It might be time for a new amp...

DerPrinz · #1 06-22-2011, 02:35 PM

So I just started playing bass in October or so, and bought a used Crate BT50 to get me started, but recently it's started to distort on the clean channel, and it doesn't really handle notes below E very well. I think I've narrowed down my options to the Ampeg Micro VR or PF350, or the GK MB200. I'm gonna go try these out later this week, but any personal experiences would be awesome. My main issue is what cab to get, I think I'll be looking at a 210 or 115 because I don't see myself playing gigs in the near future. The brands I'm looking at for cabs are Ampeg, Avatar, GK, and Hartke, but I can't find a lot of head to head comparisons of their low-end 210s/115s. Does anyone have any experience with comparing these cabs? Any help would be appreciated.

jtc_hunter · #2 06-22-2011, 02:41 PM

I have been a gigging musician for 30+ years and have had everything from monster rigs down to what I have now, an mb112. 200 watts with a great 12" combo. 28lbs. is less weight than one of my 12" neo cabs weighed (39 lbs.) With the DI on the combo, I can play anywhere with a loud drummer and 3 guitars. Now I admit we have a pretty good PA, but where you are, it is easy to get on the bigger is better bandwagon and spend alot of money. I wouldnt. Also the Mb112 handles my B string , which is tuned to Bb, no problem. Sounds great and no farting.

DerPrinz · #3 06-22-2011, 02:57 PM

The MB combos have definitely been on the front of my mind, and with those new powered enclosures if I need an extra cab I could always get one, I just kind of want to move on from the combo, but I guess it might not be time yet.

EDIT: My concern about the MB combos was the cabinet, but I guess if it can handle a Bb it can handle a D

scottfeldstein · #4 06-22-2011, 03:19 PM

I was moderately experienced part-time pro back in the 90s and when I went to get back into the scene, I was really surprised by the ultra light GK combos. So surprised that I bought the MB210 combo and ordered the 210MBE cab sight unseen. (Should be delivered tomorrow.)

I still can't get over the fact that I can have a 2x10, 350w combo--with GK tone--that weighs 33 pounds. Or that I can turn it into a 4x10, 500w rig that's still under 70 pounds.

They just didn't have stuff like that 20 years ago. Or if they did, I was unaware of it. I was too busy lugging around 18" speakers and amps that had their own gravitational system.

Anyway, I bought it because it's light, it's GK tone, it's relatively inexpensive (Markbass anyone?), it's modular and it goes up to 11. (I mean, 500w.)

Stumbo · #5 06-22-2011, 03:25 PM

Might want to check out this thread before you make a decision:
Micro-rigs of doom

DerPrinz · #6 06-22-2011, 03:38 PM

That's a pretty interesting thread Stumbo, but a lot of the stuff on there is way out of my price range, I'm looking to keep it under 600 bucks. How well would a MB115 hold up against a drummer and guitarist, I don't gig, but I do jam sometimes. Lastly, is the MB200/500 just the amplifier portion of the MB combos, but in a head?

scottfeldstein · #7 06-22-2011, 05:44 PM

The MB115 can't drive an external cabinet, only the MB210 can do so. And it's 350/500.

DerPrinz · #8 06-22-2011, 07:13 PM

Do the MB combos only do that GK Flea tone, or can they do a pretty wide variety? I mean I like Flea, but I play other stuff too.

scottfeldstein · #9 06-22-2011, 08:58 PM

I am not all that familiar with Flea, but I seem to recall that he's got kind of a punchy, growly thing going on. It so happens that this is exactly what I like. It's got an OK spread of tonal controls, though. It's got a Contour which seems to cut some of the high mids and boost the lows and highs. It's got a four-band knob eq, which is pretty decent, although I'm running mine at straight 12s at this point. I don't really see myself ever using the little horn on it, though. If I could turn it on and off with a footswitch, maybe, but it's hissy and super crispy--not something I'd play a whole song with, I don't think.

I'm running the Master at 3/4 and the gain at about 1/4, more or less as needed.

Here's what I'm running away from. The last setup I had was a Fender P and i played it through a woofy amp/cab system of my own design. But I could never get it to sound anything but a woofy, boomy P-bass. The GK and my SoundGear is a vacation from that to me.

