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New Gallien Kreuger MB 210 & MB 115 PART 2:

Cabinet watts are sort of like speed limits. They are recommended but if you exceed them a bit ( 100 watts +- ) nothing horrible will likely happen.

Yes, this is true. And it would be one thing if you were being given a cab for free that was slightly less powerful than you need or if you found a used one for dirt cheap.

But if you're going to be spending $500 for a cab (like the Ampeg 410 that was linked above) then you might as well spend that money on a cab that is intended to handle whatever your MB210 can throw at it. I would say you should get something that has AT LEAST a 300 watt RMS handling (and of course, must be 8 ohms)

You MIGHT survive fine with that 200 watt RMS handling cab or you MIGHT also blow the cab depending on how hard you push it. Why not just spend the same money on something that is meant to handle that power and you know you don't have to worry about it? I also know from personal experience that I tried this theory out (the one that rovito mentioned that +/- 100 watts is fine) and ended up with a blown horn in my cab as a result when trying to push 500watts into a 400watt handling cab. Speed limits are posted for a reason. They may just be a suggestion but they're a pretty darn good one if you ask me. They're not just arbitrary.

Again, I've tried going with that theory that "RMS watt handling is just a suggestion" and it's led to a ruined cab (due to my inexperience with cab extensions perhaps, but that would never had happened if I paid attention to the numbers). So it's up to you ultimately but I would advise that you head the speed limits, especially while you're getting comfortable in a brand new car.

Always takes a few test drives to get completely comfortable. It's like, if your car says it only takes 5W-30 oil, you could put 5W-20 in it and your car would probably run fine, but it wouldn't run at it's optimal and given the prices being equal and supply being available, why not go with what's recommended?. Or if you have a car that is recommended to only take premium gas (like a nice BMW or something), you'll probably be fine putting regular gas in it but after a while, it will take its toll. I mean, manufacturers, as much as we hate to admit it, do know better than us. I definitely view my bass gear like my car in that it's my baby (my bass, amp, cabs collectively are my baby)

You can change your oil every 5,000 miles and be ok but if you listen to your mechanic and do it every 3,000 miles your car will last a lot longer. Those are the sorts of "suggestions" that some people ignore, but I would recommend you pay attention to. I've just recently had a really bad streak of luck involving these "suggestions" that I ignored and now have blown out the horn in my bass cab and my car is in the shop because I didn't change the oil frequently enough. So now I'm kind of at a point where I'm realizing I should listen to these "suggestions" as the manufacturer probably knows what they're talking about better than we do as much as I hate to admit that.

Personally, I think they know what they're talking about when they post these numbers to amps and cabs. I would recommend, as I mentioned, getting a cab that has at least 50 watts headroom but that's just me.
 
The short version: I bought a scratch-n-dent MB210 yesterday from GC, sight unseen and sound unheard, that they're shipping to my house. I have been assured that I can return it "for any reason" to my local GC. We'll see how that works out.

Why? The glowing reviews here, especially tallboybass' helpful youtube clip many, many pages back that showcased this thing's tone in a live setting. Sounds like he and I have similar tone goals: that clip had a warm, full tone that's right about where I'd like to be. It should arrive by the end of the week. I'll post my impressions of this both solo and after I've played with my band.

I'll be very interested to see how the MB210 pairs up with the MBE212s when those finally hit the streets. 500 watts into a stack of 2x10 and 2x12? For a total of 67 lbs? Holy cow. Best of all, I can load in and out in ~30 lb increments, which will be kind to my aging back.
 
I just got my mb212 and have gigged it twice. My only issue is it seems to be distorted constantly. I play a Schecter with active p/u's through a Line 6 bass pod xt live. I plugged in straight to the amp and it still is distorted. I doubt its just my bass. Any help ???!!!?!?!?!?!??!??!!!??!!?
 
I just got my mb212 and have gigged it twice. My only issue is it seems to be distorted constantly. I play a Schecter with active p/u's through a Line 6 bass pod xt live. I plugged in straight to the amp and it still is distorted. I doubt its just my bass. Any help ???!!!?!?!?!?!??!??!!!??!!?

If your sure its not the bass you may have gotten a bad one. There have been reports of some troubled units. Get it exchanged where you bought it or send GK a message and get it fixed.
 
I have had my GK MB210 a week now and think its a fantastic amp .
I had a Marshall MB4210 before and it blows that away completely .
The weight (or lack of) is amazing .

The tones of this amp are excellent and it is quite simply a great amp .

10/10 from me :D
 
I have to admit that this amp seems to be hit or miss as far as getting one that works. I do believe if your willing to put up with a bit of headache you will be more than pleased with the end result. Get it fixed or replaced. Well worth it for the asking price and tone... The MB2 500 was the same way at first and you hardly ever hear of problems with them now. People who own them love them.
 
Scratch that... I'm back to square one again. Tried multiple basses new batteries and cables etc... I think its the Line 6 Bass pod thats the issue. I think I just need to tweak the settings on the pod. Not sure what I was hearing the first time I bypassed it. ??? :help::confused: ???
 
I just got my mb212 and have gigged it twice. My only issue is it seems to be distorted constantly. I play a Schecter with active p/u's through a Line 6 bass pod xt live. I plugged in straight to the amp and it still is distorted. I doubt its just my bass. Any help ???!!!?!?!?!?!??!??!!!??!!?

Contact [email protected], he will take care of you.
 
The short version: I bought a scratch-n-dent MB210 yesterday from GC, sight unseen and sound unheard, that they're shipping to my house. I have been assured that I can return it "for any reason" to my local GC. We'll see how that works out.

If it seems to good to be true, it probably is: I got a nice e-mail from GC telling me the 210 was "backordered". Now, given that I was told it's a scratch-n-dent, that means either a) "We had one, but didn't update our inventory system fast enough to prevent it from also getting 'sold' to you" or b)"We never really had one, but just wanted to get you on the hook". Either way, I was not pleased. It looks like I'll just have to get in line with everyone else for the mid-to-late June arrival of the next batch of 'em.
 
If it seems to good to be true, it probably is: I got a nice e-mail from GC telling me the 210 was "backordered". Now, given that I was told it's a scratch-n-dent, that means either a) "We had one, but didn't update our inventory system fast enough to prevent it from also getting 'sold' to you" or b)"We never really had one, but just wanted to get you on the hook". Either way, I was not pleased. It looks like I'll just have to get in line with everyone else for the mid-to-late June arrival of the next batch of 'em.

As long as you get a new one for a scratch and dent price.