Gallien Krueger MB500

[Lozz196]

A short review of the Gallien Krueger MB500.

500 watts (and believeable 500 watts at that) at 4 Ohms, 375 at 8 Ohms. The amp has two speakon sockets, which can apparently be used with a 1/4 inch jackplug too. Not tried it, but that`s what the manual says. Has an on-board limiter, and tuner out - always helpful, that. Selectable boost by either control on the amp, or included footswitch. Gain, Contour (scoops mids) Bass, Low-Mid, High-Mid, Treble, Master Volume.

I`ve now used this amp with cabs from Eden, Hartke, Peavey, and Schroeder. I`ve found it to work best with the Peavey and Schroeder, but that`s not to say it was bad with the others.

I can go from the typical GK sound, think Duff McKagan, to a far more old-school thumping sound, so the amp has a great deal of versatility. The eq really does work well, and, as I usually find with good amps, it`s cutting the frequencies that seems to yield the best results.

Perfromance wise, it is a loud little amp, very GK in sound (durr, well it should be).

And one of the best things - it`s about the same size, and weight, as half a laptop, so it fits into my leads box.

If you want that famed GK sound, in a lightweight amp, but don`t want lightweight performance, this amp is worth checking out.

[danweb22]

+1 to the above, well pleased with mine! I only run it at 8ohm into a Barefaced Compact and it is seriously loud!

[Musicman20]

These are amazing value for money! Any close up pics?

[rOB]

a happy new MB500 user here. Love the foot switchable boost channel.

An effective EQ section is a nice change from my previous amp (Orange Bass Terror).

Edited January 19, 2013 by rOB