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Double Bass Gallien-Krueger MB200

#61
Uncletoad said:
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I have no interest in "flat". I think the sound of DB pickups flat through high res stuff is awful. The pickups don't pick up flat so I think EQ is required to make them sound like something.

My thing is with amps like this I don't have to mess with it myself, just plug in, turn on, and play. I like that.
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I have to agree. I play an Azola Acoustic Baby Bass, and while it its electronics are beautifully voiced for its design, there's no way it will sound good with flat eq under most conditions.

I also agree that a good amp for live gigs should be simple enough to use without spending an hour on eq, so a well-voiced amp is a godsend.
 
#63
boombloom said:
I bought a 200MB in the mid/late '80s. Apparently that is not the same as an MB200. Can someone please fill me in?
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Boom Bloom,
The MB200 is a new GK micro Head that has a great tone with DB. It has a pre amp voicing that's reminiscent of the 200MB Combo amp that you owned. Small, Lightweight, 200 watts into 4 ohms. Here's a picture.

Ric
 

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#64
I just want to check in and say I bought one of these little guys a couple months back and use it mostly as a spare rig. My main rig is an EA Doubler and a Wizzu 10.
This week I decided to use an old Acoustic Image down firing 10" ext. cab I think it's a series 2 version on a couple duo gigs I do. Sometimes I do these gigs w. no amp at all, but when I play w. a piano player that tends to play a little loud w. his keyboard or the room gets filled up and loud I go w. an amp
I will have to say this is a very nice, natural sounding rig... not in your face, just your bass only louder... One gig had a hard floor, the other carpet so I had to boost the highs a little, but still a nice amp sound and I wasn't killing my hands like I do sometimes when I go amp less. This amp pairs up nicely w. a lot of different bass cabs....
 
#65
Ric Vice said:
Boom Bloom,
The MB200 is a new GK micro Head that has a great tone with DB. It has a pre amp voicing that's reminiscent of the 200MB Combo amp that you owned. Small, Lightweight, 200 watts into 4 ohms. Here's a picture.

Ric
Click to expand...

By reminisent do you mean that I will get a comparable performance from my 200MB if I disengage the internal speaker and use an extension?
 
#66
Uncletoad said:
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I just got one of the heads to use as a backup in case my AI head took a dive. It's the perfect size for that job, 2lbs, the size of a small book. $250 new. It's supposed to live in my bag of back up stuff, extra cables, extension cords etc.

Funny thing is I really like the sound of this head. Really quite a bit. In some ways better than most of the other stuff I use. It has no signal process stuff like adjustable phase or high pass or any of that. Flat it just sounds really good with anything I plug into it. Although it has less power than I'd like for my regular amp it seems loud enough to do quiet to moderate loudness gigs.

Paired with the realist on the Queen and a VL208 it's smooth, fat and clear. Very much a support to my acoustic sound. I've not gig tested it yet but I suspect it will hold its own pretty well.
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I downsides from a Gallen-Kruger 800RB amp driving a 2x10 cab over a 1x15 cab (in the old days I had 3 amp/stacks). The GK MB series amp heads and the MB combo amps sound like the old GK400RB amps only on steroids (w/800 eq) plus the MB115 bass combo comes with a 15” speaker and it only weighs 35lbs total. I think you are going to like your MB200 at your next gig but if you end up needing a little more power checkout the MB500. PS, I use a “Lehle P-Split II” splitter to drive my two GK MB115 bass combo amps (400 watts, two 15” speakers and only 70lbs total - my bad back is loving these new light weight amps that sound totally awesome).
 
#67
gerry grable said:
By reminisent do you mean that I will get a comparable performance from my 200MB if I disengage the internal speaker and use an extension?
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Gerry,
Well, I've added an extra powered cabinet to the 200MB (the now defunct. GK 200MK Extension Cabinet) and you can certianly do that, but I was comparing the old 200MB Combo to the new MB200 head. The preamp voicing is very similar.

Ric
 
#70
matthewbrown said:
Okay, so I've ordered one from Amazon,based on the many positive comments in this thread. It should work well with the Ampeg Portabass 1X12 I use, I think. I could probably float the whole rig onto the stand with a few helium balloons...
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That should be a terrific sounding rig. I am using my MB200 with a sealed Ampeg 2x10(svt210av) and its a great sounding, light weight rig. The portabass cabinets weren't a big hit in the market, but IMO they are really well suited for Double Bass work.
 
#71
matthewbrown said:
Okay, so I've ordered one from Amazon,based on the many positive comments in this thread. It should work well with the Ampeg Portabass 1X12 I use, I think. I could probably float the whole rig onto the stand with a few helium balloons...
Click to expand...

