GK Fusion appreciation thread (all kinds - 500 , 550 , and 800)

[Bassist30]

Originally Posted by Pedulla-Player

Sometimes it's hard to tell when people are joking or being serious as you well know. I should have known that you were joking because you have been more than helpful to me. I really had a tough decision not to try another Fusion 550 because it sounded so friggin' sweet. I figure that once the MB Fusion 800 hits the market I may be able to pick up a used Fusion 500 (or maybe a 550) for a decent price. Kinda like with the Shuttle 9.0. People loved and raved about their Shuttle 9.0's until the SM9.2 came out. All of a sudden there were (and still are) a bunch up for sale for fairly cheap. I'm not saying that will be the case here , but who knows.

Oh No. You mean when the fusion 800 comes out my fusion 500 will be a cheap by product. Thats it. Im coming over and stealing the MB800 and your new cabinets. Heck I might go to b strings house and steal his mics.

[B-string]

Originally Posted by Bassist30

Oh No. You mean when the fusion 800 comes out my fusion 500 will be a cheap by product. Thats it. Im coming over and stealing the MB800 and your new cabinets. Heck I might go to b strings house and steal his mics.

You won't like where I keep.....them. hahahahahahahaha

[Chef]

You have one of those too?


I thought I was the only one.

[Bassist30]

Originally Posted by B-string

You won't like where I keep.....them. hahahahahahahaha

I don't like what i am thinking. But I know what he means about what might happen when the Fusion 800 is released. I mean im interested in getting one. If I do get the 800 can you put the 500 where your Mic's are?

[Pedulla-Player]

Originally Posted by Bassist30

Oh No. You mean when the fusion 800 comes out my fusion 500 will be a cheap by product. Thats it. Im coming over and stealing the MB800 and your new cabinets. Heck I might go to b strings house and steal his mics.

I'm not saying that I'm Nostradamus by any means (if I was I wouldn't have gone through so many bass rigs!!). I'm just hoping this is the case so down the road I can score a used Fusion for a nice price.

[Bassist30]

Originally Posted by Pedulla-Player

I'm not saying that I'm Nostradamus by any means (if I was I wouldn't have gone through so many bass rigs!!). I'm just hoping this is the case so down the road I can score a used Fusion for a nice price.

Well I would be interested in the Fusion 800 but I am sure those who still have the 500 would probably use as a backup. But you never know. For some reason I dont sell to much of my older equipment.

[shoot-r]

Originally Posted by husky123

The 800 will go super clean IMO. Gain down, master up equals clean city. And yes, fear not, the super fast response is all there...in spades. It's just a little sledgehammer of a micro.

This is EXACTLY what I was hoping to hear about the MB800.

Just dropped a e-mail to my nearest stocking G.K. dealer to have them send me a notice when their next MB800 is in store.....

[og61pbass]

about turning your amp off during breaks:every sound man I know would want to rip your head off and **** down your neck for doing that and causing that loud pop...just sayin...

[liam_g]

I've had an MB Fusion 500 for about a week now and am really liking it. Just enough warmth, and a lot of clarity. It took me a while to warm up to it, but the more I play it the more I like it. I'll get to try it out on a gig on Saturday night. We're opening for one of the guys from Little Feat. Anxious to hear it in the mix and compare it to my 700RB series I and BX500 heads.

Cheers,
Liam

[B-string]

Originally Posted by liam_g

I've had an MB Fusion 500 for about a week now and am really liking it. Just enough warmth, and a lot of clarity. It took me a while to warm up to it, but the more I play it the more I like it. I'll get to try it out on a gig on Saturday night. We're opening for one of the guys from Little Feat. Anxious to hear it in the mix and compare it to my 700RB series I and BX500 heads.

Cheers,
Liam

Gig report needed

[liam_g]

Originally Posted by B-string

Gig report needed

I'll be sure to follow through.

Cheers,
Liam

[Chef]

In talking with B-String, he suggested an interesting experiment.
Take my MBFusion500, and send it's post eq signal to the 1001RBII power section.
Bam: 700 watt, big iron, biamp-able MBFusion, with boost and everything.

I'll get to this, eventually.

[liam_g]

Sounds cool Chef.

[ljazz]

Originally Posted by Chef

In talking with B-String, he suggested an interesting experiment.
Take my MBFusion500, and send it's post eq signal to the 1001RBII power section.
Bam: 700 watt, big iron, biamp-able MBFusion, with boost and everything.

I'll get to this, eventually.

I have done this with the mbfusion and my 700rbII..... it was incredible..... crank up the boost, and you feel like you're pushing a full tube rig. I've said this in other threads.... and maybe even earlier in this one.... but I think not having the boost on the fusion 550 is kind of a downer..... I would love to see a 700rbII with the mb fusion pre (no motorized knobs, and keep the boost!)..... and keep it under 20lbs.... i'd be all over it! Sealed 810 neo, and you'd have a true fridge killer.

[liam_g]

I think that the tube saturation that you get when you push the gain on the Fusion models is supposed to replace the boost on the all solid state heads. Tube distortion versus solid state.

Cheers,
Liam

[Chef]

The thing is, the MBFusion doesn't biamp.
So, you're sending that distortion to your hornp; or, turning it off.

With MBF into 1001 power section, I can keep the horn clean.
And have tube saturation.
And Boost.
And, front panel woofer/horn mixing.

[liam_g]

I understand. I was just commenting on a possible reason that the Fusion heads don't have a Boost control.

Cheers,
Liam

[B-string]

Originally Posted by liam_g

I understand. I was just commenting on a possible reason that the Fusion heads don't have a Boost control.

Cheers,
Liam

That is actually the reason posted on the old G-K forum (now not accessable). But the boost (tube like harmonic circuit) being separated from the horn amp is ideal. I used to have a grindy/distortion set for channel 2 in the 550, that had to include the horn amp off.

[liam_g]

I've had two rehearsals now with the MB Fusion. So far I really like it in the mix. My go-to settings are channel A, gain at noon, treble at 10:00, hi mids at noon, low mids at 2:00, and bass at 10:00, master wherever it needs to be to balance the band. This produces a warm, full and rich tone that really seems to support the band well. This is with a p bass with '62 reissue pickup, CTS pots, and medium gauge Chromes, and playing into my Carvin 112ag stack, in a pretty small rehearsal room. Tomorrow night will be the real test as I will have it out on a gig in a bigger room. So far though it's a winner.

Cheers,
Liam

[liam_g]

Gig report:

Played tonight opening for Phil Brown, formerly of Little Feat. Played an hour and a half set straight through, no breaks. Two guitars, drums and bass. I was playing my P bass with '62 reissue pickup, CTS pots and medium gauge Chromes, into the MB Fusion on top of my Carvin 112ag stack. The band is blues with some pretty funky tunes mixed in.

I ended up with the settings mentioned above, Channel A, gain at noon, contour off, treble at 10:00, hi mids at noon, low mids at 2:00, and bass at 10:00. Master was at 9:00. This produced a great punchy full tone that really supported the band well. I didn't feel the need to deviate from these settings, as they just worked so well. Warmth, richness and punch. I loved it.

The other thing I loved was load in and load out. The fusion fits in my bass gig bag with all cables plus my tuner pedal. Bass and head in my back and a cab in each hand meant one trip each way. Sweet!

All in all a big success. Very happy.

Cheers,
Liam