Gallien-Krueger MB2-500: Part II

[Simon Langley]

exactly....I've been using the MB2 for a year and I've had a few of these due to changes. Way too much drama about a -10db switch that works exactly like it's supposed to. If your bass is cranking, engage it. I set the bass, treble and mids flat with My 18v Bartolini and just slightly ease off the volume and slap till I'm tired with no light. I like to use my Bartolini pre, so I use the -10 cut. I've had several MB2's simply due to revisions and its been the same with each.....not an issue. Keep jammin man.....after a year with my Roscoe and MB2 paired, I don't even care about all this drama any more....I have sweet, reliable, inspiring tone....isn't that whats it's all about man....

*Uh, doesn't seem to be working like it is supposed to if every bass I have, passive or active, make it clip without the -10db pad engaged. Not surprised that your 18v Bart setup requires the 10db pad but a passive Fender P? And you still have to roll the volume off a bit? Did you have to do that with any other amp? I am happy that you fought your fight and are at piece with your MB. I would just like to understand mine a little more.

 

[Gtrslngr]

*Uh, doesn't seem to be working like it is supposed to if every bass I have, passive or active, make it clip without the -10db pad engaged. Not surprised that your 18v Bart setup requires the 10db pad but a passive Fender P? And you still have to roll the volume off a bit? Did you have to do that with any other amp? I am happy that you fought your fight and are at piece with your MB. I would just like to understand mine a little more.

I see your point about the Fenders. Do you have a way to switch to passive on either of your active basses. I don't currently own a passive bass, but I thought I switched my Carvin LB75 to passive without needing the -10 engaged. I sold it a couple of weeks ago. Is there audible clipping, distortion on input with the Passive basses or just the flashing light. I like the design, cause if you do desire to crank the gain with a lower master volume intentionally, then I wouldn't want a red light flashing at me. Some folks desire this tone setting. The -10 should be the same as other amps providing 2 input jacks. One for passive and one for active. It does sound you have an overactive LED. Keep me updated,
Thanks.

 

[KJung]

*Uh, doesn't seem to be working like it is supposed to if every bass I have, passive or active, make it clip without the -10db pad engaged. Not surprised that your 18v Bart setup requires the 10db pad but a passive Fender P? And you still have to roll the volume off a bit? Did you have to do that with any other amp? I am happy that you fought your fight and are at piece with your MB. I would just like to understand mine a little more.

18 volt vs. 9volt has nothing to do with output level. And, active or passive has nothing to do with output. Some passive basses have very hot output, some active basses (like the OB-3) have quite low output, and everything in between.

It sounds like the 'clip light' design on this head is 'pre everything', and is an indication of when you need to use the 10db pad. If that's true, that's a useful thing IMO. If your bass clips the input, just engage the 10db pad and then crank the gain some more. That's the way it is supposed to work, if I understand the issue correctly.

 

[Gtrslngr]

18 volt vs. 9volt has nothing to do with output level. And, active or passive has nothing to do with output. Some passive basses have very hot output, some active basses (like the OB-3) have quite low output, and everything in between.

It sounds like the 'clip light' design on this head is 'pre everything', and is an indication of when you need to use the 10db pad. If that's true, that's a useful thing IMO. If your bass clips the input, just engage the 10db pad and then crank the gain some more. That's the way it is supposed to work, if I understand the issue correctly.

True. Not everyone hits the strings with the same style or force either, which can drastically affect the signal coming from any bass.

 

[KJung]

True. Not everyone hits the strings with the same style or force either, which can drastically affect the signal coming from any bass.

+1 And, if you crank the bass knob on an onboard EQ, that results in a MUCH hotter signal going into the amp. So, it is almost impossible to generalize on the output of a given bass or circuit across players.

 

[banditcosmo]

I have a passive Birdsong bass that sounds best with the output at full but it still clips the amp (A05) with the -10db engaged. I wonder if I we could exchange a A05 for an A06 if we email Brian at GK ? From what unclekebm posted (post 652) A06 seemed to have fixed this issue. I'm going to email Brian today about this and hope for a response as he never responded to my last emails.

