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GK Questions.

RyanHutchison9

RyanHutchison9

Mar 25, 2014
75
20
#1
So I've spent the last two days going through nearly every GK thread to try and get an idea of what I want to do with my upcoming rig.

Up until this point I've just been running with a Rumble Combo and Modern Player Jazz which has gotten me by but now that I have a band that is going somewhere I think I'm in need of a major upgrade. I have a Lakland Skyline DJ4 on the way so I've been looking for a good match. (Going to put flats on the DJ4 most likely)

I was looking at Aguilar heavilly but I'm not sure if the significant price increase is worth it, GK seem to have a much more flushed out line with alot of value. I play in a progressive rock group... think QOTSA meets Incubus.

My biggest problem is that I'm interested in the MB Fusion but it doesn't have the Bi Amp capability (Going GK cab most likely)... I'm wondering how much of a difference I would notice and if I should possibly consider other cabs or if I should grab the 700RB II and make use of the feature.

My second question is about building my stack... The band is rather loud and I was wondering if a 1x12 would cut for rehearsals and small gigs until I could save up for another cab.

And Finally... If I was to get a second cab I can't decide between 1x12 or 2x12, has anyone had any experience or maybe other suggestions?

I know these types of threads have been done to death, I made sure I looked around before posting a page of questions and have just narrowed it down to these. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated as I have a large amount of respect and trust in the forum and it's members.
 
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#2
Speaking for myself, I run a 1001rb2 ($350 off CL) I don't biamp but live I run it into a ampeg 8x10 and it kills and doesn't have to be loud. I run it into 1or 2 1x15s at rehearsal (drummer house n cabs and its still awesome. I have used it w a 4x10 (mesa) a 2x15 ( genz Benz) and I will say I have put away my svt2. I would like to pick up an older gk cab to biamp if I come across one but I really have zero complaint or issue. I don't feel the need to go micro myself.
 
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#5
If you are planning on running flats, then the biamp won't be as big a deal IMO. Mattter of fact biamp isn't that big of a deal in general. Run it full range, usually works better.

A 112 won't keep up with a loud band. I'd recommend getting a 212 or 410. At the minimum a 115, and that might not be enough speaker surface moving.
 
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#6
Kael said:
If you are planning on running flats, then the biamp won't be as big a deal IMO. Mattter of fact biamp isn't that big of a deal in general. Run it full range, usually works better.

A 112 won't keep up with a loud band. I'd recommend getting a 212 or 410. At the minimum a 115, and that might not be enough speaker surface moving.
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Hmm I haven't looked into 1x15s... I know it's not a good idea to mix different cabs... I'm interested in 12s but I'm wondering what 15s can offer... Thanks for the post.
 
#7
RyanHutchison9 said:
I've looked into the 550 and wasn't sure if the significant weight and price increase was worth it. What would you say are the main advantages to the 550 over the 500 with a Neo 112 stack?
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The Fusion 550 is a hybrid, but if you don't want the extra weight and size then the GK MB500 is the way to go and pair it two 8ohm Neo112-II cabs.

EDIT: And remember, you only need to keep up with the volume of acoustic drums - not bury them, and anything louder is what sound reinforcement is for and if a PA is really big enough to support drums then its also large enough to support bass too.
 
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#8
Joe Louvar said:
The Fusion 550 is a hybrid, but if you don't want the extra weight and size then the GK MB500 is the way to go and pair it two 8ohm Neo112-II cabs.
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Thanks for the suggestion... it's 300 bucks cheaper too which is great. I thought the Fusion 500 might have more growl due to the tubes which would be great for a pick... I'm going to go and do some more research on the MB500
 
#9
RyanHutchison9 said:
Thanks for the suggestion... it's 300 bucks cheaper too which is great. I thought the Fusion 500 might have more growl due to the tubes which would be great for a pick... I'm going to go and do some more research on the MB500
Click to expand...

The GK MB500 is a great bass amp and it gets good reviews as you'll see. Anyway, best wishes and cheers.
 
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#14
I currently (and have for a couple years now) run a GK 700RB-II into a GK Neo 412.
It's a fantastic rig and can handle everything I've thrown at it.
It cuts through two drummers, guitar and keyboards just fine.
If I had to do it all over again, I might have gone with 2 Neo 212's.
Just for the sake of modularity.
So, yeah 2x12's (or just go for the 412).
 
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#16
I played my 800rb on the 4 ohm side (300 watts) into a early 70s Kustom ruck-n-roll 215 for years. It kept up with all sorts of silly loud volumes. To a degree it's the watts coming from the amp, but the larger limitation is speaker area.

A 215, 610, 810 would all do the trick. If you were going to leverage a bi amp model, I would say get fancy and run a 4 ohm 410 from the high power side and an 8 ohm 210 from the low power side, or similarly a 215 and a 115, or a 212 and a 112, if that's your thing. I'm not sure 3 12s will do what you need, but the purpose is so that all the speakers get about the same amount of power.
 
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#17
I normally use Markbass but when I want more low end I use a GK MB Fusion 500 and a neo 1x15 and neo 2x10. I like it because the cabs and head are very light weight and didn't eat up all of my Social Security check buying them. I like the ability to use either cab by itself or together for a more rounded sound.
 
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#20
I have the MB2-500 A07 which is basically an MB500 and an mb Fusion. The Fusion is maybe the best GK head yet. The tone is all GK but with some refinements. Less harsh upper mids and more presence on the hi end. The lows are a tad softer. It is definitely not a B15 but it has enough more going on that i think it is totally worth it.

Either of those amps will do you well. A single 12 is probably not going to cut it live unless you and your bandmates are wise enough to let the PA do the heavy lifting... If the PA is in place, you seriously don't need to be loud on stage to rock.

I have quite a few gig's on the mbf and a 4 ohm 2 15 or a8 8 ohm fearful. It deals with both cabs nicely. Into the 15's it qualifies as stoopid loud...
 
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