Double Bass Curious about GK 112MBX Extension Cab

[Adam Bomb]

Hi:

I am thinking about picking up a GK 112MBX extension cab to go with my GK 112 combo. Does anybody here have any experience with it?

Anybody use it with an older GK combo? I have an '80s MB200. It should work with that, right? After all, it's just an 8-ohm 100-watt cab, basically, right?

What are the advantages to this cab over other, similarly sized and rated cabs?

Thanks for any opinions--

--Bomb

 

[robgrow]

I've found the GK 112MBX to be a very handy little cabinet over the years. It has a very tight sound with not much in the way of highs or real low end. It's a perfect match for the GK micro bass (MB) series amps, which are voiced specifically for that speaker cabinet. Your GK 200MB combo should work well with the 112MBX.

 

[Adam Bomb]

Thanks!

--Bomb

 

[Marc Piane]

Just did a few out-of-town gigs where space was a concern in the van. I use a GK MB150 and usually piggy-back it on a slightly bigger (either an Eminence loaded 1X10 I built or an Aguilar GS112NT) cab when I'm in town and I need more power. I borrowed a GK 112MBX to make packing easier thinking that'd I have to compromise a little on sound in the interest of space. I was very pleasantly surprised and might have to pick one up.

 

[SAlcott]

A GK combo amp and the extension speaker cab from GK is a great little rig. The 112 MBX is designed specifically to go with the combo amp, and doesn't work very well on its own.

 

[Roger Davis]

Well, I'm probably in a minority here, but I always felt, when using an MBX extension, that some of the punch from the single combo was missing. What was sometimes useful on a large stage was to put an MBX behind the drummer as a bass monitor - lucky guy!

 

[Irishbass]

I have to agree with Roger, I got the MBX to sit under the MB112 as a mini stack, however it never ever worked for me that way, the voicing of the pair was very thin compared with the single combo... I could never understand why that was, you would think it would be the opposite...that said, placing the extension cab 6ft away behind the drummer and it worked very well. The other problem I had was a rattle that distorted the sound terribly, I thought it must be a loose screw in the all metal casing and ended up pulling the thing apart several times but could never solve the noise problem. I stopped using it after a while... often thought about building a small timber cab for the speaker as that functions perfectly outside of the metal casing...

 

[cnltb]

I have the mb150s and the mbx and like that combination a lot!!
It's light and sounds consideralbly better than I would have expected .
I also much prefer it to some other small cabs I tried ( some 1x10s )
I have also successfully used the mbx with a Glockenklang soul head.
No rattling.

 

[DHoss]

Irishbass,

My cabinet had the same problem with rattling.
Have a welder who has experience with aluminum re-weld the seams of the cabinet's back panel. My welder left the beads intact to maintain a better mechanical joint.
No more rattling!

 

[robgrow]

Just to clarify, GK 112MBX's made in the last few years use a one-piece aluminum cabinet as do the MB150 combo amps. This eliminates most of the rattle and buzz problems of the older-style cabinets.

 

[TroyK]

A GK combo amp and the extension speaker cab from GK is a great little rig. The 112 MBX is designed specifically to go with the combo amp, and doesn't work very well on its own.

My experience as well. To take it a step further, I never really found another ext cab to match well with the combo. Maybe because it doesn't drive that much power (~75W to the extension) and a lot of the efficient cabs that you'd want to pair with it, just need more power than that.

I have seen Dave Holland stack his MB150 on some type of 4x10 extension cab and he sounded great, but then again, he was also mixed into the house and let's face it, he's Dave Holland.

 

[Adam Bomb]

Thanks all for your input. Looks like the jury is out. If I decide to go forward with this I'll definitely have to take my bass and combo and try the cab out.

What other *small* cabs have worked well for folks with the MB200 (or MB150)? I have to admit, it is mainly my aesthetic/OCD side that really wants the matching cab...

--Bomb

 

[TroyK]

I think you are best off with the matching cab or a different amp if that is still not scaling for you. I tried the little Ampeg Portabass cabs, Aguilar, little Edens etc.

The really good DB cabs are very efficient. I'm not the best tech on the board by a long shot, but they require a pretty good amount of power. Underpowering a cab is bad for the sound and (I think) the cab physically. Overpowering one has it's issues too.

So, with the Aguilar, for example, it just didn't drive it hard enough to make it sound as good as I know that those cabs can. I got a better result with 4 ohm cabs, but then had to turn the internal speaker off, which basically made the light combo a very heavy head. And I don't think that it sounded necessarily better than the combo on it's own.

The best experience I ever had with an extension cab was an 8ohm SWR 2x10 that belonged to someone else. It was a big bump for me in tone and presence. But, they aren't light. In the end, I still have my GK MB150 and still use it, but I bought a bigger combo for when I need it (EA Wizzy). You might check out less efficient, larger cabs like the SWR or maybe a GK 2x10, but you're probably best off with the MBE. If you're really worried about scale, it may be time for a different rig.

