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Gallien Krueger MB115 problem
- Thread starter 8liter
- Start date
I went through a lot of phone calls yesterday with the GC folks at a few stores, but after getting conflicting information, bad finformation, and mixed service, I've decided to hold onto the amp a little longer. I had 2 guys tell me they would be able to fix it for me, no problem; then I had an ass of a manager flatly deny me any help. So I called back and found a 3rd helpful guy at the most local store who said he'd be glad to check it out.
Anyway, my options are to return it or buy the Pro Coverage whatever extended warranty, which I was never offered when I bought the amp. I can buy that for the same 30-day period, and if there's anything up with the amp they'll fix it for free. Based on what I know and the price I paid for the amp, I plan to stop by and pay for the warranty.
I did some more testing yesterday, and I think that at least some of the trouble is with my bass. The output jack is shorting out, so I was getting some nasty, loud pops through that 15" speaker. That can't be good; I wouldn't blame all the issues I've had on it but it's more uncertainty. I ran the amp for upwards of 20 minutes with nothing plugged in, and the issue with the power switch never occurred.
For now, I plan to replace my output jack, try the amp a bit more, and most likely buy that warranty. The situation sucks in that I only have one bass (in one piece), so unless I run something else into it - guitar, aux in? - I can't do much testing. But I'm embarrassed about the output jack for now.
Anyway, my options are to return it or buy the Pro Coverage whatever extended warranty, which I was never offered when I bought the amp. I can buy that for the same 30-day period, and if there's anything up with the amp they'll fix it for free. Based on what I know and the price I paid for the amp, I plan to stop by and pay for the warranty.
I did some more testing yesterday, and I think that at least some of the trouble is with my bass. The output jack is shorting out, so I was getting some nasty, loud pops through that 15" speaker. That can't be good; I wouldn't blame all the issues I've had on it but it's more uncertainty. I ran the amp for upwards of 20 minutes with nothing plugged in, and the issue with the power switch never occurred.
For now, I plan to replace my output jack, try the amp a bit more, and most likely buy that warranty. The situation sucks in that I only have one bass (in one piece), so unless I run something else into it - guitar, aux in? - I can't do much testing. But I'm embarrassed about the output jack for now.
Bumping this up.
I have a very similar problem with my MB-115. It was working fine for 3 months. Then, for the past 3 weeks now it has been producing some very nasty sounding distortion/static when I play lower frequencies. It doesn't do it all the time, I could turn the amp off, then back on and it could be gone. But it ALWAYS returns.
I did some troubleshooting by playing another bass and a guitar out of it - it still gave me the distortion, so it's not the bass. I also checked all my cords for shorts, they are all fine. I even removed the front grill and thoroughly inspected the speaker, front and back where the wires are hooked up, & everything was in perfect condition. The color ring around the power button stays blue the whole time, so the amp is telling me everything seems fine.
I was playing through it recently and it was fine; then in mid-note, I heard a loud pop and a crackle, then went right into the distortion. It sounded like an electrical issue. Maybe a loose wire somewhere?
I purchased my MB-115 used so I have no warranty. If anyone has had this issue fixed on their MB-115 - please let us know! Thanks guys
I have a very similar problem with my MB-115. It was working fine for 3 months. Then, for the past 3 weeks now it has been producing some very nasty sounding distortion/static when I play lower frequencies. It doesn't do it all the time, I could turn the amp off, then back on and it could be gone. But it ALWAYS returns.
I did some troubleshooting by playing another bass and a guitar out of it - it still gave me the distortion, so it's not the bass. I also checked all my cords for shorts, they are all fine. I even removed the front grill and thoroughly inspected the speaker, front and back where the wires are hooked up, & everything was in perfect condition. The color ring around the power button stays blue the whole time, so the amp is telling me everything seems fine.
I was playing through it recently and it was fine; then in mid-note, I heard a loud pop and a crackle, then went right into the distortion. It sounded like an electrical issue. Maybe a loose wire somewhere?
I purchased my MB-115 used so I have no warranty. If anyone has had this issue fixed on their MB-115 - please let us know! Thanks guys
Wow, this thread got a lot use..but not in a good way.
