Gallien Kreuger Official Club Part 7

[Dredmahawkus]

Originally Posted by woofdoggy

Ive been looking into buying a new rig, most likely GK. would you guys reccomend the combos 1x15 or 2x12, or buying cabs, and head sperately? The big difference ive seen is obviously price and the combos have less power than seperate head/cab (assuming head is trong enough). Any opinions?

I just got a used MBfusion on craigslist for 350 works great! its prefect....I got lucky I just happened to look on there and the guy listed it like 10 minutes before. he said he had like 8 emails right after mine. There was also a neo 2-12 for 250.....the guy said it was a little beat up so I bought a new 2-12neo.....the cab is so loud. I put it up a little bit in my house and the walls were shaking! I can litterally hear the wood in the walls shake! and thats at 8ohms....so I can add another if I need it.....2 2-12s would be rediculous. I bet you could play a fairly large venue no problem with even 1.

[scottfeldstein]

Originally Posted by woofdoggy

Ive been looking into buying a new rig, most likely GK. would you guys reccomend the combos 1x15 or 2x12, or buying cabs, and head sperately? The big difference ive seen is obviously price and the combos have less power than seperate head/cab (assuming head is trong enough). Any opinions?

Do you play rock music with others, drums and guitar? Some combos can keep up with that, especially if your bandmates are sensible with their volume. But I still recommend going separate.

What kind of music do you play? And how loud is your band (if you have one)? And what's your budget?

[B-string]

Originally Posted by Dredmahawkus

I just got a used MBfusion on craigslist for 350 works great! its prefect....I got lucky I just happened to look on there and the guy listed it like 10 minutes before. he said he had like 8 emails right after mine. There was also a neo 2-12 for 250.....the guy said it was a little beat up so I bought a new 2-12neo.....the cab is so loud. I put it up a little bit in my house and the walls were shaking! I can litterally hear the wood in the walls shake! and thats at 8ohms....so I can add another if I need it.....2 2-12s would be rediculous. I bet you could play a fairly large venue no problem with even 1.

Yes you can! You win that bet

[Dredmahawkus]

Originally Posted by ksandvik

The plus side with active basses are all the eq controls you have available. But then you need to deal with batteries and somewhat more artificial bass sound. I have both, both kinds of basses are good to have. And the longer I have played, the more I realize a large part of the sound comes from the finger and the brain.

Anyway, if you are looking at active basses I would recommend a EBMM Bongo if you have resources and an Ibanez ATK in case you don't.

yeah I love the jazz bass feel so I was pretty up in the air between a MM sterling....would love that roasted neck but I think they only come on the stingrays. I hate P bass feel...short and thick....I think the sterling was the same profile as a jazz and stingray same as a P bass.......either that or an american deluxe jazz. I really want something nice next with a nice feeling neck.
then I was considering building a Warmoth shielding the hell out of it and putting deluxe jazz electronics in it.,,,but it would probably just be cheaper to get a deluxe jazz the way I want it.
I cant decide! I have to go play a sterling....I heard some on youtube and they have a ton of different tones!
Like I said right now my jazz bass has 10% overwound fralins and really thick flatwound strings....its set up to get that muddy deep growly 70s tone.....I did want that....but I need an active too for more variety.

[B-string]

Originally Posted by Dredmahawkus

you guys suggest an active guitar? I am going to get one soon. although my passive jazz with fralin pups in is has a great 70s sound with the mb fusion....its kinda limiting. I also have flatwound strings.....the only tone you can really get out of it is slightly dirty with growl and flat....or really dirty with growl and flat....cant really get a clean tone at all. should I get an active bass to get more tone? with rounds?

Rounds or half round strings. Flats do limit your voice choice. Also make sure the pups are not too close to the strings.

[Andyman001]

Originally Posted by colbyAKAbobby

What I'm trying to say is, is there a reason why my foot switch isn't working?

My MB Fusion foot switch is only Tip/Sleeve, two conductor cable.

[woofdoggy]

Originally Posted by scottfeldstein

Do you play rock music with others, drums and guitar? Some combos can keep up with that, especially if your bandmates are sensible with their volume. But I still recommend going separate.

What kind of music do you play? And how loud is your band (if you have one)? And what's your budget?

Usually play with 1 or 2 guitars, and vocalist. gig sizes vary. my budget is flexible as long as the deal is good, I'll most likely be getting used everything so that helps. Play mostly rock, and some blues stuff

And i still cant deceide between the combo or seperate cab/head...the combo 1x15 has 200 watts while the cab has 400 and the 2x12 has 400 watts while the cab ahs 600...decisions, decisions

[scottfeldstein]

The 115 has 200w because you can't really put 500w through a single 15" speaker--and that combo amp cannot accept additional cabs. (You could, however, buy one of their powered cabs, but that's another issue.)

Don't worry about the cabinet watt ratings too much. They're not usually very helpful.

Just remember that combos kind of are what they are. You usually cant make them bigger or louder by getting more speakers.

