Yes, I got a similar reaction from my drummer with the first amp I got from RMC. The subsequent two have the same tonality.
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Gallien-Krueger MB2-500: Part II
- Thread starter Kelly Lee
- Start date
Yes, I got a similar reaction from my drummer with the first amp I got from RMC. The subsequent two have the same tonality.
Just got my replacement's replacement. Its an A05. I have not heard of anyone having a 5 yet. Wonder what's new? Unfortunately, I dont get to fire it up until tomorrow. Last one went back for eventual distortion (unwanted, that is), usually about an hour or 2 into a show. Hope were good to go on this one. I'll post back at the end of the weekend.
I used mine A00 here in Finland (amp ordered from Thomann, Germany) for a couple of weeks until it failed me on a gig. Suddenly this weird distortion showed up, while the normal sound became quiet and I had to turn up the gain a lot in order to be able to play the gig trough (and the distortion was heavily audible at that point). I'm quite pissed of because of having to send it back to Germany and god knows how long it will take until I get a new one...
I don't have a dog in this hunt, but I must believe that Bob and company will make everything right.
Kim
Kim
Well, yes - but I had three different heads from Bob and crew - great bunch of people, and top-class customer service, but at the end of the day it appears to be a half-baked product, out for beta testing with the users. I had the thermal cutout on two gigs, the first I was stupid enough not to have a backup and the second time it happened I had the hassle of swapping heads mid-set. It's long gone now - maybe fine for bedroom practice, but I just couldn't trust it on a gig. I soooo wanted to love this little head, the tone was great (eventually), but you gotta have reliability. 
Well, I guess its time to make some enemies. "Banditcosmo", I wish I could tell you what was new with A05. I emailed Brian Monday morning with a huge thank you for getting my 3rd box out, and asked him the same question. No response. Not that any of my emails to GK seem to get a response the first time around.
I appreciate that GK is doing an awesome jobs of swapping these out quickly, but really, this is probably not something that should need to be commended. For the record, I have been a huge GK supporter, I still have a 400rb/210 combo, a 1001rb, and the mb2 in my stable. Everyone here seems to feel GK has great customer service. I agree that they have a great return system on these units, but great customer service?? I do my best to explain exactly what the issue is, how and when it occurred, what I tried, etc., in hopes that it will help the techs diagnose the issue. In response, I generally get a "heres your RA#". No "sorry". No "gee I feel bad that our amp made you look like an ass in front of a club full of people." No, "here's what we are doing to fix the problem". Just heres your label, I'll send you another. How is that suppossed to make me feel at all confident about stepping on stage with an MB2 again. Am I alone here? If I treated my customers like that, I would certainly have my a$$ handed to me.
That being said, my A05 sounds great. My A03 had much more hiss on the treble. I generally turn my tweeter off on the cab. Was anything changed, I dont know. Maybe there was yet another issue with my older unit. But this one sounds silky smooth, I am running my tweeter around 25%, and it sounds gorgeous. I hope it still sounds that way during the 3rd set.
I appreciate that GK is doing an awesome jobs of swapping these out quickly, but really, this is probably not something that should need to be commended. For the record, I have been a huge GK supporter, I still have a 400rb/210 combo, a 1001rb, and the mb2 in my stable. Everyone here seems to feel GK has great customer service. I agree that they have a great return system on these units, but great customer service?? I do my best to explain exactly what the issue is, how and when it occurred, what I tried, etc., in hopes that it will help the techs diagnose the issue. In response, I generally get a "heres your RA#". No "sorry". No "gee I feel bad that our amp made you look like an ass in front of a club full of people." No, "here's what we are doing to fix the problem". Just heres your label, I'll send you another. How is that suppossed to make me feel at all confident about stepping on stage with an MB2 again. Am I alone here? If I treated my customers like that, I would certainly have my a$$ handed to me.
That being said, my A05 sounds great. My A03 had much more hiss on the treble. I generally turn my tweeter off on the cab. Was anything changed, I dont know. Maybe there was yet another issue with my older unit. But this one sounds silky smooth, I am running my tweeter around 25%, and it sounds gorgeous. I hope it still sounds that way during the 3rd set.
I did get nice verbal responses from them, so it could have been nothing to it. The nice thing is you have an amp that works, and has a higher serial number, too. My SNs got progressively lower -- I went from A01 to A02 to A00! 
