Gallien-Krueger MB2-500

[Jeff Scott]

The knob was probably a little dirty. I gave the one I tried a few turns and the problem dissappeared.

It was not a dirty pot, I know to check for such things. The boost channel worked just fine, it was the normal channel with the issues. Still, I was very happy with the tone, and the construction quality looked fantastic, also. One of these is most likely in my future as I have had several GK products in the past, and I have been happy with all of them.

 

[deekay911]

Bob sent me one of the newly EQ'd units to try, and although I only had a short time with it tonight, I have to say they have nailed it this time. The low end seems totally controlled and not at all boomy, with the EQ set flat. I will be using it tomorrow night at loud practice, so will see if it can cut through now. I am thinking it may... Great job you guys at GK

 

[Vic]

yeah, that's just more cables and stuff to carry.
...
i was hoping that it also had the mute on a foot switch.

No offense, but this doesn't make any sense to me. What's the difference between carrying a TU2 and a GK footswitch, except that the TU2 also adds the tuning function in addition to the mute? Seems to me you don't need that in the head, you already have something better.

 

[Fran Diaz]

No offense, but this doesn't make any sense to me. What's the difference between carrying a TU2 and a GK footswitch, except that the TU2 also adds the tuning function in addition to the mute? Seems to me you don't need that in the head, you already have something better.

Vic, he needs to use a second stomp box (the TU2), while he could have only the double one with boost and mute, as other GK heads.

 

[Willem]

Jup, I'm thinking the same thing. I could put both the MB² and a korg tuner in the rack of my guitarist without the rack getting much heavier. Plugging straight in the amp with footswitchable mute would be a real easy setup!
I think this is really too bad.

 

[Kro]

Jup, I'm thinking the same thing. I could put both the MB² and a korg tuner in the rack of my guitarist without the rack getting much heavier. Plugging straight in the amp with footswitchable mute would be a real easy setup!
I think this is really too bad.

Maybe I'm missing something, but if you're going to be tuning, it seems to me like no matter what you'd need a free hand - to turn the turning pegs. Whats the difference then from just hitting the tuning mute on the amp with a finger?

 

[slombovia]

About 2/3 of the time I was checking it out the output suddenly dropped to very low levels and got mildly distorted. I tried all the usual things to figure out what was going on to no avail. This only occurred in the main channel, not the G.I.V.E. channel, which seemed to work just fine. :scowl:

I just remembered it did this to me as well. Sounded like a short.

 

[Vic]

Vic, he needs to use a second stomp box (the TU2), while he could have only the double one with boost and mute, as other GK heads.

Oh, ok. I missed the part where he also wanted to use the boost feature. Personally, I'd never use that, so the current design is fine for me.

 

[Vic]

Jup, I'm thinking the same thing. I could put both the MB² and a korg tuner in the rack of my guitarist without the rack getting much heavier. Plugging straight in the amp with footswitchable mute would be a real easy setup!
I think this is really too bad.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't all the Korg rack tuners also have a inputs for a mute footswitch? At least my DTR2000 and the DTR1000 both do, on both the front and the back, so if it's wired inline, that still gives you a footswitch mute.

 

[Willem]

Maybe I'm missing something, but if you're going to be tuning, it seems to me like no matter what you'd need a free hand - to turn the turning pegs. Whats the difference then from just hitting the tuning mute on the amp with a finger?

With a footswitch I wouldn't have to walk to the amp. And I was thinking if I put the tuner and amp in my guitarist rack and get a 410 cab, I could put the 410 cab on the rack. But without the footswitch there would be some bending over to push the mute button.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't all the Korg rack tuners also have a inputs for a mute footswitch? At least my DTR2000 and the DTR1000 both do, on both the front and the back, so if it's wired inline, that still gives you a footswitch mute.

I also want to use the Boost function so only one pedal would be ideal. And I have read a lot of 'tonesuck' stories about the korgtuners in line.

 

[Kro]

With a footswitch I wouldn't have to walk to the amp. And I was thinking if I put the tuner and amp in my guitarist rack and get a 410 cab, I could put the 410 cab on the rack. But without the footswitch there would be some bending over to push the mute button.

For how often one usually needs to tune, walking over to the amp shouldn't be a big deal. Besides, how long of a cable were you planning on having for the footswitch? I just don't see this being a worthwhile option. It's been mentioned before, though if I were to have something on the floor related to tuning I'd just choose a stomp box tuner.

I also want to use the Boost function so only one pedal would be ideal. And I have read a lot of 'tonesuck' stories about the korgtuners in line.

True true, I would recommend against running the tuner in line. Keep it from the buffered tuner out on the GK.

 

[Vic]

I also want to use the Boost function so only one pedal would be ideal. And I have read a lot of 'tonesuck' stories about the korgtuners in line.

