MultiComps are hissy..... plain and simple. If you're using an adapter, then try taking the battery out. It helped mine out a bunch.
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GK mb200 ultra light head?
- Thread starter pigdog
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MultiComps are hissy..... plain and simple. If you're using an adapter, then try taking the battery out. It helped mine out a bunch.
Put my Sansamp BDDI into the chain while playing around with my MB200 and it really upped the hiss and single coil hum from my Jazz. I've always had the single coil hum issue but this really made it more noticeable. I finally was able to tweak around with both the amp and the pedal but to those who have said there was hiss, was it just with the amp on or with a bass or pedal plugged in as well?
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FWIW, my MB200 is silent with my VT pedal, but I turn all tweeters down to almost nothing, so...
While I'm here, quick review: Not as "organic" or complex sounding as my '84 400RB, but more than enough power. The MB200 has it's own expressive tone, with gobs of bottom the old 400 could only dream of... I do miss the boost control as I typically play GK heads with it cranked to 2 or 3 o'clock. Bottom line: for my level of gigs (bars, clubs) it has more than enough power, good tone and fits in my bass bag along with two pedals and all the cables.
While I'm here, quick review: Not as "organic" or complex sounding as my '84 400RB, but more than enough power. The MB200 has it's own expressive tone, with gobs of bottom the old 400 could only dream of... I do miss the boost control as I typically play GK heads with it cranked to 2 or 3 o'clock. Bottom line: for my level of gigs (bars, clubs) it has more than enough power, good tone and fits in my bass bag along with two pedals and all the cables.
Those Acme B2s are notoriously inefficient/power hungry. Does an MB200 really power each one adequately on a gig? If so, it should be a good match for a more efficient cab like a Bag End S15D, even at 8ohms (maybe not) I'd imagine.
I doubt it does power the acme that well, but it shouldn't. It's only 200 watts. But there are a lot of people that carry more cab than they need and find that they don't end up cranking the amp. You won't know until you try it. What I have found is it has plenty more power above noon, but it's a little hard to use it because the DI on mine gets a little distorted as I go above noon if I use post eq DI, so I can't really turn up above that at a gig. I don't need much stage volume above what a single 2x10 or single 1x10 can do, so it hasn't been an issue yet.
I have an Acme Low B2 as well, but I haven't yet tried the MB200 through it. Primarily because from what I understand the Acme is actually a little under 4 ohms, and class D amps typically don't respond well when you go lower than the recommended ohms(thermal shut down etc). I would guess that the GK would be relatively underpowered with that particular cabinet however Will seems to have success so it might just work out well. I like mine through a Mesa Walkabout Scout 12 cab.
Ive been spending more time with my mb200 and berg nv610. I think with all eq at noon the amp can have a bit of an exaggerated top end but it eqs out nicely. To get some old school tone with my sr5 i set bass to noon, low mid to 11, high mid to 10, high to 9. Eq on the bass at center. Oh contour off.
To have this amount of thumping bass out of an amp i can carry in a plastic shopping bag is pretty amazing!
To have this amount of thumping bass out of an amp i can carry in a plastic shopping bag is pretty amazing!
Well, I wish it was so.
In fact, the last week provided me with pretty mixed results with my two split MB200's into my two 4 ohm Acme Low B2's.
First gig was a 4 hour outdoor jazz/R&B gig where the setup worked just fine. We were not crazy loud and the cabs and amps responded well and sounded good.
That was Wednesday night.
Thursday and Friday were with a different band, a large original rock band with horns. The rig took a dump on me during the first song each night and I ended up using the house rig at both venues to finish our sets. Not good.
Last night, I just took one Acme out to a jazz trio gig and powered it with my Acoustic Image head, another class D head. It worked fine, as always. In ten years that amp has never had a single issue. Maybe it's more forgiving than the GK heads (the AI will work at 2 ohms).
I still think the MB200 is a great amp, but I will not be using my two MB200's to power my Acme's again. I already sold one in the classifieds today, and I will keep one to use as a practice/backup/1x12 cab pusher amplifier.
I think some of the places I play have iffy voltage and the Class D amp at its max impedance is vulnerable to crapping out, especially when really being asked to do something it isn't designed to do. I think voltage sag is primarily to blame, along with the design of the Acme cabs.
Any-who, I bought a NOS Fender Bassman 1200 Pro (1200 watts @ 2 Ohms) to power my two Acme's. I think this will fix my problem.
