Gallien-Krueger MB2-500

[origami]

played a MB2-500 last weekend in a GC in dallas.

really, not bad.

as an owner of an 800rb and a 1001rbII, i will make some comparisons, but mind you i only played about 10 minutes into a non GK 2x12 cab with a stingray.

as stated in the thread. very small size, extreamely small weight. you could put this is a gig bag and be ready to go. Bravo GK.

as stated too: lots and lots of low end, and lots of power for the size. this would have no issues handling most small to mid level gigs without issue. this could replace most other solid state heads of comparable wattage. the jury is out of the looks, reminds me of some kind of router box, but i really like old tube amp cosmetics anyhow.

soundwise...it's not as tight in the low end as the 1001rbII or 800rb. the head seemed voiced almost a bit murkier and not as bright as other GK heads. the EQs did not seem as 'active' as the 1001rbII either. It actually sounded less 'modern' than the 100rbII, but not as complex in the mids as 800rbII, but many usuable standard sounds were easy coaxed out the head. reminded me a little bit of the markbass stuff maybe a cross between the F1 and the little mark II.

the ability to footswitch the boost is okay, but not needed. as i played i left it with the boost on about halfway which in GK heads really adds life, punch and soul to the sound.

nice work. this head is perfect (especailly since many airlines are charging for extra baggage) in size and weigt for traveling. i really like that the outputs were dual (speak-on, 1/4") so you could use most rented cabs on fly dates. the only thing missing is automatic conversion (ala Eden) from 240 to 120 for those of us who do overseas dates.

sweet.

 

[synaesthesia]

... the only thing missing is automatic conversion (ala Eden) from 240 to 120 for those of us who do overseas dates..

Mr Gallien, Sir! I humbly submit this for your attention for those of us who need to switch voltages for gigs in different countries.

 

[deekay911]

As I said, it looks like just a jumper on the ICE board, but of course you need to 'open the hood', which of course many people wouldn't be comfortable with. For me, the existance of a switch on the back is usually a purchase criteria..

 

[silky smoove]

Does GK's standard warranty apply to this amp? I'm assuming that it does, but just wanted to clarify. GK's warranty service has been great for me thus far, and would love to see the same coverage if I end up picking up this amp tonight.

 

[basslinejam]

And just call me old, but a 800RB and a pair of Hartke 410's........especially the 4.5XL's.......someone get me a towel!!!!

(homer voice) 800RB + 410xl cabs *tongue wagging gurgle sound*

And who knew that rig would be "old school" some day?

An MB2 set flat simply doesn't have the basic wooly growl of my 400RB, but that doesn't mean we couldn't find it with some tweaking... right?

 

[MikeBass]

(homer voice) 800RB + 410xl cabs *tongue wagging gurgle sound*

And who knew that rig would be "old school" some day?

An MB2 set flat simply doesn't have the basic wooly growl of my 400RB, but that doesn't mean we couldn't find it with some tweaking... right?

Yeah, "old school"!!!!!LOL!!!!

If I didn't have something going on amp wise, I'd give the MB2 a good ol' spin.........
With a pair of Hartke 410's!!!!
LOL!!!

I'll say though, GK has ALWAYS made good sounding stuff.
I don't think they ever hit a bad point like a lot of other companies have.

And their neo 212 cab...........may be one of the best sounding 212's I think I ever heard.

A Spector, 800RB and a Hartke 410 or two, an all time classic rig!

 

[KJung]

Yeah, "old school"!!!!!LOL!!!!

If I didn't have something going on amp wise, I'd give the MB2 a good ol' spin.........
With a pair of Hartke 410's!!!!
LOL!!!

I'll say though, GK has ALWAYS made good sounding stuff.
I don't think they ever hit a bad point like a lot of other companies have.

And their neo 212 cab...........may be one of the best sounding 212's I think I ever heard.

A Spector, 800RB and a Hartke 410 or two, an all time classic rig!

and... to establish my GK cred, I was one of the few that actually owned and gigged that GK 1200 stack (I think I have that name correct). Remember those?!? It was a 115 combo and 115 extension cab, metal cab, pink and blue logo and striping, tilt back mechanism on the bottom. It was like a HUGE MB150 stack.

Does anybody remember those? It actually sounded really good, but was butt ugly It seems that was in the early or mid 80's but can't quite remember

 

[rag]

Is it a requirement to use a speakon cable, or can you use 1/4 plugs for speakers on the MB2 head?