When you buy a head and a cab, you're not limited in that way. If you get a head, an MB500 say, and an 8 ohm cab you can always add another 8 ohm cab. You can use just one cab or two, depending on your needs. And if in the future you decide you want a different amp, you just replace it and keep your cabs. Or if you decide you want different cabs, you replace them and keep the head. You get the idea.

[Chef]

Bad generalization.
I regularly hit my Mesa 115's with 400+ watts.
The TC115 and fEARFul115's I had regularly got served up 900+ watts.

Speaker ratings are indeed useful in giving uyou ballpark ideas of what things are good for, IMO.

Originally Posted by scottfeldstein

The 115 has 200w because you can't really put 500w through a single 15" speaker--

Don't worry about the cabinet watt ratings too much. They're not usually very helpful.

[scottfeldstein]

What Chef said ^

I'm just trying to establish that the reason the 115 combo doesn't have a 500w amp in it is because it would be overkill for that speaker alone. And you can't really add any more.

[ksandvik]

I don't have a 500W + 1x15 cab but have played such rigs at gigs. My opinion is that the sound is less punchy/precise, lots of low end but no distinction. Good for dub-bands but in some cases you want more precise soundscaping. Just my opinion.

[colbyAKAbobby]

Is this the right patch chord for the MB500 foot switch?

[scottfeldstein]

That looks like the one that comes with it.

[colbyAKAbobby]

Awesome. Just want to start narrowing things down. I'll probably end up taking the switch and the head in after the holidays.

[B-string]

Don't recall G-K cables ever having spring strain reliefs?

[KPJ]

Originally Posted by B-string

Don't recall G-K cables ever having spring strain reliefs?

The one that comes with the MB500 does.

[Pedulla-Player]

Originally Posted by Vic

WAIT!

I can't believe I missed this...

Have you actually tried another amp and done immediate back/back testing?

Unless I'm missing a detail nullifying it, 90% guarantee it's the fuses on the crossover.

I had a Neo115-III I bought used that was doing this EXACT same thing, and I thought the EXACT same thing, until I swapped tweeters and it didn't help.

Here's the "test", if you have one cab that does, and another that doesn't. Pull both crossover panels out and swap the fuses (there's two in each one). If the failure follows the fuses (which it did in my case), GK can just send you some if you can't find any at an electronics dealer somewhere... there a bit odd, so Radio Shack might not carry them.

So obviously, your first question is, hey, if the fuse is blown, why does it work at all? Why does it "crackle"?

The answer is, it's NOT blown... it's a MECHANICAL failure. Some of these fuses simply have an issue with the filament attachment in the end cap, so you can't see where it's separated, but it is, and the vibration of playing through the cab literally makes/breaks that connection, making it sound like a crackle. Depending on the exact breakage, it can be pretty inconsistent, too.

Otherwise, if the fuse swap doesn't fix it, then you're simply back to contacting GK as you already were. In other words, "never mind. But man, this really sounds like the problem I had, and after swapping the fuses out, the problem is gone forever.

Hi Vic - I just got my SM9.2 back from a slight tune up and it doesn't crackle with Neo 112-2 cabs like the Fusion 550 did so it had to be the 550 causing the crackling noise. I will say one thing - I really like the 9.2 , but I liked the sound of the Fusion 550 better. I'm pretty sure that I'm going to sell my SM9.2 and get either another Fusion 550 or a MB Fusion 500. I'm still going to return the wobbly cab to Musicians friend because I find it rather annoying.

[Pedulla-Player]

Alright - I am going to sell my SM9.2 and try another Fusion head. I really loved the sound of the 550 except for the crackling noise that it made. Does the MB Fusion 500 sound like the 550 with less features?? I really want the sound of the 550 so I'm deciding if I should try another one or try a MB Fusion 500??
Thanks!
P-P

[tombowlus]

Originally Posted by Pedulla-Player

Alright - I am going to sell my SM9.2 and try another Fusion head. I really loved the sound of the 550 except for the crackling noise that it made. Does the MB Fusion 500 sound like the 550 with less features?? I really want the sound of the 550 so I'm deciding if I should try another one or try a MB Fusion 500??
Thanks!
P-P

The MB Fusion definitely captures the "tone" of the Fusion 550, but the "feel" is a little different. I think it's definitely close enough to justify the lighter weight and more compact size. But then again, I don't mind bringing a head like the Fusion 550 to a gig, either. It's not crazy big/heavy.

But back to the MB Fusion, it's an impressive little head, for sure.

[Pedulla-Player]

Originally Posted by tombowlus

The MB Fusion definitely captures the "tone" of the Fusion 550, but the "feel" is a little different. I think it's definitely close enough to justify the lighter weight and more compact size. But then again, I don't mind bringing a head like the Fusion 550 to a gig, either. It's not crazy big/heavy.

But back to the MB Fusion, it's an impressive little head, for sure.

Thanks Tom. I didn't mind the weight of the 550. I'm just done with heavy cabs!!