Sound Gallien Krueger MB Fusion vs Gallien Krueger 1000(700)RBII?

anarchipur · #1 01-07-2013, 05:30 PM

Can anyone help with a comparison in sound between the newer MB Fusion 500 Watts and the 1000 or 700 RBII?

Jerry Ziarko · #2 01-07-2013, 06:29 PM

I have a Fusion and owned a 1001RBII in the past. Let me start be saying I currently have 2 GK heads and have owned 5 over the last 27 yrs. To me the 1001RBII and the Fusion have only a little in common. The 1001 is a powerhouse. Tons of headroom! It also was the only GK I could not get attached to. I've always felt one of the beauties of GK was the simplicity of the pre amp. The 1001 has way to much redundancy in tone shaping for my taste, then again, for some it's the ticket. I love the Fusion, as I do the MB500. They have many of the same characteristics of my beloved 400RB. I never felt the same about the 1001. In fairness, at the time I was switching over to all IEM, so the 1001 became expendable. If it's the additional headroom that your looking for, I would grab a MB800 or wait for the Fusion 800 to show up.

emjei · #3 01-07-2013, 07:34 PM

What about Power Feel / Punch ?? Between the RBs and MBs

Like on big stages ???

Jerry Ziarko · #4 01-07-2013, 07:48 PM

I don't know about the MB800, although I hear it's an absolute beast. To be honest, I use IEM's 95% of the time, so I have only opened up the Fusion a couple of times on outside stages. It sounded fabulous, but I was only carrying the stage. The line arrays did the rest. The MB2 500 I had punched like a mother, and had every bit of that immediate whop of my old 400RB. The 1001RBII is a bear that doesn't know when to quit. Funny thing though, I've never A/B'd them, but many prefer the sound of the 700RBII for some reason.

anarchipur · #5 01-08-2013, 06:51 AM

Thank you Jerry,

this is very helpful for me, since I am really interested to test a GK amp but I can only order them online. So I narrowed my choice to the MB fusion 500/800 and the 700RBII.

I have a musiman, use a pick and the sound I am looking for is overal clean (just a little warm distortion) but still warm gnarling basses & crunchy highs.

Is this sound more like the MB fusion or the 700RBII?

mam1862 · #6 01-08-2013, 07:55 AM

I used to have both the 700rb-II and the MB Fusion and I sold the 700 for the fusion because I was able to get the 700 sound from the fusion and you have a bit more headroom with the fusion. I also think the fusion is a little more versatile as you have a lot of play room with tones. That being said both amps are very good. If I was just picking one I would go for the fusion. Good luck.

anarchipur · #7 01-08-2013, 08:16 AM

That's what I am looking for a GK amp that has teh RBII sound + more versatility. I will try the fusion...

Any recommendations for a cab that will work good with the MB Fusion for clubs say for 50 to 200 people?
What about the Gallien Krueger Neo 212-II again with respect to the sound I am looking for?
Or should I better invest in more expensive stuff like the mesa boogies?

mam1862 · #8 01-08-2013, 10:02 AM

I had the GK Neo 410 which was pretty good. I switched it with a pair of GK Neo 112's and I hated them. I could not get a sound I liked. I play clubs that range in size from 75 to 300. Right now I am using a pair of Markbass NY604's. I love the sound I get. Big and full. The size of cabs are very deceiving. There are a lot ogf good cabs out there. You gotta try some out and see what you like.

Azul · #9 01-08-2013, 02:14 PM

I just got back my 1001rb GK head from repair and have it connected to a NEO 212 via speakon cable and holy Moses this thing is a beast! I could not imagine adding a NEO 115 but the thought of that gets me giddy.

The nice thing about pairing the rbII heads with the NEO cabs is the ability to further adjust the tweeter in bi-amp mode. Full range mode sounds great too however.

I've got to believe an RB NEO cab combination would work well for a big stage, crowd, etc. but obviously tone desirability is subjective so hard to say.

anarchipur · #10 01-09-2013, 03:06 AM

Thanks, I will order and test teh Fusion amp and will write my personal feedback

Thisbecheezy · #11 01-09-2013, 05:36 AM

I have a gk 1001rb II and I love it but I'm on the wall about cabs. I happen to get lucky and found a decent 410glx for cheap. (50bucks and there wasn't anything wrong with it except needed casters) but now that I've had it for a while and gigged it I realize that at volume, it's not enough. I'm thinking about a neo 410 ultralight. Is it worth it in the long run? Does it out out decent low end while keeping clarity??