Got GK Fusion 550...shall I get a class D head?

ale29 · #1 10-08-2011, 04:49 AM

Hi everyone, I currently have a GK Fusion 550 head. I'm really satisfied with how it sounds, however for my tastes I feel it lacks a bit of mid punch set completely flat, I use settings found on bass magazine review to get the "closer to real flat sound" and I love the tone (this means slight treble and bass cut, slight hi-mid boost and a more substantial low-mid boost).
So it's not really a tone issue here...what I' missing most is:
-a lighter, smaller head, something that maybe could even fit in my Rockbag
-an headphone jack, prefereably an aux-in too for home exercise at late hours

I DO NOT want to lose anything tone-wise, and I need the capability of getting a good overdrive out of the head if needed.
Possibility of switching from clean sound to OD on the fly would be best. So my question is: Is there anything out there that could fit my needs? I've seen that Genz Benz Streamliners could do, but maybe a VT bass + class D amp is a good choice as well.

My rig is a Mayones BE 4 Exotic strung with flatwounds and an Orange OBC 115 cab. I want a good mid punch, no boomy lows and don't care for sparkling highs, I really like the coloring of the cab in fact.

Ogge · #2 10-08-2011, 07:04 AM

I haven't tried any of them but I think Gallien krueger MB-fusion should meet your demand pretty well. Know a couple of guys that are VERY happy about the MB fusion. =)

username1 · #3 10-08-2011, 08:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ogge

I haven't tried any of them but I think Gallien krueger MB-fusion should meet your demand pretty well. Know a couple of guys that are VERY happy about the MB fusion. =)

+1 I am very happy with my mbfusion. If you like the tone of your amp it is the same preamp. I also found the power very good and lots of punch. The size and weight is also very good. One of my favorite heads and i own a few.

stflbn · #4 10-08-2011, 08:21 AM

One thing to keep in mind with the mbFusion... it's a small case with tubes and the fan needs to move a lot of air through the amp periodically to keep it cool. So there IS fan noise. In a quiet setting you will hear the fan. It was enough that I returned the one I had due to the fan noise, which GK acknowledged as 'noticable but unavoidable' due to needed to move air by design.

treekiller · #5 10-08-2011, 08:29 AM

I really love my 550 Fusion head, but I understand what you are saying. I took me a while to get mine "dialed in", but I play a P with flats so maybe it was a bit easier to get what I wanted.

Another thing you could try is to use a pedal like a Sansamp or some type of overdrive which would add more mids. The 550 is really a good head and when mated to a G-K NEO cab it is pretty killer live. Good luck!!!

stflbn · #6 10-08-2011, 08:33 AM

Another thing... IMHO there's nothing saying you have to love an amp set 'flat'. That's just the manufacturers guess at what you'll prefer. Nudge the frequencies where you want, and love the amp.

TomB · #7 10-08-2011, 08:37 AM

I love my MB Fusion! I've never heard the fan. I suspect it's working though, as the head stays relatively cool even in hi-stress applications. The 2 channel switchable approach works fabulously w/the Fusion pre-amp. Great design, really flexible if you play a variety of styles. At this point I'm trying hard to think of any cons... Oh yes, the front panel lights are a bit much

.

ale29 · #8 10-08-2011, 11:00 AM

I was expecting you guys to suggest me the MB fusion head...on paper it's so close to its sister Fusion 550.

To be completely honest I've never tried that one, BUT:
Compare Gallien-Krueger Fusion 550 and MB Fusion at Smmer NAMM - YouTube
Looking at this video, they do not sound the same. And I prefer the fusion 550 personally, based on this clip.
Also, I've read here on talkbass some people saying that the MB 500/ MB Fusion don't have the same punch and the same raw power of the fusion 550, which seems to offer more dynamic power. This could be due to the different power amp.
I should A/B those 2 heads somewhere, but if I had to change I'd like to change for something different, something with more of that good midrange built in without having to fiddle with the eq for example, or with a more vintage kind of sound (more Ampeg-ish maybe? I'm not sure...)
Please note that I have absolutely no problem with the sound of my head and I don't mind using eq slides to find my sound. My main purpose still is to get a compact head and the headphone/aux-in function and still having an awesome tone as I do now

. Footswitchable OD/clean sound would be the icing on the cake.

ale29 · #9 10-08-2011, 11:10 AM

To give you a reference, here's the sound I get by going Mayones BE > GK Fusion 550 (eq'ed as I wrote on post #1) > GK Send > Computer.
I like this sound (actually there's a bit less mud when you hear that through the amp and the cab)
Forgive my poor playing
Orion bass by ale29 on SoundCloud - Create, record and share your sounds for free

ale29 · #10 10-16-2011, 02:00 AM

Gotta bump this thread because I have the possibility of trading my head for a MB Fusion AND 150€ cash (a bit more than 200$). It has most of the features I was demanding for, though I'll need to try it out extensively before doing the trade because it's still quite unknown for me tone-wise.
I have to say that I'm not completely satisfied with Fusion 550's overdrive tone. It has not enough dirt OR it is too fuzzy, I find. Maybe it's just that i don't know how to eq it properly. Does the MB fusion overdrive have the same overdrive tone? I'd expect so, as the preamp is the same.