New Gallien-Krueger MB500 owner: first impressions and existential musings

[Tangentor]

I've had some questions that others in the Amps forum have already addressed in my "thank you, Amps forum" post, but I wanted to put them here in a clearly labeled MB500 thread, in hopes of further opinions from the forum.

A local band (with my oldest musical partner on guitar) asked me to get from behind my drums and come back to my most natural instrument... electric bass guitar... with them.

I'm really excited about this, because of our old friendship and musical chemistry, and also because I have observed the other two guys to be almost unfailingly cool.

They gain a third lead/harmony singer, and an enthusiastic chameleon on several 50s-70s bass styles.

We're going to rehearse for the first time this week, and my first gig with them will be this Thursday night - hosting the open jam that I already frequent!

Needing a rig fast on a low budget, I found Talkbass and lurked on this forum for two weeks. After much deliberation, I visited Bass Central last Friday, & picked up a new Gallien-Krueger MB-500 and a used Aguilar S410.

I've put about 4 hours tops into playing around with the amp, sometimes at ear-filling volume, and always in awe of the range of tones (mostly quite bassy yet distinct!) that I can get in the flawed environment of my high-ceilinged, tiled living room.



Basswise,, I'm using a 1997 Fender Am. Std. Jazz with rounds (really old ones... I need separate advice on which strings to pick!), and a 2004 Fender MIM Standard Precision Bass with flats and a Seymour Duncan Basslines vintage-style replacement pickup.

I play with my basses' tone knobs in all variations... I like the Precision with its volume 100, tone 100 - and at volume 100, tone 20 - and at volume 100, tone 0 - and at volume 93, tone 40 - you get the picture.

I like the Jazz bass with:

Neck 100 Bridge 100 Tone 100 - full on rock or zingy mode
Neck 100 Bridge 000 Tone 060 - barky sound for anything... makes me feel like Geezer Butler
Neck 100 Bridge 000 Tone 000 - reggae sound with thumb muting
Neck 095 Bridge 100 Tone 000 - syrupy sound that makes me want to trip & slide all over the neck



The band has two guitarists, one with a solid state Marshall 4x10 cab (I think) and the other with a Fender combo (DeVille?) The drummer has studio precision, incredible groove and the rare tendency to control his volume throughout the night. I'd be setting the Aguilar 4x10 down on the stage floor (it didn't come with casters) with the tiny MB500 on top, with its perpetual (I HOPE) blue light of confidence.


Should I be concerned about gigging this head with no backup?

(Of course I should! I'm going to beg a friend to lend me his in case of failure.)

I've read many TalkBass threads about the MB2-500 problems, but I've also seen reassuring comments that the MB500 is a corrected MB2-500 design, with the added limiter switch.


Should I be concerned about having enough power to keep up, or overworking my single 4x10 cabinet?

Ed at Bass Central assured me the MB500 is well matched with the Aguilar s410, and that they had tested the Aggie with lots of power before putting it on the floor... but if I end up having to crank this to keep up, should I worry?

I have heard that GK amps in particular and class D amps in general are able to operate near the extremes of their potential without giving up the ghost... but that's just hearsay that I may have misremembered.


What characteristics arise from this combo of head and cab?

One poster guessed correctly - at least, in the living room - that I'd have strong yet controlled bass. I'd say that, after EQing carefully, the sound is rather well balanced over the frequencies. I was hearing detail out of my bass, even with all EQ flat, that I partially didn't recognize!


Is it just me, or is the MB500 EQ really versatile?

I find myself staying within 9:00 and 3:00 on all of my EQ settings, with one exception being that I like the low-mids all the way up and down the slope.


What would it sound like if I added my ratty old SWR Workingman's 4x10T to the bottom, taking the MB500 from 350 watts up to its full 500?

Bass Central DID let me try this rig with a random 1x15 on the bottom, and wow... that's something to save up for. But I'm wondering what my older, possibly-not-even-working 4x10 cab would sound like on the bottom of a stack, which would put the Aguilar at a better height for me at least, and the amp controls within better reach? Or, am I just thinking this would look cool?


What kind of bass strings would make me happiest with the Jazz bass, without needing constant replacement?

I guess I'm not very discerning. When I played this Jazz bass out years ago, I used to love the sound of new roundwounds, but never really minded them as they got dead, even when the only sound they could give is a halfhearted thump.

This is probably because I love the reggae tone of Aston "Family Man" Barrett in the Wailers, and indeed, use this tone for many styles I cover without complaint.

So I know I don't need them to 'zing,' but are there any kind of Jazz bass strings that do interesting things to the low midrange that I prefer? Or, are certain tensions more or less capable for my various Jamerson/McCartney/Noel Redding/Steve Harris/Family Man Barrett fingerstyles?