That makes sense. And yeah, I have one of the newer Pitchblack tuners and they make a big deal of the "true bypass", so they musta' had some complaints about that previously. I've never wired the rack tuner in line like that, so I haven't noticed it.

 

[Kro]

Oh, and just an update, I decided to use this thing for a gig this weekend at a medium sized bar in Belmar NJ, and was greeted with some of the worst radio interference I've ever heard coming out of my amp. After trouble-shooting with my equipment I narrowed it down to being either one of two things:

1. Bad wiring at the venue
2. Bad MB2

I'm really hoping it's problem #1. Hearing others speak of similar issues has me quite scared to be honest though.

The amp has worked beautifully through two weeks of practices at my rehearsal space, but 1 for 2 aren't really the greatest odds. I'm guessing I need to bring back one of my cabs and try it in random outlets to see if it happens anywhere else. I'll post an update if it happens again...

 

[Vic]

Oh, and just an update, I decided to use this thing for a gig this weekend at a medium sized bar in Belmar NJ, and was greeted with some of the worst radio interference I've ever heard coming out of my amp. After trouble-shooting with my equipment I narrowed it down to being either one of two things:

1. Bad wiring at the venue
2. Bad MB2

I'm really hoping it's problem #1. Hearing others speak of similar issues has me quite scared to be honest though.

The amp has worked beautifully through two weeks of practices at my rehearsal space, but 1 for 2 aren't really the greatest odds. I'm guessing I need to bring back one of my cabs and try it in random outlets to see if it happens anywhere else. I'll post an update if it happens again...

You'd be the perfect test case for those iron cores around the guitar cable (radio shack part mentioned earlier in this thread). If it works well at the venue you just mentioned, it should be good for anywhere.

Still... I wonder if this is something that can be incorporated in the next rev of the amp since multiple people have reported it?

 

[Gtrslngr]

Bob sent me one of the newly EQ'd units to try, and although I only had a short time with it tonight, I have to say they have nailed it this time. The low end seems totally controlled and not at all boomy, with the EQ set flat. I will be using it tomorrow night at loud practice, so will see if it can cut through now. I am thinking it may... Great job you guys at GK

Did you notice any difference in how much you could boost the preamp on your bass before clipping with the new unit. The first unit I had would go into clipping if I boosted the lows or highs much with the 18v Bartolini. Now, with the new unit, I can boost a little more on the bass and mids with only the occasional clip light flash. Its not that big a deal to me, but I did notice a difference.

 

[tallboybass]

Bob sent me one of the newly EQ'd units to try, and although I only had a short time with it tonight, I have to say they have nailed it this time. The low end seems totally controlled and not at all boomy, with the EQ set flat. I will be using it tomorrow night at loud practice, so will see if it can cut through now. I am thinking it may... Great job you guys at GK

This is really good news! Keep us posted after practice.

 

[Kro]

You'd be the perfect test case for those iron cores around the guitar cable (radio shack part mentioned earlier in this thread). If it works well at the venue you just mentioned, it should be good for anywhere.

Still... I wonder if this is something that can be incorporated in the next rev of the amp since multiple people have reported it?

I'd love to learn more about what might have caused this... just to give a little bit more detail any cable that plugged into the GK input seemed to become an antenna. I tried it with numerous cables of different sizes, and upon moving the cable I was able to effect the clarity of radio that was coming in. Working with the sound man we tried coiling the cable to create a toroid of itself but at times this seemed to only make things worse.

Likewise, as soon as a cable was disconnected from the input, the problem stopped completely.

 

[Vic]

I'd love to learn more about what might have caused this... just to give a little bit more detail any cable that plugged into the GK input seemed to become an antenna. I tried it with numerous cables of different sizes, and upon moving the cable I was able to effect the clarity of radio that was coming in. Working with the sound man we tried coiling the cable to create a toroid of itself but at times this seemed to only make things worse.

Likewise, as soon as a cable was disconnected from the input, the problem stopped completely.

That's actually good news, believe it or not. If you could affect the problem that reliably messing with the cord like that, it means those clip-on cores should actually work.

 

[Kro]

That's actually good news, believe it or not. If you could affect the problem that reliably messing with the cord like that, it means those clip-on cores should actually work.

And these won't effect my sound at all? I'm naturally skeptical about these sorts of things, though it seems to be a good solution. Would it matter where the toroid is placed on the cable?

 

[Vic]

And these won't effect my sound at all? I'm naturally skeptical about these sorts of things, though it seems to be a good solution. Would it matter where the toroid is placed on the cable?

I don't know for sure, but I'd like to. Thing is, if I get a small tonal loss to get rit of a lot of noise, to me, that's a fair trade-off.