I tried another bass and I don't get the "distortion" that I reported on above, even a bass with a hotter output. It must not me the amp. More testing to come.
Will,
I had acme cabs years back and i know what you are going through. They are nice cabs but you very much need the right amp. The mb200 is also nice (especially with efficient 4 ohms) and this is no slag on the amp but i cant see them working well with acme at medium gig volume. Never used the fender bassman but im sure you will have better results with the acmes.
I had acme cabs years back and i know what you are going through. They are nice cabs but you very much need the right amp. The mb200 is also nice (especially with efficient 4 ohms) and this is no slag on the amp but i cant see them working well with acme at medium gig volume. Never used the fender bassman but im sure you will have better results with the acmes.
Have been practicing with my MB 200 into an 8 ohm Hartke XL series 4x10. Sounds good, get a little distortion but not enough to worry about. Really need to get to 4 ohms tho to see how clear it can be. Volume is fine tho.
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I was doing some listening between pre and post EQ just now with the MB200. It appears that post eq is buffered a lot compared to pre eq. In an earlier test with a mixer's PFL, it seems that noon on the volume is about the same relative output as pre eq, although pre EQ doesn't have this compressed/limiting thing going on. You can get the output to spike if you pluck hard on the bass pre eq, but it seems to keep about the same max DI output with post EQ. What I just noticed is that as you turn up the volume past noon, output doesn't go up on the DI out. It just starts getting saturated, then eventually gets very distorted when you peg the volume. This is pretty interesting compared to other GK DI's that do get louder as you crank it. Just something to think about.
I have a Carvin BRX212 combo. I am wondering if I could run one of these little guys as a pre amp into the B800 power section, to get that GK sound.
Thoughts?
J!
Thoughts?
J!
I have run my MB200 through my B800 as you mention and it worked. I just tried it to see if it would though, not really a long term sound test/comparison. I was just showing a student that it could be used to drive a separate power amp.
I messed a little with the line out tonight. Johno, it puts out as much signal as the DI. Unlike the DI, it is post EQ always. What I found with mine though is that it seems to be out of phase with the DI. If I PFL the DI and the line out into 2 channels of a mixer at the same time, they null each other and I get almost no output. I mute one, and the other channels gets louder. I don't know if that is by design, or if mine just isn't put together well.
Another problem I have with mine is that there is a ground hum coming out of the line out. The DI is dead quiet as is the line out into my mixer, but if I plug a 1/4" cable from the line out to the return OR the input of my 400RBIII, it hums. It might have something to do with the out of phase. The mute button doesn't work anymore, and the hum is constant.
Still working on it when I have time...
Wes
edit- I found the hum. I had my amps plugged into different outlets. I still have a phase issue.
Another problem I have with mine is that there is a ground hum coming out of the line out. The DI is dead quiet as is the line out into my mixer, but if I plug a 1/4" cable from the line out to the return OR the input of my 400RBIII, it hums. It might have something to do with the out of phase. The mute button doesn't work anymore, and the hum is constant.
Still working on it when I have time...
Wes
edit- I found the hum. I had my amps plugged into different outlets. I still have a phase issue.
So, this week has been somewhat disappointing to me. Recently my LMII transformed itself into a doorstop by blowing both fuses in quick violent succession (out of warranty of course etc.) In reaction, I took advantage of the fact that RMC had MB200s back in stock and ordered one. It arrived today.
Now, I had no delusions that an MB200 would have the ability to replace my LMII on a gig, but I was curious enough after reading this thread to see what all the hype was about. In fact, last Saturday I (barely) got through an outdoor gig with my ten year old AI Clarus I through a Bag End S15D, and pre-amped with a SABDDI (and a few other things fx). I was hopeful that the last ten years in class D innovation would make the MB200 superior to the AI Clarus in both volume and tone.
As it turns out, of course, tone is subjective, so I can't really say which one is better. Both of them sound good to me. but are characteristically different.
But in a sheer (apples to apples) volume competition, driving a Bag End S15D and an Ear Candy Bass Bomb 2x12 to compare 4ohm operation, I'm afraid the AI edged out the MB200. As much as I wanted to be able to coax more out of the MB200, the Clarus seemed to be louder in the room.
