Need GK support for MB Fusion head..

funkythumb · #1 11-05-2010, 03:23 PM

Hi,
I called Gallien Krueger and could not reach anyone during their usual business hours for help. I sent an email and am waiting for a response.
I just got my MB Fusion head in today. Sounds wonderful and would like to keep it except that it's got a loud hiss coming from the speakers along with the wonderful tone.
It's a dirty/too much treble kind of hiss.
I replaced all the cables...no change.
I played through a Markbass F1 and it was clean as a whistle with no hiss.
I changed basses-- no difference.
I messed with all the eq settings, switches, etc. No difference.
Can someone offer help as to what it is?
Perhaps someone can give me Brian Clark's phone number and can give me someone's phone number at GK.
thanks

metallicafan18 · #2 11-05-2010, 03:28 PM

Just out of curiosity, try the amp in a different room in your house. My GK amp gets a bad hiss only when played in my room. It has something to do with the frequencies in the air I believe.

jza57 · #3 11-05-2010, 06:08 PM

Yeah , theres a lot of chatter about class D micro amps and their sensitivity to the quality of the power line you are using . First move would be to use a high quality filtered power block or strip whatever you want to call them . Remember , single coil pickups on a bass are always gonna be noisy so make sure you put that into account . Thats a good start . Good luck.
Oh, I forgot , make sure you don' have the presence switch on ( on top of the amp ) . That really peaks the high frequencies.

funkythumb · #4 11-06-2010, 08:34 AM

thanks for the input. Yeah, I tried all the switches. Nothing. Brian Clark replied to my email yesterday and told me to take back the amp to Musician's Friend.
Has anyone else on here had a similar problem with hissing from the MB fusion head? I really, really like the sound of this head. It sounds great on electric and upright with an idea tone that gets my sound without much tweaking.
Anyway, I'm not going to buy a huge power conditioner to drag to gigs just to be able to use this micro head. It kind of defeats the purpose of having a portable amp.

KJung · #5 11-06-2010, 08:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by funkythumb

thanks for the input. Yeah, I tried all the switches. Nothing. Brian Clark replied to my email yesterday and told me to take back the amp to Musician's Friend.
Has anyone else on here had a similar problem with hissing from the MB fusion head? I really, really like the sound of this head. It sounds great on electric and upright with an idea tone that gets my sound without much tweaking.
Anyway, I'm not going to buy a huge power conditioner to drag to gigs just to be able to use this micro head. It kind of defeats the purpose of having a portable amp.

Have not tried the Fusion, but the two MB2-500's I've played were very, very noisy up top... super goosed top end and lots of hiss... more than any other head I've ever experienced.

That being said, these units seem to vary quite a bit from one to the other. If you dig the tone, might be worth swapping for another one to see if you get a more 'quiet' one.

Power conditioner wouldn't have any impact anyway.

funkythumb · #6 11-06-2010, 11:25 AM

Ok, thanks Ken. Yea, I really like the sound of the MB Fusion. My Markbass F1 is my main amp and I love it and am keeping it, of course.
The MB is the only other small head that has wowed me. It's voicing is great for upright with upper mid honk just right. It sounds fat, yet articulate for electric as well. Definitely a keeper for me as long as I can get it to work.
I'm tempted to take it on my upright (wedding jazz) gig today.
I think I will and see how it reacts in another room. The hiss would not be noticeable in a loud playing environment, but if you're doing a ballad in a small room, forget it!!
Years ago I used to play a Catholic Mass with my Eden 400 Plus head. The fan came on as everyone quieted down and the priest looked over his shoulder at me with a look of "what's that sound?" in front of over 1,000 people. Needless to say, the Eden never made another appearance at that gig.
I'd hate to have that experience with the MB Fusion with my Top 40 band leader giving me the evil eye. :-)

funkythumb · #7 12-15-2010, 07:32 AM

Update. Brian Clark called me yesterday to let me know that my new MB Fusion is repaired and is on it's way back to me.
If you initially remember, I was getting a loud hiss or hissing sound along with the normal bass sound. Apparently, the problem was a faulty regulator whose problem can only be heard in the upper frequencies.
I'll put up another update once the head gets back to me and I try it.
Hope that helps anyone else in the future.