I had that cab and it will work well...
I used the MB 200 tonight w. the Wizzy 10 on a hotel gig [Ballroom] in Boston. Man, it was easy to get a sound and the people thought we were coming through the house as Muzek.... Is that a compliment ? :hmm:
 
#72
Mark Carlsen said:
I had that cab and it will work well...
I used the MB 200 tonight w. the Wizzy 10 on a hotel gig [Ballroom] in Boston. Man, it was easy to get a sound and the people thought we were coming through the house as Muzek.... Is that a compliment ? :hmm:
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I'm glad to hear this; the GK arrived today (my heavens it's the size and weight of a medium-sized hardcover novel!) and it sounds great through my SWR 2X10. Not hard to tweak. Looking forward to hearing it on the gig with the 1X12 portabass.

And if people think you're muzak on a hotel gig, I think that's GB nirvana! You have arrived!
 
#73
For the last several months I've used this head with the MBX112 cabinet. The best thing going for this combo is the weight and portability but the sound quality is compromised by the speaker. There's only so far you can go with a 12" driver in a metal box.
I am now trying the 200 with a 4ohm Acme B-1 trying for more low end extension, clarity and smoothness. So far, it is a good match. Acme cabinets are very inefficient but it doesn't seem to be an issue. The B-1's strength is its solid low end and lack of midrange peaks. Other cabinets (the older EA Wizzy 10 comes to mind) have a peaky midrange that may need to be fixed with EQ and maybe the bass knob gets bumped up at the amp as well. My point is that the efficiency issue may not be an issue for me.
I have used this just for a small rehearsal and last night's drummerless trio gig. The volume on the GK never got past 10:00 (lower than with the MBX) and the sound was perfect. There was warmth but with clarity with every note carrying the same weight. I've played the gig weekly for the past year with various setups and last night was the first time I was really happy with my sound.
We shall see how it how it goes but it seems to be a good match for smaller jazz gigs.
 
#74
clink said:
There's only so far you can go with a 12" driver in a metal box...
I am now trying the 200 with a 4ohm Acme B-1 trying for more low end extension, clarity and smoothness. So far, it is a good match. Acme cabinets are very inefficient but it doesn't seem to be an issue.
Click to expand...

I've been using the GK I just bought with the portabass 12 and an SWR 2X10. Although I get less power with the SWR, I really think it sounds as loud, and the overall sound is superior. My back likes the portabass better, though!
 
#75
I gigged my MB200 with a 10" Wizzy last night with an Underwood pickup and Fishman Pro eq (note, not the Platinum) and the sound was very good indeed. The interesting thing was that, whereas when I use a Clarus with a Wizzy I have to take all the middle out, the GK nailed it with all the controls flat. OK, I made a few minor adjustments as I got into the gig but essentially the whole thing was flat. So IMO it's perfectly voiced for a small Wizzy and you get a very good lightweight small footprint rig.
 
#76
Roger Davis said:
I gigged my MB200 with a 10" Wizzy last night with an Underwood pickup and Fishman Pro eq (note, not the Platinum) and the sound was very good indeed. The interesting thing was that, whereas when I use a Clarus with a Wizzy I have to take all the middle out, the GK nailed it with all the controls flat. OK, I made a few minor adjustments as I got into the gig but essentially the whole thing was flat. So IMO it's perfectly voiced for a small Wizzy and you get a very good lightweight small footprint rig.
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That's because the GK has a "scooped" voicing, and the Clarus has a flat voicing.
 
#78
clink said:
For the last several months I've used this head with the MBX112 cabinet. The best thing going for this combo is the weight and portability but the sound quality is compromised by the speaker. There's only so far you can go with a 12" driver in a metal box.
I am now trying the 200 with a 4ohm Acme B-1 trying for more low end extension, clarity and smoothness. So far, it is a good match. Acme cabinets are very inefficient but it doesn't seem to be an issue. The B-1's strength is its solid low end and lack of midrange peaks. Other cabinets (the older EA Wizzy 10 comes to mind) have a peaky midrange that may need to be fixed with EQ and maybe the bass knob gets bumped up at the amp as well. My point is that the efficiency issue may not be an issue for me.
I have used this just for a small rehearsal and last night's drummerless trio gig. The volume on the GK never got past 10:00 (lower than with the MBX) and the sound was perfect. There was warmth but with clarity with every note carrying the same weight. I've played the gig weekly for the past year with various setups and last night was the first time I was really happy with my sound.
We shall see how it how it goes but it seems to be a good match for smaller jazz gigs.
Click to expand...

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f4/why-no-acme-bass-cab-users-103615/index2.html Nope.:(
 
#79
I recently picked up a used wizzy 10 and needed an affordable mini head with enough power for working gigs, so I put in an order for one of these well-reviewed little guys. Glad I did. This is not a super-neutral "my bass but louder" boutique number or a super huge rock amp, but its a great small gig DB amp. Its warm and punchy and powers the wizzy well. Plus, its small enough to actually bring an amp on the subway without any additional carts!

Think about it. I am not a huge fan of the MB150 amps, but love this rig and EQ points. Plug and play with an Fdeck buffer HPF. FWIW, I use a bass max on a plywood bass.
 

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