affair with an Eden, I've used nothing but GK since the mid 80's. I've said it before, I've been fortunate. I've not even had a hiccup in all that time over thousands of gigs.

[KJung]

Originally Posted by Jerry Ziarko

Ken, I'm n the opposite side of the fence here. I appreciated the way GK tweaked the MB2 500 which is now known as the MB500. As most know, a company can do all the R&D possible and release the product in a small prototype sample for field use, but once in full production, issues can arise. When the MB2 500 was released, issues did arise. GK took a very proactive approach, and even relied on several TB members for feedback and recommendations. EQ points were adjusted, and reliability issues were addressed. The amp went through 7 revisions. With each revision, GK did free upgrades and repairs, often sending new replacement units to purchasers. Robert Gallien was often here, sometimes daily, addressing issues and receiving suggestions. In a way, TB had a direct impact on the final product, the MB 500. I currently own 2 GK's. I just recently traded a MB2 500 (revision 7) only because it seemed redundant to my MB Fusion. Many say they are quite different, but honestly, the differences are subtle. Other than a small affair with an Eden, I've used nothing but GK since the mid 80's. I've said it before, I've been fortunate. I've not even had a hiccup in all that time over thousands of gigs.

+1 in that their approach to new product introduction(which was not limited to the MB500.... remember the 'exploding MB150 micro combo's that went through years of 'releases' until they finally became stable, the MB200, the 1001RB, etc., etc., etc.) can be viewed the way you are looking at it. I agree that a quickly fixed systematic issue that is identified during the very first production run is relatively common across most brands, and is not a big deal. Seven revisions over the course of two years to 'fix issues' .... not so much. (or coming out with a 'version II' more than a year or two after a problematic product is introduced, etc.

And, of course, even the most failure/problem prone products are going to have many, many users who do not have problems. It is all about probability of failure due to failure rates that are high (high meaning over 10%). All but the absolutely worst products have MANY more 'no failure' units than failure units. I've had good luck with some GK products (later releases of the 400RB, the final release of the MB150) and absolutely awful experience (backed up by my discussions with retailers and lots of other users) of the first year releases of the 400RB, the 700RB, the first two versions of the MB150). Again, probabilities of problems and patterns are the key here. Even in this thread, the vast majority of posters who are GK fans report 'issues' which are explained away in various ways. IMO, a high percentage of issues (fixed at a later time or not after revision after revision) is not a good thing. Obviously, many feel that is 'no big deal'. Blows my mind, but it is easy to 'vote with your wallet'.

Again, sounds like the OP has made his decision. If the OP's choice is between the Fusion500 and the MBFusion500, based on reliability and problem reports, it would be the MBFusion500 by a LARGE margin. Combine that with similar tone and performance combined with lower cost and much smaller size, to me that decision is a bit of a no brainer.

Again, the only reason I brought the issue of reliability up in this thread is that the OP stated that 'reliability' was a top issue for him, given his location, etc., and that he would actually trade-off 'preferred tone for reliability'. To the OP, sorry for the buzzkill. The MBFusion500 is a great sounding head, reasonably 'plug and play', good reliability (especially in comparison to other GK products), and should make you happy. Easy to ship also if there is a problem, etc. I would not recommend the larger GKFusion.

[Jerry Ziarko]

I seriously doubt failure rate is 10% or anywhere close to it.