Gallien Krueger Official Club, Pt 6

[suirthing]

Hi, I hope I am in the right place to ask his question, if not I apologise in advance and feel free to let me know where I should have asked : )

I have ordered a MB500 to replace my MB115 combo. I was planning to pair it with a Neo 115 cab but have been offered an Ampeg SVT 15 EN for relatively cheap money. My question is - the amp is rated at 350W at 8 ohms. The Ampeg's specs state that the cab works at 200W RMS, 400W peak. I dont really know what this means.....i am getting conflicting opinions too. Will this setup work??

Thanks,

d.

[bassgod0dmw]

Sure it'll work. Whether you like the sound of it is a matter of your opinion.

Don't worry about the wattage specs too much. They're not usually very accurate and there is no standard that all manufacturers use to rate them. Just use common sense when EQing and usually a lot of volume. Most heads can destroy most speakers fairly easily. GK stuff is very loud for their stated wattage.

[suirthing]

Thanks bassgod0dmw, should be ok so as I dont intend driving it too hard, just enough to be heard at average pub-sized gigs...

Do i detect some possible dislike of this head/cab combo in your comment "Whether you like the sound of it is a matter of your opinion."

d.

[bassgod0dmw]

Originally Posted by suirthing

Do i detect some possible dislike of this head/cab combo in your comment "Whether you like the sound of it is a matter of your opinion."

d.

No, not at all. It's just that different people have different taste.

I had an SVT-15E a while back and I really liked it. I never used it with a GK head though, so I can't say how it sounds with one.

[Chef]

"Ampeg SVT 15 EN "
72lbs, no horn.

GK Neo115: 40lbs, with horn.

Personally, I wouldn't like the Ampeg cab. You might though.
I sure wouldn't want nearly double the weight either.

Some "savings" aren't worth having, to me.

Then again, you might very well enjoy a cab with no horn. And maybe with casters, the weight won't bother you

[suirthing]

No problem thanks for the information,

d.

[Floridabwoy]

Yay... Picked up my 200RCB this weekend.. and literally played until my fingers were raw. Took me about an hour to dial in the sound. I like a lot of upper mid, but once I got the mud out it sounds amazing. Voiced a lot like my V4 and almost as loud, but 60lbs lighter. It also records amazing as a preamp. Love Love Love. Not bad for $140 WITH a Guitar Center Extended Warranty.

Ampeg V4 and GK 200RCB... I can die now.

[Vic]

Originally Posted by suirthing

Hi, I hope I am in the right place to ask his question, if not I apologise in advance and feel free to let me know where I should have asked : )

I have ordered a MB500 to replace my MB115 combo. I was planning to pair it with a Neo 115 cab but have been offered an Ampeg SVT 15 EN for relatively cheap money. My question is - the amp is rated at 350W at 8 ohms. The Ampeg's specs state that the cab works at 200W RMS, 400W peak. I dont really know what this means.....i am getting conflicting opinions too. Will this setup work??

Thanks,

d.

Some thoughts to you and some other responders here...

First, Bob developed his signature growl based on connections to cabs with no tweeters, and in fact, he and Jason both have told me, especially with their brighter amps like the MB500 and MB800, it'd be worth trying these heads with the tweeters off (switch in biamp mode on some cabs and turned all the way down on others without the switch). I've done this, and while I do personally prefer having and using a tweeter, it sounded damn good. So at least with GK heads, and especially the MB500/800, not having a tweeter is not necessarily a deal killer at all.

That said, I've never been a huge fan of Ampeg stuff, so that'd be another reason for me to shy away from that cab as well as the weight. That particular cab wouldn't even be a consideration for me. The GK stuff just sounds so much better to me.

Also, anyone getting rid of a Mesa Carbine family head should PROBABLY be looking at the MB500/800, not the Fusion, IF they're looking to crossover to the closest tone match in the GK MB line. The Fusion definitely has a bit more of a warm/classic sound on the front end. Not as big and wide as the 500/800 and the Carbines.

