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GK MB200 Hiss
- Thread starter drpepper
- Start date
Mine did the same thing. Also a hum from the DI. I bought mine used. For $9, I sent it back to GK and they are in the process of repairing it now. The way I see it is for $9, the guys at GK are completely going through my amp and guaranteeing that it come back to me silent. Hard to beat that deal. My take was that sometimes things slip by. I think GK is handling it extremely well. One of their products wasn't working as it should, and they are handling it without any questions.
Thanks. I really hope the replacement does it too.
Without being able to know if it has anything to do with this delay, my hope is that this unit is coming from the improved manufacturing operation. Again, I don't know if that's some future plan or something that's already done. There doesn't seem to be a news item on the GK site, like "GK opens US manufacturing..." or something like that.
Well, the move on the ship date was a false alarm. They're shipping now. Hopefully, I'll have it to try this weekend.
Can't yet say I'm getting behind it, but MF is 15% off items $199+ and free shipping until the 20th. So, $212 shipped is kind of hard to ignore.
Can't yet say I'm getting behind it, but MF is 15% off items $199+ and free shipping until the 20th. So, $212 shipped is kind of hard to ignore.
The replacement arrived on Friday. As part of a backorder "batch," it seems implausible that it was part of the same run as the previous unit. It still said that it manufactured in China, so the hope that units were already coming from US manufacturing didn't come through.
And it also has a hiss noise. This one has a difference in that it increases some when the gain is increased. It's the same in that it's present when the gain is at 0 and increases and decreases with treble boost and cut. I suppose it might not be as loud, but without direct comparison, it's hard to say.
I'm vacillating on what to do. I suppose I will contact GK again, but I'm feeling kind of exasperated with the situation. I'm also having a hard time believing that many (or even most...maybe even all) of the units currently shipping are not the same. My speculation is that different people react differently to it based on their individual expectations/frame of reference are and whether a cabinet with an HF driver is being used.
I got it Friday evening and immediately took it out to a gig. I do like the way it sounds, a lot. I also found that the tuner and mute features on the RH are awfully convenient and really missed when they're not there.
And it also has a hiss noise. This one has a difference in that it increases some when the gain is increased. It's the same in that it's present when the gain is at 0 and increases and decreases with treble boost and cut. I suppose it might not be as loud, but without direct comparison, it's hard to say.
I'm vacillating on what to do. I suppose I will contact GK again, but I'm feeling kind of exasperated with the situation. I'm also having a hard time believing that many (or even most...maybe even all) of the units currently shipping are not the same. My speculation is that different people react differently to it based on their individual expectations/frame of reference are and whether a cabinet with an HF driver is being used.
I got it Friday evening and immediately took it out to a gig. I do like the way it sounds, a lot. I also found that the tuner and mute features on the RH are awfully convenient and really missed when they're not there.
I've checked my MB800, WTX-500, RH750, Shuttle 9.0 and TH500. They all hiss. At Bass San Diego, I tried several EA amps. They all hiss.
Just to close this out, I returned the second MB200 to MF for refund.
I emailed the same person at GK I had communicated with on the first unit, and in over a week, didn't get a response.
I emailed the same person at GK I had communicated with on the first unit, and in over a week, didn't get a response.
So what is going on with Gallien Krueger in regards to addressing this problem?
I've seen Robert Gallien post on this site several times. How come he is not front and centre right now explaining this issue, whether it really exists and if so, what GK is doing to address it? There's been literally hundreds of posts on TalkBass about the MB200 hissing and not a word of defence from GK.
Was all set to buy an MB200, but this type of thing is seriously affecting my confidence in the product.
I've seen Robert Gallien post on this site several times. How come he is not front and centre right now explaining this issue, whether it really exists and if so, what GK is doing to address it? There's been literally hundreds of posts on TalkBass about the MB200 hissing and not a word of defence from GK.
Was all set to buy an MB200, but this type of thing is seriously affecting my confidence in the product.