What would be a good (and cheapish) compressor for this rig, if I like (for instance) the sound of Paul McCartney's bass on "Revolver" through "Abbey Road?"

I realize a big part of Paul's tone was running directly into Abbey Road's amazing preamps and/or limiters, and that no bass amp is involved. If I could find something to get me into the neighborhood of that sonic personality, that's close enough.

I have a JoeMeek VC3Q optocompressor/preamp/EQ that gets me the recorded sound I love, and I tried it today. It works well, but I want to baby this older unit and leave it at home for recording.

I wouldn't mind a floor pedal, or a box sitting atop my rig. I'd set it to a usable all purpose compression sound and pretty much leave it alone.

I actually believe compression is optional for this rig (especially as I get used to its sounds) but would really like to have it for the dreamy and/or funky grooves that I plan to slowly inject into this band.



Thanks for any and all opinions / musings on this amp. I'll update the thread whenever we end up rehearsing, and especially when I take it to its first gig Thursday night.

[bombpop14]

I think you made an informed, and wise choice. I'm not a huge fan of compression so no help there...but I think you might benefit from a sansamp bassdriver DI or VT pedal. A lot of players use the VT to "tube up" the sound of class d amps. The bassdriver DI will do pretty much the same thing, AND act as back up if the amp fails (provided you are running into a P.A.) without having to lug another amp.

[tallboybass]

IMO the 'boost' control does a great job of 'tubing up' the tone.

There are so many questions, I got lost somewhere back there.

You should have plenty of tone and volume as is, why not try what you've got and see what, if anything needs improvement?

[ljazz]

I use the EBS MultiComp with my GK 700rbII...... I run the comp in tubesim mode..... you'd swear it was made with the GK in mind.

[lbwdog]

Originally Posted by ljazz

I use the EBS MultiComp with my GK 700rbII...... I run the comp in tubesim mode..... you'd swear it was made with the GK in mind.

Curious....what setting on the comp?

[jtc_hunter]

I love my new MB500. Great review man.

[afroman]

that rig is a good combo.

I played the MB500 + Aguilar S810 during an outdoor gig and the lack of tweeter from that cab made the whole rig sound perfect. I always find GK amps to be super bright, even when cutting a lot of treble and high-mids (and I don't play with a dub style or bassy sound).

I'll say it again, the Aguilar S-series was the best Aguilar cabs ever. So sad that they didn't sell well.

[synterx]

Is the limiter switch the only thing different on the MB500? And what type of limiter is it? A power amp limiter like Peavey's DDT, or more of a compressor/limiter?

[Nedmundo]

Originally Posted by synterx

Is the limiter switch the only thing different on the MB500? And what type of limiter is it? A power amp limiter like Peavey's DDT, or more of a compressor/limiter?

The limiter seems like compression as I understand it. The manual says: "The limiter is designed to detect signal levels at the input of the power amp that cause unwanted distortion. It attenuates extreme peaks to allow high volume output while maintaining signal integrity."

[Tangentor]

I wondered the same thing about the limiter - would it be an audible compression like one might achieve with an effect?

In my experience, at loud living room volumes only, the limiter switch has no audible effect, so I leave it on - and see no reason not to leave it on during gigs.

My first show with these guys is tomorrow night. The leader's car trouble has prohibited practice this week, so I'll do my first gig with them 'cold' - relying only upon my imperfect memory of hearing their songs for the last few months. (Too bad I was only paying attention for the last two weeks!)

I used the headphone output to practice a little last night. By the way, having headphones plugged in does not defeat the speaker. It's gratifying to hear the same tones I've been getting, translated into the headphones... it goes to show how accurately the Aguilar has been reproducing my signal.

As you might expect, a full gig report on the MB-500 will soon follow!

[tallboybass]

The limiter has no effect until you are playing at CRAZY loud levels that would send the power amp into clipping. Merely a protection type thing.

[ljazz]

Originally Posted by lbwdog

Curious....what setting on the comp?

Missed this.... sorry.

Tubesim mode, noon on the comp knob, and gain up until the clip light on the amp starts to light up when I'm playing, then backed off a touch (just like an input gain).

In my case, I find that I have to back down on the pregain on the head a bit. I think most find the pre starts to clip at about 1:00, but I start to get shrill as I approach noon. However, keeping that input (output on the EBS) as hot as possible gets the growl going a bit easier.

The EBS can be a bit "hissy", especially if you use the power supply with a battery installed. That cuts down a touch when you pull the battery. But it's not bad at all, and it warms things up nicely.

[Tangentor]

MB500: FIRST GIG REPORT

I'm pleased to say the GK MB-500 held up just fine for its first gig last night. We hosted a local open jam bookended by two 45-minute sets where I debuted as the band's new bassist (and third vocalist).

