GK 410MBE...Anyone using it?

streetknight · #1 08-02-2011, 03:48 PM

How do you like it?

What kind of head you use with it?

Opinions please

**Matthew_84** · #2 08-02-2011, 04:05 PM

I'm currently waiting on one. You haven't listed where you live, but if you live in Canada make sure you contact Yorkville (the only distributor here, all the stores get them from Yorkville), because you may be in for a LONG wait... I've been waiting about 4.5 months for it, and it was only supposed to be two weeks. But that's what guys at the store said, it wasn't until a month after, that I contacted Yorkville and heard that it won't be in until the end of June, and then it got further pushed to the end of September.

I hope I didn't derail you. I am looking forward to getting her. She is a decent price, weighs under 50 lbs, and is 800 watts? Come on, what else can you ask for?

Well, truthfully, I've read about three complaints:

1) the horn is either on or off. And apparently when it's on, it's pretty loud and "hissy". You can solder in a resister to put it down to about -6db, but there's still no adjustment, on or off. I'm likely just going to keep it off, which is fine with me anyway.

2) I read from one TB'er that he didn't think it was punchy enough. And I think another guy thought it was a little boomy, so he stuffed some insulation in it to tighten up the sound a bit, and last I read he was really happy with the results.

3) because it is so light, GK put the handle on the top which may interfere with the placement of your head. But I just got furniture rubber feet to stick underneath my head to clear this.

LOL, kind of a brutally honest take from someone who doesn't even own one, but I've been doing a LOT of research on it, and thought I'd pass on what I've read. Hopefully some people with hands on experience can chime in here. All in all I think it is pretty good cab from the reviews I've read.

ccouch7 · #3 08-02-2011, 04:24 PM

Yea, I just got two of them.
Did about three gigs with them and on the third one the drummer was about an hour late and so drunk he could hardly play.
So needless to say he got fired and we're back to the drawing board with a new drummer

I really like the 410mbe's from what I heard so far on those three gigs.
I use a different rig for practice so that's about all the band experience I have with them so far.
I use a Mesa M6 in my gig rig and an Alembic Epic 4 bass. I was digggin' the punchy tight lows from those cabs and the weight is unreal (41lbs each) I was using 90+lb cabs before (Peavey tx410).

I did have to return one cab because of a really bad grill rattle but the replacement is sounding good.
I wish I had more experience with them so I could give you more info, but that's about it so far.

Hopefully someone with more experience with them will weigh in.

Matthew_84 dang you still haven't gotten your cab?

On the boomy thing- IMO I didn't think these cabs were boomy at all, I thought the lows were tight and controlled.
On the tweeter- I thought it was a little harsh when playing alone at home but with the band it was a different story.

**Matthew_84** · #4 08-02-2011, 04:42 PM

Good to hear your review of them. I did read several, maybe a dozen, reviews and only one person claimed it was boomy, but now that I think of it, I think he EQ'd his amp differently and it was OK, but he still added insulation anyway, and was happy he did it. Hopefully he'll chime in here. I haven't heard much from him since.

I know one guy was not happy with the tone, stating that it lacked punch. But again, that could have been an EQ thing. I read these reviews and purposely went out and got a 10-band graphic EQ to give me better control, which I actually somehow got for $5 off of Craigslist (long story).

But I am very glad that you like it, and I am also glad to hear about the tweeter. I was kind of thinking that it would be fine in a gig if you needed it anyway, but almost every post I read regarding the tweeter just talked about how hissy it was.

And yeah... Still waiting, kind of annoyed actually, but I am still anxious to get it.

mello_bedwetter · #5 08-02-2011, 05:25 PM

I've been using the 410MBE with a Peavey Tour 450. So far so good...I'm really liking it.

DBH_Bass · #6 08-03-2011, 12:27 AM

I'm debating whether or not I want one. If I had it I'd have it on the opposite side of the stage from my MB210. I wanna hear what someone has to say if anyone has used them together at a show.

gmarcus · #7 09-15-2011, 12:54 PM

It's not a good idea to separate your two cabs on opposite sides of the stage. This causes the bass to be really uneven as you move around the stage. Some places will be much louder than others. You are better off stacking them and aiming them across the stage a little.

I'm the guy who added some stuffing to the cabs. I still like them a lot. I have a little indoor gig tomorrow without a drummer so I will just use one cab, and an outdoor gig in October, where I might bring both cabs. I don't really need both, 1 4x10 is plenty for me, but the tone is better with two. Its beefier and you have speakers closer to your ear level.

I use either a GK1001RBII or a Genz Benz Shuttle 6.0. They both sound good and I find in a band situation that you do not want the head to have an extended bass response so the GK is always in 4 string voicing and the Shuttle does not have the Low button engaged.

These cabs are very loud. The Shuttle is ~350 watts at 8 ohms and I have never needed to turn it up all the way with one cab even with a loud drummer and a couple of guitars playing blues rock. I needed ear plugs. Still this was not as loud as a metal or hard core band. You would probably need 2 cabs in that situation.

All of my ramblings are here:

GK 410MBE Mods