That is exactly the attitude I am speaking of. When I spend $600 for an amp at a reputable dealer, from a major manufacturer - it shouldn't be considered a "nice thing" that it works, it should be expected.
You definitely possess greater faith than I, if my serial #'s went from A01 to A02 to A00, I would not be walking out on stage with much confidence.
You definitely possess greater faith than I, if my serial #'s went from A01 to A02 to A00, I would not be walking out on stage with much confidence.
- Mar 24, 2003
- 809
- 2,523
- Disclosures
- Robert A. Gallien, President Gallien-Krueger
Do you actually know the revision level of your amplifiers? GK is the only manufacturer that goes to the trouble to put this information in its serial number.
rag,
When I bought my 1001rb-11 new I never thought about the see. I read the reviews here a few weeks back on the mb2-500. I read there were some issue, read that your return policy was taking care of it- but the kicked was, I could buy used and know exactly what I was getting. Ibought the first A03 I saw listed.
The issue of the amps leaving the plant with issues, well not great but definately mitigated by the fact GK made things right.
Hi Bob,
No, I dont know the revisions of my other amps, nor have I ever had the need to. Now I have the revision # on my MB2, but I dont know what it means.
Perhaps I am partially to blame for emailing instead of calling. Email can easily come across sterile and impersonal, however I know at my job, I prefer to receive email in such instances. I am not forced to drop what I am doing to respond immediately to a question. I can get back to the customer at my convenience, always by the end of the business day.
My main point is that GK was all over the issues from the start, and that is fantastic. The EQ mod was handled exceptionally, and more of a tweak, than a problem. The RF issue was handled, and again explained. But it seems like no explanation of the distortion problem or the latest revision has been provided. When I take my car in for repair, even if its under warranty, I want to know what was wrong, or done - not just "here you go". To me, that falls under customer service. But you're here, the president of GK, on talkbass, and that IS customer service.
There are alot of us here drooling over the MB Fusion, but with the multiple MB2-500 issues it might be a bit of a hard sell, right out of the gate. I think more people may hold off, rather than jump right in as we did with the MB2.
No, I dont know the revisions of my other amps, nor have I ever had the need to. Now I have the revision # on my MB2, but I dont know what it means.
Perhaps I am partially to blame for emailing instead of calling. Email can easily come across sterile and impersonal, however I know at my job, I prefer to receive email in such instances. I am not forced to drop what I am doing to respond immediately to a question. I can get back to the customer at my convenience, always by the end of the business day.
My main point is that GK was all over the issues from the start, and that is fantastic. The EQ mod was handled exceptionally, and more of a tweak, than a problem. The RF issue was handled, and again explained. But it seems like no explanation of the distortion problem or the latest revision has been provided. When I take my car in for repair, even if its under warranty, I want to know what was wrong, or done - not just "here you go". To me, that falls under customer service. But you're here, the president of GK, on talkbass, and that IS customer service.
There are alot of us here drooling over the MB Fusion, but with the multiple MB2-500 issues it might be a bit of a hard sell, right out of the gate. I think more people may hold off, rather than jump right in as we did with the MB2.
these have been my thoughts, keeping up with these units, as they seem to be great when they function as they are meant to.
- Oct 22, 2007
- 80
- 1
- Disclosures
- Artist Representative & Product specialist, Gallien-Krueger
Regarding the A05 revision- I had to go to the top for this one. This is what Bob Gallien told me-
"If GK moves a part, changes a bolt or edits the manual we generate a revision. This enables us to know exactly what we are shipping. Rev A05 resulted from this type of change required for production reasons and does not affect the amplifier performance."
"If GK moves a part, changes a bolt or edits the manual we generate a revision. This enables us to know exactly what we are shipping. Rev A05 resulted from this type of change required for production reasons and does not affect the amplifier performance."
- Oct 22, 2007
- 80
- 1
- Disclosures
- Artist Representative & Product specialist, Gallien-Krueger
- Oct 22, 2007
- 80
- 1
- Disclosures
- Artist Representative & Product specialist, Gallien-Krueger
Yes they are now shipping to Europe. Please check with our didtributor in Spain to see when they will be shipping to the dealers.
