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GK mb200 ultra light head?
- Thread starter pigdog
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Gotta say that I am pretty impressed with this thing. I just hooked it up the the Berg AE410 and did a little practicing and sounds great. I loved the tone of the MB500 so I knew if the MB200 sounded near the MB500 with less power I would probably love it, too. I like the contour switch but I have to cut some highs if I turn it on otherwise it is pretty bright for me. Haven't tried that in a mix yet, but since I normally don't slap on a gig contour will probably be left off. Power is suprising, but I was running it through a 4 ohm 410. I am interested to see what this will do at 140 watts through a single 12" for a small rig of doom.
Convinced my 70 year old father who is still a working bass player that he needed to buy one of these. It came in from Musicians friend today.
I unboxed it and hooked it up to the Berg 1X12 I gave him. Wow! What a great sound, plenty loud for the kinds of gigs he does.
I have amp envy! It seems every bit as loud as my Acoustic Image Focus thats 250 watts, but sounds warmer.
I unboxed it and hooked it up to the Berg 1X12 I gave him. Wow! What a great sound, plenty loud for the kinds of gigs he does.
I have amp envy! It seems every bit as loud as my Acoustic Image Focus thats 250 watts, but sounds warmer.
Hey guys. Looimg for some help. Currently using an Ampeg BA115. 100 watts with a 15 inch speaker. Need to get something with a little more projection. I am looking to pair the GK MB200 with a 410 cab cause I like the sound of the multiple speakers (would also consider a 212 cab also). My question is can I expect to double my volume going from a 100 watt amp to a 200 watt amp? Aslo, if anyone else has made this type of switch...how did it go?
All things being equal (same cabinet), going from 100 to 200 watts will be an increase of +3db which is barely audible.
To actually double your sound, you need 10X the wattage (100 to 1,000 watts).
In *YOUR* case though, going from a single 15" combo to a 4X10 with 200 watts will be a marked difference in sound and volume.
OK, just a follow up to my above post.
My dad and I are both floored by the little amp. He got to try it out tonight through his new Berg 1X12 and he couldn't be happier with the tone. It sounds great with his upright and his old P-bass.
Unlike me, this is a guy that for his 50 year career has owned two electric basses and two combo amps. His current amp that he was using was a circa late 60's Poly-Tone combo with a fifteen in it. It weighs probably 60 pounds or more and I could tell it was getting really hard for him to move it around and at 90 Watts, he couldn't figure out why it sounded like crap and farted out all the time (besides the fact that it is old and tired).
He feels, justifiably so, that the GK has made dinosaurs out of the big heavy amps he has been used to his whole life and brought him into the modern age.
I told him with the Berg 12 and the GK he had the perfect geriatric bass rig. With some balls.
I'm gonna order one as well, just to have it. Why not?
My dad and I are both floored by the little amp. He got to try it out tonight through his new Berg 1X12 and he couldn't be happier with the tone. It sounds great with his upright and his old P-bass.
Unlike me, this is a guy that for his 50 year career has owned two electric basses and two combo amps. His current amp that he was using was a circa late 60's Poly-Tone combo with a fifteen in it. It weighs probably 60 pounds or more and I could tell it was getting really hard for him to move it around and at 90 Watts, he couldn't figure out why it sounded like crap and farted out all the time (besides the fact that it is old and tired).
He feels, justifiably so, that the GK has made dinosaurs out of the big heavy amps he has been used to his whole life and brought him into the modern age.
I told him with the Berg 12 and the GK he had the perfect geriatric bass rig. With some balls.
I'm gonna order one as well, just to have it. Why not?
My MB500 is having some issues, and I'm still waiting on GK to get back with me on my options. While I wait, the MB200 and 400RBIII are doing gigging duties. I have been using the 400 at gigs just for the fact that I like to be able to use the GK preamp and have independent control over stage volume. The MB200 sounds great though. I go back and forth on which one I like better daily. It's dead silent, and has plenty of power for my needs.
Wes
Wes
- Apr 3, 2003
- 35,515
- 19,945
- Disclosures
- Editor-in-Chief, Bass Gear Magazine
I was recently able to spend some time with my buddy (and BGM Technical Editor) Phil Maneri trying out different amps to pair up with his two VL-208's. He was looking for a solid state head to pull duty on both electric and double bass. Needless to say, I brought down a bevy of top contenders (but unfortunately, did not shoot any video this time...
). At the end of the day, the hands down tone champ (for Phil's instruments, his hands, and his playing style) was the MB200. Okay, the MB500 was very, very close as well, but we actually had to work the MB500 a bit to get it to sound as good as the MB200 did with everything set to noon.I have to say again how nice this little head sounds with upright (at least Phil's 150-year old beauty and his meat-fisted playing style).
And on the Berg connection, I am using my MB200 with an HT110 as my home practice rig right now, and yes, these heads definitely mate up well with Bergantino cabs!
Tom.
EQ seems pretty usable to me. I'd guess there's better and I"m sure there's worse
.
I was recently able to spend some time with my buddy (and BGM Technical Editor) Phil Maneri trying out different amps to pair up with his two VL-208's. He was looking for a solid state head to pull duty on both electric and double bass. Needless to say, I brought down a bevy of top contenders (but unfortunately, did not shoot any video this time...
I have to say again how nice this little head sounds with upright (at least Phil's 150-year old beauty and his meat-fisted playing style).
And on the Berg connection, I am using my MB200 with an HT110 as my home practice rig right now, and yes, these heads definitely mate up well with Bergantino cabs!
Tom.
It had enough power to run two VL-208's?
- Apr 3, 2003
- 35,515
- 19,945
- Disclosures
- Editor-in-Chief, Bass Gear Magazine
Not at super high volume, but yes! It was a very good tone, with plenty of dynamics and fullness, just with volume limitations. I have heard high-priced, more powerful heads sound very dead with those cabs, so I was indeed impressed.
just got mine for christmas and paired it with a gk 2x10 cab thing sound epic compared to my ampeg ba115hp. love this little amp although sadly it has showed my how bad my little squire really is and after extensive upgrades ive decided to cutt it loose and buy a stingray. but anyway back on point great little amp with tons of power and plenty of volume for small to medium sized gigs but thanks to the direct out you can pretty much play any where
I now have one on order too!
Any of you have a small case for them or anything? Or do they just go into the gig bag pocket?
Any of you have a small case for them or anything? Or do they just go into the gig bag pocket?
The Berg cab is an HT112 and I think it's 34 pounds.
And thanks, I figured for all the support my old man has given me in my career as a full-time musician, it was time to give something back to him. I am really pleased he now has something that sounds great he can easily schlep around.
As they say, getting old isn't for sissies.
I also ordered one of these heads for myself, I'm still waiting for it to ship. I plan on putting it in a camera bag or some such. Not sure how well the pots and stuff will hold up if I just toss it in a gig bag pocket with cables and tuners, etc.
And thanks, I figured for all the support my old man has given me in my career as a full-time musician, it was time to give something back to him. I am really pleased he now has something that sounds great he can easily schlep around.
As they say, getting old isn't for sissies.
I also ordered one of these heads for myself, I'm still waiting for it to ship. I plan on putting it in a camera bag or some such. Not sure how well the pots and stuff will hold up if I just toss it in a gig bag pocket with cables and tuners, etc.
I have two of these amps. I put them in Bosech Pocket driver cases. I have put it in a small computer case. And yes, I did put one in my gig bag....easy load in and out.
I think this amp...the GK MB200...is the best thing I bought last year.
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