Finally, anyone "scared" of an MB800 should switch to decaf.

If you'll need the power at some point, buy the head, and just don't be foolish with it on smaller gigs with smaller cab configs. But if you won't ever need the beast that head is, then of course, don't spend the extra money, and it's very true the MB500/MB Fusion have PLENTY of power for probably any typical local/club gigger. I have an MB800 and an MB Fusion, and I pick more based on the sound I want to have at a gig rather than whether I need more power or not, though in one case I did bring the MB800 because it was an outdoor gig with only vocal PA and I was driving two 410 cabs... one on each end of a very wide stage. Let me tell you, that was impressive, and I had no less than three bassists come up to me after that show and absolutely grill me about that head.

[KJung]

Originally Posted by Vic

Some thoughts to you and some other responders here...

First, Bob developed his signature growl based on connections to cabs with no tweeters, and in fact, he and Jason both have told me, especially with their brighter amps like the MB500 and MB800, it'd be worth trying these heads with the tweeters off (switch in biamp mode on some cabs and turned all the way down on others without the switch). I've done this, and while I do personally prefer having and using a tweeter, it sounded damn good. So at least with GK heads, and especially the MB500/800, not having a tweeter is not necessarily a deal killer at all.

+1 in that the original 400RB and 800RB came out before (well before) the SWR Goliath, which was the first two way bass cab with tweeter that was available (as far as I know). The 'classic' GK tone IMO has as much to do with the Guild Hartke cabs we all used with our 400/800 RB's back in the day (that cab was as much a revelation as the Goliath was when it came out), and also the fact that the 400/800RB's were quite low end attenuated, allowing that glorious distorted upper midrange to shine though. Modern, solid state grind at its best.

I don't hear much of that in the newer heads, which sound good in a different way (the entire voicing is way deeper down low, and WAY more sizzly up top to my ear, for better or worse).

[Vic]

Originally Posted by KJung

I don't hear much of that in the newer heads, which sound good in a different way (the entire voicing is way deeper down low, and WAY more sizzly up top to my ear, for better or worse).

True... I'm not intending to overstate anything here, like to suggest these newer heads sound just like the older ones, BUT, it is true that the "growl" GK works to provide in their amps carries across all their lines from back then, to today. Bob will tell you this himself. It's kind of a big deal to them... a signature tonal characteristic, if you will.

Anyway, FWIW, I checked it out as they suggested, and at least IMHO, they're right. These MB heads sound great with tweeter-less cabs.

[KJung]

Originally Posted by Vic

True... I'm not intending to overstate anything here, like to suggest these newer heads sound just like the older ones, BUT, it is true that the "growl" GK works to provide in their amps carries across all their lines from back then, to today. Bob will tell you this himself. It's kind of a big deal to them... a signature tonal characteristic, if you will.

Anyway, FWIW, I checked it out as they suggested, and at least IMHO, they're right. These MB heads sound great with tweeter-less cabs.

+1 I actually think the MB heads sound MUCH better without tweeters. Reduces the noise (whenever you goose the top end like that in a spec, there is a price to pay in hiss and noise) and it really hits the top of a good driver with plenty of brightness. Nice.

I also like the biamp in their larger heads, especially that 'paper cone' switch or whatever that basically is like a 'fixed VLE control' (in Markbass terms), chopping off the super high sizzle to make the top end sound less sizzly and modern. Very nice, and of course, allows the upper mids to grind through the woofers.

That being said, the GK grind will always be, for me the 400RB and 800RB. The upper midrange distortion coming out of the newer heads sounds very different to me (not better or worse, but quite different, with the MB heads sounding VERY different).

