Gallien-Krueger MB2-500

[deekay911]

Question for Rag - are the EQ points and gains in the manual still valid with the new mod?

 

[B String]

Does anyone know exactly what the low end eq tweak is?
I don't want to assume anything, and I'd rather get some
accurate info. I think deekay911 has a "modified" MB2-500.

Hey deekay911! Can you give us an opinion on the before
and after difference in tone? Can you still get some big booty
on the low end? Are the mids changed too?

 

[zac2944]

Does anyone know exactly what the low end eq tweak is?
I don't want to assume anything, and I'd rather get some
accurate info.

Read back in the thread and RAG himself describes what the mod is. He didn't do anything to the low end. He said that this amp doesn't have any extra low end. He said is has slightly less in the midrange and that what makes it "seem" like there is more low end. He also said that the only thing the mod does is chance the 12:00 settings for the mid knobs. He said you can get the same thing by just turning the mid knobs from 12:00 to 1:00.

I'm not sure if I'm quoting RAG exactly, but it is something like that. Just search back in this thread. It's there.

 

[zac2944]

Can you still get some big booty
on the low end?

Considering the amount of low end boost/cut you can get from the powerful EQ, I don't think that will ever be an issue. IMHO, you can get WAY more low end from the EQ then you would ever need or want.

 

[synterx]

I've been eyeing three of these mini amps, GK, MB, GB. I haven't played any but was leaning towards the GK when I saw it in person at GC last week. Anyway, after reading all 30+ pages of this thread, and seeing a dent n scratch at MF for $420 shipped, I jumped.

Got the amp from UPS yesterday at noon. Had no time to do anything but plug headphones in for 5 minutes.

Got to my gig last night, had my 30 pound Peavey Pro Bass 500 sitting behind my cabinets in case the MB2-500 couldn't cut it.

I was taking a chance plugging in a new amp right at a gig. I don't normally do that, but I was in a "mood" and didn't care.

I hooked it up just like I always do with the peavey, two 8 ohm cabs, 115 and 210 neos. Plugged my X2 wireless in, plugged my pitchblack tuner in to the tuner out, hit mute, turned it on, set everything to 12:00, and fired it up. I use only Peavey US millenniums, and never clipped anything FWIW.

Ended up using it the whole 3 hour gig. Classis 80's rock, can get quite loud with 2 marshalls, one synth dude, etc.

I gotta say, I'm a believer. I had the treble up to 1:00, hi mid/lo mid about the same, bass, I actually had to turn down to 11:00 (there's a first) and my gain was at about 2:00 and I never once saw any clipping light come on.

This thing didn't hiccup once. It was loud, clear, solid, and I clearly had much more volume to go if I needed it. It really was amazing. No hiss, no RFI, no nothing but loud, clean power. I kept putting my hand on the top to see if it was getting hot, and it was literally room temperature even 1 hour into a set at full volume. My guitar guy was really amazed it held up.

So, the bottom line is the days of 100 pound cabinets and 30 pound amps really are a memory for me now. I sacrificed nothing in volume or sound quality, and have half as much weight to carry around.

My only suggestions to make it better? Tame the blue light down! Yikes is it bright. It really does not need to be that bright to be effective. I could see it 100 yards away.

Other than that, I'm happy. It works as advertised.

 

[62bass]

I've been eyeing three of these mini amps, GK, MB, GB. I haven't played any but was leaning towards the GK when I saw it in person at GC last week. Anyway, after reading all 30+ pages of this thread, and seeing a dent n scratch at MF for $420 shipped, I jumped.

Got the amp from UPS yesterday at noon. Had no time to do anything but plug headphones in for 5 minutes.

Got to my gig last night, had my 30 pound Peavey Pro Bass 500 sitting behind my cabinets in case the MB2-500 couldn't cut it.

I was taking a chance plugging in a new amp right at a gig. I don't normally do that, but I was in a "mood" and didn't care.

I hooked it up just like I always do with the peavey, two 8 ohm cabs, 115 and 210 neos. Plugged my X2 wireless in, plugged my pitchblack tuner in to the tuner out, hit mute, turned it on, set everything to 12:00, and fired it up. I use only Peavey US millenniums, and never clipped anything FWIW.

Ended up using it the whole 3 hour gig. Classis 80's rock, can get quite loud with 2 marshalls, one synth dude, etc.

I gotta say, I'm a believer. I had the treble up to 1:00, hi mid/lo mid about the same, bass, I actually had to turn down to 11:00 (there's a first) and my gain was at about 2:00 and I never once saw any clipping light come on.

This thing didn't hiccup once. It was loud, clear, solid, and I clearly had much more volume to go if I needed it. It really was amazing. No hiss, no RFI, no nothing but loud, clean power. I kept putting my hand on the top to see if it was getting hot, and it was literally room temperature even 1 hour into a set at full volume. My guitar guy was really amazed it held up.

So, the bottom line is the days of 100 pound cabinets and 30 pound amps really are a memory for me now. I sacrificed nothing in volume or sound quality, and have half as much weight to carry around.

