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NAD: Gallien Krueger MB500

pbassnut

pbassnut

Supporting Member
Sep 27, 2004
2,269
2,439
Falls Church, VA
#1
Well ... new to me, anyway (it was made in 2015). Took it out for a burn-in test on a coupla gigs this weekend and was very pleased with the results. This MB500 is my second micro head. My first was a Kustom KXB500 which had a lot going for it except the tone was kinda "dry" sounding to my ear. The MB500 sounds WAY better to me and has everything the legendary 800RB had going for it, only more & better ... it's smaller & lighter, more powerful, rotary contour control, boost & non-boost channels w/switching (although I like the boost circuit to be engaged all the time ... it's just a question of how much), tuner out w/mute and a thicker bottom end response. I've had shots at pretty good deals on a coupla MB800 in recent months and I'm glad I held out for an MB500 as the MB800 would've been WAY, WAY, WAY too powerful for my needs (mostly blues, soul and r&b bands playing small clubs). I have a coupla very efficient NEO loaded Schroeder cabs ... a 1215L and a 1515L that this head simply screams with. The 1515L is an old school tweeterless 2x15 cab that is fairly woofy sounding. The uber clarity of the MB500 mates well with it to make for a very P-Bass w/flats friendly amplification system which works well for the gut bucket blues I often play. One of my gigs over the weekend was very tight quarters for the band and I worried that someone might accidently pull on the power cable while trying to get on and off the stage and send that bad boy flying since it is so small and lightweight. I might like to get the rack mounting kit and put it in a lightweight molded rack for some piece of mind. Anybody gotta used GK MB500/MB800 MB FUSION 500/800 rack kit they'd like to sell?
 
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#2
pbassnut,
I'm surprised by the Kustom KXB500 which had a lot of love on this forum for its' tone & bang for buck a few years back.
Good call on the MB500! I think about the MB800 every so often but I rarely push my gain past 1:00 (master at 3:00). I've had the amp for 7 yrs now with no issues (attributable to the amp - just user error).
 
#4
Glad you found a rig you dig ! I play the same kind of gigs you do, and also use a Schroeder cab, a 15PL, ( two when I need them ). I use a Genz Benz amp though, a Shuttlemax 12.2.
 
#5
Congratulations!! I have the mb fusion 500 and it is my favorite head to date. Your right about the power, I could never imagine needing more power than this and doubt I will ever push it near its limits. They are such well engineered heads with beautiful tone. ENJOY
 
#6
keyboardguy said:
Nice ! If it didn't come with a manual, here it is:
Click to expand...

Thanks hooking me up! A coupla questions for my fellow (more knowledgeable) GK MB500 owners ...

I don't see anything on the amp that suggests that it has a fuse that can be replaced if blown (nor do I see any mention of one in the manual). Anybody know what the deal is on that? Also, my MB500 came to me with an 18 AWG IEC power cable. 18 AWG IEC cables are typically used with equipment that draw lower AMPs like EQs, preamps, compressors, etc. According to the manual, the MB500 draws 15 AMPs so it should theoretically use a 14 AWG IEC power cable. Those of you who bought your MB500s new, did yours come with a 14 or 18 AWG IEC power cable?
 
#7
There is a huge GK amp owners thread, loads of GK info in that.
I use whatever lead i have lying around at the time with my MB800. Never had a problem and i dont tend to over think these things, its all standard stuff.
i love my MB800 but was disappointed to find the XLR out didnt work the first time i plugged it in (after owning and gigging the amp for a couple of years). Ive since stopped using the head but its become my back up head.
 
#9
This just in ...

The MB500 makes for an excellent poweramp, too. I have a small gaggle of preamps and tried plugging in my Ampeg SVP-CL and Arkham Bullet preamps into the Effects Return patch point on the MB500 and it worked splendidly with both and yielded some very nice tones. Not only is the Effects Return patch point pre-Master (which is how I prefer it so that I can set the gain on the preamp to where it sounds the best and control the overall volume with the master on the MB500), but I can use the Boost circuit to insert a little drive into the sound as well. All in all, a nice little bonus for an amp that already has a whole lotta good stuff going for it.
 
#10
pbassnut said:
Well ... new to me, anyway (it was made in 2015). Took it out for a burn-in test on a coupla gigs this weekend and was very pleased with the results. This MB500 is my second micro head. My first was a Kustom KXB500 which had a lot going for it except the tone was kinda "dry" sounding to my ear. The MB500 sounds WAY better to me and has everything the legendary 800RB had going for it, only more & better ... it's smaller & lighter, more powerful, rotary contour control, boost & non-boost channels w/switching (although I like the boost circuit to be engaged all the time ... it's just a question of how much), tuner out w/mute and a thicker bottom end response. I've had shots at pretty good deals on a coupla MB800 in recent months and I'm glad I held out for an MB500 as the MB800 would've been WAY, WAY, WAY too powerful for my needs (mostly blues, soul and r&b bands playing small clubs). I have a coupla very efficient NEO loaded Schroeder cabs ... a 1215L and a 1515L that this head simply screams with. The 1515L is an old school tweeterless 2x15 cab that is fairly woofy sounding. The uber clarity of the MB500 mates well with it to make for a very P-Bass w/flats friendly amplification system which works well for the gut bucket blues I often play. One of my gigs over the weekend was very tight quarters for the band and I worried that someone might accidently pull on the power cable while trying to get on and off the stage and send that bad boy flying since it is so small and lightweight. I might like to get the rack mounting kit and put it in a lightweight molded rack for some piece of mind. Anybody gotta used GK MB500/MB800 MB FUSION 500/800 rack kit they'd like to sell?
Click to expand...
I agree with the statement that the mb 500 is a little monster.
I use it with a shroeder 15L, and love it. I've also done the kustom head and it was a close 2nd, and $100 cheaper when I got it.
 
#11
I picked up a used MB500 a few months ago. Haven’t had a chance to try it with my Schroeder Mini 12+L yet (4-ohm 500W model). Currently it is just at home connected to my Genz Benz Shuttle-8T cabinet. It does have a lot more bottom end than my Genz Benz Shuttle 3.0, which is very nice for low volume playing. I used to own a 400RB for many years and really missed having a GK, so jumped on this deal when I saw it!
 

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