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GK MB 200: Part Two

#461
jnewmark said:
Or an onboard compressor on bass heads in general. I don't think I've ever used a Contour control on any bass amp I've owned. Why did it become a mainstay on heads anyway ?
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The older GK heads always had that mid cut switch. In my unsolicited opinion GK should abandon that 80's paradigm altogether. The RB Series are step in that direction with variable contour. The Fusion heads with switchable mid cut is even better. Radical mid scooping is a backward step. Guys are cutting higher mids these days. 800-1khz. Not 500hz.
 
#463
Haven't read every post, but after about 8 pages it seems there's a lot of satisfied users here. :) I got my MB200 new in a trade deal, this one having been drop-shipped to me from Sweetwater. So far I like it, tho' haven't used it but twice, and through a single-18 8 ohm cab. I'm using what I've got here and putting together a 4 ohm cab for it...

I've got an old "one-off" 4x10 cab that was apparently built by an employee of EAW in his off-time. It was bought from a shop in the neighborhood of the old EAW factory, and has all the earmarks of that brand of construction. I've cut-out an insert-spot in the top of the cab to set the MB200 into, and have a couple blown neo 10s from an Avatar 210 that I'm having re-coned- it'll end up as a ported 210 'informal combo' with a removable head.

I'll post a shot when it's getting close to done- at this point it just looks kind of a disaster! :smug: I'm hoping this can be a handy 'combo' that'll handle most of my small club gigs.
 
#464
Downunderwonder said:
Careful with that contour, it is a vicious midscoop that will have you lost in the mix in the average rock band. Even noon on the EQ has a pretty good scoop. Flat is 10,2,1,10 o'clock.
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Can I ask you a question about this? I have an MB200 set to arrive tomorrow on my doorstep and I've been looking at the manual on-line. Based on the specs on the last page the bass control is +/- 10 db and the treble control is +/- 14 db. Why would a flat setting be at 10 o'clock versus 12 o'clock? You have equal boost and cut potential. The high-mid and low-mid are both +6 db/-10 db so I can understand why flat would be somewhere in the 1-2 o'clock position since I would assume 12 o'clock would still be about -2db just by doing the math......Mind you I don't have it in my hands yet so I may be totally off-base. Just wondering.
 
#466
B-string said:
Bass and treble are shelving filters and low mid/high mid are "Q optimized" bandpass.
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So does that mean the shelving filters are not linear? If I turn the bass knob all the way to the right I get +10 db at 60 Hz. If I go all the way left I cut 60 Hz by 10 db so why is zero db at the 10 o'clock position instead of noon? I'm not trying to be difficult, I just don't understand the concept.
 
#467
mdjuszyn said:
So does that mean the shelving filters are not linear? If I turn the bass knob all the way to the right I get +10 db at 60 Hz. If I go all the way left I cut 60 Hz by 10 db so why is zero db at the 10 o'clock position instead of noon? I'm not trying to be difficult, I just don't understand the concept.
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From 60Hz down for gain or loss (shelving filter). The "native" voice (at noon) is chosen in the design process. It is always easier to cut then to boost and the gain of the stage is one way to control the null point (unity gain) as well as pre filters or post filters. It is the designer's choice not a non flexible constant.
 
#469
mdjuszyn said:
OK, that makes sense. It would be nice if they put that kind of info in the manual. At the end of the day my ears will tell me what sounds good but knowing where zero is would certainly be helpful. Thanks.
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Well to absolutely know were zero (or flat) is would also depend on the cabs you use and the room or lack of room you are in. So it is not so easy to obtain as it seems :).
 
#470
you guys are reading my mind - I really love this little head but struggling to sort out a mid-range toning issue... When that 'vicious' contour is applied, it does indeed mash the mids, but where? the mid-cut works out pretty well, but it also boosts the very high end [for me: 4-string tuned DGCF] I get a high whizzy when snapping high in the register - its not really a good 'tone'... more of a felt "pinggggg". Offing the contour, at flat the very high end is totally different, and somewhere in the mids I get this "honk" that I have hated forever on multiple basses/heads/cabs and I'm trying to get control here. I don't know what the range is of each of the pots on the head. it feels like what they call "low mid" has a higher range that what I would expect
can someone fill me in pls....

