Hi, all. In
post #958 of the old thread (and a few that follow it). I mentioned some problems I was having with my new MB200. Worst was the D.I. It was unusably noisy -- not like "bad D.I." noisy, but the worst, loudest single-coil hum you've ever heard. Totally unusable live, let alone for any kind of recording. Soundmen wouldn't touch the D.I. This was pre-EQ and post-EQ. Made no difference. The amp was a little noisier than I thought it should be through a cab as well -- not unusable by any means, just kind of hissy. I just figured it was a hissy amp, but people here seemed to think that was out of the ordinary, too.
So, I sent it to GK and requested a replacement. Waited almost a month, then got it back one day. According to the paper that came with it, the following work was done: Replaced one resistor.
I was going to a jam that night and took the MB200 along (same club I tried it at before). It was noisier through the cab if anything (enough to bug me), but the sound guy said he could make do with the signal from the D.I. When I got home, I tried using the amp as a front-end for a recording and got the same, horrible, unusably buzzy sound. I tried three other heads with the same cables and running from the same outlet and got clean, usable signals from all. I shelved the GK in disgust and hadn't used it again until tonight. (I was busy with numerous projects at work, so I wasn't playing out much, and I'd just picked up a Mesa Walkabout that was getting most of my play time/attention.)
So, tonight, I try it as a front end for recording and... the signal is pretty clean. Play it through a cab -- a little hissy like before, but certainly usable. Then I try the D.I. post-EQ (with all knobs set flat) and the signal drops dramatically -- doesn't even show up on the level meter. I mess around and find that the GAIN knob (which is also the master volume on this little amp) is affecting the D.I. level. There's barely any signal, unless the thing is CRANKED, and even then it's substantially less than the pre-EQ level. I tried with a speaker hooked up and without, and repeated it several times to be sure. (I also made sure I wasn't confusing the pre/post EQ positions of the switch.)
Tell me this isn't supposed to be the case! The D.I. on the Walkabout is affected by the Master Volume, but I expect this, and it's supposed to be a unique case. None of my other amps are this way, and it's not a desirable feature for playing live or recording at home!
I'm about to write GK again, ship the amp back again, but want to be sure I'm not crazy first. I'm glad (sort of -- I'd have liked the problem to manifest itself for the GK techs) that the signal has magically cleaned itself up, but things still seem backwards, and I'm not confident playing the thing out.
Thoughts? Suggestions? If the warranty's one year, then I've got just over a month left to straighten it out!
