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Gallien Krueger Club. GK Rules !

#1,241
bobicidal said:
Speaking of which, I wandered into the GC in San Jose today and there was no GK stuff at all except a used 410. It looks like they are loading up on just Ampeg, Markbass, Fender and Acoustic. Hartke and GK seemed to be done with GC. Or maybe they were sold out after Labor Day sales. Hmmm,
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Probably sold out, but those brands all get pushed a little harder at GC anyway.
 
#1,242
bobicidal said:
Speaking of which, I wandered into the GC in San Jose today and there was no GK stuff at all except a used 410. It looks like they are loading up on just Ampeg, Markbass, Fender and Acoustic. Hartke and GK seemed to be done with GC. Or maybe they were sold out after Labor Day sales. Hmmm,
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I prefer to think they can't keep them in stock! Though at my local GC, there are always (what appear to be) the exact same GK pieces there. I never see anyone but me touch them, and it's happened before that I come in after not having been there for a few weeks, and the EQ knobs don't seem to have been touched. Makes me sad! Somebody needs to buy and love those GKs!
 
#1,243
kleinenenten said:
I prefer to think they can't keep them in stock! Though at my local GC, there are always (what appear to be) the exact same GK pieces there. I never see anyone but me touch them, and it's happened before that I come in after not having been there for a few weeks, and the EQ knobs don't seem to have been touched. Makes me sad! Somebody needs to buy and love those GKs!
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Nah...let em have their sissy amps. Leave the GK goodness for those in the know;)
 
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#1,244
B-string said:
If you are looking at the clip light it is ONLY affected by the input strength and the pad switch. It is before any amp control including input volume. If you have a hot bass signal it will light to tell you you are approaching clipping of the first stage.
Download the manual on how to set the controls, as a alternate you can set the master (woofer) control at about 9 or 10:00 and increase the input volume to the point of distortion and back off slightly. With the last method you adjust your "loudness" with the woofer control (also known as your master volume).
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Thanks B. I'll experiment with it more. Even so I love it!!!
 
#1,245
?tn=-1234774828.jpg


GK MB800 lands on a Saturday! Wow, surprised! Excellent timing as I could hook it up & blast her right away

Pros

Loud... as HELL & I'm not even CLOSE to maxed on this... it has to have more power than my Shuttlemax 9.2
Aggressive... love that clear FET tone when thats what is needed. Its got more bite than my FET of the SM9.2 both set flat for sure
B Channel Distortion... is cool, easy to set up, basically roll the level WAY down the Gain B up. Quick switching while keeping volume the same
Super small \ light... great form factor to fit in my bag as a backup
4 band EQ... I love to move up low mids to get warm punch in the upper strings. Wanna solve a weak G on a musicman? Boom. High mids bring the grind

Cons

Hiss... Still a lot of hiss. Not as bad as my last MB500. This is tolerable. I have my gain WAY down & use more master to compensate


This one is a keeper UNLESS I get a deal on a Warwick LWA1000 (I love 2 channel amps!). I'll try to gig it in place of the SM9.2. The Streamliners last gig was a bit too warm prompting me to pick this up. I'm hoping the MB800 isn't too clear! Being in a cover band I have to nail a ton of different tones. We'll see if this is up to the task!
 
#1,247
Tunaman said:
GK MB800 lands on a Saturday! Wow, surprised! Excellent timing as I could hook it up & blast her right away

...Cons

Hiss... Still a lot of hiss. Not as bad as my last MB500. This is tolerable. I have my gain WAY down & use more master to compensate
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With the treble control at noon, you've got a sizeable treble boost going on, like about 8 or 9 dB, if memory serves.

Just wondering if you're using active basses. My MB800 is quiet as the grave, but if could see it picking up noise from pedals or an active preamp and exaggerating them.

My AudioKinesis cab has a bigass horn tweeter, so I generally run the treble at about 10 o'clock. Still lots of bite and clarity, especially if I boost the high mids to about 1 o'clock.
 