I never got my amp fixed. Went through a ton of BS with GK about warranty, shipping the amp, problems this and problems that...oh well. Been extremely busy with trying to get into the military, work, etc...However, I was at my friend's house the other day and got to jam for a bit on his new rig that used a Genz-Benz Shuttle 9.0....and oh boy..was I impressed.
I still have the MB115, I'm thinking about ripping the fried head out and seeing if I can run an external head like the Genz-Benz Shuttle with it. Thoughts?
I never got my amp fixed. Went through a ton of BS with GK about warranty, shipping the amp, problems this and problems that...oh well. Been extremely busy with trying to get into the military, work, etc...However, I was at my friend's house the other day and got to jam for a bit on his new rig that used a Genz-Benz Shuttle 9.0....and oh boy..was I impressed.
I still have the MB115, I'm thinking about ripping the fried head out and seeing if I can run an external head like the Genz-Benz Shuttle with it. Thoughts?
I'm sure that's a possibility, with a little work. I never returned my amp or bought the warranty, so I'm stuck with it. But for $150, I figure I could afford to pay some for repairs or in the worst case scenario try to use the cab or sell it off. I haven't used it a lot, but when I have it's been fine. So I'm not too worried for now.
As far as the cab goes, I'm sure the speaker and tweeter are connected to a board either by some kind of connector or maybe hardwired. So using them with an external head would require some wiring work to get things connected right. I hadn't thought about the tweeter, but I figure it's probably not too difficult to wire up either with the speaker or through a switch.
As far as the cab goes, I'm sure the speaker and tweeter are connected to a board either by some kind of connector or maybe hardwired. So using them with an external head would require some wiring work to get things connected right. I hadn't thought about the tweeter, but I figure it's probably not too difficult to wire up either with the speaker or through a switch.
I've got one of these amps and use it with a Ric bass. LOVE the sound of it. However, I'm noticing lately that the sound is really dull and I just put new strings on.
Seems to be that the horn is not working. When I push in the switch, I hear a bit of a buzz through the horn but no sound.
If I open up the back and disconnect the horn, that buzz (of course) goes away. When I plug it back in and disconnect the main speaker, no sound comes out of the horn other than the bit of buzz.
I'm not a speaker guy, so I'm not sure if a speaker can still basically hum and not put anything out of it. If it was blown, I'd expect it to sound all distorted and crappy, but just a bit of a buzz... can that occur if the speaker is blown?
Can it occur if one of the wires has come off the speaker? (I don't think so...)
Other than this, I love the amp. I know some say, just go without the horn. I could do this, but I actually like what it brings out of my bass. It's not all tinny or anything, just a bit of clarity.
Seems to be that the horn is not working. When I push in the switch, I hear a bit of a buzz through the horn but no sound.
If I open up the back and disconnect the horn, that buzz (of course) goes away. When I plug it back in and disconnect the main speaker, no sound comes out of the horn other than the bit of buzz.
I'm not a speaker guy, so I'm not sure if a speaker can still basically hum and not put anything out of it. If it was blown, I'd expect it to sound all distorted and crappy, but just a bit of a buzz... can that occur if the speaker is blown?
Can it occur if one of the wires has come off the speaker? (I don't think so...)
Other than this, I love the amp. I know some say, just go without the horn. I could do this, but I actually like what it brings out of my bass. It's not all tinny or anything, just a bit of clarity.
Note: You could damage the amp doing that and Im surprised the amp didnt shutdown.
A few things:
"Quality" and Chinese made GKs don't really go hand in hand. I'm happy enough with my MB115, I bought it over a year ago as a lightweight beater amp to use at jam sessions and so far it's been OK.
Just looking at the workmanship of the control panel is enough to tell you it's not up to the standards of the US models. Esp. the XLR jack design flaw! As far as the electronics, lower price = cheaper parts, cheaper assembly, etc. I didn't expect it to be bulletproof the way an old 400RB is.
Horns in bass amps, esp. piezos which most are, sound hissy/spitty by default. The woofers in bass amps don't reproduce much signal above 5 Khz so any hiss in the signal is basically inaudible. The tweeter on the other hand reproduces any amp hiss quite well. My solution is to turn the tweeter off.
