If what RAG posted here is true it is not a shift but a boost. RAG says it is the same as turning the mid knobs from 12:00 to 1:00. The center points and Q values stay the same.
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Gallien-Krueger MB2-500
- Thread starter deekay911
- Start date
- Status
If what RAG posted here is true it is not a shift but a boost. RAG says it is the same as turning the mid knobs from 12:00 to 1:00. The center points and Q values stay the same.
You have to love the amount of detail RAG provides in that post!
I think he's just agreeing to the "A02" in the serial number representing the second batch. He never comments on any design change that effects the MB2s susceptibility to RFI. Designing a circuit to shunt or filter RFI is nothing new. It's not like GK had to figure out how to do it. They (and everyone else) have been doing it for years. It is more likely that there was something like a bad connection. Probably a defect in a manufacturing process than a design.
shift... boost... tomato... tomato... (you have to do your own pronunciation of the whole tomato/tomato thing on your own
). yeah, i've been following this thread like nobodies business. i just didn't want to go searching (as you have) for rag's words on it. regardless, there was some tone stack tweaking. that's all i was saying.
shift... boost... tomato... tomato... (you have to do your own pronunciation of the whole tomato/tomato thing on your own
Yeah. I've already been called a "Tech Hound" in this thread. Sorry 'bout that.
Yeah. I've already been called a "Tech Hound" in this thread. Sorry 'bout that.
no problem. i was actually pretty happy with the one post you did that had all the quotes from rag... or was it raq... hmmmm
were you went through and quoted all the things talking about the mids rather than the 5-string boost. cause i was thinking it... i'm just to lazy to do the work. 
Damnit, I stopped into toledo guitar center hoping to luck into one.....no such luck. Gas is killing me........someone hook me up already!
There was one on the TB classifieds, but once I decided the GK was the micro I really wanted, he decided to lock the thread for a possible local sale. PM went unreturned
There was one on the TB classifieds, but once I decided the GK was the micro I really wanted, he decided to lock the thread for a possible local sale. PM went unreturned
Well, when I first got it, I noticed a very low output volume along with a distorted signal. Sounded exactly like the batteries were dying in my bass. I tried 3 basses, and it's not that. But, after a minute or so, it would magically jump out of that into a normal, loud and clean signal. I've played 2 gigs with it, and during the actual gig, where it was of course played fairly loud, it didn't hiccup at all.
But now, in my basement, the startup weirdness is very regular, every time in fact, and I have to turn the unit on and off once or twice to get it to clear out. But worse yet, after a few minutes of quite bedroom volume playing, it just quits outputting sound at all. I hear the hiss of te cabinet still, as if the volume control was turned off, but no sound comes out no matter where the volume knob is. It's done it three times last night.
It's so worrisome, that I hurried up and ordered a Shuttle 6.0 last night from a mailorder house and overnight shipped it so I had something for my Saturday gig...no one had a MB2 to order. My local GC has a MB LMII, but I don't like the post eq xlr and no mute, and it will end up being cheaper to buy the shuttle via mailorder.
I will send the GK back to GK via the previous post, thank you for the info.
As far as me taking the handles off, I didn't actually do that, I just popped the screws off the top lid and looked inside, didn't touch anything, and again, this was all there before I opened it.
So here goes my MB2 mega-post. I apologize for the length, but everytime I went to post, I decided to wait until… (I tried it with this cab, I tried it live, I got it modded, etc.) I’ve tried to break it into sections, so take what you need.
The background:
Wanting to work my rig down to a one-trip wonder I have been getting great advice all over TB. First, the World Tour Double Bass gig bag freed up a hand. Thanks TB’ers. Generally running 4 10’s or 2 12’s & 2 10’s, not much for a single hander, much less my 6 10 rig. Again TB to the rescue. Standing my Avatar 210 vertically really enhanced the clarity and got the top speaker as high as a 410, and it was much closer to what I was used to hearing. So now I have 2 basses in 1 hand and my 210 neo in the other. My GK 1001rb wouldn’t balance well on my bald head, so I needed another solution. I love the MarkBass, not crazy about the shuttle features, but I’m a GK man, the timing was perfect.
