A non-expert's review of the GK MB115

[billiam5billion]

Okay, let me preface this by repeating the thread title-I AM NO EXPERT ON AMPS. I've pretty much always used combos, and have never played anything beyond small local venues. I've never been to school for sound engineering and I've never done any soundwork outside of banging away on stage. This is a top-to-bottom review of my recently acquired Gallien-Krueger MB115 ultralight combo, and it's mostly for beginning to intermediate and semi-pro players and hobbyists.

First of all, although the weight of this thing is already pretty well covered and praised in pretty much every review I've seen online, I feel the need to comment on it again. I've played and gigged many, many combos, from small Crate 112s to 500W Peavey TNT behemoths, and this is by far the most portable combo in my experience. It simply cannot be overstated how easy this thing is to lug. When I met the guy who sold me the amp (thanks, craigslist) I brought him my old 8 inch Drive practice amp as part of the deal, and the GK was pretty much just as easy to pick up and load as the tiny Drive. I hurt my back in the Army, and this aspect of the amp can simply not be ignored.

Okay, got the thing home, connected the power cord. I'm into the removeable power cord thing, my Ampeg BA115 didn't have it and it was a pain to wrap it up in the velcro strap. Not much of a hassle, but I'm a dainty flower and love convenience. The amp turns on with a button instead of a switch, and the little led light around the button morphs from red to blue when the amp's ready to roll. It's pretty cool, I actually hollered at my wife to come and check it out, and she gave me a look that said "You're such a nerd," which I am. Okay, everything was turned all the way down, so I adjusted the 4 band EQ to where I usually play with my band, with the bass at about 2:00, the low mids pushed up to 1, the high mids up to almost 2, and the highs right at noon. I've found a nice little niche right there for my Jazz bass, and it works well on the Peavey I've been playing lately. Left the boost rolled back pretty far, put the gain and master around 9:00, and turned off the contour, limiter, and horn switches. Hit the E string, and it was already too loud. With my bass controls rolled all the way up, it's thundering, with presence and low end for miles, and absolutely no distortion. With the controls at these sort of "default" settings, it sounds very classic rock-y, with a real thumping, dark vibe.

I played with the boost and the switches after that. The boost knob is extremely responsive, almost to a fault. It so drastically changes your tone that it's easy to overdo. This is where that signature "GK growl" comes in. I can go from 60's motown to 90's punk with a half twist of the knob. The boost maxed out with the neck pup cranked totally brought out my inner Dirnt. The contour switch is okay, a bit muddy for my taste, and it tends to make more noodly stuff I play overlap into a mess. My Pbass with flats responded a lot better to the contour switch than the J. The horn switch doesn't do much, I mostly left it off, since when it was on it emitted a tiny little buzz, not there at all when playing, but annoyed me when I was at rest.

I then cranked my bridge pup all the way, rolled off the neck about 3/4, and played some heavy blues and a little slap. The slap sounded great through this amp, it had almost a Faith No More/Tool aggresiveness to it. Not to say that Justin Chancellor slaps, I just detected a bit of his tone to it. When I cranked both my pups again, and set the boost at about 11:00, with the mids dropped a bit and the bass up to 3:00, the amp just came alive. My wife came in from making christmas ornaments in the other room and watched me for a while. I asked her what she thought (she doesn't play anything) she said "It sounds like something from a movie." I asked her what she meant by that and she said "I don't know, it's like when there's a song in a movie, and it's focused on the bass, that's what it sounds like." I still didn't get it, until she said "It just sounds like a real bass, like that's how a real bass sounds." I don't know what to make of that. Thanks, honey.

Okay, some final notes-First of all, this little 35 pound combo is freakin' LOUD, like scare the neighbors, rattle the walls loud. It's got plenty of balls, almost more than my 500W I mentioned before. It's extremely versatile, and has all the features one would need for small gigging and will keep up with normal guitar and drum setups. Some of the controls and features are kinda unresponsive, and I did notice when I played it on my hard floors that it moved around quite a bit, so no putting beers on top (which you shouldn't anyway!) The speaker grill seems pretty flimsy, probably made that way to shave ounces. I'd prefer some side handles to the single top handle, but the weight makes this mostly a non-issue. I do miss the tiltback design of my ampeg and my old Hartke, but setting this on a stand would be such cake I can overlook it. I haven't had a chance to play through the direct out, but I've got a feeling it'll work fine.

All in all, one of the finest combo amps I've played through, and I've played through plenty. For 400 bucks plus tax, I really can't think of a better option. For 250 bucks and a small practice amp, I'm thrilled. Add it to your xmas list next chance you get.

[craig.p]

Nice job there, Bill. You covered a lot.

Also, thank you for your service to our country.

