GK MB500 review and questions

bass4u · #1 08-29-2010, 10:08 AM

I apologize if this post is too long, but I hope some will find it informative.

I finally received my GK MB500 replacement. The original MB500 I received was defective right out of the box. It produced almost zero output and sounded like a 10 watt amp maxed out. I called GK and talked with a very personable and knowledgeable GK employee named Jason and explained the problem. He instructed me to return it to GK and they would send out a new one as soon as they received a return tracking notification (after emailing me a UPS return label). This is the first GK piece of equipment I have ever owned and with GK's superb customer service, I am a loyal customer for life.
Ok, connected the MB500 to two brand new GK Neo 112 II and turned the MB500 on and turned it up. Tremendous output! Just what I was hoping for! Some people say this amp produces too much low end but with the bass knob at 12 o'clock and the Neo cabinets I actually increased the bass knob to 2 o'clock and the low end sounded great. I dialed back the horns on the cabinets very low. The horns are very efficient and the amp does produce some high end sizzle so to suit my taste that's what I did. I experimented with turning the horns up and the treble down on the amp but for me the best results were to turn the horns down.
I played through the rig for 2 hours, slowly increasing the volume to see what it would do and playing with the GIVE circuit. I really love what is called the "GK grind". Don't know how to explain the sound you just have to hear it for yourself. Some will probably hate it but for me it suits the styles of music I play in 3 different bands.
Well since one of the bands (punk/garage) I play in showed up for rehearsal this would be a good test to see how well the amp/speakers would perform competing with a loud tube guitar amp ( vintage Ampeg 50 watt 4x10 combo...it is LOUD) and a hard hitting drummer and if there would be any issues as far as the amp shutting down. We rehearsed for 3 hours and the amp didn't even get warm at fairly loud levels. Producing enough volume wasn't an issue. The GK sound was cutting right through so I could hear good note definition as well as have an excellent low end push. I set the bass knob at 2 o'clock, low mid 12 o'clock, high mid 10 o'clock and treble 10 o'clock. The contour knob was all the way off. This type of tone control is what everyone calls the "suck" knob, and I agree. To be fair I guess I should try it out.....maybe. The band members were impressed. The GK is replacing my Markbass LM II and Markbass 12" speaker cabinets. The band and I agree that the GK tone seems to cut through better than the Markbass rig for this particular style of music we are playing. The Markbass amp/speakers seemed to put out more ultra low end (rear ported cabinets?) then the GK and maybe just a tad amount of more volume. The real test would be Saturday night at a gig.
Gig night.We are playing a 200-300 seat club with 2 other bands. Not small but not a large stage. Nice PA system and the room sounded pretty good. My band went on second and it was so nice to get my rig on stage and setup effortlessly due to the weight/size of the GK amp/speaker combination. Since I stack the Neo 112 IIs vertically the footprint the rig uses is minuscule. Stacking the speakers vertically for me is the way to go. I can hear what I'm playing better, I tend to use less volume (better for the FOH and sound man)and the rig takes up less space on stage. I did not use my VT Deluxe or any other pedals, just the bass plugged in. I wanted to see what the amp sounded like live with nothing in between. The amp was KICKING! The only adjustments I made to the eq was to increase the treble to 12 o'clock and the high mid to 11 o'clock. The amp performed flawlessly and and had plenty of volume to spare. I am extremely happy with the GK sound and performance that this combination is producing for me and highly recommend it to anyone seeking a modern bass sound with some 'grind' when you want it.
I have only one question about the amp. In all the amps I have owned you would set the input gain until a clip light would activate, then back off the gain a little to keep the light from coming on then adjust the master volume to desired stage volume. Reading the GK manual, it states to the turn the master volume to 3 o'clock, then turn the gain up to desired stage volume. I used the amp this way and it seemed to work fine it just seems backwards from what I'm used to on previous bass amps I've owned. GK's method does make sense because my experience with setting up and running PA systems is I always run the power amps all the way up and adjust the overall level with the mixer's master fader. I'm just wondering if on the GK amp if I turn the gain up until it activates the clip light then backing down on the gain and adjust the master volume to desired stage volume, will it damage the amp or affect the tone in some way.
I want to thank GK for making such an awesome amp and speakers that gets the sound I'm looking for and their exceptional customer support. Sorry for the poor quality of the photo, I didn't want to use a flash.

bombpop14 · #2 08-29-2010, 10:32 AM

Thanks for all the info
I've been researching my future "mini" rig for some time, and this is exactly one of the setups I have in mind. I play hard rock in one band, and jazz/funk in another, and it seems like this rig would work nicely for both.