I'll don't think I'll ever sell my GK, though. They are great under the right circumstances and scale pretty well for jazz unless the room (or the drummer) are bad.

But, it's old technology and I do think there are better things on the market in that approximate size. It's just about money, weight and preference.

 

[Adam Bomb]

That makes a lot of sense. Thanks all--

--Bomb

 

[arseniotall]

i use only the extension cab with a markbass LMKII... SUPER LIGHT !!!

 

[Gary Lynch]

My experience as well. To take it a step further, I never really found another ext cab to match well with the combo. Maybe because it doesn't drive that much power (~75W to the extension) and a lot of the efficient cabs that you'd want to pair with it, just need more power than that.

I have seen Dave Holland stack his MB150 on some type of 4x10 extension cab and he sounded great, but then again, he was also mixed into the house and let's face it, he's Dave Holland.

The specs on the NEW GK MB150S-III state the amp will put out 100 watts to the external 8 ohm speaker cabinet even with the internal speaker on. They also state (via email) that their newly designed Neo 112 (a new one out in January that weighs only 30 pounds) works well with the MB150 combo.

I am leaning towards buying the new improved Neo 112 as the extension cab for my GK MB150S-III

Anyone see an issue with that? I was hoping for just a little more than the 112MBX puts out in lows/highs/volume.

Please advise if I am not correct. Thanks.

 

[robgrow]

The published specs for the Series III GK MB150 state it can develop 100 watts into 8 ohms and 150 watts into 4 ohms. The MB150 combo can deliver quite a bit more volume when used with an extension cabinet. There's nothing really special or unique about the GK 112MBX other than it's very light and compact and the amp is voiced for this particular speaker. You can use any speaker cabinet(s) you want with the MB150 as long as the total load isn't significantly less than 4 ohms.

Although I don't know anything about a new GK Neo 112 cab, the current version that I've seen struck me as being pretty bulky and heavy (16.5" x 21.0" x 16.5" - 37 lb) for a 1x12 neo cab. I hope they are making the new version smaller and lighter.

 

[Gary Lynch]

The published specs for the Series III GK MB150 state it can develop 100 watts into 8 ohms and 150 watts into 4 ohms. The MB150 combo can deliver quite a bit more volume when used with an extension cabinet. There's nothing really special or unique about the GK 112MBX other than it's very light and compact and the amp is voiced for this particular speaker. You can use any speaker cabinet(s) you want with the MB150 as long as the total load isn't significantly less than 4 ohms.

Although I don't know anything about a new GK Neo 112 cab, the current version that I've seen struck me as being pretty bulky and heavy (16.5" x 21.0" x 16.5" - 37 lb) for a 1x12 neo cab. I hope they are making the new version smaller and lighter.

The competition is stiff now, GK reduced the weight to just about 30 pounds. Anyone real interested could email their tech or sales people. Both have different email addresses listed on the GK site. I would assume the cabinet would be smaller or made from something a lot lighter anyway.

I do not know if the speaker is also upgraded. I have to admit knowing very little of the details of speakers and cabinets. There seems to be a push for the lightest most efficient and smallest cabinets that still deliver a big sound. Here is what Avatar says about their newer neo 12" speakers;

"lower in frequency response than the previous Neo 12's. The new custom Neo 12 LF's have a longer cone travel"

It could be that GK is also going with a new neo speaker as well as a different cabinet design. The approximate 7 lbs they shaved off the weight is surely a bonus.

Very shortly we will all get to see them and try to figure out if it's all a sales riff or in fact it's an true upgrade. They are calling the new product the Neo 112-II.

 

[AMJBASS]

The GK Neo 112 sounds pretty good with electric, but I don't like it all that much for Double Bass. It is way too colored in the mid range. It is also quite heavy for its size especially considering the neodymium magnets. The Microbass extension cab actually sounds pretty good with the DB. It doesn't have much low end or high end extension, but for low volume gigs its a pretty decent sounding cab. If you are looking for a fairly light extension cabinet I would be much more inclined to look at the Acme Low B1.

Edit... I see you are talking about their(GK's) new Neo cab. I don't know... I don't know that they were designed as much for the Double Bass as they were tuned for electric.

 

[Gary Lynch]

The GK Neo 112 sounds pretty good with electric, but I don't like it all that much for Double Bass. It is way too colored in the mid range. It is also quite heavy for its size especially considering the neodymium magnets. The Microbass extension cab actually sounds pretty good with the DB. It doesn't have much low end or high end extension, but for low volume gigs its a pretty decent sounding cab. If you are looking for a fairly light extension cabinet I would be much more inclined to look at the Acme Low B1.

Edit... I see you are talking about their(GK's) new Neo cab. I don't know... I don't know that they were designed as much for the Double Bass as they were tuned for electric.

I asked Andy at Acme about the MB150S-III powering the B-1 and he said it needed a 200 - 250 watt amp to make it work correctly so I thought that meant don't try it with a MB150S-III and expect much. Do you think the 100 watts would be enough to power it for lower volume work?