[billiam5billion]

Originally Posted by craig.p

Nice job there, Bill. You covered a lot.

Also, thank you for your service to our country.

Thanks, and you're welcome, at the same time. It was my pleasure both to play this amp and to serve.

[Bearwolf]

Thanks for the review. I feel pretty much the same with my MB115. Awesome amp and definitely puts out some great tones. I still wouldn't mind giving it a little company via a new fusion 550 or mb fusion amp.

I think one of the most suprising things of the mb115 combo is its weight..very easy tote from place to place.

[billiam5billion]

Originally Posted by Bearwolf

Thanks for the review. I feel pretty much the same with my MB115. Awesome amp and definitely puts out some great tones. I still wouldn't mind giving it a little company via a new fusion 550 or mb fusion amp.

I think one of the most suprising things of the mb115 combo is its weight..very easy tote from place to place.

I was also very surprised by how responsive it was to my bass's controls, it seems like it accentuated the pups quite a bit more than my Peavey, and waaaay more than my ampeg tube.

[Bearwolf]

I see that difference to PU's as well. There is quite a bit more sensitivity, output, low end, and tone and just overall "balls" between my two basses and the mb115. My warwick rockbass with active single coils sounds just plain awesome, tons of low end, clarity, etc and really super responsive to any changes I make on the bass or amp. It's much less so on my other bass which has an active preamp and passive emg-35hz's.

[jnewmark]

Have you played it in a band context yet ?

[billiam5billion]

Originally Posted by jnewmark

Have you played it in a band context yet ?

Nope, that test comes this sunday-I'll let you know how it sits in the mix, pardon the cliche.

[jackajesusfreak]

I posted this in another thread but wanted to add it here since the thread is focused on the MB115.

I have 2 MB115s. Our church has 4 campuses and we play at one campus every Tuesday night at a 12 Step service, and we also play at another campus every Sunday morning at a contemporary service. I keep one at each location. The Tuesday night service I use the GK as a monitor. The Sunday morning service I use it stand alone. Smaller sanctuary so no problem with it pulling the load.

However, we are doing an outside gig for a block party the church is having. I just wondered if it would be worth the upgrade to a 210 or 212? Would I be getting more bang for my buck?

[Adam Bomb]

Originally Posted by jackajesusfreak

I posted this in another thread but wanted to add it here since the thread is focused on the MB115.

I have 2 MB115s. Our church has 4 campuses and we play at one campus every Tuesday night at a 12 Step service, and we also play at another campus every Sunday morning at a contemporary service. I keep one at each location. The Tuesday night service I use the GK as a monitor. The Sunday morning service I use it stand alone. Smaller sanctuary so no problem with it pulling the load.

However, we are doing an outside gig for a block party the church is having. I just wondered if it would be worth the upgrade to a 210 or 212? Would I be getting more bang for my buck?

I would just bring both my MB115s, if'n I were you. I gig through a pair of MB210s. IDK for sure but it seems like two MB115s would be louder than a single MB210 or maybe a single MB212. Comparable, at least, and for no extra money. Of course, if money is no object, consider buying a pair of MB212s...

--Bomb

[Mike M.]

This sounds very encouraging. I've got an itch to do some wood shedding this winter to work on my playing, to try some differant things and above all, to work on developing a good tone. In all honesty I don't even know what "my sound" is. As of right now I've got an old Peavy Combo 115 that I've had since 1993. At the time it's all I could afford because I got divorced that year and I needed an amp. Never liked the sound (very stiff, cold and has a funny "canned" sound to it) but again, it was a question of money at the time.

Offhand the MB115 sounds like a definate possiblilty. I'm 57 and like a lot of you, have a bad back. So the portability factor/light weight sounds great if in the event I went to a jam or had a few friends over in my basement. I also like the idea of the 4 band EQ. My Peavy has a built in graphic...I NEVER got along with those things. I like it simple and to the point.

For now I would just be practicing by myself and playing along with some jam-along CD's through a LOUD stereo in my basement. My basses are an Ibanez SR505 with Elixer round wounds and a Squire P bass with very old Fender flat wounds that still sound pretty good.

So, I've got two great basses. All I need now is an amp that I won't have to make any excuses for.

Lightweight/portable....not "cold" sounding....easy on the wallet...an amp that will help me find MY sound and an amp that would keep up with at least a guitar player and a drummer if it came to that. An amp that can also handle my 5 string with ease.

MB115?

After thought: When I said I don't know what "my sound" is all I can do is to tell you what I DON'T like. I don't like a sound that has too many highs to it. Clear yes, but not overly so. I keep the treble knob on my Ibanez about 1/4 open and that's plenty! (I hate that clanky-clanky sound). I also like a sound that's full and rounded that hit's you in the chest. I really can't get a sound I like with my Peavy.

