GK or Fender??

[devinp17]

OK, cool -- just so long as you're keeping one eye on the future, and won't wind up regretting your purchase six months from now.

In retrospect, I feel like I did this all wrong from the beginning. I started with a small combo, then got a bigger combo.... If I had it to do all over again, with the benefit of 20-20 hindsight, I probably would have started with a 2x10 or 2x12 and a head, with an eye toward adding a second 2x10 or 2x12 later if and when the need arose. Combos are great for what they are, but I think it's (unfortunately) not unusual for people to buy them and then too-quickly grow out of them.

Anyway, your plan sounds like a fine one to me. Good luck with it!

Thanks bro!

 

[Robus]

OK, cool -- just so long as you're keeping one eye on the future, and won't wind up regretting your purchase six months from now.

In retrospect, I feel like I did this all wrong from the beginning. I started with a small combo, then got a bigger combo.... If I had it to do all over again, with the benefit of 20-20 hindsight, I probably would have started with a 2x10 or 2x12 and a head, with an eye toward adding a second 2x10 or 2x12 later if and when the need arose. Combos are great for what they are, but I think it's (unfortunately) not unusual for people to buy them and then too-quickly grow out of them.

Anyway, your plan sounds like a fine one to me. Good luck with it!

Same experience here. I can see why I started on a small combo, but my first upgrade should have been to a head and cab. For me, upgrading to a larger combo was a step in the wrong direction, wasting time and money.

To the OP, don't know what your budget is, but something like a used MB200 (MB500 if you can swing it), paired with a 1x12, 1x15 or similar cab will probably do what a combo would do for not that much more money. Since it's a modular setup, you can upgrade as you go. Should you decide you want something else down the line, I'd imagine the head alone would be easier to sell online than a combo. And the small cab will always be useful for something even if you decide to go bigger.

As a fellow basement/home studio player, here's another advantage I've discovered to the head/cab rig. I can put the head right on my desk and tweak it without even having to get up from my chair. I have a 25 foot cable that lets me put the cab wherever I want, even in the next room. Might not be a big deal for some but for me it is. I've gotten to know the EQ on my MB500 much better than I would have if I had to get up and walk across the room every time I wanted to adjust something. Maybe I'm just a lazy ass, but I feel that I can hear the changes better when I'm not standing right in front of the cab.

 

[devinp17]

Same experience here. I can see why I started on a small combo, but my first upgrade should have been to a head and cab. For me, upgrading to a larger combo was a step in the wrong direction, wasting time and money.

To the OP, don't know what your budget is, but something like a used MB200 (MB500 if you can swing it), paired with a 1x12, 1x15 or similar cab will probably do what a combo would do for not that much more money. Since it's a modular setup, you can upgrade as you go. Should you decide you want something else down the line, I'd imagine the head alone would be easier to sell online than a combo. And the small cab will always be useful for something even if you decide to go bigger.

As a fellow basement/home studio player, here's another advantage I've discovered to the head/cab rig. I can put the head right on my desk and tweak it without even having to get up from my chair. I have a 25 foot cable that lets me put the cab wherever I want, even in the next room. Might not be a big deal for some but for me it is. I've gotten to know the EQ on my MB500 much better than I would have if I had to get up and walk across the room every time I wanted to adjust something. Maybe I'm just a lazy ass, but I feel that I can hear the changes better when I'm not standing right in front of the cab.

Thanks... You have got me thinking about a head and a cab, depending on how much it costs of course. I always thought that when I actually wanted to get a big rig, I'd get a GK 800RB. That's the one I've had my eye on (for later) because they go for like $300 on eBay... then I'd just get whatever GK cabs to go with it. And the reason I was so attracted to the MB combo series II is because I've heard that they're based on the 800RB. I wasn't interested in the MB heads because I already knew that I eventually wanted to get an 800RB. But what's the tone like on those MB heads? I've never heard one... are they too based off of the 800RB?

 

[DerTeufel]

I had an MB200, currently have an MB Fusion, and have played through an 800RB. They are ALL fantastic amps and they all have that GK grind. Any of the MB series will make you happy if you like the 800RB.

 

[devinp17]

I had an MB200, currently have an MB Fusion, and have played through an 800RB. They are ALL fantastic amps and they all have that GK grind. Any of the MB series will make you happy if you like the 800RB.

Thanks for the help

 

[gpx1200]

Thanks... You have got me thinking about a head and a cab, depending on how much it costs of course. I always thought that when I actually wanted to get a big rig, I'd get a GK 800RB. That's the one I've had my eye on (for later) because they go for like $300 on eBay... then I'd just get whatever GK cabs to go with it. And the reason I was so attracted to the MB combo series II is because I've heard that they're based on the 800RB. I wasn't interested in the MB heads because I already knew that I eventually wanted to get an 800RB. But what's the tone like on those MB heads? I've never heard one... are they too based off of the 800RB?

I have a mb800 and a rb700II wich is pretty close to the rb800 tone wise. the mb and rb amps bolth deffinetly have similar trademark gk tonal qualitys but they differ slightly mostly in the low end, the rb's have a tighter more thumpy bottom end while the mb is more open sounding, possibly even a little boomy compaired to the rb's but the difference in is small and easily overcome with a little eq ing
the rb's have a little more tonal controle on the front panel and biamp capabilitys when used with gk or other cabs that are adapted for this system( im building a fearful cab now to work with my rb700 in biamp mode)
the mb's are straight up clean power in a tiny package the mb800 is a beast, if I screwed it to the top of my fearfull 1212/6 it would be the combo amp from hell 800w @about 95lbs
if your into distortion some of the gk's have a footswitchable gain channel that sounds awesome I think the mb800-500 and rb2001 have it, if you want to here it listen to the beginning of tool's H pretty shure that's a rb2001 with the high gain channel on.