GK MB200~ What cab(s) are you guys using?

[orangejulius3]

GK NEO 412
Bergantino NV610
Avatar SB112

I prefer the 412 cab. It's louder stronger and does NOT make my amp sound compressed from being pushed.

 

[Stevorebob]

Depending on the venue: Neo 115, Neo 212 or 2 Neo 212s. The 115 is my practice cab and works well for "acoustic" events. I prefer the timbre of the 212 when the guitars are electric. IMO, it cuts through better and provides more volume. Louder yet is 2 212s -- but if I'm going that route, more than not I run my 700RB-II, and the MB 200 is my backup. YMMV.

 

[tbirdsp]

Just played a gig last night with my MB200 and my 4 ohm Avatar B212 Neo - sounded great! I have also used a Genz Benz Focus 115 and an Eden EX112 with the MB.

 

[mikelb7]

Thanks! I love the MBFusion with them. It's legit tube old school to my ears. It sounds very different than the MB200; the tube preamp really imparts a tube sound, complete with squish and fullness. It also has tube headroom, meaning it's difficult to get the gain very high without getting into tube distortion territory (fine with me, I love a little tube hair). I think this is why people tend to recommend the 800 since you can run out of clean headroom quickly. Because of this I've yet to feel worried about the 500w aspect and pushing these speakers. I don't play with heavy distortion much, but I imagine the tube pre will compress before you get too much into the damage type clipping. It does have big GK low end, but I always run an fdeck HPF for a little security, anyway (just as I did with the MB200). Speaking of, anyone running these cabs should use an fdeck or microthumpinator, it really lets them roar.

That said, it does have more oomph than the MB200 for sure. I love the sound of the 210 and 15 cab. It's more well rounded than the double 210s, more even sounding because it balances the coloration of the sealed 210 a bit. I prefer that sealed sound and of course the portability of the double 210s, but I always bring the 15 for outdoors gigs, and the Fusion pushes this combo better than the MB200 did. I recently had a new matching grill made by Bruce at Fliptops:

Thanks for your response, great info. Awesome to hear about the Fusion 500, will have to look into it! Matching SVT15 grill looks amazing as well. I occasionally use an Ampeg SVP-CL into the MB200. Even though that pre is pretty clean, it somewhat cops that old school tube sound/feeling so I think I know what you mean about the Fusion 500. I know I'll upgrade my MB200 eventually, just not sure whether I want the Fusion 500 or the V4B reissue more (ideally, I'd have both ).

Which version of the fdeck HPF would you recommend? I've thought about grabbing one in the past but never followed through... you've definitely piqued my interest! What exactly do you mean by "roar" though? As far as I know, I thought the point of the fdeck was to roll off the lowest/least audible/most power sucking frequencies to "free up" power for the rest of the tonal spectrum (i.e. not much in terms of tonal change but you can pump the volume a little higher as well as protecting your speakers). Maybe I'm reading too much into the word "roar" here but I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Back on track with the MB200 though... played a house party with a quieter band (drums, keyboard, a couple of singers and a guitar player) last night with the MB200 and one 210AV. Volume-wise, it was just barely enough. I ended up using my VT Bass with the level boosted and gain set a little low to goose the signal a bit. Worked well but definitely could've used the second cabinet. Funny thing, during soundcheck i wasn't higher than 11 o'clock on the gain knob... had it boosted to 3 o'clock by the time everyone showed up (~40-50 people). I know bodies absorb sound but I've never had that much sound be absorbed! Probably would've helped to get the cab off the ground as well but a little late for that

 

[DWBass]

Here's a few.

 

[MegaSwing]

I've used mine with a GK 412 NEO, one or two GK 112 NEOs, an Eden D215XLT, a SWR Goliath Jr. III, and currently a Trace-Elliot BLX110 1x10 and an Ampeg SVT-48E 4x8, and it has sounded great with every one. Never felt it wasn't enough with any of them. IMO, it's well on its way to becoming one of the all-time great amps.

 

[tdbass2]

Mine's 3 years old, and I was driving an Altec-Lansing 421b 15' 8 ohm woofer mounted in an old GK Backline cab and it was more than adequate. I now have the Genz-Benz Focus T410 600w at 8 ohms and it sounds just fine. I'm upgrading to a Genz Shutte 6.2 while you can still find them and can't wait to see how that works. That MB200's powerful.

 

[Munjibunga]

Bergantino AE210 or CN212. However, I tried it through a Bergantino NV412. You wouldn't believe how monstrous it sounded. The Berg wore it like a beret.

 

[seang15]

Eden 8 ohm 1x10 cab. Sounds great.

 

[kleinenenten]

GK Neo 410. Haven't heard of any cabs that sound bad with the MB200. Can't say I've really heard ANYTHING bad about the MB200, really.

 

[hsech]

I'm running a MBF500 through a GKMB-II 1x15 and a MB-II 2x10. I also own an MB-II 2x12 4 ohm if I only want to take one cab. I like all the cabs because I can mix and match or use each one stand alone.