[Pedulla-Player]

Hey Vic.
Just checked out your link to your bands demo. Sounds great man!! Love the GK tone. Kinda selling me on the 2x112's. I couldn't make out what head you were using in the video thou.
Keep up the good work!!
P-P

[KJung]

Originally Posted by Pedulla-Player

Hey Vic.
Just checked out your link to your bands demo. Sounds great man!! Love the GK tone. Kinda selling me on the 2x112's. I couldn't make out what head you were using in the video thou.
Keep up the good work!!
P-P

If I remember correctly, Vic went direct to board for the demo, the rig was just for the 'lipsync' video demo. Could be wrong, but I think that was what he posted.

[Vic]

Originally Posted by Pedulla-Player

Hey Vic.
Just checked out your link to your bands demo. Sounds great man!! Love the GK tone. Kinda selling me on the 2x112's. I couldn't make out what head you were using in the video thou.
Keep up the good work!!
P-P

Thanks! However, Ken is correct. The GK is there mainly because that is the rig I use most, so that does the most to reflect what you'd see at one of our shows, but otherwise, that's all.

That tone is coming from a Sadowsky ash/maple J5 through a Radial JDI and no EQ... and honestly, not even the one in the vid, as it was getting some stuff done to it at the time, but the one in the vid was close enough for the purpose.

[petrus61]

Originally Posted by Chef

Well that's interesting; can you be more descriptive with this?

The 2x12 was excellent, mid-wise and loud. Almost came across as better sounding 4x10, if that makes any sense. I was actually pretty set on getting one. I guess the easiest way for me to explain the difference between the 2x12 and my current setup is that the 2x15's provide more "room filling" bass and a stronger punch on what I suppose would be the low-mid frequencies. With the 1x15's, it was easier to "feel" the bass and my bandmates and I preferred this over the 2x12. Like I said, I was pretty set on the 2x12 until I tried the 2x15 setup. I was totally enamored by the punch of the 2x12...the 2x15's just seemed to have more of it.

[Chef]

Understood, thx.
I may yet try those.

[Warmuth]

I got a Neo 412 delivered today, couldn't pass up on the deal off of Amazon. WOW. My rig previously was a 1001Rbii on a GK 410 neo and I was never really satisfied overall with it. Great sounding cab and puts out some noise but I always wanted "more" from it.

5 seconds after firing it up the difference is startling. It handles the lows much much better and even at low volumes it's just a lot fuller. Seems like it'll be exactly what I was after. I wanted to go with the 2 by 212 setup but the 666.00 price of the 412 reeled me in and I've got a truck so hauling it to gigs isn't really much of a hassle.

Not going to miss that 410 one bit.

[scottfeldstein]

You got that to replace a 410? i'm not surprised you're thrilled with the result.

[TK4261]

Originally Posted by Warmuth

I got a Neo 412 delivered today, couldn't pass up on the deal off of Amazon. WOW. My rig previously was a 1001Rbii on a GK 410 neo and I was never really satisfied overall with it. Great sounding cab and puts out some noise but I always wanted "more" from it.

5 seconds after firing it up the difference is startling. It handles the lows much much better and even at low volumes it's just a lot fuller. Seems like it'll be exactly what I was after. I wanted to go with the 2 by 212 setup but the 666.00 price of the 412 reeled me in and I've got a truck so hauling it to gigs isn't really much of a hassle.

Not going to miss that 410 one bit.

That is a GREAT deal on that 4x12" ...Congrats!

[bassman64]

Hey There GK people

been through a bunch of combo amps lately and for various reasons I am back in the market.

looking seriously at the GK MBii 2x12 combo

will only be playing jam sessions, maybe a small bar (75-150 people)

I play mostly classic rock ( Cream, Sabath, Zep Kinks, ACDC etc) ,some blues stuff and some newer stuff in the rock/metal zone.

I play a Ric and a Gibson Explorer.

will I get the fat gloomy Geezer tone, the Glover tone, Mckagen that type of stuff maybe some beatles, who, GNR, Metalica

I can pretty much play all that stuff with my B100R but it is only 100 watts and sometimes feel its a little under powered next to a Marshall half stack

thanks