funkythumb · #8 12-24-2010, 12:04 PM

As promised, GK sent me back the MB Fusion after repairs. I just got it back a couple days ago and did a quick 15 minute test.
The good news is that the hissing sound has been greatly diminished. The bad news, if you can call it that, it that the hiss is still audibly there. The hiss is low enough that I don't think it'll create a problem in any situation. If I'm miking a speaker in the studio, I can turn the volume down low enough to where the hiss is all but gone.
All in all, the amp sounds amazing. The highs and overall punch of this amp are fantastic. Plenty of lows as well. I can say that I definitely prefer the sound of the MB Fusion to the MB F1 from doing a garage test.
I'll be taking the Fusion out for it's first test run on my New Year's Eve gig. Till then, I'm using my small Genz combo for everything I'm doing.
I now feel like my basses sound the way they should with a more open upper end.

Crabby · #9 12-24-2010, 02:01 PM

My new MB500 is dead quiet despite having tons of high end on tap. Glad to hear you got her repaired. I have to say companies like Genz Benz are pretty much forcing everyone else to step up their customer service. Very good thing for the average consumer of bass gear.

Jim C · #10 12-24-2010, 08:23 PM

Funky,
Does the amp hiss with the tone controls flat?
No matter what the brand or tonality, any audible amount of hiss at normal volume levels would be a deal killer for me if the tone controls were flat.
If Crabby's is quiet why isn't yours?

davidprice · #11 12-25-2010, 03:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim C

Funky,
If Crabby's is quiet why isn't yours?

Interested to know the answer to this as well. Crabby's is the all SS mb500 and it makes me wonder if the tube front-end on the Fusion introduces more noise.

I've been on the fence about getting an mb Fusion or getting an mb 500 and just using the VT bass I already have for when I want more 'tube' flavor. Of course, real tubes are attractive....

funkythumb · #12 12-27-2010, 09:42 AM

To reply to all.
...Mine is the MB Fusion, with the tubes, whereas the MB500 is SS.
The amps have different elements under the hood and sound different.
Before I bought my MB Fusion I asked a friend which unit he'd recommend; the MB 500 or the MB Fusion. He said without a doubt the MB Fusion. Without giving away my friend's identity, let's just say that he's very tight with the people at GK and has tried their product line extensively.
I've been told that the MB 500 has a more brittle/serile sound. The MB Fusion is a big juicy steak with lots of highs, mids and lows. It also sounds great with upright bass.
As far as the settings, all controls were set to noon. That means the EQ was flat and the gain and master were also at noon. The hiss goes down considerably when the gain and master are lowered. In addition, all the other switches that are featured on this amp were turned off. These switches include a PRESENCE --on/off, a DEEP on/off, a LIMITER on/off and an midrange selector switch. Also, the hiss can only be heard with a cab with a tweeter or horn. If you turn the tweeter off = no hiss. I initially observed this while testing the amp. My observation was further corroborated by Brian Clark who stated that the hissing sound generated by the faulty regulator can only be heard in the upper frequencies with a tweeter or horn.
From a comparison note, my Mark Bass F1 is dead quiet but it also doesn't deliver the highs with the same richness as the MB Fusion. I like both the MB F1 and the GK MB Fusion. I'm keeping and using both amps. The sound of the GK just motivates me more!!!

davidprice · #13 12-27-2010, 11:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by funkythumb

I've been told that the MB 500 has a more brittle/serile sound. The MB Fusion is a big juicy steak with lots of highs, mids and lows. It also sounds great with upright bass.