 

[jumblemind]

Thanks for your response, great info. Awesome to hear about the Fusion 500, will have to look into it! Matching SVT15 grill looks amazing as well. I occasionally use an Ampeg SVP-CL into the MB200. Even though that pre is pretty clean, it somewhat cops that old school tube sound/feeling so I think I know what you mean about the Fusion 500. I know I'll upgrade my MB200 eventually, just not sure whether I want the Fusion 500 or the V4B reissue more (ideally, I'd have both ).

I was GAS'ing for the V4B hard for a while. I still want one some day, but the MBFusion has definitely quelled my tube hunger for a while. The great thing is that I can plug a preamp into the effects return and just use the power section when I need a clean rig, so you could still do that with the SVP-CL easily, of course. The other great thing is that I'm only toting a ~5lb amp to out-of-the-way gigs. Doesn't have the Ampeg tone, but the cabs do a lot for that, and my Ginger pedal helps, as well. Of course, I dig the GK sound, and the MBFusion really balances the tube feel with the GK growl and ss tightness.

Which version of the fdeck HPF would you recommend? I've thought about grabbing one in the past but never followed through... you've definitely piqued my interest! What exactly do you mean by "roar" though? As far as I know, I thought the point of the fdeck was to roll off the lowest/least audible/most power sucking frequencies to "free up" power for the rest of the tonal spectrum (i.e. not much in terms of tonal change but you can pump the volume a little higher as well as protecting your speakers). Maybe I'm reading too much into the word "roar" here but I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Yeah, I mean "roar" as in they just run free, and are perceptibly louder. The 210AVs are small and sealed, so they can struggle with trying to produce too much low end. You don't really notice it until you put an hpf in front and can feel the difference, which is subtle at first but becomes more apparent over time, especially with lower wattage amps.

I prefer fdeck's Series 3 because it can be powered externally and has the variable shelf control. I use that dial a lot in the various acoustically funky/boomy rooms where I find myself.

Worked well but definitely could've used the second cabinet. Funny thing, during soundcheck i wasn't higher than 11 o'clock on the gain knob... had it boosted to 3 o'clock by the time everyone showed up (~40-50 people). I know bodies absorb sound but I've never had that much sound be absorbed! Probably would've helped to get the cab off the ground as well but a little late for that

I can only get away with a single 210AV with a trio, or at band practice. I always bring two to the gigs and just leave one in the car if the room doesn't feel like it needs a second. In this particular case, did you get a chance to hear the rig far out in the room? One thing about these cabs is that they throw really well and can be perceptibly louder further out in the room than they are up close. I've gotten lots of comments from bass players that can't believe the sound is coming from such a little rig. I also recently heard my setup while some folks sat in on our instruments at a wedding, and I noticed how louder it seemed in the back than what I was hearing on stage next to the crashing cymbals and loud guitars.

 

[H3nchman]

More love from the MB-200 and SVT210av comination from me. Sounds great to my ears, and you cannot beat the portability. Also, the many aforementioned pluses to this combination. Wish I could justify a second 210 or a 15.

 

[munkeyfish]

I'm using my Eden 210D-XLT for now. I like it, but It seems a bit boomy for what I'm doing right now. Or maybe I just need to play w/ the EG some more.

I'm looking into 2 of the GK 112Neo cabs, and I just seen they released the CX series cabs. I may look at those as well. I like the Idea of moving a cab or two with little effort.

 

[liveburning274]

210AVs here, as well. I replaced it recently with an MBFusion but gigged the MB200 for a good bit. I went vertical in tight places and gigs where I carried the room. For more bass feel in loud clubs with PA support I went side by side. And for outdoors I sub'd in an SVT15.

How would you describe your sound combining the Ampeg cabinets with the GK head? I like the idea of having 112's or 115's with a good head but your setup has me thinking about 210's...

But back to my original thought, why not have GK neo cabs? Everyone seems to rave about how light they are + the tone.

 

[DWBass]

The GK Neo cabs were made perfectly for GK amps! I love the way mine sound using the MB200! I'm now looking to trade my Markbass LMIII for a MB500.

 

[munkeyfish]

Great pics.

 

[Outsider]

MB200 with 2 210MBEs.

 

[Martin Beer]

DIY 1x12 with Eminence 2512-ii driver, or for upright bass and jazz gigs (most of my work these days), a DIY 1x8.

Which speaker did you use for the 1x8"? I use a Wizzy 10 cab with my MB200 for smaller rooms and with double bass, but I've noticed that there are some very good 8" drivers around now so I keep wondering about this route.

 

[fdeck]

Which speaker did you use for the 1x8"? I use a Wizzy 10 cab with my MB200 for smaller rooms and with double bass, but I've noticed that there are some very good 8" drivers around now so I keep wondering about this route.

I used the Faital 8PR200 in a small ported box. Now, the problem: It doesn't work.

It suffers from what I call the "small box crisis," which is that, as you shrink the box, the port dimensions have to grow, and you reach a point where a correctly sized port can no longer fit in the box. It produces severe port chuffing, even with electric bass. The only way that I can make this work (with my limited brain power, others may have figured this out better than me) is to use it with one of my preamps. Now, that's OK for me, because I get an employee discount. But it's something you'd have to figure into the cost of the project.

The other thing needed to make this work is to dial the MB200 to a flat voicing.