Aside from the inherent fun of playing bass with these guys, I really enjoyed the MB500's sound with the Aguilar S410 cab, in combination with my MIM P-Bass. I used the boost channel a lot more than I expected; I got a great balance between the unaffected and boost channels, and was able to punch things up at will (at one point reminding myself eerily of Geezer Butler's sounds from the first 3 Black Sabbath albums - never a bad thing IMO!)

I also got to play 'bass tech' for several other jammers, including one friend with an active bass (thank you, 10dB pad). I was able to hear how it sounded out front, somewhat... the other bassists were a lot more tentative than my approach (I apparently had the hellfire of enthusiasm in my fingers last night), but I was still able to get an idea of how the new bass rig fit into the band's mix.

I found myself returning the treble and hi mids to more normal settings; I had dialed them (and the cab's rotary tweeter control) down the whole week that I'd played the amp at home.

The rig had no shortage of lows, and that P-bass with flatwounds was barking happily in the mids. (Its onboard tone control saw action in every setting... I used it at 100%, 0%, and 25% for various songs, and once again, at 0% the bass was so controlled that the ear didn't really long for the missing highs.) At no time did the band complain of not being able to hear. So fulfilling was the P-bass in this context, I never got the J-bass out of the car (!)

Power-wise, the little amp was barely trying. This rig apparently has massive amounts of power in addition to what it was pushing last night. If I ever fix up my other, older 4x10 cab in the garage, I'll have more stack than I need, and for every club I've seen these guys play, the single cab should be more than enough (yay!)

I am so pleased with my purchase so far, and so excited to be playing bass onstage again!!!

[Tangentor]

So excited, I forgot to take a single photo of the rig onstage with its sexy blue light! Oh, well - I'm there every Thursday until they fire me!

[Punchy810s]

Your post made my day. I just ordered the MB500 to go atop my Acoustic B810 cab at 4 ohms.

I use a TC Electronic Finalizer with various EQ and compression settings, but the point is that I have the same concern about whether the GK MB500 can hold its own in full - on gig mode, based on the scary tales of the MB Squared.

There are no reviews of the GK MB500, I guess because the jury is still out.

Anyway -- thanks to you, I'm a lot less worried about my recent order.

[Tangentor]

Thanks, Punchy810s - this is the kind of info I was starving for, two weeks ago, and you've already found, there aren't a lot of gig reports on the MB500 - so at risk of running the subject into the ground, I'll keep updating this thread as I play it out.

I would have been skeptical of the MB500 running an 8x10 cabinet, but not after hearing what I heard last Thursday... you're going to have fun!

We're supposed to practice before the next gig Thursday night, so I'll get to hear the new rig in another environment. I'm no longer worried about the MB500's amount of power, or tone control (should different room EQ be needed).

As for reliability, I'll probably stay a little nervous for awhile - I still don't have a backup head, and won't be able to afford anything soon. If the other guys have even an old guitar or PA head laying around, that might do in a real pinch, but of course I'd rather keep on truckin' with the MB500 and its Blue Light Of Bass Coolness.

I'll try to remember to record some rehearsal, and if any of it's listenable, I'll post some audio samples of the rig in context.

[Tangentor]

P.S. Here's how light the MB500 is:

I put the head in a bag along with its power cable, footswitch, footswitch cable, my instrument cable, and of course the all-important Speakon Connector Of Life.

I closed the bag and picked it up. I swear that most of the weight was from the cables!

I forgot my vocal mic, which has its own little zippered case. When I added this to the larger bag, the total weight increased noticeably.

Other impressions:

The 'guard rails' on either side of the MB500's face allow you to tip the amp onto its face and balance it there long enough to insert up the cables on the back (or check your direct out switches, etc.) These prevent the bank of knobs on the amp's face from turning during this maneuver.

The knobs themselves are very sensitive. A tiny turn on the input gain, or either master volume, makes a large difference in sound. I found I had to be careful with the mute switch, because my finger sometimes inadvertently turned the input volume knob next to it.

[Tangentor]

Our first band practice was last night, and the MB500 performed beautifully.

Here's the rig next to my MIM P-bass (with secret weapon Fender '62 reissue pickup).



I love how the blue light kind of matches the bass, and how they both somewhat match Jango Fett. (Hey, good costume idea for the next show!) (Maybe I could fashion a jetpack prop that actually houses a compressor/limiter!)

I kept it fairly low in volume, as we were also testing the new powered PA cabs that the singer had just received.

Tonight I get to let it loose onstage in my 2nd appearance with the band.

[gregoire1]

Please don't forget another gig follow up report. Great info here about a head thats on my radar.

[poorbassist15]

I saw the first version(MB2-500) of this in my local GC a while back. I laughed at it, thinking "There is no way in hell that thing gets 500 watts for being that small." I Plugged an American standard J into it with and Ampeg 610 and I rapidly changed my opinion. Still trying to get one of these.