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Pairing the GK MB 500 with cabinets….

P

P-Boy69

Mar 7, 2019
85
61
#1
So i got a MB-II 115 combo and became a GK fanboy….why did I wait so long….:hyper:

so now I got a MB 500 head and need cabs…
CX, Neo II, Neo IV…was there a Neo III, was there a Neo III 212? Any input there, experience to be shared?
115, 112, 212….

I play both Americana/rock in one band and Noisy Grunge 90's inspired in another.

i know the 15 are said to be more "muddy" than the 10s….I didn't really hear that when i compared the 115 GK combo with my hartke500….
I am tempted by a 112 or 212 the most and was wondering
Would the 112 hold its own?
Would it actually sound better at practice, as in does the 112 driven at say 50% of its capacity sound better than a 212 driven at 30% for instance (i assume same volume)? More presence and thickness for the 212? So many questions….
Thanks y'all
 
#6
Standalone said:
Fifteens are *not* muddy. IME they have a clear driving midrange with GK amps.

Personally, I rock the old school GK/Bag End combo, which I recommend to anyone who cares to listen. A stack of two fifteen inch cabs is such a great, lightweight, robust gigging rig. I'm continually surprised that more bassists do not go this route.
Click to expand...

I'm somewhat regretting not having gone that route myself. I couldn't show you a frequently response curve, but I've always felt that they're the least muddy speaker dimension, as the center of gravity of the lower mids drops into a more pleasing range. You could say that they're scooped, but they have a pleasing midrange that's a little more relaxed than 10s or even 12s.
 
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#7
I suggest going for the Neo 212 to start. That will be good for both bands. If you are playing outside and/or on a large stage, a vertically stacked dual 212 setup would likely work well.

You will not be too happy if that single 12 just barely keeps up. Go bigger and turn down as necessary (always easier this way).
 
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#10
Gearhead17 said:
I suggest going for the Neo 212 to start. That will be good for both bands. If you are playing outside and/or on a large stage, a vertically stacked dual 212 setup would likely work well.

You will not be too happy if that single 12 just barely keeps up. Go bigger and turn down as necessary (always easier this way).
Click to expand...
You also already have that 115 combo that can cover any gigs that a 112 might work for.
 
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#12
P-Boy69 said:
So i got a MB-II 115 combo and became a GK fanboy….why did I wait so long….:hyper:

so now I got a MB 500 head and need cabs…
CX, Neo II, Neo IV…was there a Neo III, was there a Neo III 212? Any input there, experience to be shared?
115, 112, 212….

I play both Americana/rock in one band and Noisy Grunge 90's inspired in another.

i know the 15 are said to be more "muddy" than the 10s….I didn't really hear that when i compared the 115 GK combo with my hartke500….
I am tempted by a 112 or 212 the most and was wondering
Would the 112 hold its own?
Would it actually sound better at practice, as in does the 112 driven at say 50% of its capacity sound better than a 212 driven at 30% for instance (i assume same volume)? More presence and thickness for the 212? So many questions….
Thanks y'all
Click to expand...
GK NEO IV 212. light and loud.
I have a Mesa D-800+, and a GK Goldline 500. I also have a GK MB210-II combo that was my gig rig for over a year. It doesn't get used much anymore though. I also have two Markbass Traveler 151P cabs, when matched with the GK Goldline 500 head, is old school rock n roll for the soul, all day long. The GK NEO IV 212 can get ya there but it's definitely more modern, more refined. Paired up with my D-800+ head, it makes the perfect load in/out setup for small bar room, 150 - 200 people, gigs.
 
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#16
I've ran an MB500 with a 212 on bottom and a 112 on top. Quite the setup and I loved every single bit of it!
9EFC09B0-F3C7-46DC-8223-5A1982D6F683.jpeg
 
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#17
I've played my GK MB-500 with a lot of different speaker configs. The "purest" tone I get is from a Fender Rumble 1x15 cab with a tweeter, however original Eminence 15 has been swapped for an Eminence CB-158, which isn't a lot different from the original, but it has just a little more low end.

I frequently connect it to an Ampeg SVT 210 AV. That sounds great for fairly low volume gigs. I use both cabinets if playing in a really big room or outdoors.

I have used a 2x15 cab, but more frequently I've used two 1x15 cabs. I have also used the amp with two 1x12 cabinets, but they are sealed and fairly small volume cabinets, so it wasn't great results, but that's not the amp"s fault. The amp is good for all applications.

If it has a fault, it seems the bass EQ control covers too broad a range of frequencies
 
#18
IMHO a single 12 is generally not going to be enough for many live gigs. The NEO IV 112 is rated for 400W, but I wouldn't want to shove that much power into it.

The NEO 115 is slightly more efficient and has a higher power rating.

The NEO 212 is more efficient than the 115 and also handles more power.

If possible play to see which you like.

If you want to consider a two cab option get 8 ohm cabs.

NEO IV:
210, 112, 115 come in 8 ohms.
212 comes in 4 or 8 ohms.
410 only comes in 4 ohms.

IMHO, only choose a 4 ohm cab if you are certain it will be loud enough on it's own. I would rather have a pair of 210s than a 410.
 
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#19
P-Boy69 said:
So i got a MB-II 115 combo and became a GK fanboy….why did I wait so long….:hyper:

so now I got a MB 500 head and need cabs…
CX, Neo II, Neo IV…was there a Neo III, was there a Neo III 212? Any input there, experience to be shared?
115, 112, 212….

I play both Americana/rock in one band and Noisy Grunge 90's inspired in another.

i know the 15 are said to be more "muddy" than the 10s….I didn't really hear that when i compared the 115 GK combo with my hartke500….
I am tempted by a 112 or 212 the most and was wondering
Would the 112 hold its own?
Would it actually sound better at practice, as in does the 112 driven at say 50% of its capacity sound better than a 212 driven at 30% for instance (i assume same volume)? More presence and thickness for the 212? So many questions….
Thanks y'all
Click to expand...

The MB500 (especially with that boost control) has REALLY good clarity and sounds best with 15" speakers, IMHO.
 
#20
Try to play through some 12's somewhere and see if you like the sound. They combine the best of the 10's with the best part of the 15's. I would not get the 112..
If you want to use just one cabinet, I would get a 4ohm 212 neo iv. It would give you the full 500 watts and the cab is rated to 800 so that's good. Or you could get the 115 and have 350 watts on a 500 max watt cabinet which would be fine. If you needed more than 350 then you could then add a second cabinet to get up to 500.

BTW, I'm using the neo iv 115 on a mb800 and the sound is fantastic. I posted a related question today, but used a separate thread so as to not hijack yours.
 

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