 

[KJung]

I have a passive Birdsong bass that sounds best with the output at full but it still clips the amp (A05) with the -10db engaged. I wonder if I we could exchange a A05 for an A06 if we email Brian at GK ? From what unclekebm posted (post 652) A06 seemed to have fixed this issue. I'm going to email Brian today about this and hope for a response as he never responded to my last emails.

Wow. That's not good.

 

[Simon Langley]

I see your point about the Fenders. Do you have a way to switch to passive on either of your active basses. I don't currently own a passive bass, but I thought I switched my Carvin LB75 to passive without needing the -10 engaged. I sold it a couple of weeks ago. Is there audible clipping, distortion on input with the Passive basses or just the flashing light. I like the design, cause if you do desire to crank the gain with a lower master volume intentionally, then I wouldn't want a red light flashing at me. Some folks desire this tone setting. The -10 should be the same as other amps providing 2 input jacks. One for passive and one for active. It does sound you have an overactive LED. Keep me updated,
Thanks.

*My 55-01 clips it passive or active. Have to play with a very light touch to get any of my basses to not turn the light on

 

[Vic]

18 volt vs. 9volt has nothing to do with output level. And, active or passive has nothing to do with output. Some passive basses have very hot output, some active basses (like the OB-3) have quite low output, and everything in between.

HUGE +1. HUGE. This is SOOO commonly misunderstood.

It sounds like the 'clip light' design on this head is 'pre everything', and is an indication of when you need to use the 10db pad. If that's true, that's a useful thing IMO. If your bass clips the input, just engage the 10db pad and then crank the gain some more. That's the way it is supposed to work, if I understand the issue correctly.

Good point, but I think it's more intuitive if you have that first attenuator before the clip detection, and use the pad for "extra" padding in the odd case where you have such a hot input you find all your initial gain settings are so low to avoid clipping it's hard to adjust due to limited "useful range of adjustment".

I'm going to stop short of saying it's "flawed" because there is a functional case for this design, but I will say it's not intuitive, maybe less useful this way, and I'd at least prefer it to be the other way.

FWIW/IMHO.

 

[KJung]

Good point, but I think it's more intuitive if you have that first attenuator before the clip detection, and use the pad for "extra" padding in the odd case where you have such a hot input you find all your initial gain settings are so low to avoid clipping it's hard to adjust due to limited "useful range of adjustment".

I'm going to stop short of saying it's "flawed" because it can be made to work, but I will say it's not intuitive, maybe less useful this way, and I'd at least prefer it to be the other way.

FWIW/IMHO.

I agree. It seems like, at least with the 05 and previous versions, there is something funky about the operation in any event.

 

[Simon Langley]

I have a passive Birdsong bass that sounds best with the output at full but it still clips the amp (A05) with the -10db engaged. I wonder if I we could exchange a A05 for an A06 if we email Brian at GK ? From what unclekebm posted (post 652) A06 seemed to have fixed this issue. I'm going to email Brian today about this and hope for a response as he never responded to my last emails.

*This is what I have been wondering.

 

[MonsterTruck88]

Silly question that may have already been answered... does the MB2 have a 1/8" auxiliary line in and/or a headphone line out?

 

[deekay911]

Headphone out - yes. Aux line in - no (neither an 1/8 or 1/4..)

 

[unclekebm]

Hey guys,
I'm not sure if this was the "fix" for any issues that I was having but -
with my A05 I had to engage -10db with an 08 Am Std P
with my A06 I don't - although I can get it to clip if I really hit it hard (which I don't usually do)
I did post that the A06 seems 'wider' more 'open' -
but now I believe that it's because of the extra 10db of headroom...
It took a couple days to get used to the new knob positions...

Maybe....just maybe GK gave it that super Hot input stage to fully utilize the headroom of the amp (I don't know)
maybe they found that by doing this, it opened up some issues, ie;
In my case random shutting off, even when cool to the touch or picking up odd noises and outside frequencies

Simon, maybe you should talk to Jason, He worked directly with me,
he seemed to have a grip on this 'issue'...
IMO being 'sarcastic' or 'condescending' might not help,
If you talk to Jason, He'll help you out (he's a cool cat)

In any case, I haven't had any issues with my A06, and I've really pushed it hard these last few weeks

 

[unclekebm]

Silly question that may have already been answered... does the MB2 have a 1/8" auxiliary line in and/or a headphone line out?

