Help me pick out a new rig

[oniman7]

My mom was talking to me about my Christmas present while I was in the car alone. They want to surprise my brothers with some nice gifts and do the whole Santa ceremony and everything (they're younger), but they wanted to get me something more practical. They wanted to get me a really nice, new bass as part Christmas present and part reward for managing my band and having some minor local success with it (boy do I feel spoiled writing that). All of my basses have been bought used for less than $200. I told her that while I would LOVE, say, a Soundgear or Musicman, What I really needed was an amp to upgrade from my acoustic B200 combo.


Anyways, I don't know what the budget is yet, but I've already put together a cart with about $1,000 and will have to hope they won't have a hard time funding that, else I'll have to cut down.

It needs to be lightweight, relatively powerful, and not thousands of dollars.

There are a couple tones I really love (I'll attach videos at the bottom) but I know the Gallien-Krueger tone is one that I really love and I've heard lots of great things about them.

That said, I've put together a cart on Musician's Friend: Musician's Friend Cart | Musician's Friend

If you can't see it, It's a GK MB500W Ultralight Head, Tech 21 Sansamp Bass Driver DI, and GK 410MBE 800W Ultralight Speaker with Horn. 4ohms

Another question I had is if I needed the 4 ohm or 8 ohm version of the cab. I want to pair it with either another 410 or a 212 underneath and couldn't remember if it needed to be 4 or 8 ohms for that.

I was going to go for the MB500 Fusion with a Tube Preamp, but it's an extra $200 and I have absolutely know experience or knowledge with Tube anything, so If it comes down to it, I'll probably trade up to the tube head later.

Also, I threw in a Sansamp DI for tone shaping and some distortion, but there's a footswitch on the amp, so I don't know that I'll need it and may hold off on that.


Some tones I would like to have:
Disturbed-Down With The Sickness(Clean) - YouTube

Killswitch Engage -End of heartache - YouTube

Symphony X - Domination - YouTube

Breaking Benjamin - So Cold - YouTube

Breaking Benjamin - Diary of Jane (With Lyrics) - YouTube

Will provide more examples if necessary. Thanks in advance!

[JimmyM]

If you want to pair it with a second 410 down the road, get 8 ohms.

[oniman7]

Originally Posted by JimmyM

If you want to pair it with a second 410 down the road, get 8 ohms.

Thanks Jimmy! Always helpful with my amp problems.

I'm on my phone and it shows the post count, unlike on the computer. I just saw you have over 50,000 posts. This is madness.

[soulman969]

You've got great parents that's all I can say. The only contribution to may music career they ever made was a used $40 Dano Bass.

You say you like GK and GK stuff is great stuff so that's a nice start. Don't completely ignore the possibilty of the Fusion. It's only a tube preamp with SS power, not a 100% tube head like an SVT, and a nice feature to have. I used an Ampeg SVT III Pro with a tube preamp and it was the best sounding head I've ever owned.

If your pairing them you want 8 ohm cabinets. Two 8ohm = 4ohms.

If your wish list exceeds your parents budget consider downsizing to the 500w MB212 Combo. Good Luck with your shopping.

Merry Christmas

[fourfinger]

Originally Posted by soulman969

You've got great parents that's all I can say. The only contribution to may music career they ever made was a used $40 Dano Bass.

You say you like GK and GK stuff is great stuff so that's a nice start. Don't completely ignore the possibilty of the Fusion. It's only a tube preamp with SS power, not a 100% tube head like an SVT, and a nice feature to have. I used an Ampeg SVT III Pro with a tube preamp and it was the best sounding head I've ever owned.

If your pairing them you want 8 ohm cabinets. Two 8ohm = 4ohms.

If your wish list exceeds your parents budget consider downsizing to the 500w MB212 Combo. Good Luck with your shopping.

Merry Christmas

All great advice, except do be aware that the MB212 has no auxillary speaker output (i.e. no extension cab can be added; it is a one trick pony).

The MB210, however, does, and is $100 less. So you could get this now and add an extension cab later.

[soulman969]

Originally Posted by fourfinger

All great advice, except do be aware that the MB212 has no auxillary speaker output (i.e. no extension cab can be added; it is a one trick pony).

The MB210, however, does, and is $100 less. So you could get this now and add an extension cab later.

True if you're definitely gonna stay with a combo. My suggestion was to save you some $$$ now then shift into separates later and I'm not a huge fan of 2x10 combo's but to each his own.

[oniman7]

Originally Posted by soulman969

You've got great parents that's all I can say. The only contribution to may music career they ever made was a used $40 Dano Bass.

You say you like GK and GK stuff is great stuff so that's a nice start. Don't completely ignore the possibilty of the Fusion. It's only a tube preamp with SS power, not a 100% tube head like an SVT, and a nice feature to have. I used an Ampeg SVT III Pro with a tube preamp and it was the best sounding head I've ever owned.

If your pairing them you want 8 ohm cabinets. Two 8ohm = 4ohms.

If your wish list exceeds your parents budget consider downsizing to the 500w MB212 Combo. Good Luck with your shopping.

Merry Christmas

Thanks for the replies.

I previously started a thread about wanting to add an extension cab to my combo and was told it wouldn't have the desired effect, because my Acoustic amp would only split the power between the two cabs. I don't like having to push it to 4 or 5 sometimes to keep up with guitarists (who aren't even particularly loud), and I very much like to be heard (those high mids help that without overpowering everything else).

