Help me choose an Amp.

pica · #1 10-27-2011, 03:10 PM

Having a hard time deciding on an amp. Help me choose one.

LowEndMan2112 · #2 10-27-2011, 05:54 PM

I'd take the GK any day, 10 times out of 10. Was never impressed by Fender's amp stuff, with the exception of their vintage stuff, and their Rumble combos which are alright. Don't have much experience with Acoustic though...

Sav'nBass · #3 10-27-2011, 06:58 PM

Out of what you posted I'd go with the GK too...

GBassNorth · #4 10-27-2011, 07:21 PM

Recently tried all 3 and a number of others out at the local stores and found the Acoustic to be the best bang for the buck with an overall good balance in power, tone and tone shaping. The GK was a little too boomy for me and the Fender Rumble 150 just didn't have enough oomph. Actually I ended up buying a used Ashdown MAG300 evo II 2x10 combo. It was more power and better tone for about the same price, very heavy though.

rodl2005 · #5 10-27-2011, 07:36 PM

Ain't Ampeg PF350/500 or GB Shuttle in your price range?
GK out of the ones listed. But I'd go for either GB's Shuttle 3 or 6 or ampeg pf350/500 if I had that option.

pudgychef · #6 10-27-2011, 09:52 PM

are we talking just heads here? You could almost get the Rumble 150 combo for the price of the GK head - $280 vs $325....

fwiw the Rumble 150 head I played had considerably more perceived volume than the GKMB200 (which I really wanted to want) - it really sounded like what most companies label as 300w - to my ears, ime, etc...

bigfatbass · #7 10-27-2011, 09:56 PM

option 1 and option 3 are toys.

lokerola · #8 10-27-2011, 09:58 PM

Ampeg PF350.

sillyfabe · #9 10-28-2011, 01:09 PM

Acoustic b200 with the b410 (its what I use and its second to none for me).

Alex1984 · #10 10-28-2011, 02:27 PM

I picked the GK, but would prefer Ampeg PF if it was listed.

pica · #11 10-28-2011, 03:04 PM

I had never heard of the Ampeg PF350 until you guys mentioned it. I did some research on it and it sounds like a good possibility.

rojo412 · #12 10-28-2011, 03:37 PM

GK...
Unless you hate awesomeness.

KingRazor · #13 10-28-2011, 04:22 PM

I personally love the tone of Fender Rumble Amps.

Sharko · #14 10-28-2011, 04:57 PM

**Edit: Oops, too late! Enjoy the amp!**

I think it depends on what you want out of it:

The GK is a trusted head, good bang for the buck, if you want to do some small gigs with it, I bet it would serve you well.

Having played all 3 of these, I like the tone of the Rumble the most, but I also think it's kind of a one trick pony. I got a rumble as my practice amp because it was really nailing the Jawbox tone with my J bass. Also to its credit, I'm a set it and forget it kind of person, and it sounds pretty good with all my basses without a lot of EQing and fiddling with knobs (with my Marshall head you have to re-EQ all day long if you switch basses to get a useable tone). I don't know how well it would serve you for gigging. I don't mean to say it's bad, I just mean I don't know, I've never tried it and I don't know anyone who uses a 150 or 350 for gigging. Because of the low price I worry about reliability, and you might have to do with jerks like the poster above who said "it's just a toy," but on the other hand I haven't heard of people having difficulty with them and sometimes you do find a good cheap product that gets the job done (and the gear snobs who want to insult it can get lost).

I tried the whole acoustic line and wasn't impressed with the sounds I got. Yes you got a lot of power for for the buck but they just didn't thrill me.

Bottom line is: If it was me, I'd get the Rumble because I like the sound, but the GK is a better respected machine that will probably please most people

ptooner · #15 10-28-2011, 07:17 PM

Hey guys, I rarely get around here anymore but I have a related question. I'm suddenly in need of a combo amp that is LIGHTWEIGHT! I am working with a small old rock (50s, 60s) band and the jobs are usually pretty small clubs. I need something under 35 lbs and my choices seem to come down to the GK 210 200watt or 500 watt. They also make this model in one 15inch at about the same weight. My question is whether 200 watts is enough or is it going to require 500? I haven't seen any other options anywhere near this price point. ($499 for 500watt and $350-400 for 200 watt) I need to decide something before tomorrow afternoon's early gig at 3pm. Thanks for your thoughts.
Gerry

Oops, the group is usually just one electric guitar and sometimes keyboards with drums, chick singer and everyone sings.

