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GK MB200 or Genz-Benz Shuttle 3.0?

#61
DWBass said:
I gigged my GK MB200 for 2 years straight. Def not a one trick pony unless you're talking about no overdrive. You can get plenty of sounds out of it. I prefer the scooped sound with the contour switch up. It gets plenty loud too.
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I think this is especially true for those of us who like and are familiar with the versatility inherent in the GK tone stack design. There are very few EQ circuits that have a more effective or powerful tone shaping capability with just 4 knobs IME. As a mainly clean player who also owns a VT Bass pedal I have no issues with the lack of OD options on the MB200.
 
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#63
Doug Parent said:
The MB200 has been my favorite micro head and I'm not a huge GK guy FWIW. It just has something.
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When I first had the chance to play it I did not expect to like it so much. It was a novelty kind of thing...I figured I'd try out one those class D deals just to see and if sounded okay and maybe I could stop hauling a 30 lb back-up head to gigs. Little did I know that not too many years later I'd be comfortable gigging with one of those novelty heads!!
 
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#64
Little Rock said:
Hello, TBers!

I have a budget of around U$200 to buy an used amp head, and i am having a real hard time to decide between the GK MB200 and the Genz-Benz Shuttle 3.0.

I play mostly in the bedroom :))) and, in a near future, i may start playing in small environments.

In case You have experience with any of those or both, could You, please, share it with me?

Thanks in advance!
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How about others; Trace Elliot have the Elf. TC electronics, a used WT500? I'm going to look at one too, I can't see hauling this V6 all over town.
 
#65
Al Kraft said:
When I first had the chance to play it I did not expect to like it so much. It was a novelty kind of thing...I figured I'd try out one those class D deals just to see and if sounded okay and maybe I could stop hauling a 30 lb back-up head to gigs. Little did I know that not too many years later I'd be comfortable gigging with one of those novelty heads!!
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@Al Kraft what kind of cab do you use with your MB200? Is it pretty loud for a little guy? Bottom end thump? Thanks!
 
#66
alaskaleftybass said:
@Al Kraft what kind of cab do you use with your MB200? Is it pretty loud for a little guy? Bottom end thump? Thanks!
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I use it in two different ways. It's quite nice with one or two Neo 112 II's for relatively tame rock and country stuff (no death metal). It is very adequate for rehearsals, but with a larger venue or if you're pushing a lot of bass it can start to feel taxed/out of headroom. Of course my MB500 or 800 quickly solves that problem.

I also use it in combination with my Eden EX110 as a mini rig for living room/acoustic/small gig kinds of things. My Eden cab is 6 Ohms (the 4 Ohm labelled version) and this little head really provides as much power as I feel comfortable feeding that cab. I've used this set-up in small coffee house settings both with the DI out to the PA and all by itself. In either case it does fine.

Overall it is surprisingly capable with efficient cabs, and when shown a 4 Ohm load feels like it's easily delivering a full 200 Watts. Those Neo 112 cabs are an excellent match for this head - the volume and bass you can get before the limiter/compressor kicks in is pretty amazing given its size and rated power.
 
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#68
Al Kraft said:
I use it in two different ways. It's quite nice with one or two Neo 112 II's for relatively tame rock and country stuff (no death metal). It is very adequate for rehearsals, but with a larger venue or if you're pushing a lot of bass it can start to feel taxed/out of headroom. Of course my MB500 or 800 quickly solves that problem.

I also use it in combination with my Eden EX110 as a mini rig for living room/acoustic/small gig kinds of things. My Eden cab is 6 Ohms (the 4 Ohm labelled version) and this little head really provides as much power as I feel comfortable feeding that cab. I've used this set-up in small coffee house settings both with the DI out to the PA and all by itself. In either case it does fine.

Overall it is surprisingly capable with efficient cabs, and when shown a 4 Ohm load feels like it's easily delivering a full 200 Watts. Those Neo 112 cabs are an excellent match for this head - the volume and bass you can get before the limiter/compressor kicks in is pretty amazing given its size and rated power.
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Hey Al, I remember now when I mentioned I bought a pair, you told me that you have a pair of EX110's! I never realized they're so capable. I've been feeling a bit underwhelmed with them but honestly they have not even strained at the small gigs I've done. Of course when I use two I usually switch to the MB500. But I think I'm going to try just one cab and my MB200 this weekend. Thanks! :thumbsup:
 
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#69
alaskaleftybass said:
Hey Al, I remember now when I mentioned I bought a pair, you told me that you have a pair of EX110's! I never realized they're so capable. I've been feeling a bit underwhelmed with them but honestly they have not even strained at the small gigs I've done. Of course when I use two I usually switch to the MB500. But I think I'm going to try just one cab and my MB200 this weekend. Thanks! :thumbsup:
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Actually Will I only have one EX110, it's the Neo 112's that I have two of. I've been very impressed with that Eden 110 and with the typical brightness of a GK head, I don't miss having a separate high frequency driver. They sound so good it's easy to forget that even with two, it's just two very compact 10's. IME as long as you keep your expectations realistic for "small 210's", I think they're great performers for the money.
 
