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Gallien-Krueger MB2-500

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#521
played it for the first time the other day at guitard center. While it is a very nifty head, particularly for its size and weight (which is the whole point i guess) I feel like the 700rb-ii sounds drastically better IMO. I did notice the booming low end, but it really lacked a strong sound. The low mids were not there, and overall it just sounded much muddier than the 700. If I were going for a lightweight head I would still take the LMII over the MB2-500.

I plan to buy a 700rb-ii pretty soon :D, and I wanted to make sure the MB wasn't a better choice. I feel confident the 700 is more for me. the MB is NOT a bad head by any means, and I am AMAZED by its size, but personally I just prefer the more powerful sound of the 700rb-ii. I A/B'd both for at least a half hour to make sure I wasn't crazy. (there was also a 1001rb-ii I was comparing it to, but I think there was something wrong with it because for some reason it was like 1/2 the volume of the 700rb-ii with the exact same settings....)
 
#523
Freddels said:
I don't believe GC is a dealer for Genz products. I know that MF has it but I've never seen any in a GC store.

I stopped by the local GC today in hopes of trying out the MB2500, but they didn't have any. They did have a lot of MB stuff (210 combos, 12 combo, LMKII, and two F1's) but nothing was plugged in and there weren't any cords to plug a bass into any of them anyway (I did find one eventually but still the amps weren't plugged in). I didn't bother to ask anyone for help b/c I figure if they don't care to get their products set up properly, why should I. I left. I'm not impressed with the new manager at this location and much prefer the one they transferred.
Click to expand...

Hey Fred... I've got one if you want to give it a work out. Just let me know.
 
#526
Ok, so after getting the MB2 into a full band situation - with all of my standard gear, I feel like I can adequately review this thing.

I tested it with my '06 Stingray 5, going into an older Avatar B210 and even older B112 (the cool little cube guy). Tweeters were turned all the way up on both.

I started out with EQ flat, and contour at 0 - where the contour will stay for 99% of the time, then worked up the boost to where it felt comfy - ~12'oclock was adequate. Once again, I see myself rarely NOT using the boost channel, at least with my rock/pop band.

After playing a bit, the band came to the conclusion mirroring my earlier assessment, and that of many others here, that there was too much low end coming through.

After slightly tweaking down the bass and low-mids, the sound became more focused and everybody else seemed pleased with the tone and how it was fitting in the mix.

I however, was more than just pleased - after A/Bing it a few times with my 700RB-I I came to the conclusion that I actually liked the sound of the MB2 better. It seemed fuller coming through my Avatars, though at the same time had more bite and punch. For whatever reason, be it the tweaked boost, more headroom or something else, it just sounded better to me.

From my drummer's viewpoint: "It's punchier, so it cuts through a little better from a rhythm standpoint... so if things are on, it's going to sound better, but at the same time rhythmic mistakes will also be more pronounced. Plus I thought it sounded awesome when you were doing slap stuff."

After polling the band after rehearsal, we came to the conclusion that it is a worthy and more convenient replacement for my much loved 700RB - that will shortly be finding a new home since I couldn't stand to see it gathering dust in a closet.

Edit: After looking through the manual again to get a better sense of the "line out" functionality, I realized that the settings that I came to rest upon mirror almost exactly those showed in the manual for "rock", should anybody wish to reproduce them. The only exception is that even with the full band, I never had the need to crank the input level past 9 o'clock with the master fixed at 3 o'clock.
 
#527
kap'n kro said:
After playing a bit, the band came to the conclusion mirroring my earlier assessment, and that of many others here, that there was too much low end coming through.
Click to expand...

After posting my opinion that the low end on the MB2 sounded
like the "string bass" option from the 1001rb and 700rb, was
used in this amp, I called GK to ask. They confirmed that this
was true. Sort of like the "string bass" option on, without the
on/off switch. According to the 1001/700rb manual, there is
a +11db boost at about 20hz, which is giving this head a
pretty wide low end. This is great for smaller or bass shy
boxes like my Berg HT112. (sounds amazing) Not as good for
boxes with lots o lows.

The tech at GK said they will be changing the eq points and
value starting with the next run of amps. When that happens,
I think this amp will be a killer.
 
#528
B String said:
After posting my opinion that the low end on the MB2 sounded
like the "string bass" option from the 1001rb and 700rb, was
used in this amp, I called GK to ask. They confirmed that this
was true. Sort of like the "string bass" option on, without the
on/off switch. According to the 1001/700rb manual, there is
a +11db boost at about 20hz, which is giving this head a
pretty wide low end. This is great for smaller or bass shy
boxes like my Berg HT112. (sounds amazing) Not as good for
boxes with lots o lows.

The tech at GK said they will be changing the eq points and
value starting with the next run of amps. When that happens,
I think this amp will be a killer.
Click to expand...


Did they give you any idea of when that will be?
 
#529
B String said:
After posting my opinion that the low end on the MB2 sounded
like the "string bass" option from the 1001rb and 700rb, was
used in this amp, I called GK to ask. They confirmed that this
was true.