DerPrinz · #10 06-22-2011, 09:38 PM

How well does the 210 hold up against a single drummer/possibly a guitarist?

scottfeldstein · #11 06-22-2011, 11:02 PM

Well, I played it with a loud guitarist this evening and it definitely kept up. On Friday I'll be playing with a loud drummer, too, but I'll have the external 2x10 cab with me also. These guys are SO loud that I may need to use the 8x10 cab in the rehearsal space instead of my own 2x10 external cab. I'll let you know if you're curious.

DerPrinz · #12 06-24-2011, 08:38 PM

If it's not too late I'm interested in how the 210 does. While looking to I found the Carvin MB15, it looks like it has a lot more features like parametric mids and a compressor. Does anyone have any experience with the Carvin MB15 vs the GK MB115? Also does the Carvin have a tube pre like the BX500?

scottfeldstein · #13 06-24-2011, 09:36 PM

Well, I am back from the loud rehearsal. Let me emphasize: these guys are loud. Way louder than makes sense, especially at a rehearsal. There's a reason they have a Peavey Mark VI and an Ampeg 8x10 cab sitting in there: That kind of gear is just about required to be heard over these knuckleheads.

So I set my GK MB210 atop the GK 210MBE cab and fired it up. I set the Master at 3/4 and the Gain at about half, just to be heard. The EQ was pretty flat, the boost was at half. And at that level I could be heard. I had no headroom, I don't think, but I could be heard.

Even though I was playing at considerable volume and pretty aggressively, too, I never heard an ounce of distortion. It was edgy, it was growly, but it was clean. The tone was not suffering in any way. I could thumb-whack my E string and have it ring out just pretty as you please.

But I think it was at the limit. Any more and it would not have given me a good sound and might even have endangered the amp or the speakers.

Still, I'm impressed. Running 4x10s at 500w isn't what you'd call a monster rig. Especially one that weighs in at like 63 pounds total. And at about $800 that's not a bad deal.

As a side note, I wonder if I could drive that Ampeg cab with the MB210 combo. I think I could, I'd just need a speakon-to-1/4inch cable. That might be the way to deal with these volume freaks once and for all. But for normal musicians, this mini-stack should take care of things handily. They'll be asking YOU to turn down, probably.

I hope that's helpful. I should really post a thorough review of the combo over in the reviews area. Not sure how, but I'll look into it.

DerPrinz · #14 06-24-2011, 09:51 PM

That is pretty helpful actually, I'll probably only be playing with a single drummer for a while, so 200w going into a 115 should keep be good for a while. I know what you mean by no headroom, it's how I feel when I play my 50w 112 combo with the volume/gain cranked pretty high.

scottfeldstein · #15 06-24-2011, 10:14 PM

Well, it'll sure be a step up from 50w into a 12! Just to be clear, though. The MB115 could not, absolutely not, cut it with the pretend-we're-in-a-stadium guys. And neither could my MB210 alone. 350w into 2x10 might be sufficient for rational people, but I needed an external cab even to come close, and I had to push it hard.

DerPrinz · #16 06-24-2011, 10:56 PM

The MB115 would hold up against one reasonable drummer though right? If I ever got into playing with a guitarist who didn't keep the volume at 11 all the time would the 200w 115 powered enclosure do alright? The main thing keeping me from the Carvin is that I'd only have 250w into 2 115's if I ever needed to expand.

Bassquest · #17 06-24-2011, 11:12 PM

I have the Ampeg Micro and the matching 210 cab. I also have a GK MB200 and Eden EX112 (4 ohm) cab. I like either head with the 210 as it gets plenty loud for situations where there is no PA support.

scottfeldstein · #18 06-25-2011, 08:28 AM

I'm not understanding your choice. The MB115 isn't expandable at all. The Carvin is? Go with that, then. Or the MB210, which is what I have. That one's expandable, too. Or did I miss something?

DerPrinz · #19 06-25-2011, 02:42 PM

I have been contradicting myself in previous posts, so I'll make it all clear now, the MB115 is gonna be expandable soon because of the new powered enclosures, which would make a 215 GK stack more powerful than a 215 Carvin stack, but the Carvin has more controls and is a little cheaper, so I guess what I'm asking is how much more powerful is 400w into a 2 115's vs 250w into 2 115's.

bassist4dalord · #20 06-25-2011, 02:46 PM

I have a GK MB115 combo, and I'm very pleased with it. My advice would be to buy an MB210, and then you have the option to expand with an extension cab if need be.

Best of luck