JonnyAngle's GK MB115 and MB210 Review

JonnyAngle · #1 06-05-2010, 06:21 AM

I recently purchased a GK MB115 and absolutely LOVE it. I was at GC 2 weeks ago and they had a 115 and a 210 in the store. I was the only one there so I could experiment and crank them up. I was on the fence for the last 2 weeks until I had to play an emergency gig.

My guitarist called me at 11:00 am stating we are on at 5:30. Going home was out of the question due to the locations of where I was and where we were playing. He said he was able to getme a bass but I needed an amp.

I went to GC to buy the MB210, but it was gone. I thought I was "stuck" with the 115, so I bought it. Half way through the gig I had to turn it down because my feet were getting numb due to all the stage vibrations from this amp(due to the massive bass tones and volume produced by this monster.) The highs were not quite as clear as I would have liked, but I was gigging an amp that I had owned for maybe 15 minutes. Today I am going to actually experiment with it and find the sound that fits me best.

I'm not bashing the 210, but unless you play metal, I don't think volume is going to be a problem for anyone that picks this up. Oh yeah, did I mention it's under 40 lbs?? Good job, Bob!

If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask and I will give you my opinion.

tastybasslines · #2 07-21-2010, 10:34 PM

I'm close to pulling the trigger here. What I want to know is this...I already know it has plenty of bass and volume....but if you turn it down and play a little quieter, is it still tight? I feel a 15 is "boomier". I plan on turning the amp up a little, and I like to let it do the work, instead of playing harder. Can I still get meaty, punchy tones at low volumes?

I play some blues and I need something subtle too.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JonnyAngle

I recently purchased a GK MB115 and absolutely LOVE it. I was at GC 2 weeks ago and they had a 115 and a 210 in the store. I was the only one there so I could experiment and crank them up. I was on the fence for the last 2 weeks until I had to play an emergency gig.

My guitarist called me at 11:00 am stating we are on at 5:30. Going home was out of the question due to the locations of where I was and where we were playing. He said he was able to getme a bass but I needed an amp.

I went to GC to buy the MB210, but it was gone. I thought I was "stuck" with the 115, so I bought it. Half way through the gig I had to turn it down because my feet were getting numb due to all the stage vibrations from this amp(due to the massive bass tones and volume produced by this monster.) The highs were not quite as clear as I would have liked, but I was gigging an amp that I had owned for maybe 15 minutes. Today I am going to actually experiment with it and find the sound that fits me best.

I'm not bashing the 210, but unless you play metal, I don't think volume is going to be a problem for anyone that picks this up. Oh yeah, did I mention it's under 40 lbs?? Good job, Bob!

If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask and I will give you my opinion.

5string5fingers · #3 07-21-2010, 10:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tastybasslines

I'm close to pulling the trigger here. What I want to know is this...I already know it has plenty of bass and volume....but if you turn it down and play a little quieter, is it still tight? I feel a 15 is "boomier". I plan on turning the amp up a little, and I like to let it do the work, instead of playing harder. Can I still get meaty, punchy tones at low volumes?

I play some blues and I need something subtle too.

Heres some rough sound samples I did with my p bass through my mb115

Fingers: 1. Tone full 2. Tone half 3. Tone off
http://www.zshare.net/audio/78547433e94ea548/
Pick: 1. Tone full 2. Tone half 3. Tone off
http://www.zshare.net/audio/78547505629ad127/

I don't think you'll have any problem with gutsy lows with this thing.

It sounds good,all the time. I just got into a band with a very loud drummer, I haven't had to turn this thing up past 5,even then I probably should have turned down.

This a very punchy sounding amp for a 15. Even if you feel it's not bright enough it's got a tweeter as well.

rpsands · #4 07-22-2010, 12:01 AM

Just my two pence: I found the 1x15 had way superior upper mids when compared to the 2x10. I would not recommend the 2x10 to a rock player, ever, but the 15 is quite flexible.

The 2x10, in my estimation, has a bizarre amount of bottom end (maybe upper bass) that makes it sound kind of flubby in comparison to the 1x15, and no amount of knob tweaking could get a rock sound out of it.

tallboybass · #5 07-22-2010, 12:05 AM

rpsands, slight OT....how do you like your Gallien-Krueger MB500 -> LDS 15/6 fEarful?

tastybasslines · #6 07-22-2010, 12:42 AM

Great help. I have tried them both now, and I agree, there was more depth to the 15.