Thanks, this is very helpful. Glad you like it. That it sounds good with upright, too, is probably enough to make me get one. And I usually turn off the tweeters anyway...

funkythumb · #14 12-27-2010, 07:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by davidprice

Thanks, this is very helpful. Glad you like it. That it sounds good with upright, too, is probably enough to make me get one. And I usually turn off the tweeters anyway...

The mids on the MB Fusion as opposed to the F1 are dialed in without any tweaking necessary to give the upright a more natural upright tone. The highs are also refined enough to compliment the upright. You don't really need to suck them all out.
So far, I'm very impressed.

davidprice · #15 12-28-2010, 01:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by funkythumb

The mids on the MB Fusion as opposed to the F1 are dialed in without any tweaking necessary to give the upright a more natural upright tone. The highs are also refined enough to compliment the upright. You don't really need to suck them all out.
So far, I'm very impressed.

Really sounds just about perfect - for what I want, at least. I love my Walter Woods but when playing upright in some more rock-oriented situations I think this could be a great alternative with a different character.
Thanks!

funkythumb · #16 12-28-2010, 02:10 PM

I owned a Walter Ultra for 7 years. It's an amazing amp, no doubt. Probably the cleanest head I've ever played through and that, perhaps, was part of the issue I had with it. Also, lack of punch and bottom for pop stuff. But, oh those highs and mids were amazing!
Anyway, before I sent the GK off for repair, I did some upright testing with it and to my ears it offered a more musical sound than the sterile Walter.
If you get an MB Fusion, please PM me back and let me know if yours hisses. Also, please let me know where you bought yours from.
thanks

rpsands · #17 12-28-2010, 02:14 PM

Do you use the VLE knob on the F1? It'll kill any hiss pretty fast if you use much at all of that.

davidprice · #18 12-28-2010, 03:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by funkythumb

I owned a Walter Ultra for 7 years. It's an amazing amp, no doubt. Probably the cleanest head I've ever played through and that, perhaps, was part of the issue I had with it. Also, lack of punch and bottom for pop stuff. But, oh those highs and mids were amazing!
Anyway, before I sent the GK off for repair, I did some upright testing with it and to my ears it offered a more musical sound than the sterile Walter.
If you get an MB Fusion, please PM me back and let me know if yours hisses. Also, please let me know where you bought yours from.
thanks

I like the Woods a lot and, to me, it does have a characteristic voice - though clean - but I find it far less sterile than the SWR I had years ago. That said, I've also always had a taste for amps that contribute to the sound rather than just the goal of "what the instrument sounds like only louder" (though that has its place) and the Fusion looks like a really interesting characteristic amp that can also play clean.

The MB Fusion is next on my list of stuff to get - actually the only thing... but when is a bit of a question as I'm in Europe and all gear is way more expensive here so it will most likely wait until my next trip to the States or the next time I have a friend coming over (it's small enough that I don't think it would be too big of an imposition....) Will probably get from RMC or one of the regular dealers like music123, musicians friend, etc if there is any kind of promotion and, of course, I'll just watch the classifieds here. I actually do have an MB200 that I bought new en route. I'll let you know my thoughts when I finally get a Fusion... thanks for all of yours! I'm equally anxious to try it out on both slab and upright.

funkythumb · #19 12-28-2010, 04:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rpsands

Do you use the VLE knob on the F1? It'll kill any hiss pretty fast if you use much at all of that.

I've never had any problem with hiss on the MarkBass F1. It's very quiet. I use the VLE and VLF knobs all the time. They are great and very versatile! The MB Fusion just has that sizzle factor in the highs that I can't get with the F1.

**nostatic** · #20 12-28-2010, 06:08 PM

I think his question about the VLE is that if you use that, it attenuates the highs so any hiss will be masked. So by comparison the Fusion would sound hissy.

Just got my Fusion today from RMCAudio. I don't really hear any hiss unless I crank it pretty loud, and this is with a Berg cabinet with a tweeter. It definitely has more high end energy than my LMTube, but it also seems more articulate. I haven't used the F1 (different power amp topology than the LMTube) so I can't compare that. The Fusion is impressive so far though.