The tech at GK said they will be changing the eq points and
value starting with the next run of amps. When that happens,
I think this amp will be a killer.
Click to expand...

Ok, being a five string player, I just kinda always ran my 700RB-I in "five string" mode.

So it's definitely not just that.

As far as the EQ point change, I'm intrigued. You're speaking of the next run of MB2s? Do you know when this change would be implemented? Though, as you can see by my review I liked the sound I was getting, I'm curious as to what difference the new EQ would make...

I take this to mean that the "flat" setting will be modified... so in theory it wouldn't be any different than me tweaking my EQ to get the same sound?
 
#530
The said it would be starting with the next run of amps.
I guess they are in the midst of a run now. I was told that if
you already have one of the amps, you would be able to take
it to an authorised sevice center and get the changed installed. I'm not sure how soon that will happen.

This is still a great head. Especially for a smaller box or a
bass shy box like some of the Schroeder's etc.
 
#531
kap'n kro said:
Ok, being a five string player, I just kinda always ran my 700RB-I in "five string" mode.

So it's definitely not just that.

As far as the EQ point change, I'm intrigued. You're speaking of the next run of MB2s? Do you know when this change would be implemented? Though, as you can see by my review I liked the sound I was getting, I'm curious as to what difference the new EQ would make...

I take this to mean that the "flat" setting will be modified... so in theory it wouldn't be any different than me tweaking my EQ to get the same sound?
Click to expand...


I really like the head as it is too but so far I've only used it
live with smaller boxes that aren't bass heavy.
I wrote my opinion early on in one of these MB2 threads when
Bob Gallien was answering questions. I specifically asked him
to answer in the thread. He didn't. I called GK and got my
opinion confirmed over the phone.
As far as the "flat sound". I was told to turn the bass down a
bit, and turn up the contour to compensate. It sounded
great. I never use the contour but it sure worked for this
application. I like this head. This is just an early hiccup.
 
#532
There went all the sales for the current batch, and I think I hear the return registers at various dealers ringing off the hook... :)

IMHO, GK should deal with the current run with some sort of return/update offer... just to avoid getting their dealers in a lot of hot water bearing the brunt of this. :)
 
#533
Vic said:
There went all the sales for the current batch, and I think I hear the return registers at various dealers ringing off the hook... :)

IMHO, GK should deal with the current run with some sort of return/update offer... just to avoid getting their dealers in a lot of hot water bearing the brunt of this. :)
Click to expand...

Completely agree - doesn't sound like a good message to be putting out. I for one, would happily consider keeping this nice little head if the EQ were different.
 
#534
Vic said:
There went all the sales for the current batch, and I think I hear the return registers at various dealers ringing off the hook... :)

IMHO, GK should deal with the current run with some sort of return/update offer... just to avoid getting their dealers in a lot of hot water bearing the brunt of this. :)
Click to expand...

The tech I spoke with said that anyone with an amp they
bought and want to change will be able to go to any GK
service center and get the VERY SMALL mod done. No biggie.
I'm starting to see why Mr Gallien didn't address this issue
when it was talked about in the MB2 thread. I didn't mean to
start anything here. Its not a very big issue for most people.
In my opinion, this is still a very small issue for a killer amp.
I think the MB2-500 will do very well for GK.
 
#537
That's what I get for being an early adopter.

I wonder how long it'd take before the next run would start filtering into stores... I'm sure dealers aren't going to pull the first run to put out the "improved" ones right away. Even if there is a newer version, how would I know for certain? First run's serial numbers or something?

I use the word improved, because obviously GK thought the difference important enough to merit a change... which gets my gears going.

I suppose I could always take it to a service center if I deemed the newer sound better, which isn't a given - though its still a matter of how would I know if I go to compare the two if what I'm playing is in fact the newer batch...

Edited: I'm excitable.
 
#538
Washishimi said:
So how does a company judge how to eq an amp to satisfy all users?
Click to expand...

As I said above, this gets my gears turning. I'm very curious if it's simply just an EQ readjustment - meaning that if I were to tweak my EQ a bit the difference would be negligent... or if it would be a more substantial change - in which case I'd be extremely interested to hear the difference.
 
#539
Washishimi said:
So how does a company judge how to eq an amp to satisfy all users?
Click to expand...

My guess is partially due to this thread, where many have stated the somewhat 'unbalanced' low end. I'm actually more interested in this head based on B Strings post (although still not that jazzed, since I'm very happy with what I have). I never used that extended low end setting on the 700 that I had for a short while. That's not really what the GK tone is all about to me. If anything, the original heads (400/800) had some of the most severe low end attenuation I ever heard, but it allowed all that grit and grind to come through.

That's not really my thing, but for the GK fans, this sounds like a good move.
 
#540
An 11dB boost at 20 Hz? No wonder people have noted how boomy it sounds. Putting that level of boost (at that low a frequency) into bass shy speaker cabs is a recipe for eventual driver fatigue/failure. But if they're on top of it and making the mod, it sounds like it could be a fine amp.
 
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