My only suggestions to make it better? Tame the blue light down! Yikes is it bright. It really does not need to be that bright to be effective. I could see it 100 yards away.

Other than that, I'm happy. It works as advertised.

Excellent. Good to hear it was virtually plug and play. You've obviously had some experience with quickly getting a sound. I wish I had an excuse to buy one.

 

[lindseyp]

You can toss the MB2-500 into a backpack. With books. And a banana, a drink and some other snacks. AND crank 500 watts into 4 Ohms at the gig! Is that reason enough?

 

[synterx]

It really seems like it's just a preamp. Amazing technology. I'm going to find a nice padded case for it, and I'll be set I think.

 

[lindseyp]

It really seems like it's just a preamp. Amazing technology. I'm going to find a nice padded case for it, and I'll be set I think.

I think Yamaha opened the flood gates with the BBT-500H in 2006. Once they showed that alternatives to heavy heads could work, eyes were opened, lightening flashed, seas parted, ... well, you catch my drift. The small, light weight form factor with power is here to stay.

 

[slombovia]

...I sacrificed nothing in volume or sound quality...

At the risk of sounding snooty, the GK should sound BETTER than the Peavey head. Loud? Sure, I'll give the PV that. But tone-wise, PV, well, some like it I guess.

Sorry, hiding now...

 

[synterx]

Nah, tone wise I didn't notice much difference. Honestly, between all the amps I've played, they all sounded about the same to me. I keep everything pretty much flat, and just tweak a little on a per gig, per stage basis. My peaveys have always sounded fine. I learned a long time ago to not worry so much about slight nuances in sound coming from one amp or another. No one really cares but me anyway - is there bass? Yes. That's all I care about.

I always have looked for reliability, a few super important features to me, tuner out, built in mute, for example, and even looks of the amp.

I've been playing peavey for a decade. I would bet Peavey will be coming out with a similar amp soon enough. They touted their DPC-1000 1000 watt, 1-rack space amp for bass use for years. So, they have the technology already I would guess.

I have 2 herniated disks in my lower back, just was diagnosed, and I was told do not lift more than 30 pounds if you can help it. So, I started reading all these LMII, Shuttle and MM2-500 posts seeing if I could do it and not have a whole set of new headaches on my hand.

One gig is not the ultimate test, but I can say with glee that I swapped the MB2 out with my old-school head and had zero new issues to deal with. If you stuck the amp in a 2 rack space box and added a 20 pound lead weight inside, you'd be hearing how great it was blah blah blah.

Bottom line, it's a great time to be a bass player.

 

[Gtrslngr]

I'm still loving this amp. Does anyone know of any headphones that work really well with bass amps. I currently only have the cheap ones that I use with PC, which work OK, but not the best sound.

 

[synterx]

I bought some Beyerdynamic DT 770 phones from GC. They weren't cheap, $150+, but man oh man, they are some seriously full range cans. I really could listen to them all day long. Lots of smooth bass in those babies. My Sony cans, can't remember the number, 7506? do not offer up the same level of bass.

 

[synterx]

Does anyone have one of those Gator bags sold for 1/2 rack wireless systems? They seem perfect if in fact the MB2 fits...nice pocket on the outside for the power cord.

I just ordered two Epifani UL2-112 cabs for this head. I'm hoping to successfully join the mini rig world and sell off all my old cabs and heads. I think the timing is just right.

 

[B String]

Read back in the thread and RAG himself describes what the mod is. He didn't do anything to the low end. He said that this amp doesn't have any extra low end. He said is has slightly less in the midrange and that what makes it "seem" like there is more low end. He also said that the only thing the mod does is chance the 12:00 settings for the mid knobs. He said you can get the same thing by just turning the mid knobs from 12:00 to 1:00.

Just for the sake of accuracy....
The tweak is only on the low end. Bassically changing the eq
from the "string bass" setting, to closer to the regular eq with
the string bass button out. This also seems to have some
effect on tightening up the low mids too. Mids and highs
sound unchanged. I might miss the extended lows with my
HT112 box, but not with anything else. This is a good tweak.
I'm also becoming a big fan of the "boost-give" feature.

 

[rag]

Question for Rag - are the EQ points and gains in the manual still valid with the new mod?

Yes

 

[zac2944]

Just for the sake of accuracy....
The tweak is only on the low end. Bassically changing the eq
from the "string bass" setting, to closer to the regular eq with
the string bass button out.

And just for the sake of accuracy, are you sure you're accurate?

RAG said earlier in this thread that there NO CHANGE IN THE LOW END, and you are saying the exact opposite. Well, which is it? For the sake of accuracy, I'm pretty confused.

Here's what RAG had to say when replying to Vic:

So they did cut the low end on these? I've heard both stories now... that they're doing something with the low end, and also that they're not.

We did not change the low end, only the low and high mid response. This has the same effect as reducing the bass, but the bass is not what was different, it was the mids.