You can use either, but speakons will perform better.

 

[rag]

and... to establish my GK cred, I was one of the few that actually owned and gigged that GK 1200 stack (I think I have that name correct). Remember those?!? It was a 115 combo and 115 extension cab, metal cab, pink and blue logo and striping, tilt back mechanism on the bottom. It was like a HUGE MB150 stack.

Does anybody remember those? It actually sounded really good, but was butt ugly It seems that was in the early or mid 80's but can't quite remember

Very ugly! This was my second digital amplifier attempt, it had a 200W digital power amp that switched at 500kHz and a switch mode power supply that switched at 50kHZ. The theory was there but the devices weren’t . I gave up on switching technology until now. At the time I had four switching amplifiers in production and pulled them all off the market.

 

[rag]

Mr Gallien, Sir! I humbly submit this for your attention for those of us who need to switch voltages for gigs in different countries.

Noted.

 

[KJung]

Very ugly! This was my second digital amplifier attempt, it had a 200W digital power amp that switched at 500kHz and a switch mode power supply that switched at 50kHZ. The theory was there but the devices weren’t . I gave up on switching technology until now. At the time I had four switching amplifiers in production and pulled them all off the market.

It was WAY ahead of its time! I actually enjoyed that rig, and it actually held up to the competition quite well back in the day. But... pink and blue... wow That was very early on in my search for 'small, light and loud'.

 

[rag]

Does GK's standard warranty apply to this amp? I'm assuming that it does, but just wanted to clarify. GK's warranty service has been great for me thus far, and would love to see the same coverage if I end up picking up this amp tonight.

Yes.

 

[rag]

(homer voice) 800RB + 410xl cabs *tongue wagging gurgle sound*

And who knew that rig would be "old school" some day?

An MB2 set flat simply doesn't have the basic wooly growl of my 400RB, but that doesn't mean we couldn't find it with some tweaking... right?

Right to some extent, the boost circuit and voicings are very close to the 400RB. How ever it is a digital power amp, and will have a sound of it's own.

 

[RHFusillo]

Very ugly! This was my second digital amplifier attempt, it had a 200W digital power amp that switched at 500kHz and a switch mode power supply that switched at 50kHZ. The theory was there but the devices weren’t . I gave up on switching technology until now. At the time I had four switching amplifiers in production and pulled them all off the market.

I have a 1200 SEB head in my closet. I bought it on eBay a few years ago. I had no idea what it was, but liked the sound when I got it - extremely clean. The little bit of information about it that I found on the web said that the digital power supply was very prone to failure. Shortly after I read that, as if on cue, it started to die - first the power amp, then the preamp. Too bad. It still looks immaculate. It's the only piece of GK gear I ever owned (including a GMT 300B, two 400RB, an 800RB, a 700RB, and a MB 150 combo) that broke.

 

[silky smoove]

Well, I popped down to GC after work and took the MB2-500 for a test drive. Here are my results:

As a precursor to this, I tested it through a GK Neo410, which is a cab I'm pretty familiar with, but have never owned. I tested it with a 2008 Fender American Standard Jazz, a Musicman Sterling HS and an Ibanez Soundgear (not sure of the exact model, but it had a 2-band pre and Bartolini MK1 pickups).

I plugged in and turned the unit on. The power light turned red, then slowly faded to black. It did not turn blue as shown in pictures prior in this thread. I don't know if this was a faulty unit or what, but other than the light not turning blue, everything on the head functioned perfectly.

Setting the EQ flat, turning off the contour, putting the gain and boost at noon resulted in a VERY similar tone to my 2001RB and the 1001RB-II I've been using when I slightly cut the treble and hi-mids, and slightly boost the bass and low-mids. From my experience this definitely lends itself to the descriptions I've been hearing about the unit having tons of low-end and being slightly murkier in the low-end than the 1001RB-II. I don't think it was an issue of headroom as this little sucker has PLENTY of power. It might simply have EQ centers that are lower in the bass and low-mid range... Hard to say. One way or another I could EQ it to sound pretty close to my 2001RB which is a tone I absolutely adore. That said, there was definitely something missing as compared to the tone of my 2001RB. There's a certain character to the larger GK amps that I can only describe as a "dry growl" that seems to happen in parallel to the rather smooth tone I typically dial in. I've really grown to love that aspect and find it to be very signature to my tone. It simply wasn't there with the MB2-500. It might have been the voicing of a different cab and bass than what I'm currently using. I'm tempted to buy the thing and bring it home to compare it with gear I'm currently using to eliminate any variables. It might not be something that's noticeable in a band mix, so the point might be moot.

