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GK mb200 ultra light head?

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#961
Yeah, bummer. Mine's been fine. I just finished a 12 date tour with mine and no issues (though a couple sound guys wanted a hotter signal - passive magnetic pickup on an upright bass). I do still carry a Putnam modded sans-amp VT Bass with DI/XLR that I can use as a back-up if needed but never had to use it. I'd not argue that the built in DI is the best in the world and would probably use something else for more critical recording - for live work I like the voicing of the amp in combination with my particular upright (and prefer it for that use over the MB Fusion which I also have).
 
#962
Wes Whitmore said:
Yup, send it back if it hisses. It shouldnt. The di should be clean as well. Hiss and hum free. Did it clean up when you hit the pre/post button? My first one was noisy. The replacement was great.
Click to expand...

Soundman wanted a pre-eq signal, which, according to him, had enough hum not to be useable. We probably tried flipping the pre/post switch (pretty sure I would've) when looking for a ground lift, but am not 100% positive. At any rate, nothing we tried got rid of the hum, and he wasn't willing to use the MB200 D.I.. We ran through one of the club's D.I. boxes, which he was happy with (said the hum was gone on his end (PA), but I found some was introduced on mine (cab), likely because of the extra cable/more stuff in the chain before the amp). No problem on previous dates with the Markbass or Genz Benz heads' D.I.s, pre- or post- EQ.
 
#963
5port said:
+1 with Wes...

Your problem started when the you noticed the head was hissing. My has been dead silent for months.
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Glad to hear that, and I hope GK will make it right. As for the D.I., I'm not expecting something world-class, but something useable, live, at a club? Certainly.
 
#964
Sounds to me like Mark's problem is a defective ICEpower module. Simple part swap, 15 minutes max, easiest fix in the world to do. Pull cover, 4 screws, 5 cables, install temp sensor on new module w/ heat transfer compound and a tie wrap, screw board back down, replace cables, replace cover, good to go. I doubt GK will try to repair the board; they'll probably send it back to B&O for credit/refund.
 
#965
Hunh. So, if I needed to at some point in the future, is this the kind of thing I could get a part/board for in the future and replace on my own (on this or other micros)?

craig.p said:
Sounds to me like Mark's problem is a defective ICEpower module. Simple part swap, 15 minutes max, easiest fix in the world to do. Pull cover, 4 screws, 5 cables, install temp sensor on new module w/ heat transfer compound and a tie wrap, screw board back down, replace cables, replace cover, good to go. I doubt GK will try to repair the board; they'll probably send it back to B&O for credit/refund.
Click to expand...
 
#966
Yes sir, absolutely. And the best thing about this type of topology is that when you swap out that board, you're getting not only a new power amp but also a new power supply, because the board runs directly off the AC line. It supplies its own low voltage power AND supplies low voltage to the rest of the amp. Although I do own this and two other lightweights, I don't drink the Kool Aid, and still prefer the dynamics and impact of sleds; nevertheless, you can't argue against the field maintainability of something like the MB200, IF you have spare boards on hand. A board swap could be done during a set break by a competent sound man/tech. This is a huge advantage of GK's design decision to use an outsourced "building block," if you will.
 
#967
Just tried my MB200 out for the first time hooked to a pair of GK Neo 112's and the sound is incredible. I'm only a hobby player and don't need a lot of volume but it's there with much to spare if I do. A couple of questions, though..

How warm is the amp supposed to get? I only put my hand on the top once and it felt pretty warm to me. I didn't notice the fan was on until another player said something like "Oh, it's got a fan, too?"

Something else. Everything I read says use a pair of cabinets stacked vertically for the best results, which is what I did. But if I was using 2X12 instead of two 112's wouldn't they be side beside in the cabinet as opposed to on top of one another?
 
#968
Hammertime3 said:
Everything I read says use a pair of cabinets stacked vertically for the best results, which is what I did. But if I was using 2X12 instead of two 112's wouldn't they be side beside in the cabinet as opposed to on top of one another?
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Typically not in a 212, and certainly not in the GK 212. They're not directly above one another in the 212 as they are in a 2x112 stack, but definitely not side by side like a 210 in the usual horizontal orientation. The issue there is "comb filtering" which can be noticeable on smaller stages.
 