First impressions:
After reading this forum every day from when I ordered to when I received I had a good idea what to expect. Seeing RAG pop up made me feel I had made a great choice, with a great company. I basically fell into what most people were saying. Great sound, great features, too much bass. I loved the sound I was getting out of it with just the 210, ad it really came to life with the avatar 212 and 210. Unforunately, to get my sound, I had the bass set to zero, and most of the others were running about 3 o’clock. Sounded great, but nowhere to go if I got a boomy room/hollow stage. So back it goes for the mod. For the record, I didn’t have any RFI issues.
The return:
Morning: Emailed Brian, he emailed back promptly for the serial #.
Noon: Got an email telling me I would receive a ups label email and what I needed to do.
End of Day: Got the label – stuck it on the box and mailed it out Friday
Tues: received tracking #
Thurs: received new unit w/ A03 serial #.
The mod:
Thurs was a band night so I got to push this in the real world. It rocked,plain and simple. Everyone had a good laugh at the size, but stopped laughing once it got going. Running it flat, boost at 12 o’clock, master at 9 o’clock was pretty face ripping. BTW – I’m playing a late 80’s Spector. Dropped the bass and treble a tab and played with the gain vs. master warmed it up a bit. Got the boost dialed in so when I really dug in, the growl came to life. Just classic GK. Cut through the mix well but wasn’t abrasive, and surely not sterile.
I plugged it into an 80’s hartke 410xl along with the avatar 210 and it shook the walls. I have run Ampeg V4B, SVT, Acoustic, Sunn, Marshall, Carvin, SWR, and still have most. I would have to put this right under the V4B for sound, and above all for features. Size/weight – nothing in this list can compare – especially the backbreaking v4b.
The bag:
It will squeeze in my double gig bag pocket, but I put it in an old laptop bag. It has a bunch of dividers, I guess for folders, but it works great. Well padded and even has a little Velcro strap inside to keep it from bouncing around. Each divider gets its own cable – no more tangles. The front pock sports my tuner, repair kit/soldering gun, minimag, and spare everything. Anyone looking for a bag for this thing should look into a laptop bag – it works great.
Final result:
Will the stack be retired? Hell no!!! It will still come out and play. But for 75% of the gigs, I’ll be one-trippin it.
The background:
Wanting to work my rig down to a one-trip wonder I have been getting great advice all over TB. First, the World Tour Double Bass gig bag freed up a hand. Thanks TB’ers. Generally running 4 10’s or 2 12’s & 2 10’s, not much for a single hander, much less my 6 10 rig. Again TB to the rescue. Standing my Avatar 210 vertically really enhanced the clarity and got the top speaker as high as a 410, and it was much closer to what I was used to hearing. So now I have 2 basses in 1 hand and my 210 neo in the other. My GK 1001rb wouldn’t balance well on my bald head, so I needed another solution. I love the MarkBass, not crazy about the shuttle features, but I’m a GK man, the timing was perfect.
First impressions:
After reading this forum every day from when I ordered to when I received I had a good idea what to expect. Seeing RAG pop up made me feel I had made a great choice, with a great company. I basically fell into what most people were saying. Great sound, great features, too much bass. I loved the sound I was getting out of it with just the 210, ad it really came to life with the avatar 212 and 210. Unforunately, to get my sound, I had the bass set to zero, and most of the others were running about 3 o’clock. Sounded great, but nowhere to go if I got a boomy room/hollow stage. So back it goes for the mod. For the record, I didn’t have any RFI issues.
The return:
Morning: Emailed Brian, he emailed back promptly for the serial #.
Noon: Got an email telling me I would receive a ups label email and what I needed to do.
End of Day: Got the label – stuck it on the box and mailed it out Friday
Tues: received tracking #
Thurs: received new unit w/ A03 serial #.
The mod:
Thurs was a band night so I got to push this in the real world. It rocked,plain and simple. Everyone had a good laugh at the size, but stopped laughing once it got going. Running it flat, boost at 12 o’clock, master at 9 o’clock was pretty face ripping. BTW – I’m playing a late 80’s Spector. Dropped the bass and treble a tab and played with the gain vs. master warmed it up a bit. Got the boost dialed in so when I really dug in, the growl came to life. Just classic GK. Cut through the mix well but wasn’t abrasive, and surely not sterile.