I know all about the expansion deal, but I just cant justify the 2x10, just because you can add a cab. Ill never need that much. As it is, this will be plenty for bars and small clubs. Im not even sure that it sounds THAT much better...

Quote:

Originally Posted by rpsands

Just my two pence: I found the 1x15 had way superior upper mids when compared to the 2x10. I would not recommend the 2x10 to a rock player, ever, but the 15 is quite flexible.

The 2x10, in my estimation, has a bizarre amount of bottom end (maybe upper bass) that makes it sound kind of flubby in comparison to the 1x15, and no amount of knob tweaking could get a rock sound out of it.

JonnyAngle · #7 07-22-2010, 06:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tastybasslines

Great help. I have tried them both now, and I agree, there was more depth to the 15.

I know all about the expansion deal, but I just cant justify the 2x10, just because you can add a cab. Ill never need that much. As it is, this will be plenty for bars and small clubs. Im not even sure that it sounds THAT much better...

In all honesty, I was thinking about the 210, but for basically the same price you can get 2 115's if you need more oom-ph.

Gearhead43 · #8 07-22-2010, 09:25 AM

I think the MB115 sounds alot tighter / punchier and surprisingly more mid-present than the MB210. Love my MB115 and have been using one for a long time now.

azureblue · #9 07-22-2010, 09:29 AM

a MB115 to a MB212, tone wise? I could get either 2 of the MB115s or 1 MB212.

rpsands · #10 07-22-2010, 10:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tallboybass

rpsands, slight OT....how do you like your Gallien-Krueger MB500 -> LDS 15/6 fEarful?

I like it a lot. I haven't spent a lot of time EQing it because it sounds great out of the box but it's pretty flexible. Sounds good. Punchy, good bottom. I like it about as much as the F1.

tallboybass · #11 07-22-2010, 10:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rpsands

I like it a lot. I haven't spent a lot of time EQing it because it sounds great out of the box but it's pretty flexible. Sounds good. Punchy, good bottom. I like it about as much as the F1.

I'm guessing the MB500 has more inherent bottom than the F1? ...or just different?

tallboybass · #12 07-22-2010, 02:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by azureblue

a MB115 to a MB212, tone wise? I could get either 2 of the MB115s or 1 MB212.

From most bottom to least...MB210>MB212>MB115. I'm guessing that 2-MB115s would have comparable volume to MB212. Not sure I'd want to carry 2 - 33 lb. things as opposed to 1 - 38 lb. thing though.

origami · #13 07-22-2010, 04:04 PM

I too thought the mb115 sounded way way better than the mb210.

I did a side by side shoot out too.

--I still do wish you could add an extension cab on the mb115 and the DI could be made post EQ and the tweeter had a halfway switch. too bad--

The MB210 sounded kind of blah by itself, but did come life a lot more one it was plugged into an extention cab.

both these combos are almost too bassy, and the tweeter (especially in the mb210 i tried out) was very hissy.

I found some decent tones with both, nothing even close to as good as my 800rb into my neo2x12, but in a pinch i'd go with 115mb based on tone alone. it just sounded better.

jackajesusfreak · #14 07-29-2010, 11:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JonnyAngle

In all honesty, I was thinking about the 210, but for basically the same price you can get 2 115's if you need more oom-ph.

I ended up with 2-115s and love them! Let me explain.

I play in a praise band. We play every Tuesday night for our 12 step Celebrate Recovery Ministry. I bought an Acoustic B100 to use as a monitor as we play through a system on Tuesdays.
We started another once a month gig at a Wednesday night service at our newly acquired campus. I'm 56 years old and did not want to lug around that heavy Acoustic so I started searching and found the 115. I played through it and bought it on the spot at GC and sold the B100.

The Pastor at the new campus is starting a new Contemporary service this Sunday, August 1st. We were asked to be the praise band there. Even though the 115 is light, I didn't want to have to haul it back and forth every week and I also needed a decent amp at home when I setup the bass guitars I buy and sell. Solution?

I bought a used Trace Ellliot Commando 12 for 100 dollars on CL. It's also a heavy beast so I keep that one at home to use for my setups. I decided to buy a 112 and use it as a monitor on Tuesdays and keep the 115 at our new campus so I wouldn't have to haul amps at all. Problem was the 112 STILL isn't out. Searched for the 115s and every site had them back ordered until mid August. I called our local GC and they just happened to have one left still in the box! I got in on that promotion and get 60 dollars off! From what I'm reading in this thread, it looks like I made a good choice!
Jack