ThomBassmonkey

[quote name='Bottle' post='1162405' date='Mar 14 2011, 09:22 PM']The 4x10 is just too much cab sometimes. Anyway, good luck with your search for tonal nirvana - sounds like you're well on the way! Ian[/quote] What's too much cab? I don't understand. My back might agree with you, but I certainly don't see the problem. I already have my tonal nirvana, I've played through a lot of amps and watched god knows how many bands play through various amps (including mine) and my GK RB rig always sounds perfect with any bass in any band IMO. Much like some people feel about P basses, it just always seems to sit right with me. I don't think I'll ever have anything else as my main rig. The perfect tone comes at a premium though, at the moment it's my only amp so I have to practice with it and it's used for all our small acoustic sets too. Carting it around is a pain (quite literally sometimes) so I need something smaller for convenience. Thanks for the kind words.

[quote name='TheGreek' post='1162207' date='Mar 14 2011, 07:35 PM']Somebody had dropped and scratched a bass which resulted in a £200 reduction - could you live with a scratch knowing you'd saved £200?? The new owner clearly could!! How much is a can of body filler nowadays anyway??[/quote] I think that was the only time on the Saturday there was actually some quiet, it went down with a real crash haha. It was one of the new Tanglewaters IIRC. I would've been very tempted myself if I'd realised it'd been knocked down so much in price. I did look it over after it had been sold and couldn't see anything (though I didn't pick it up so I guess it was near the back strap button). Someone definitely got a bargain there. On the strength of what I saw at the show, I'll be getting a new GK rig. I spent most of the two days fiddling about with the MB heads (I love my job haha) and I'm so impressed there's definitely going to be one on it's way (more in a post on the amp forum about it). I very nearly came home with a Tanglewater, there weren't any there that I found especially good looking though and though they felt solid, they didn't blow me away like I was hoping. I directly A/Bd one to a proper Overwater and (although the proper ones I tried were very flash) they definitely held their own. I don't know if a good setup could've made the difference but it just didn't quite feel as smooth.

[quote name='Bottle' post='1162367' date='Mar 14 2011, 08:50 PM']Indeed. You could fake up a huge 8x10 rig and large head made out of just the facia and hide a smaller cab (I dunno, maybe a Neo 2x12 and the MB200) behind it, kinda like those mammoth stage rigs you'd see in the '80s......[/quote] To be honest I was thinking more along the lines of taking down my two 410RBH cabs and (if I get the MB fusion, 2 neo212s and a backup MB200 like I'm thinking) stacking the 212s on top of those and the in-house trace 810 on stage too. With my 2001, the fusion and the MB200, I could run it all, 16 10" speakers and 4 12" powered by 1780w. haha. Not sure how much Jay (the sound guy) would appreciate it...I'm sure he'd see the funny side though..maybe. [quote name='Bottle' post='1162367' date='Mar 14 2011, 08:50 PM']Well, it's a long story, but I've found I can hear myself better on stage through my 1x15 if I run it clean directly off of the head (with maybe a smidge of bass rolled off, and the contour all the way off, everything else flat). Seems to suit both of my passive basses and playing style. The SansAmp is purely for the PA, so I set it up using the default setting out of the user manual for the 'Active Bass Simulator' i.e all the EQ controls fully clockwise, ~75% wet/dry blend, smidge of drive, and volume for the PA desk input. I don't use the DI out of the head, unless I'm tri-amping. HTH, Ian[/quote] Ok, so basically you're purely using your MB for stage monitoring with a bit of colouring from the pre then using the Sansamp to EQ and DI? The "lightweight" rig I'm thinking of would still be quite tall (and of course I'd mainly be using the MB fusion head), so I should still be able to hear it fine. I'll bear it in mind though. I am wondering if I should skip the two 212s and maybe go for 2 112s though, or maybe one of each for the versatility. I'd still have my 410RBHs if I need big volume. Damn you Gallien, why do you do this to me? I'll own them all one day! haha.

[quote name='Mr Bassman' post='1162286' date='Mar 14 2011, 08:13 PM']The Epi's have 2x speakons + 2 x 1/4" jacks[/quote] Annoyingly the GK cabs only have the one speakon and jack. Hopefully it's just a case of using a splitter for 2 cabs (I'm running 8 ohm ones), though I'm really not in the know for these kinds of things. [quote name='Mr Bassman' post='1162286' date='Mar 14 2011, 08:13 PM']I got mine from [url="http://www.soundslive.co.uk/product~name~Gallien-Krueger-MB200-Bass-Amp-Head~ID~14131.asp"]Soundslive[/url] a couple of days after ordering.[/quote] I was thinking that, I'm pretty sure that Polar have them in stock, it shouldn't take more than a week or so even if your retailer doesn't have them in, Polar usually ship next-day delivery, then your shop only has to send it to you. Maybe best to give them a buzz and see if there's a problem. They are awesome little beasts, I'm sure you won't be disapointed.