Also, I want to get into separate head/cabs because I like the ability to upgrade and change things as needed. After I get another 410, I might look into getting a 212 so I can go with a dual 410, 410/212 or even single 212 cab depending on the situation. After that, if I decide I want something a little better, I'll upgrade from the MB500 to the Fusion. I understand I'll be taking a loss, but it's an extra $200 right now, and to be honest, I don't trust myself with anything related to tubes yet, even though I know that's probably an irrational fear.


Would 500 watts pushing two 410's be loud enough for just about any situation? I assume that would be barring outdoor gigs/ big stadiums sans PA support.


Also, any proponents/haters of the Sansamp wanna pitch in on that issue?

[B-string]

Originally Posted by oniman7

Thanks for the replies.

I previously started a thread about wanting to add an extension cab to my combo and was told it wouldn't have the desired effect, because my Acoustic amp would only split the power between the two cabs. I don't like having to push it to 4 or 5 sometimes to keep up with guitarists (who aren't even particularly loud), and I very much like to be heard (those high mids help that without overpowering everything else).

Also, I want to get into separate head/cabs because I like the ability to upgrade and change things as needed. After I get another 410, I might look into getting a 212 so I can go with a dual 410, 410/212 or even single 212 cab depending on the situation. After that, if I decide I want something a little better, I'll upgrade from the MB500 to the Fusion. I understand I'll be taking a loss, but it's an extra $200 right now, and to be honest, I don't trust myself with anything related to tubes yet, even though I know that's probably an irrational fear.


Would 500 watts pushing two 410's be loud enough for just about any situation? I assume that would be barring outdoor gigs/ big stadiums sans PA support.


Also, any proponents/haters of the Sansamp wanna pitch in on that issue?

Include the outdoor gigs! You will be heard (maybe a little too well on stage!).

[oniman7]

That's what I wanted to hear. haha. I typically keep things to what I think is a reasonable volume, but who doesn't love an amp that has some power?


Also, I am looking mostly at the MB500 Ultralight... but notice they also have an RB and Backline series. What is the consensus on these?

Are there any good demos on YouTube of the MB500? I can't find any really. There was a good one, but the guy was using palm muting and his thumb to play some thumpy reggae lines... totally the opposite of what I'll be doing.

[oniman7]

Ibanez BTB 776 - Drum and Bass Funk Jam Recording - YouTube This one was pretty cool, considering I play through an Ibanez BTB... liking the punchy sound.

[cchorney]

You got generous parents, kid.

Search the effects forum for "bddi" or "sansamp". Lots of threads to pick and choose from. I love my bddi!

Separates are usually a better long term way to go than a combo.

Get a 4 ohm amp and a 8 ohm cab. A single 8 ohm cab uses roughly 60% of the available power from a 4 ohm amp. Which is why my 8 ohm 2x10 cab is only pulling 300 watts from my 500 Watt Markbass LMIII. However this leaves you room to grow - I can add another 8 ohm cab and I believe 2 cabs together sound better than just one. A good start for a cab if you are playing loud rock would be a 115, 212 or 410.

[oniman7]

Originally Posted by cchorney

You got generous parents, kid.

Search the effects forum for "bddi" or "sansamp". Lots of threads to pick and choose from. I love my bddi!

Separates are usually a better long term way to go than a combo.

Get a 4 ohm amp and a 8 ohm cab. A single 8 ohm cab uses roughly 60% of the available power from a 4 ohm amp. Which is why my 8 ohm 2x10 cab is only pulling 300 watts from my 500 Watt Markbass LMIII. However this leaves you room to grow - I can add another 8 ohm cab and I believe 2 cabs together sound better than just one. A good start for a cab if you are playing loud rock would be a 115, 212 or 410.

I know! I feel a little spoiled with everybody having to struggle to get their stuff together, and I normally wouldn't ask so far from Christmas time, but I'm blessed to have responsible parents who provide well for us. If they were still good on the offer, I wanted to give them some time to start saving if they needed to.


Will probably start with a 410. I like the sound I've seen many people get out of 410's and 810's. My 15 is a little too deep around for my tastes.

[B-string]

The RB series is the upper pro gear made in California usually with G-K's HMS Biamp system, Larger and heavier. Backline amps are the entry level for G-K, MBs are the ultralights.
I use the Fusion 550 (RB line) and the G-K NEO412 and I have never run out of headroom, with two 410s you will have even more speaker area.
goto Welcome to Gallien-Krueger: Power to Groove there is a nice little piece by Norm Stockton on the main page.

[oniman7]

Already been there. haha

Anyways, I think I'm sold on them at this point... every post has made me want one more, which is a good sign. Any users of the MB500? I think I'd probably start with one of those and a Neo 410 and then upgrade to a Fusion along with an extra Neo 410. Any users?

[jeff7bass]

For a grand you can get an Avatar TB153 and either an Ampeg PF-500 or a Carvin BX500. Now you’re cooking better than that MB500/410 cab.

[lomo]

The MB500 is a great idea. 2 410s will be as loud as you ever need. 1 will probably be enough. I'd start with one and see. If it's always enough, you may want a smaller cab for the 2nd one (not to use together with the 410) to take to smaller jams.....something like a 210. Just another option. Enjoy!

[YuppyPunk]

Rather than do a single 410 I'd do 2 210MBX's vertically stacked.

[oniman7]

Originally Posted by YuppyPunk

Rather than do a single 410 I'd do 2 210MBX's vertically stacked.

I want the MBE's because they're lightweight. Plus, one 410 allows me to hook up another cab