All-in-all I think this is a very powerful little head that is incredibly light and seems like an excellent value. I can't say that it's a direct replacement for a 1001RB-II or a 2001RB from a tonal standpoint, but it gets you 90% of the way there at a fraction of the weight and the price. Very useable tones, plenty of power, easily transported and a clean, functional design. I'm going to wait until some of the quirks are worked out before buying one, but I will most definitely be buying one along with a Schroeder 1212L for smaller venues that don't merit my 2001RB/Schroeder 410R rig.

 

[jnewmark]

Well, I popped down to GC after work and took the MB2-500 for a test drive. Here are my results:

As a precursor to this, I tested it through a GK Neo410, which is a cab I'm pretty familiar with, but have never owned. I tested it with a 2008 Fender American Standard Jazz, a Musicman Sterling HS and an Ibanez Soundgear (not sure of the exact model, but it had a 2-band pre and Bartolini MK1 pickups).

I plugged in and turned the unit on. The power light turned red, then slowly faded to black. It did not turn blue as shown in pictures prior in this thread. I don't know if this was a faulty unit or what, but other than the light not turning blue, everything on the head functioned perfectly.

Setting the EQ flat, turning off the contour, putting the gain and boost at noon resulted in a VERY similar tone to my 2001RB and the 1001RB-II I've been using when I slightly cut the treble and hi-mids, and slightly boost the bass and low-mids. From my experience this definitely lends itself to the descriptions I've been hearing about the unit having tons of low-end and being slightly murkier in the low-end than the 1001RB-II. I don't think it was an issue of headroom as this little sucker has PLENTY of power. It might simply have EQ centers that are lower in the bass and low-mid range... Hard to say. One way or another I could EQ it to sound pretty close to my 2001RB which is a tone I absolutely adore. That said, there was definitely something missing as compared to the tone of my 2001RB. There's a certain character to the larger GK amps that I can only describe as a "dry growl" that seems to happen in parallel to the rather smooth tone I typically dial in. I've really grown to love that aspect and find it to be very signature to my tone. It simply wasn't there with the MB2-500. It might have been the voicing of a different cab and bass than what I'm currently using. I'm tempted to buy the thing and bring it home to compare it with gear I'm currently using to eliminate any variables. It might not be something that's noticeable in a band mix, so the point might be moot.

All-in-all I think this is a very powerful little head that is incredibly light and seems like an excellent value. I can't say that it's a direct replacement for a 1001RB-II or a 2001RB from a tonal standpoint, but it gets you 90% of the way there at a fraction of the weight and the price. Very useable tones, plenty of power, easily transported and a clean, functional design. I'm going to wait until some of the quirks are worked out before buying one, but I will most definitely be buying one along with a Schroeder 1212L for smaller venues that don't merit my 2001RB/Schroeder 410R rig.

How was the high end? Do you slap and pop? I have a Schroeder 1210R and am curious how the high end will be with this amp. I keep noticing that, of those of you who have tried this amp, you are not really commenting too much on how the high end sounds, but are more concerned with " growl " and the low end. Are GK amps more known for their low end sound?

 

[fdeck]

Right, its pretty standard, I think the Markbass F1 is using the same or something similar as well.

Did you think all of these companies have the R&D money and technical expertise to create their own digital power amps from the ground up? It's not easy.

Regardless of your rolleyes, these amps all offer something different in features and sound. I have no problem with them using the same/similar power amp.

+1

I think using a buy-in module is a sensible approach to designing a micro head. Most of us gave up designing our own op amps long ago too.

 

[silky smoove]

How was the high end? Do you slap and pop? I have a Schroeder 1210R and am curious how the high end will be with this amp. I keep noticing that, of those of you who have tried this amp, you are not really commenting too much on how the high end sounds, but are more concerned with " growl " and the low end. Are GK amps more known for their low end sound?

To me the high-mids and treble were basically the same as the rest of GK's RB line. Pretty aggressive high-mids and not the highest/sparkliest treble I've ever heard. It's a great voicing for sitting in a band mix. I do slap and pop and the MB2-500 functioned just fine for that playing style.

 

[basslinejam]

But... pink and blue... wow

As opposed to high-visibility-yellow and black?

 

[ogar]

As opposed to high-visibility-yellow and black?

Touche!