The basses used were a Squire Classic Vibe Jazz bass and my Kydd Carryon EUB - instruments I play with regularity on gigs. I did, somewhat systematically, adjust eq settings to attempt to approximate similar tones on both amps, but most notably I found that I had to run the MB200 at the gain limit of non compressed sound with bass rolled off and mids somewhat accentuated to get close to what the AI was doing with a basically flat setting. Then I turned up the master on the AI and could bring even more volume into play before reaching its limit of clean, uncompressed tone (about 1:30 o clock on the Master control. ). As others have noted, the MB200 seems to start to compress after 1:00 o clock on the Gain control. Disclaimer- I was not using a dB meter or anything- it was all perception in the room.
Still, I did prefer the tonal flexibility of the GK MB200. Even without the boost, I felt that the GK sound was there. Yet, it wasn't as natural sounding as I remember my 200MB ( ancient GK combo) sounding before it stopped working. That amp never had the volume, but it did have the tone, esp on EUB, but I digress. I wanted the ultra light MB200 to exceed the AI in volume, but I couldn't make it happen, even driving 4 ohms on the Bass Bomb.
I will try to run the MB200 through 2 Bag End S15Ds before making a final decision on whether or not to keep it, but in the end I really need to find something that can drive a single cab on a gig to replace the LMII. I guess on that, I'm open to suggestions.
Now, I had no delusions that an MB200 would have the ability to replace my LMII on a gig, but I was curious enough after reading this thread to see what all the hype was about. In fact, last Saturday I (barely) got through an outdoor gig with my ten year old AI Clarus I through a Bag End S15D, and pre-amped with a SABDDI (and a few other things fx). I was hopeful that the last ten years in class D innovation would make the MB200 superior to the AI Clarus in both volume and tone.
As it turns out, of course, tone is subjective, so I can't really say which one is better. Both of them sound good to me. but are characteristically different.
But in a sheer (apples to apples) volume competition, driving a Bag End S15D and an Ear Candy Bass Bomb 2x12 to compare 4ohm operation, I'm afraid the AI edged out the MB200. As much as I wanted to be able to coax more out of the MB200, the Clarus seemed to be louder in the room.
The basses used were a Squire Classic Vibe Jazz bass and my Kydd Carryon EUB - instruments I play with regularity on gigs. I did, somewhat systematically, adjust eq settings to attempt to approximate similar tones on both amps, but most notably I found that I had to run the MB200 at the gain limit of non compressed sound with bass rolled off and mids somewhat accentuated to get close to what the AI was doing with a basically flat setting. Then I turned up the master on the AI and could bring even more volume into play before reaching its limit of clean, uncompressed tone (about 1:30 o clock on the Master control. ). As others have noted, the MB200 seems to start to compress after 1:00 o clock on the Gain control. Disclaimer- I was not using a dB meter or anything- it was all perception in the room.
Still, I did prefer the tonal flexibility of the GK MB200. Even without the boost, I felt that the GK sound was there. Yet, it wasn't as natural sounding as I remember my 200MB ( ancient GK combo) sounding before it stopped working. That amp never had the volume, but it did have the tone, esp on EUB, but I digress. I wanted the ultra light MB200 to exceed the AI in volume, but I couldn't make it happen, even driving 4 ohms on the Bass Bomb.
I will try to run the MB200 through 2 Bag End S15Ds before making a final decision on whether or not to keep it, but in the end I really need to find something that can drive a single cab on a gig to replace the LMII. I guess on that, I'm open to suggestions.
I will try to run the MB200 through 2 Bag End S15Ds before making a final decision on whether or not to keep it, but in the end I really need to find something that can drive a single cab on a gig to replace the LMII. I guess on that, I'm open to suggestions.
Another experiment I want to try is using the SABDDI in full blend. I don't typically use it this way because, to me, the sound is more "natural" with the blend at about 9:00 o'clock. However, I may not be maximizing the potential of the pre-amp in terms of input headroom using it this way. Any thoughts on this approach would be appreciated.
Would it cancel out any benefits if I were to use the blend at max, but then shape the tone from there with the MB200? Or would that just scoop the sound, much like the contour switch does? I did not find that the contour "on" helped the volume situation at all.
and BTW- my particular MB200 was very quiet...nearly silent when just bass>>amp, and less noise than LMII when connected to fx chain. However, I guess this could be due to the LMII having been that much louder overall. ( The AI was louder in terms of noise too). The MB200 was very treble present, but no hiss problems as described by others.
I have a Clarus 2, an older one. I think the amp is much louder than its 200 watts at 4 ohm rating would suggest. You also have to remember that it is a very transparent sounding amp, whereas the MB200 sounds warmer and less defined.
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