**B-string** · #16 10-28-2011, 07:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ptooner

Hey guys, I rarely get around here anymore but I have a related question. I'm suddenly in need of a combo amp that is LIGHTWEIGHT! I am working with a small old rock (50s, 60s) band and the jobs are usually pretty small clubs. I need something under 35 lbs and my choices seem to come down to the GK 210 200watt or 500 watt. They also make this model in one 15inch at about the same weight. My question is whether 200 watts is enough or is it going to require 500? I haven't seen any other options anywhere near this price point. ($499 for 500watt and $350-400 for 200 watt) I need to decide something before tomorrow afternoon's early gig at 3pm. Thanks for your thoughts.
Gerry

Oops, the group is usually just one electric guitar and sometimes keyboards with drums, chick singer and everyone sings.

With everyone playing better go with the 500 watt MB210 combo. The MB115 may be pushed pretty hard.

fingerbun · #17 10-28-2011, 07:35 PM

Hard to answer based on the info available. A 200w 2x10 is on the small side but for some bands it would be plenty. I've got a Roland Cube (100w 1x12) that is plenty for some gigs.

I would consider how loud the band is, what size PA you are using and whether the bass gets PA support. The gigs I use my Cube for either the bass gets PA support or we are using a Yamaha Stagepass 300 PA which is small (yet plenty for the rooms we use it in).

If in doubt I would err on the side of buying the larger unit. Too much power is better than not enough and the price difference is not that great.

ptooner · #18 10-28-2011, 08:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fingerbun

Hard to answer based on the info available. A 200w 2x10 is on the small side but for some bands it would be plenty. I've got a Roland Cube (100w 1x12) that is plenty for some gigs.

I would consider how loud the band is, what size PA you are using and whether the bass gets PA support. The gigs I use my Cube for either the bass gets PA support or we are using a Yamaha Stagepass 300 PA which is small (yet plenty for the rooms we use it in).

If in doubt I would err on the side of buying the larger unit. Too much power is better than not enough and the price difference is not that great.

I sorta agree, but generally I'm not sure there is much difference between 200 watts and 500 watts. Tomorrow I have an afternoon country gig where the band will be using a single Bose system thingy and the job is outdoors although for a pretty small gathering. I think those bose things are around 200 watts. I'm going to buy something in the morning to use in the afternoon and I'm thinking toward the 500watt 210 GK.

My personal PA is 880 watts and I generally think the bass amp should be close to the power of the PA if running seperately. ??

Gerry

fingerbun · #19 10-28-2011, 11:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ptooner

I sorta agree, but generally I'm not sure there is much difference between 200 watts and 500 watts. Tomorrow I have an afternoon country gig where the band will be using a single Bose system thingy and the job is outdoors although for a pretty small gathering. I think those bose things are around 200 watts. I'm going to buy something in the morning to use in the afternoon and I'm thinking toward the 500watt 210 GK.

My personal PA is 880 watts and I generally think the bass amp should be close to the power of the PA if running seperately. ??

Gerry

With the two GK amps the speaker may be a limiting factor, but you can always add an extra cab (I assume).

As I said originally, too many unknowns to give you concrete advice. If it could be arranged I would ask to try them both. My main reason for posting was to say "200W is probably too small, but not necessarily".

I'm old...lots of guys on the forum seem to feel you need 1000W of grunt to do the job...I personally think you don't need anywhere near that.

Neil Bertrand · #20 10-29-2011, 10:56 AM

I played a full GK rig years ago and it always sounded great. I was in a touring band at the time and Gk equipment held up very well to the rigors of the road.

I play a full Hartke rig now and love the versatility of sounds you can pull from their amps. I use the VX cabs only because the aluminum cones are too heavy in the mid-range.