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Gallien-Krueger MB2-500: Part II
- Thread starter Kelly Lee
- Start date
I just ordered one today and the wait is already killing me. It's been a while since I had the G.A.S.!
I bought a A00 last October but didn't have any of the problems that people were talking about here on TB. When the EQ fix came out around Nov, I didn't even think about sending it in since I was happy with the tone I was getting. I considered myself one of the lucky ones. However, some time around Feb/Mar I started to get a lot of noise and distortion. But being the lazy bum that I am, I didn't do anything about it (since I had a backup amp at church) until last week. Anyways, I spoke with Brian and he guided me through the return process. I really have to give Brian and GK kudos on their customer service. Brian was extremely helpful and explained the probable cause of my issues and the updates that were made. I shipped my amp from NYC on a Tuesday and got it back the following Monday! 
Amazing!
When I opened the box I was a little surprised that the serial number was "A05". Wow... that many revisions? (Yes, yes, in my laziness I haven't been on TB at all in '09
). However, I'm glad that I did jump on TB because after reading through the past few pages, I'm a little nervous that some people were having issues with the A05 as well.
Anyways, I haven't been able to try the amp out yet because of work. I'll test it out on Sunday at church. I also have a bar gig next week. I'll let you guys know what happens. I really really hope I have no problems with it since I really like this amp. I think it's a perfect match for my rock applications... crossing my fingers...
Amazing!When I opened the box I was a little surprised that the serial number was "A05". Wow... that many revisions? (Yes, yes, in my laziness I haven't been on TB at all in '09
). However, I'm glad that I did jump on TB because after reading through the past few pages, I'm a little nervous that some people were having issues with the A05 as well. Anyways, I haven't been able to try the amp out yet because of work. I'll test it out on Sunday at church. I also have a bar gig next week. I'll let you guys know what happens. I really really hope I have no problems with it since I really like this amp. I think it's a perfect match for my rock applications... crossing my fingers...
- Jul 11, 2005
- 3,113
- 1,456
- Disclosures
- Gecko Leatherworks
Bought my MB2 a month ago.
Used it for the forth time last night.
3-4 times the volume fell and then sometime later it went up.
Whats up with that? I called Brian today. Sounds like I have to send it in:scowl:
I have a gig in 10 days and it looks like I am screwed
I this common?
I know theres something about certain serial #'s?
Well I sent the bad amp back Tuesday.
I had a gig tonight, so needless to say, I was sweating not having an amp. Brian asured me I would have a replacement in time.
The new amp showed up yesterday(Friday).
Right out of the box, literally, worked great.
Our sound man said it sounded great.
If it works as well as it did the first four hours, I should be a happy slapper for quite a while.
Thanks to Brian. I'm sure I was a pain in the a$$ this week.
GK came through.
Just picked one of these up today at a steal. I needed a backup and this was the right price/size/weight to fit the bill.
It's an A00 series, and it's used so I checked it out pretty thoroughly before laying out the cash, but it doesn't seem to have any of the problems that have plagued these little guys. (RFI, intermittent cutting out)
I'll give it a good run, and see how she handles.
Honestly, if it weren't for all of the great customer interaction and service documented in this thread, given the possibility of technical issues I think I would have passed, but seeing the GK guys on this forum treating people right assured me that even if I did have a problem I'd feel confident GK would work to make it right.
It's an A00 series, and it's used so I checked it out pretty thoroughly before laying out the cash, but it doesn't seem to have any of the problems that have plagued these little guys. (RFI, intermittent cutting out)
I'll give it a good run, and see how she handles.
Honestly, if it weren't for all of the great customer interaction and service documented in this thread, given the possibility of technical issues I think I would have passed, but seeing the GK guys on this forum treating people right assured me that even if I did have a problem I'd feel confident GK would work to make it right.
After a careful test tonight, it seems like it's fuzzing out a bit on some of the notes below D on my A and E strings. Anyone else have that experience?
Yep. Its the A00 version.
Contact GK, and theyll replace it... for free! They did for me a least.
I just got my free update/replacement. Its sooo much better. A free upgrade to an A05!? Awesome.
Do you have that contact info? I PM'd RAG a little while ago, but I'm not sure he's the guy I should be bothering.
Hey man i have an Aguilar GS212 and it sounds killin'...especially with my Fender jazz bass and Lakland. As for mine, my model is a A02 and havent had ANY problems...no volume dropouts, no noise or thermal shutdown and its loud!!! i use it every sunday at church at 8 ohms and it doesnt break a sweat!!!!
I'm rocking two Aggie GS112's and before the fuzzin' out it sounded freakin' sweet. Much different than my Aguilar head, but still a very tasty flavor.
If i pick one of these up off rmc, will i get a version of this amp that will have the quirks worked out?
I picked up a new MB2-500 on the bay (450 less $36 for cashback / $414 total) about a week ago (A05 version). I purchased this as part of rig for rehersal (my main rig is a Carvin BX500 --> POD XT Pro --> BBE BMAX-T --> Begantino NV610 - way too much for practice) and using it to drive a GK Neo212 (version2). I haven't used it at rehersal (next week), but I'm a little disappointed so far in what I'm hearing (maybe because I'm benchmarking against my full rig - though it seems as though the 2x12 just doesn't sound that good, but then again what's really does when you compare to a Berg). I'll post a bit more after I get to try this with the rest of the band.
play with the contour knob. I use 2 1x12s and it wasn't until I turned the contour knob full on that I found the open GK sound I was looking for. To the left it was mud with my 12s
Thanks! - What a world of differnce that made
much clearer sound - I was starting to regret buying GK gear, but I think we have a keeper!
I have seen a lot of posts from folks comparing the MB2 to other heads that don't seem to involve spending much time with it or experimenting with settings. I like the way this head sounds with contour off and pretty much all else flat going into one Neo 210 and I throw in a single 10 carvin PA cab to raise output to 500w. It blows my mind when I hear folks say this thing lacks punch. When I do max out the Contour and ease off the treble, I get enough "punch" to give someone a concussion. After using this amp for 6 months with different settings and configurations, I don't think it lacks anything and I love the extra features that this little thing delivers.
Peace.
Peace.
I'm usually a set it flat and forget it kind of guy, but I've had to learn to be a pit more experimental with this amp. It's been a good thing.
On some amps that contour knob seems to do nothing, but on this one it can open up some new worlds.