#971
Class D works backwards from the A/B amps we are use to. When Class D is idling (just sitting waiting for it to be used or...your playing it at a very low bedroom volume) that is when it is least efficient so it will warm up while it is dissippating excess power thru the chassis. When you are at full tilt boogie and jamming with friends at full output that is when it is most efficient and the chassis will be dead cold.

Yes I've had my MB200 get very warm while I was breaking in a speaker with a tone oscillator for hours and the fan never turned on. Concerned I removed the top cover and hit the fan sensor with my heatgun. The fan immediatly turned on and settlled to a low speed. I put the cover back on and never thought about it again.
 
#973
Somewhere in this long thread I mentioned that the amp needs to run in an 80 degree F environment for the fan to kick on at low volume. Or maybe it was 85. Can't exactly remember. This is with an 8 ohm load. A 4 ohm load will cause it to kick on at a lower room temperature. So will a less-efficient cab. So will higher volumes. This all lines up with the amp spec. On my unit I was not happy with the way the thermal sensor was mounted with heat transfer compound to its choke (L400), so I re-did it, but it didn't affect the temperature at which the fan came on, so it turns out the factory did an acceptable job after all. If you're worried about the amp running too warm, you can always run a personal fan into it, low speed. You really don't need much to get the job done. Air flow is left to right. FYI, the amp will automatically shut down once internal temp reaches about 120 F. I don't know how soon before then the fan kicks on. (As a point of comparison, typical hot water in the U.S. runs around 120-140 F at the tap if the thermostat is properly adjusted. I've got mine set to 130 and I get about 120 at the tap. It will cause you to pull your hand back reflexively. I can tell you that the top of the amp case gets nowhere near that hot before the fan kicks on.) Finally, on a hot day, if there's even the slightest breeze hitting the amp, that may cause enough air to flow through the case to cause the fan never to come on at all. Like I said, you don't need much. Hope this helps.
 
#974
Thanx guys....loving this puppy! Strangely enough, I took the amp right out of the box it was shipped in (from a fellow TBer) and the sound was just what I was looking for.

I read a post somewhere back around page 27-28 that someone was asking how it compared to the MB150S. The MB150S is a nice amp, especially with an extension cabinet, but the MB200 kicks it to the curb with very little effort.

BTW, I have an Avatar SB 112 Neo that I bought for an extension cabinet for the MB150S, and I was wondering how a pair of these would compare to the GK's. Anybody have any thoughts??
 
#976
Spent the last three days reading this thread, phew... :help:

I bought an MB200 back in January, it took until April for GK to get a shipment to the UK, kinda shows its popularity! I have to say this little baby has been a revelation. Our drummer loves it, our guitarists are totally perplexed by it and it has completely converted me to the GK sound. I was running a gorgeous 2004 Eden WT550 which was an absolute beast and beauty all in one, the MB200 was to be the back up/rehearsal/small gig amp. To be honest it started seeing more gigs than the WT550, going through a Barefaced Vintage (2x15, the precursor to the Super 15) this little baby absolutely slayed everything! Granted on our louder gigs it ran out of steam but on the whole it was just amazing. So after another particularly successful gig in October I decided to move on the Eden and get an MB500.

The MB500 is definitely a different beast and seemed harsher to my ears. It lasted one gig. I figured it was a good sounding head but the valves of the MB Fusion were calling me ;)

So now I have the MB200 and the MB Fusion. The Fusion did its first gig on Saturday last week and was exactly what I wanted and I gotta say I am very, very pleased with my set up:

Link Removed

(Oh, in my downsizing quest I also sold the awesome Barefaced Vintage and got the even more awesome Barefaced Super 12T.....)
 
#979
Well... I guess I am in the MB-200 club, now...

:cool:

154en0y.jpg
 
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