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#70
The Shuttle 3.0 was not upgradable to 2 ohms, that was the NeoPak 3.5.

The Shuttle 3.0 was quite flat, little baked in voice and had a high pass filter set into the low 40Hz with the low boost out and the high 30's with the low boost in. This is because it was intended from the beginning to be mated with small, compact and sub-compact cabinets that have higher F3 points. A cabinet with say an F3 of 55Hz and an F10 of 42Hz will benefit greatly from a HPF in the low 40Hz range. This is beneficial for those who had a reasonable expectation of what the smaller speakers could effectively reproduce. It was also a great benefit to upright players. This was a very popular model with a long active product status (like 7 years).
 
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#71
I see Andy has chimed in on this thread. Warm welcome and much appreciation to Andy for all his help and advice over the years.

I am a big fan of my GK gear and I own an MB500 for electric gigs. But for my upright I have found no better amp than my beloved Shuttle 3.0. My GK MB150 just sits in the closet looking forlorn ever since the Shuttle came into my possession.

If the gig is electric and loud > GK MB500
If I need a more organic sound or there is a D/I to the board, or it is a smaller acoustic gig > Shuttle 3.0

They are both wonderful amps but different. I swear they used angelic choir samples to design the tone circuits in that Shuttle 3.0.

I never played through an MB200 but they have the same tone circuits as the MB500 if i am not mistaken. The MB200 & MB500 should be pretty similar 'tone-wise' I am guessing. Someone please correct me if i am wrong on that one.
 
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#72
DWBass said:
I use my GK MB200 with either 1 or 2 GK Neo112's or an Eden 4ohm 212. I play mostly r&b, funk, pop and smooth jazz. Never run out of volume. Actually been told several time I was pushing too much and to dial it back some. I gigged a Peavey TNT130 (130w) for many years. Plenty volume for my needs.
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Back in the day when I would talk SVT guys would point to the TNT and say, "All I need is that." I think they were the first really usuable combo's.
 
#76
I have played through both the MB200 and MB500 although it has been awhile. If I remember correctly the MB200 has some more hair on the notes, some harmonic richness and can get pretty loud while the MB500 sounds rounder and more solid on each note which is why I think some people call the MB500 the most sterile of the bunch. Although I owned the MB500 I actually liked the tone better on the MB200, but I definitely needed the muscle of the MB500.
 
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#77
Wicked G said:
I have played through both the MB200 and MB500 although it has been awhile. If I remember correctly the MB200 has some more hair on the notes, some harmonic richness and can get pretty loud while the MB500 sounds rounder and more solid on each note which is why I think some people call the MB500 the most sterile of the bunch. Although I owned the MB500 I actually liked the tone better on the MB200, but I definitely needed the muscle of the MB500.
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100% agree! The MB200 seems to have what I describe as a little more warmth and richness, while the MB500 feels more like a Mesa Carbine in terms of hard-hitting clean, round notes. Oddly, the MB800 is a more like the MB200 to my ear than the MB500 is - maybe because it has a different pre-amp than the MB500??
 
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#78
Al Kraft said:
100% agree! The MB200 seems to have what I describe as a little more warmth and richness, while the MB500 feels more like a Mesa Carbine in terms of hard-hitting clean, round notes. Oddly, the MB800 is a more like the MB200 to my ear than the MB500 is - maybe because it has a different pre-amp than the MB500??
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Yup ... Al's comments echo my experiences ... I owned the MB500 at the same time as the MB200 ... I did have the MB200 first, so perhaps I was a bit biased to it, but the choice when compared for what I was looking was clearly in favor of the 200 .. I did like the little extra HP of the 500 ... I settled that by running two of the 200's if I need more ...

I never tried an MB800, so cannot comment on that ...
 
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#80
I'm happy with my MB200 and use it for smaller gigs. I don't have a Shuttle 3.0 but DO own a Shuttle 6.0 (which is pretty much the same in features). The only feature I wish the MB200 had is a standby/mute switch. Otherwise, I would have no problem using either interchangeably. I don't need anything but a clean sound in what I do.
 

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