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#1,248
What you see in the pic is what you get! No pedals, no nothing

You def gotta cut treble. I also gotta roll off the tweets. I actually went to catch a jazz show last night & the upright bass was using a MB500 with a Berg HT112. Great tone, no real hiss on his rig.
 
#1,249
steve_rolfeca said:
With the treble control at noon, you've got a sizeable treble boost going on, like about 8 or 9 dB, if memory serves.

Just wondering if you're using active basses. My MB800 is quiet as the grave, but if could see it picking up noise from pedals or an active preamp and exaggerating them.

My AudioKinesis cab has a bigass horn tweeter, so I generally run the treble at about 10 o'clock. Still lots of bite and clarity, especially if I boost the high mids to about 1 o'clock.
Click to expand...

I went back down and gave it another whirl. I cut my tweeter to 9 Oclock & now its better. Still louder at baseline than my SM9.2, my gain still has to be down a to almost nothing. Love the tones I'm getting outta this thing. Loud as hell & I haven't pushed it as I'm worried about busting my stack! Theres DEFINITELY more low end content... like sub low end that pushes the speakers harder than the SM9.2 you can probably feel more than hear.
 
#1,250
I am in! Been a GK guy since the 80's but I am back in strong with my new MB 800 that I liked so much the I purchased a MB 200 the next day. I am loving them both. The 800 is the best micro head I have played. Love it!
 

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#1,251
When using the MB series (non-fusion) my EQ is as follows for a more neutral-ish sounding room (this week ;))

Treble - around 11 Oclock (depends on strings)
High Mid - 11 Oclock
Low Mid - Just ever so slightly bumped over pseudo flat position
Lows - Flat position
Cabs: If I'm using just 1 212 the horn is set to normal if I use 2 212s I set the second one stacked at -2db
 
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#1,258
bobicidal said:
How different do the MB800 and MB500 sound? I notice on their website they have different preamps.
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Different architecture (chips vs discrete components), but the same voicing.

The 800 sounds a little sweeter and smoother in the treble, but you have to really listen for it. Probably not audible onstage unless you go for a very edgy tone.

I find the biggest difference comes from the extra headroom. At reasonable levels, the MB500 sounds virtually indistinguishable from the MB800. Crank them up enough, and the 500's limiter suddenly starts to spoil the party.

In those situations, the MB800's effortless low end is jaw-dropping, assuming you have enough cab to handle it. Even with the bass control completely dimed, it sounds massive and utterly composed.
 
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#1,259
Welcome

munkeyfish said:
Does a MB115ii count? Had one follow me home a couple weeks ago from GC. They "loaned" me the floor model while the ordered me a brand new one in the box. LOVE this combo. Holds up nice with the band.
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munkeyfish said:
Oh yeah, I've had a MB200 for a long while now too!
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#1066 – munkeyfish


ez-rhino said:
Can a brother get a number?

This is my practice rig (because I don't feel like lugging my cab around).

GK 1001RBii, into an old school Laney 4x10, pedals for color...

View attachment 479540
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#1067 -ez-rhino
 
#1,260
steve_rolfeca said:
Different architecture (chips vs discrete components), but the same voicing.

The 800 sounds a little sweeter and smoother in the treble, but you have to really listen for it. Probably not audible onstage unless you go for a very edgy tone.

I find the biggest difference comes from the extra headroom. At reasonable levels, the MB500 sounds virtually indistinguishable from the MB800. Crank them up enough, and the 500's limiter suddenly starts to spoil the party.

In those situations, the MB800's effortless low end is jaw-dropping, assuming you have enough cab to handle it. Even with the bass control completely dimed, it sounds massive and utterly composed.
Click to expand...

Spot on, the mb800 does clean rumble. I did a comparison vs the streamliner today and found them much less different than I thought they would be. The mb800 is more polite than the mb500 for longer. I like it a lot better
 
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