B-string said:
From 60Hz down for gain or loss (shelving filter). The "native" voice (at noon) is chosen in the design process. It is always easier to cut then to boost and the gain of the stage is one way to control the null point (unity gain) as well as pre filters or post filters. It is the designer's choice not a non flexible constant.
Click to expand...
 
#472
^ ^ ^
The contour mystery is revealed not on the controls overview page but the last page (specs):
" Voicing Filters:
Contour
+2dB @ 50Hz/ -10dB @ 500Hz/ +3dB @ 7 KHz "
No mention of the bandwidth/shoulder slope of each single control, but still.

@ mdjuszyn & Zapp: also check out Fdeck's excellent posts (one and two) on the truly flat(tish) settings for this head, as well as his one of the (apparently not terribly different voicewise) Backline 600.
In his own words (referring to the MB200):
fdeck said:
The following settings will get you to within a dB of flat, with plenty of control range left over:

Contour = Off
Treble = 10:00
Hi Mid = 2:00
Low Mid = 1:00
Bass = 10:00
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I always use mr. Deck's recipe for flat G-Kake as a starting point, then adjust to taste/room/bass. (EDIT: and cabinet, of course.)
 
#475
mdjuszyn said:
Awesome! Thanks
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My pleasure. Being the noob that I am, I can mostly contribute as a compiler of collective TB wisdom... :D
Zapp said:
When that 'vicious' contour is applied, it does indeed mash the mids, but where? the mid-cut works out pretty well, but it also boosts the very high end [for me: 4-string tuned DGCF] I get a high whizzy when snapping high in the register - its not really a good 'tone'... more of a felt "pinggggg". Offing the contour, at flat the very high end is totally different, and somewhere in the mids I get this "honk" that I have hated forever on multiple basses/heads/cabs and I'm trying to get control here. (...) it feels like what they call "low mid" has a higher range that what I would expect
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B-string said:
High mids are at 1KHz, more where you might consider a "honk" to be?
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Judging from fdeck's chart the contour scoopage does extend quite a bit, lowmidward as well as high into honk zone. Zapp, you might try to either lower the treble knob to tame the ping with the contour on (and maybe boost one or both mids to narrow the scoop, which I sometimes do), or keep the latter off and lower the hi mids a smidge until the honk goes away - whichever works best.
 
#477
NWB I recently bought an MB200 which is my first GK amp.

Really loving it so far and am finding the GK tone to work very well for me. Very surprising volume for such a tiny amp. I guess it's kind of a gateway "drug" into the realm of GK!

Maybe an MB500 will be in my future.
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I kinda feel the same way. I was usually playing Ampeg gear then switched over to a pre / power rack mounted equipment. I hated lugging 85lbs. So I went back to Ampeg for the PF500.

Last year, I finally stepped into a local GC just to goof and waist some time, so I decided to play all the bass amps. Never did happen as the first one I plugged into was a GK 1001RBII.

Long story short > Been an addict since last year.
Current GK amps
2001RB NEW
400RB Used
800RB Used
MB200 Used

I'm almost done with my Amp GAS. Last one I'm looking at is the MBFusion800.
 
#478
NWB said:
I recently bought an MB200 which is my first GK amp.

Really loving it so far and am finding the GK tone to work very well for me. Very surprising volume for such a tiny amp. I guess it's kind of a gateway "drug" into the realm of GK!

Maybe an MB500 will be in my future.:hyper:
Click to expand...

The MB200 was my first GK amp..love that tiny powerhouse. I now have an MB Fusion 500 to go with it!!
 
#480
Got this yesterday from Sweetwater! The cab is great too.

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