GK vs. GK

The MB112 setup is fantastic....for what it is. It's a small, lightweight setup which is great for practice and small shows.

However what it is NOT is a 1001RBII through a 4x12. Not even close. I think you will be dissapointed.

 

Alls I can say is you have one incredible rig. That must annihilate

 

Why not get a pair of 212 neo cabs?

Use as directed.

 

I personally wouldn't do that, but I don't at all understand the trend of so many bass players needing to fit their whole rig in their back pocket. If you wanted tiny gear, you should have taken up piccolo.

The 412 is an excellent cab. I will likely get another one some day. As "big" cabs go, it's about as portable as you could hope for. Not much more weight than an old school 4x10, but about 2-3x the power handling. With a big, open sound.

So assuming you have a vehicle that can accommodate it (of course, I've been spoiled, driving minivans the last 3 years), and have bandmates on hand any time stairs might be an issue, I'm not sure you're going to get that much of a portability increase going to the MB stuff. In terms of weight, you'll be doing what, 30-50 lbs lighter overall? And it will be more modular for fitting into tiny cars that don't have a hatchback. But I think you will take a pretty big hit on both volume and tone. A 1001 and a NEO 412 is really hard to beat honestly. Yes, there are a bunch of guys on here with super fancy, expensive rigs, and that's totally cool, and I appreciate that stuff and would love to have some of it. But your current rig is like a muscle car. It may not do everything, but it will get the job done pretty much every time and you'll have a lot of fun with it.

So I wouldn't switch like you are suggesting. The only thing I MIGHT do in that line is just ADD the extra powered cab, rather than sell anything to get it. Personally, I think a better bet would be just get a NEO 212, and use that with the 1001. You'll have the same exact tone as you have now, just a bit less volume and headroom. And you'll shave about 50 pounds of your rig when that's all you need. Bonus points if you could get GK to make you a 4 ohm version of the 212 (ie swap out the drivers and the crossover). They have all these parts already, it's just a matter of bolting them in differently. Get the 4 ohm crossover from the NEO 412, and get the 8 ohm 12s from the NEO 112. Bob's yer uncle.

 

Can you rent the extension cab for one large gig? That would let you evaluate the smaller rig before selling the big rig.

 

Exactly.

 

I wish I could play a gig where I could use two of the 4x12s and a 2001RB. I'd be like taking over the universe or at least tearing a hole through the space time continuum.

 

I have had the 412, and the 1001RB rig a few times. I was actually able to get the 412 in the the back seat of my Camry I had at the time. It is more easy to transport then you might think. It can get painfully loud!

 

As far as the " get 2 2x12's" goes,... I tried that and the regular 412, to my ears, sounded much better. The neo 212's are tuned a bit differently than the 412. A pair of 212's got a bit mushy/boomy to my ears. Just pick up the 112 to go with your combo, the powered 112's have been discontinued if I remember correctly. So search the used market.

 

I've owned just about every GK Neo cab ever made. Currently down to a 2x12, 1x15, and 2 1x12s. I say keep the 4x12, nothing else of theirs can match the juice that cab pumps out. You've got 2 great rigs that can fit any situation.

 

If you have room keep the big rig, the combo, get the MBP and use as needed, according to the gig.

 

My suggestion would be to get rid of both rigs and get a GK MB212 combo. This would give you more available volume than the MB112 plus extension cab, and also give you the ability to add the MBP212 for a 1000 watt 412 if you ever wanted to.

 

There is no replacement for displacement.

There is no telling that you will or may not like the idea you proposed. Though you will definitely never get the same air-moving feeling with a 2x12 setup compared to 4x12. Even better, 8x10.

 

1001RBII is much more punchy than the combo. The high pass filter in 4 string mode is perfect (as you know). The combos sound okay but they are voiced deeper and it just doesn’t work well at high volumes.

 

OP perhaps hold out for one of the new Legacy 800 watt 2x10 combos. I do believe it may be a while before they are released, maybe some time next year or end of this year.