Well the hiss may be there or not, but one thing is for sure: the silence remains deafening from GK on this issue. Too bad, I really would have liked to buy one of their heads. The Rumble 150 heads may not get the love GK does on Talkbass, but they definitely don't hiss and are dead reliable. I'll be picking mine up Saturday.
I did an interesting test last night...
I just got a new MB800 and noticed some hiss from it coming from my new GK 210s. So I plugged in my older MB Fusion and while it did have some hiss, it was noticeably less. It's also less power output, but I don't know if that's related. I'm going to do some emailing about this and see if I can gather some info.
I just got a new MB800 and noticed some hiss from it coming from my new GK 210s. So I plugged in my older MB Fusion and while it did have some hiss, it was noticeably less. It's also less power output, but I don't know if that's related. I'm going to do some emailing about this and see if I can gather some info.
While it would be nice and could only help, I don't believe Bob Gallien or others from GK have a responsibility to respond to these types of things on the forum. Clearly, it impacts some people's decisions though.
My attempts to get some input included sending Bob Gallien a PM with a link to this thread and two email contacts to a GK representative. In my PM, it was made clear that I wasn't making a backdoor play or demands for special customer service or technical support and would use proper channels for those but that I thought he might be interested, and if he had a comment, it would be appreciated.
I didn't receive a response to either the PM or my follow up email to the rep. I can only speculate as to the reasons. In terms of the PM, again, I don't believe there is a responsibility to respond on the forum. For all I know, he doesn't know that PMs exists. It's more troubling and disappointing that there was no response to my email, but because I was involved in a transaction with Musician's Friend, I was not stuck. My cost at that point was the time I had spent trying the product. GK's cost is that they made a bad impression.
My email -
Agree with you completely. I don't believe anyone from GK has a responsibility to reply on a public forum. But by the same token, they do occasionally post replys on TalkBass, so obviously they read some stuff on the forum. It's impossible to believe that the subject of the alleged hiss issue on the MB200 has not at least been noticed by somebody. There's certainly been a ton of discussion on what appears to be the only concern about an otherwise great little bass head.
I actually got to try an MB200 head today. It hissed... I wouldn't say it was bad, but it was there. Despite that, it sounded fantastic. If you flattened out the treble a bit, the hiss pretty much went away and it still sounded great. It was used, it was pretty much brand new and it was a great deal so I bought it. I'm still a bit worried about the hiss but for the tone and the price I got, it was worth the risk. I would not have been confident enough to purchase a new one.
I'll play around with it and post an update in a few days. I'd still feel a lot better if someone 'in the know' posted something like 'The head is designed for a lot of treble and with that may come some hiss. If you want less treble and less hiss just turn it down. It is not an issue with the unit'.
I actually got to try an MB200 head today. It hissed... I wouldn't say it was bad, but it was there. Despite that, it sounded fantastic. If you flattened out the treble a bit, the hiss pretty much went away and it still sounded great. It was used, it was pretty much brand new and it was a great deal so I bought it. I'm still a bit worried about the hiss but for the tone and the price I got, it was worth the risk. I would not have been confident enough to purchase a new one.
I'll play around with it and post an update in a few days. I'd still feel a lot better if someone 'in the know' posted something like 'The head is designed for a lot of treble and with that may come some hiss. If you want less treble and less hiss just turn it down. It is not an issue with the unit'.
weeks ago i also got a replacement unit (and posted here)
in the beginning, it was just as noisy as the old one, but after some days of not touching it, the noise´s nearly gone. hell, my bass hisses louder than the MB200 now (and it´s pretty quiet)
no idea why though
in the beginning, it was just as noisy as the old one, but after some days of not touching it, the noise´s nearly gone. hell, my bass hisses louder than the MB200 now (and it´s pretty quiet)
no idea why though
Interesting.
Ha, I was kind of hoping for the same type of thing to happen. I did use it. I took it out on a gig, to band practice and used it at home quite a bit.