[Stinsok]

I am really looking forward to playing mine outside of my house. When I push the volume around 12:00 there is a lot of vibration in the house. It's hard to tell if it's the house (conventional foundation) or the cabinet.

[JonnyAngle]

Originally Posted by Mike M.

For now I would just be practicing by myself and playing along with some jam-along CD's through a LOUD stereo in my basement.

The MB115 also has an aux input, which I would recommend using. It's much easier to blend your bass into the mix than when playing with a stereo.

[billiam5billion]

Originally Posted by Mike M.

This sounds very encouraging. I've got an itch to do some wood shedding this winter to work on my playing, to try some differant things and above all, to work on developing a good tone. In all honesty I don't even know what "my sound" is. As of right now I've got an old Peavy Combo 115 that I've had since 1993. At the time it's all I could afford because I got divorced that year and I needed an amp. Never liked the sound (very stiff, cold and has a funny "canned" sound to it) but again, it was a question of money at the time.

Offhand the MB115 sounds like a definate possiblilty. I'm 57 and like a lot of you, have a bad back. So the portability factor/light weight sounds great if in the event I went to a jam or had a few friends over in my basement. I also like the idea of the 4 band EQ. My Peavy has a built in graphic...I NEVER got along with those things. I like it simple and to the point.

For now I would just be practicing by myself and playing along with some jam-along CD's through a LOUD stereo in my basement. My basses are an Ibanez SR505 with Elixer round wounds and a Squire P bass with very old Fender flat wounds that still sound pretty good.

So, I've got two great basses. All I need now is an amp that I won't have to make any excuses for.

Lightweight/portable....not "cold" sounding....easy on the wallet...an amp that will help me find MY sound and an amp that would keep up with at least a guitar player and a drummer if it came to that. An amp that can also handle my 5 string with ease.

MB115?

After thought: When I said I don't know what "my sound" is all I can do is to tell you what I DON'T like. I don't like a sound that has too many highs to it. Clear yes, but not overly so. I keep the treble knob on my Ibanez about 1/4 open and that's plenty! (I hate that clanky-clanky sound). I also like a sound that's full and rounded that hit's you in the chest. I really can't get a sound I like with my Peavy.

This amp is not "clanky" in the least. It can get highs if you need it to, but I've found that the combo is the most comfortable in the booming, rattle your eyeballs low end. The single 15 inch speaker has plenty of clarity and let me tell you, it's like standing in front of a blow dryer with all the air it pushes. If you roll off the boost and eq a bit, you can imitate a big tube amp pretty well. Plus, 35 POUNDS!!

[H_Wordsmythe]

Originally Posted by Adam Bomb

I would just bring both my MB115s, if'n I were you. I gig through a pair of MB210s. IDK for sure but it seems like two MB115s would be louder than a single MB210 or maybe a single MB212. Comparable, at least, and for no extra money. Of course, if money is no object, consider buying a pair of MB212s...

--Bomb

Yeah, that sounds like a great idea. I've had my MB115 for a few months, and I love it, but in trying to compete with my guitarist's 100w amp at full throttle, I have to crank the gain and master to an uncomfortable level in order to hear myself (and, of course, I can't talk him into turning down without him rolling his eyes and whining about it). That's not to say that this isn't a loud amp. It's definitely getting a lot of mileage out of it's 200 watts, but these are bass watts we're talking about; I'm feeling the need for MORE! The 115 was what I could afford when I bought it, but it limited my options for expansion, not having an output for an ext. cab. Then I saw a post from someone here talking about running two together, and I wondered why I didn't think of it before. So my new plan is to talk the wife into letting me grab a 2nd with the tax refund next year, and then run an ABY splitter into both. But I'd love to get some input from anyone who's already done so with this particular amp - how much louder does it really sound? Are we talking a doubling of the perceived volume? Or pretty close?

[billiam5billion]

Small update-went to band practice sunday afternoon, brought the new amp. We're a little 3-piece that plays rock, country, cowpunk, a little surf, some covers...It went great. Very easy to keep up with my guitarist's big Sunn tube amp, and I could even drown the drums if I wanted to. I had the boost set halfway almost the whole time, only cranked it once for a fast picking song, and it sounded great. My bandmates were both blown away by the weight/volume ratio, and now I'm getting even more grief about not having to haul equipment. I don't have any pedals besides my tuner, so with all my gear put together, I'm probably hauling less than 50 pounds total to gigs, unlike my poor guitarist, who loves his vintage Sunn but can't carry it alone, and my drummer, who of course has all those damn drums. So now, even though I've got an awesome, lightweight, super affordable amp, I'm the new perma-roadie. Oh well, at least twice-a-week practices are gonna be cake from now on.