I plugged it into an 80’s hartke 410xl along with the avatar 210 and it shook the walls. I have run Ampeg V4B, SVT, Acoustic, Sunn, Marshall, Carvin, SWR, and still have most. I would have to put this right under the V4B for sound, and above all for features. Size/weight – nothing in this list can compare – especially the backbreaking v4b.
The bag:
It will squeeze in my double gig bag pocket, but I put it in an old laptop bag. It has a bunch of dividers, I guess for folders, but it works great. Well padded and even has a little Velcro strap inside to keep it from bouncing around. Each divider gets its own cable – no more tangles. The front pock sports my tuner, repair kit/soldering gun, minimag, and spare everything. Anyone looking for a bag for this thing should look into a laptop bag – it works great.
Final result:
Will the stack be retired? Hell no!!! It will still come out and play. But for 75% of the gigs, I’ll be one-trippin it.
Very nice post. I especially liked "face ripping".
I'm expecting my experiences to be similar, tho I'll have no experience with the first version to compare it to.
- Jun 16, 2005
- 3,584
- 31
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: Spector, Aguilar, Darkglass
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH I just got home and on my computer is a receipt print out for a G-K MB2-500! Happy Anniversary TO ME!
Man, I have to seriously check out the newest "rev level" units.
I was just at a GC today checking out the MG2-500 against a F1. Now, I REALLY want to like the GK... but it had nowhere near the clarity/balls of the F1. The serial number on the side was A00.
I've read with intense interest the posts by rag/others about what actually is happening with the latest rev-level units. I need to check one out.
If I had to pick today (and I need to pick one soon!...) I'd have to go with the F1.
I'm going to hold off until I can demo an "03" rev unit to be fair to Gk and myself.
To the previous poster - was the current rev level *much* different than the "00" units you had first demo'd??
Thanks all,
-M
I was just at a GC today checking out the MG2-500 against a F1. Now, I REALLY want to like the GK... but it had nowhere near the clarity/balls of the F1. The serial number on the side was A00.
I've read with intense interest the posts by rag/others about what actually is happening with the latest rev-level units. I need to check one out.
If I had to pick today (and I need to pick one soon!...) I'd have to go with the F1.
I'm going to hold off until I can demo an "03" rev unit to be fair to Gk and myself.
To the previous poster - was the current rev level *much* different than the "00" units you had first demo'd??
Thanks all,
-M
I tried one at GC - I really liked what I heard. Then, I turned it off and went to grab another bass to play through it . I turned it on again and it would stay on for about 10 seconds and then shut off. It did this several times, and the same thing happened....what gives?
I'm not dead sure, but the GK demo setup thingy they had there may have been wired up with instrument cables from the head to the cabs instead of the proper speaker cables.
I'm not dead sure, but the GK demo setup thingy they had there may have been wired up with instrument cables from the head to the cabs instead of the proper speaker cables.
Possibly completely unrelated, but the cable with the unit I tried at GC today was a little loose/abused and it went in/out with a little jiggling. Not at all a fault of the head - just the usual abused cable syndrome.
-M
-M
Well I have had them all, so I can categorically tell you:
A00 - original unit, boomy bottom end, some RFI reported (mine quite bad)
A01 - EQ modified - more mids
A02 - RFI modification I
A03 - RFI modification II
A00 - original unit, boomy bottom end, some RFI reported (mine quite bad)
A01 - EQ modified - more mids
A02 - RFI modification I
A03 - RFI modification II
Personally, I need to know how drastic the EQ mods are.
The EQ on the (A00) units I've tried is enough to discourage me from buying one. Would love to love this head... ?
-M
The EQ on the (A00) units I've tried is enough to discourage me from buying one. Would love to love this head... ?
-M
The EQ mod for me was dramatic. I couldn't live with the boominess of the original unit, but the modded unit came back and it was waaaay better. Boosting the mids balanced it all out. Also it could cut through the mix of a loud gig like my Shuttle can, where the A00 couldn't do that, even with much knob-tweaking..
I didn't love A00, I loved A01 immediately.
I had a rev1 and went for the rev3 trade in, I have to say they both sounded great and the rev3 did'nt have anything the rev1 could not get with some tweaking. I am really digging this amp.
I would love to see this head matched up with the MB150 cab. So I shooped one up:
I would love to see this head matched up with the MB150 cab. So I shooped one up:
I would love to see this head matched up with the MB150 cab. So I shooped one up:
That would be about a 15 lb combo.
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