[quote name='Clarky' post='1161930' date='Mar 14 2011, 03:56 PM']Here's the Rotosound slapper extraordinaire, featured in an earlier BC thread [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=15986&hl=Clutterbuck"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=...;hl=Clutterbuck[/url] The guy obviously has amazing technical ability but ....[/quote] That's the pillock I mentioned in another post. He was sat right behind the GK stand with the same bass and amp for two days straight playing that %$@# at full blast. The only time he stopped was when he went over the other side of the path (about 2 meters away) to do the same thing on another stall. He didn't seem to have any sense of how much he was pissing people off. Sure, he had a few people watching him as they passed by, does that mean the rest of us want him doing that for hours at a time and playing over any potential customers that want to try out gear? Whenever the quiet period ended, he was always one of the first people to crank his amp (before other people had even started) and start churning out that noise at full blast. Grr, the guy really pissed me off haha. He was on an ego trip for 2 days without a care for anyone else.

[quote name='woodster' post='1161843' date='Mar 14 2011, 03:00 PM'] 'nuff said...[/quote] haha, I love that.

Have you thought about carving the back of the lower horn to make it thinner? Also the back of the neck pocket so there's not a huge chunk of wood there. I can't remember where I saw it a while ago, I thik it was on a 36 fret bass (and a tasteful one, not a wishbass ), it looked like it improved the upper fret access a lot without compromising (or even changing) the looks from the front.

It's just quick and easy IME. If you want a pristine look then it's not going to work for you, but if you're doing a punk look, it doesn't matter, you could nail it on for all the difference it makes. The guitarist in my band's strap is taped on. He batters it about a lot though, so it suits the whole look of it. I've thought about doing something like that with my bass (it has a relic'd finish and it'd look good a bit punked up) but it's not something I'm desperate enough to do.

[quote name='Mr Bassman' post='1161749' date='Mar 14 2011, 01:45 PM']I've had the MB200 for about a month now, I love it. Paired with a Wizzy 10 or two Epifani Ul110's it sounds like it should cost 2 or 3 times the price! There's plenty of power for jazz & blues gigs with drums. I've also got the MB210 which I've used on a few gigs, it sounds great with with acoustic upright, eub & jazz bass, and it's lightweight. Anyone got the MB112 yet?[/quote] What do you use to pair it up with two cabs or do the Epis have links? The one downside about the MB200 is that it only has the one output. I'm sure there's cables available that can split the signal, I need to look into it really. I couldn't say 100% but I don't think there's any MB112s around yet. I think Polar are still waiting on them, they should be here soon though. Again, I might be wrong though, it's hard to tell what's being said when there's 50 people doing Mark King impressions with their amps on 11.

[quote name='Musicman20' post='1161724' date='Mar 14 2011, 01:27 PM']Ive always wanted a GK amp but I never knew which one to get! The MB500/Fusion look great, but they now have more powerful ones being released soon![/quote] Not that I'm aware of. There was going to be a Fusion 1050 (1050w, predictably), but that's the big brother of the Fusion 550, not the MB Fusion (i.e. it's the full size and weight version). I heard over the weekend that a few thing have been cancelled, I can't say for definite but the Fusion 1050 was one of the ones mentioned. To make them more powerful they'd have to make them bigger which would take away from the magic of the tiny little boxes that pump out insane volume IMO. If they made them more powerful, it'd defeat the point of them trying to aim for the lightweight and smaller budget market rather than their artist (RB) series which is in big-boy territory. Obviously I don't actually work for GK or Polar Audio, so I'm just going on what I've been told (which is far from everything) and my own feelings about it. I've just emailed Polar to sort out getting something. An MB Fusion with two NEO212s would be a great contrast to my current big rig and an MB200 that lives in my gig bag will never hurt. MM20, if you're ever down Notts/Derbys direction, you're welcome to give my rig (or rigs if I end up with several) a whirl. It'll give you a good idea of what to expect from GK gear as they all have that trademark GK sound from the little 200w micro to my 1080w monster.

Here's a little demo of the MB200 by the way (not sure what cab it's going through), I think a lot of people don't take them seriously because they're so small but as this shows, they're very capable little things.

[quote name='Bottle' post='1161606' date='Mar 14 2011, 11:55 AM']TBH even [i]my[/i] GK looks a bit silly perched on top of a mahoosive 4x10![/quote] It's a shame the NEO810s aren't coming out, an MB200 perched on top of one would've looked great!! If I do get a second rig, I'll be taking it down to the old bell in Derby at some point and hide my other heads, let people think that I'm using the teeny MB200 through 4 cabs haha. Or I could use their in-house 8x10 too...mm.., volume. I managed to drown out their PA with just my current rig! How come you use a Sansamp from the FX out? How's the direct out?

There was some good stuff at decent prices there, no doubt some people got very good deals on some stuff.