Disconnecting a speaker in a solid state amp is perfectly OK.
Distortion in headphone outs is to be expected, the phone output is the signal fed to the speaker run though some resistors to attenuate the signal (typical headphones are deafening with even 1/4 watt input). It's most likely the headphones themselves are breaking up.
"Quality" and Chinese made GKs don't really go hand in hand. I'm happy enough with my MB115, I bought it over a year ago as a lightweight beater amp to use at jam sessions and so far it's been OK.
Just looking at the workmanship of the control panel is enough to tell you it's not up to the standards of the US models. Esp. the XLR jack design flaw! As far as the electronics, lower price = cheaper parts, cheaper assembly, etc. I didn't expect it to be bulletproof the way an old 400RB is.
Horns in bass amps, esp. piezos which most are, sound hissy/spitty by default. The woofers in bass amps don't reproduce much signal above 5 Khz so any hiss in the signal is basically inaudible. The tweeter on the other hand reproduces any amp hiss quite well. My solution is to turn the tweeter off.
Disconnecting a speaker in a solid state amp is perfectly OK.
Distortion in headphone outs is to be expected, the phone output is the signal fed to the speaker run though some resistors to attenuate the signal (typical headphones are deafening with even 1/4 watt input). It's most likely the headphones themselves are breaking up.
As far as the workmanship of RAG's G-K owned China plant, maybe that is one of the reasons he moved all amp and cab assembly back to his California plant? As far as the electronic parts.....the same parts supply here in the US as his Chinese workers used.
- Nov 24, 2008
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Zombied after 3 days?
But my personal experience with the MB115 is positive overall. I'm not sure what others were expecting when they bought it, but it's not meant to be the end all of amps. It's gig worthy, but not the best amp for someone who wants LOUD. I think a lot of the problems that people are having can be fixed with a screwdriver and 15 minutes.
My MB115 had a screw that came loose on the driver, so I screwed it back in and never had a problem after that.
Update, the new speaker fixed the issue. Seems to work fine and I can actually HEAR that I have new strings on my bass now.
Has anybody had any luck turning the xlr output around. I dig the amp, but I really HATE that at gigs, when I run direct, I have to use a butter knife to get the thing off.
Personally (new player here, relatively), I love the sound I get out of it with my bass.
Has anybody had any luck turning the xlr output around. I dig the amp, but I really HATE that at gigs, when I run direct, I have to use a butter knife to get the thing off.
Personally (new player here, relatively), I love the sound I get out of it with my bass.
Update, the new speaker fixed the issue. Seems to work fine and I can actually HEAR that I have new strings on my bass now.
Has anybody had any luck turning the xlr output around. I dig the amp, but I really HATE that at gigs, when I run direct, I have to use a butter knife to get the thing off.
Personally (new player here, relatively), I love the sound I get out of it with my bass.
Way cool, that is good news. I never use my amp DI but when I tested it I used a small screwdriver to release it - and Ive read that the XLR is easy enough to turn around if it really bugs you. Im curious if the new MB115-II also have backwards - anyway, enjoy your amp.
Well unfortunately one of my MB115's died today. Played it yesterday and all was fine. Cut it on today and the light stays red and all is silent.
I puchased mine in November of 2011 so it's still under warranty. I guess I'll be taking it in in the next few days to find out what the problem is.
I puchased mine in November of 2011 so it's still under warranty. I guess I'll be taking it in in the next few days to find out what the problem is.
Wow, that’s a bummer - make sure the AC pwr cord is snuggly plugged all the way into the amp and try another AC outlet.
Also this is from B-string’s post #12
Warranty
[email protected]
Artist Relations
[email protected]
Phone (209) 234-7300
btw, I have two MB115s an earlier and newer and I’ve never had any problems with either.
Well, I was just getting ready to pull the trigger, but thanks for saving me a ton of problems. I'll stay with my bombproof Genz Benz combo. I was wanting to switch to GK as I like the tone, but Reliability is MANDATORY! What is the best 500watt micro head for the GK tone that is reliable (if one exists)? I'll do a seperate unit system if possible maybe.
take it to the store you bought it from im sure they will lend you a used amp to play your gig with while you decide what to do