No - it's 1/4"

 

[jimmy rocket]

I've got an A06, and my P bass triggers the light if I really dig in, but that's got Duncan 1/4 pounders. My G&L L2500 lights that thing up like a Christmas tree. I often use the -10db cut to even the score but I've never run mine so hard that it shut down.

 

[unclekebm]

18 volt vs. 9volt has nothing to do with output level. And, active or passive has nothing to do with output. Some passive basses have very hot output, some active basses (like the OB-3) have quite low output, and everything in between.

It sounds like the 'clip light' design on this head is 'pre everything', and is an indication of when you need to use the 10db pad. If that's true, that's a useful thing IMO. If your bass clips the input, just engage the 10db pad and then crank the gain some more. That's the way it is supposed to work, if I understand the issue correctly.

+1
With GK's one must understand the fundamental concept
the pre section is not like a 'typical' amp
and it will get frustrating if it's expected to work like a 'typical' amp

engaging the -10db on the MB2 doesn't affect the performance of the amp...
I still had a lot of headroom with my A05 / -10db engaged

 

[unclekebm]

I have a passive Birdsong bass that sounds best with the output at full but it still clips the amp (A05) with the -10db engaged. I wonder if I we could exchange a A05 for an A06 if we email Brian at GK ? From what unclekebm posted (post 652) A06 seemed to have fixed this issue. I'm going to email Brian today about this and hope for a response as he never responded to my last emails.

I'm sure if you contact Jason, He'll get that 'revised' for you right away
IMO it's better to call - 1-209-234-7300 ask for Jason or Brian

 

[Simon Langley]

Hey guys,
I'm not sure if this was the "fix" for any issues that I was having but -
with my A05 I had to engage -10db with an 08 Am Std P
with my A06 I don't - although I can get it to clip if I really hit it hard (which I don't usually do)
I did post that the A06 seems 'wider' more 'open' -
but now I believe that it's because of the extra 10db of headroom...
It took a couple days to get used to the new knob positions...

Maybe....just maybe GK gave it that super Hot input stage to fully utilize the headroom of the amp (I don't know)
maybe they found that by doing this, it opened up some issues, ie;
In my case random shutting off, even when cool to the touch or picking up odd noises and outside frequencies

Simon, maybe you should talk to Jason, He worked directly with me,
he seemed to have a grip on this 'issue'...
IMO being 'sarcastic' or 'condescending' might not help,
If you talk to Jason, He'll help you out (he's a cool cat)

In any case, I haven't had any issues with my A06, and I've really pushed it hard these last few weeks

*Yeah, I wouldn't have been so sarcastic except like the deekay911 said it seemed like the answer I got was an outsourced script read answer from someone who really isn't in "the know" about what I'm talking about. Trust me, I have dealt with many a manufacturer and totally understand the concept of "catching more bees with honey than vinegar."

*Not sure what I'm really going to do about the issue. The amp sounds great as is. May send it in, get the update and end up not liking the sound. That would sure be a bummer.

 

[unclekebm]

*Yeah, I wouldn't have been so sarcastic except like the deekay911 said it seemed like the answer I got was an outsourced script read answer from someone who really isn't in "the know" about what I'm talking about. Trust me, I have dealt with many a manufacturer and totally understand the concept of "catching more bees with honey than vinegar."

*Not sure what I'm really going to do about the issue. The amp sounds great as is. May send it in, get the update and end up not liking the sound. That would sure be a bummer.

I totally understand...

I only wrote that to you because that's how I was acting towards Brian & jason in the beginning
I too was getting a "canned" response

I quickly learned that they where more helpful when I was being cool
The key is, you have to 'talk' to Brian or Jason or Bob

I'm sure if this input issue is bugging you, They will happily revise/upgrade your MB2
Their turn around time is quick as well (of course I live fairly close to GK)

FYI - My A06 sounds exactly like my A05 (only difference is now my knobs are turned way down)
IMO - If your clip light doesn't blink with -10db engaged, you're OK