James, which models do you think are overpriced? I've just checked on Thomann and the MB500 is £420, the MB Fusion is £583. For small powerful heads, there's not a lot of quality stuff cheaper. Agreed, the artist stuff is pretty expensive, but it is (IMO) very good and there's far more expensive gear on the market. [quote name='crez5150' post='1161334' date='Mar 14 2011, 08:04 AM']Hey Thom Yes I've been using the GK stuff for years as I too have a tie up with them and Beyer or Polar as they are now known. I have two rigs, one with an old GK MK1 RB1000 head and Aguilar DB112 cabs and the other set up is an MB500 with a 410RBH. I used to use 2 x 410RBH cabs but as you say they are not the lightest cabs around, though I think they have a great sound to them. I just wish they would do away with the carpet finish. never liked that on a cab.... reminds me of cheap car stereo subs.... I couldn't make the show as I was playing three functions over the weekend. Was Mikey C from Polar manning the stand? Jay[/quote] How come you use the "heavy" head with the lighter cabs and vice versa? I'm planning on using my 2001RB with my 410RBHs and then have a seperate micro rig for practices and small/acoustic gigs. They do sound better than the NEOs IMO, but then the neos are designed to be light (and still do sound great, just not quite as great), the RBH cabs are designed purely for tone. Mikey (I think) popped down on the Sunday, it was mainly Alex, Andy and Clive. I'm crap with surnames, so that's all you'll get. haha

It's a bit simplistic to say that a P is better than a Jazz, there's so many factors involved. I love my Sandberg JJ5 (admittedly not a Fender Jazz, basically the same bass though), it sounds brilliant in my (rock) band. Would a P sound better? I get the exact sound in my head and it sounds like that in the context of the other instruments, so a P could only move away from that.

This one's the classic that always springs to mind for me. They got told they had to mime instruments but singing would be live:

I'm obviously going to be biased, I'm a GK endorsee and I spent the weekend on their LBGS stand but...wow. GKs are a pretty rare sight around here and I bought my first GK rig on the strength of renting one 700RB (just the head, can't remember what cab) at a band practice. I always assumed that the MB heads are what you'd expect from a small (relatively) cheap head, i.e. they did the job but struggled and sucked tone. I have to say, I was blown away. I got to play them when all was still quiet through the neo cabs and they're not lacking in tone at all, they're very comparable to their big brothers in the artist range. The real surprise of the show for me was playing with the MB 200, it's a 200w head that weighs 2lbs and is tiny, only cost £200 at the show too (£250 list IIRC). Plugged in to the neo410 (which was only 8ohm, making the head run at 140w) it was happily pumping out giggable volumes (though there wasn't a lot of headroom, it'd struggle without PA support at medium-large gigs). I'm seriously considering picking one up. Even at the £250 list (a quick google showed them available at £209), it's an amazing price when you think you can spend over £100 easily on a DI box (this has a direct out and it should be good quality judging from the other GK stuff) and having a back-up head that weighs nothing and takes up no room is invaluable. I'm seriously considering getting something to contrast my "big rig" (also known as the back breaking rig), mainly looking at a MB fusion (the hybrid 500w) and a couple of 2x12 neos (I prefer the RBHs but you can't argue with the weight difference), but having a MB200 always hidden in my bag as a backup is looking very appealing as well. Has anyone ever used them in anger? Obviously using one at a bass show where you're in a world of bad slap playing or on your own before it opens is different to actually gigging one. It's worth mentioning that apparently an MB500 isn't actually the same head as in the MB 500w combos (I thought it was but apparently not), likewise the MB200 isn't the same as in the MB115. Apologies for posting raving about something that I'm obviously so biased on, but I rarely get excited about stuff that's going on in bass gear world, but the size and power of these was a geniune shock and the price is reasonable too compared to some of the other stuff around. Now if GK burn all the remaining GLX gear (the hideous gold halfstack for those that were at the show), they'll have aflawless lineup IMO.

[quote name='Bassmurf' post='1160356' date='Mar 13 2011, 12:04 PM']Oh and the Ampeg and GK stands as well, I understand your amps are loud but do ya have to turn them up that much?[/quote] I was on the GK stand, I completely agree, everything (including us) was too loud, but there was some pillock right next to us that was playing slap solidly for both days with a cranked amp. We were trying to keep it down but people literally couldn't hear anything they were playing on our stand. It was either turn it up or lose interest from a potential customer because someone's ego was on the lose. I was making a point to play as little slap as possible whilst demonstrating, 95% of people will never play slap in a band, demonstrating (or testing as a customer) something that's hardly going to benefit anyone is pointless. The Sunday was MUCH better, they actually enforced the 1/2 hour silences, so though it still was absurd, your ears got a rest and it kinda reset the volume (although there was always someone that decided when the noisy half hour started, it should start on 11). I had a look around as much as I could, most of what was there seemed pretty standard stuff. It was nice to see the Tanglewaters (as someone dubbed them earlier), they seem nice instruments. I was tempted to pick one up but it just didn't quite feel right somehow. Although that's quite possibly because I tried out a "proper" overwater too and they were obviously much cheaper basses.

4 strings generally have wider string spacing which probably accounts for the feeling of more space. I tend to play the same on both, just with an extra string on the 5. Slap would probably be easier for me and my fat fingers on a 4 but I use the B a hell of a lot so it's not really an option.