I believe RAG makes it crystal clear that nothing was done to the low end, only the mids. Have you learned something new since these posts by RAQ? I apologize if there is something I'm missing, but what you are saying to be accurate seems to be far from it and only adding to an already confusing situation.

Here's a more detailed description he gave even earlier in the thread:

The change will only adjust the flat setting base line. Nothing you can't get with the small EQ adjustments that have already been discussed. The idea is to make it so the starting sound is closer to what people expect from GK with the EQ flat. After reading all your posts I decided to make this change.

The MB2 is voiced exactly like the 700RB with out the presence control. Removing the presence control eliminated a slight high mid boost that remained even when the presence was on zero. Setting the Low Mid, High Mid and Treble to about 1:00 duplicates the 700RB with the EQ flat and the Presence on zero. It is a simple matter to put the slight presence boost into any unit and we will do it for free for anyone who wants it, but frankly these tone settings bring it very close. The issue isn't extra Bass it is less high mid.
Bob Gallien

B String, you mention a change similar to changing the "string Bass" button on a 700/1001 from 5-string to 4 string. I have a 1001 and am very failure with this setting. I'd really like to know which way the MB2-500 is supposed to be voiced, but other than your call into GK I haven't heard anything about it. I don't believe RAQ has confirmed or denied this.

For the sake of accuracy here's what was 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.

You should think of the string bass button as extended low end as opposed to a boost.

RAQ's description of the String Bass button is a bit vague and seems contrary to what you read in the GK 1001/700 users manual where it is described as "+11db@20Hz".

Mr. Gallien, care to comment on how the the MB2-500 is voiced relative to the String Bass settings on a 700/1001, and whether the String Bass button is a boost or cut? There seems to be some confusion here. If this stuff is proprietary and you can't comment I understand.

 

[slombovia]

You know, it is funny how we get caught up in this spec or that spec. I am as guilty of this as anybody and I'm not pointing any fingers at recent posts - the posts are all over thousands of threads.

It's like asking technical questions for lack of anything else to do. We can't decide perhaps and so we ask meaningless technical questions. The REAL questions are still "does it work for you?" or "do you like it?".

"Excuse me Mr. pickup maker, what gauge copper wire did you wind that with - it's perfect but well...? Could you make one just like it but with slightly lighter gauge wire? Oh, and how many winds are there?

Maker: "CaRUmba! Tell me what you wanna hear? Why are you here? because you like my product? Well, that's very kind but why are you asking me these tech questions?

The good from this thread as far as QA goes has been from the subjective comments such as "It seems a little bass heavy" as opposed to "I think I detect about a 7.837 db boost at 34.567 hz". "Can you verify this Mr. Manufacturer?"

I'm not taking it too seriously and it's kind of fun but stoopid at the same time.

Can you imagine a painter calling the maker of his favorite brush and saying, "Man, this brush is amazing - perfect hair count and length, perfect flex in the grip, but, what kind of hair is it?"

"...An unladen swallow? What do you mean? An African or European swallow."

- And now for something completely different.

"Sir, may I please have some more?" ...mmm yummy, that extra sugar helped but is it cane or beet sugar?
Tom H.

 

[KyleAwesome]

And just for the sake of accuracy, are you sure you're accurate?

RAG said earlier in this thread that there NO CHANGE IN THE LOW END, and you are saying the exact opposite. Well, which is it? For the sake of accuracy, I'm pretty confused.

Here's what RAG had to say when replying to Vic:




I believe RAG makes it crystal clear that nothing was done to the low end, only the mids. Have you learned something new since these posts by RAQ? I apologize if there is something I'm missing, but what you are saying to be accurate seems to be far from it and only adding to an already confusing situation.

Here's a more detailed description he gave even earlier in the thread:




B String, you mention a change similar to changing the "string Bass" button on a 700/1001 from 5-string to 4 string. I have a 1001 and am very failure with this setting. I'd really like to know which way the MB2-500 is supposed to be voiced, but other than your call into GK I haven't heard anything about it. I don't believe RAQ has confirmed or denied this.

For the sake of accuracy here's what was said:





RAQ's description of the String Bass button is a bit vague and seems contrary to what you read in the GK 1001/700 users manual where it is described as "+11db@20Hz".

Mr. Gallien, care to comment on how the the MB2-500 is voiced relative to the String Bass settings on a 700/1001, and whether the String Bass button is a boost or cut? There seems to be some confusion here. If this stuff is proprietary and you can't comment I understand.

If we're going for accuracy here, how did you get his name right 1/2 the time then spell it out afterwards?

 

[Kro]

If we're going for accuracy here, how did you get his name right 1/2 the time then spell it out afterwards?

Teehee.

Thanks for summing that up though Zac, I was thinking the exact same things concerning the complete "accurateness" of those comments, though I was too lazy to post a recap.

I applaud your thoroughness - aside from the Qs that is.

Oh, and I've decided to take Mr. Gallien up on his offer and send mine back in. Sent out a request for that slip yesterday though haven't heard back yet from the rep. As soon as I get one of the modified ones I'll make sure to post about the differences.