I'm sorta flipflopping between the 112's or the mbe 212's.. but it seems like your getting all the volume you need. I'm curious about how it sounds with the VT or BDDI before the amp, please let me know how that works out...

bombpop14 · #3 08-29-2010, 10:34 AM

Oh..and what basses are you using with it?

G RICH 5 · #4 08-29-2010, 10:42 AM

To answer the "gain" question- GK has pre and post gain (if you turn one off, the output
stops) The way you were thinking abput setting up the gain until clip is what Markbass, and other heads w/gain and volume knobs. I set mine up as the manual states- remember that if you set the pre gain higher then post gain you will get an overdrive sound(this is what guitarists do).
Have fun with the GK. I love mine, and + 1000 for the customer support.

bass4u · #5 08-29-2010, 11:00 AM

The basses I've used so far with the GK are a Squier Classic Vibe 60's Precision and MM Stingray 4. The CV actually sounds better than the Stingray to me through this amp. The CV had just a better midrange growl, the stingray was pretty crispy sounding. I've used Stingrays for years and they have always been my "go to" basses, but the CV has an excellent neck, sounds good and weighs less so I've been using it exclusively as of late ( the stingray is the back up haha). The CV has Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounder pickups. With those pickups the CV is as hot as the Stingray output wise. Will try the VT Deluxe soon and post my findings. May not even use the VT Deluxe. I mainly got the VT Deluxe to give me grind/overdrive sounds which the GK gives me that is switchable. Using the GIVE feature on the GK, I found out that using a high level would sound harsh, so by dialing back the tone control of the bass it made a world of difference on how the GIVE feature sounds. You could get multiple different GIVE sounds by just manipulating the tone knob on the bass.

bass4u · #6 08-29-2010, 11:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by G RICH 5

To answer the "gain" question- GK has pre and post gain (if you turn one off, the output
stops) The way you were thinking abput setting up the gain until clip is what Markbass, and other heads w/gain and volume knobs. I set mine up as the manual states- remember that if you set the pre gain higher then post gain you will get an overdrive sound(this is what guitarists do).
Have fun with the GK. I love mine, and + 1000 for the customer support.

Thanks for the response. Guess I will be setting the controls the way the manual specifies.

bass4u · #7 08-29-2010, 11:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bombpop14

I'm sorta flipflopping between the 112's or the mbe 212's.. but it seems like your getting all the volume you need. I'm curious about how it sounds with the VT or BDDI before the amp, please let me know how that works out...

I prefer the single 12" cabinets myself (as long as the cabinets are high quality). The size/weight and the option to use only one cabinet if needed is the determining factors for me. I've used two single 12" cabinets for many years/shows and have never run out of headroom. If you need more volume than that you better be going through the PA also.
I had thought about the MBE 212 but it has a piezo tweeter and a smaller cabinet size. It's probably not as loud as the Neo 212, just guessing because of cabinet dimensions since both cabinets use the same driver, I really don't know. The piezo was the deal breaker for me.

bombpop14 · #8 08-29-2010, 01:30 PM

Thanks, I'm ready to pull the trigger and try this setup

Geddyfleaharris · #9 08-29-2010, 09:00 PM

I have had all the bigger GK heads and have always set the controls as you are doing. As per manual. Has always worked well for me.

Currently using the Fusion 550 and I run it the same way. I also have a 2001RB and run the controls in the same manner.

**B-string** · #10 08-29-2010, 09:23 PM

I've gone both ways with my 800RB and Fusion and prefer a more up front sound by setting the pre gain higher and using the master for overall volume. Try it both ways.

bass4u · #11 08-29-2010, 10:07 PM

Just finished using the VT Deluxe with the MB500. With the VT Deluxe the MB500 becomes a different beast. The GK "sound" is gone. The eq points on the VT are really placed well. adjusting the Bass knob creates a super warm solid low end that I could not get with the MB500 alone. I only worked on creating two sounds with the VT, one clean and one with a little bit of dirt.The clean sound was like a Hi-Fi type of sound. Deep full lows,smooth midrange and a compressed sort of treble. The dirt sound was close to the clean sound eq wise, added more upper mids(really made the amp cut through the mix)with the Character control and some more of the Drive control to give a subtle tube/overdrive. This starts to have the "GK sound" but with a more compressed high end then what I can get with the MB500 by itself. (I like the compressed high end,it seems to be smoother than what the GK treble control can do). I had the VT Deluxe plugged into the MB500 front panel input,all eq controls in th 12 o'clock position except for the Contour control turned all the way down.I did all the above while rehearsing with one of my bands. When I get some time I will try inserting the VT Deluxe in the MB500's EFX return to see what that sounds like. I assume this bypasses the MB500's tone circuit and the GIVE feature. I have to admit the VT Deluxe is a tone monster and the MB500 volume output seems endless. The GK amp puts out more power than I'll probably ever use.