GK MB-200 amp

[dmccombe7]

Have just bought this tiny little amp from a fellow BC'er and I'm really taken aback how good this little amp is.
At 8" x 8" x 2" it really packs a punch for its size.
The other thing that took me by surprise was how nice a tone it had. I've used this type of light weight amp in various studios before but rarely get this kind of rich clean tone yet still seems to retain a bit of meat.

Taking to full loud rehearsal on Sunday so will parallel with my GB streamliner 600 and see how it fares up.

So far at home it impresses a lot and has opened my eyes to possibilities with GK gear.

Dave

[nottswarwick]

Lol I thought the same when I got mine.

Having just sold my streamliner 600 I'll be using mine on my gigs this weekend. 4 ohm load essential though to get the 200 watts.

I did a few gigs with it a 4 ohm EBS neo 15 and it was ace.

[nottswarwick]

In fact depending on how it is with my cabs I might get the bigger version.

[Merton]

[quote name='nottswarwick' timestamp='1345823789' post='1782083']
In fact depending on how it is with my cabs I might get the bigger version.
[/quote]
That's what I did, tho I ended up swapping the MB500 for an MB Fusion The MB200 is an astonishingly good little amp IMO

[Lozz196]

Great amps, the GK MB range. I`ve had the MB 500, and the MB Fusion 500. Just realised Ampeg is more my sound, but I`d thoroughly recommend the little GK amps to anyone.

[nottswarwick]

Do they sound similar to the rb series?

[Lozz196]

I`ve never used an RB, but Kirky on here, who just bought my MB Fudson had this to say about it:

I've benefitted from Lozz's decision to change his set up. I used his old GK MB Fusion for the first time at practice last night and I have to say, its exactly the sound I want. I'm playing through a BF Compact (with another on the way). I was quite happy with my PF500 too, but the GK has much better mids, and the carefully overdriven sound I got from channel B was fantastic. Overall I'd say its very close to the GK 700RB I had until a year ago.

[Kirky]

Yep, I think the sounds is similar. I thinks its all to do with the low and high mid controls. Great amps.

[dmccombe7]

The tone from the amp has made me sit up and take a serious look at GK amps.
Would definately stick with the lightweight amps but possibly the bigger version if the 200 isn't quite enough for a live gig although signs so far seem to point to a very loud amp. Tomorrow's rehearsal will be the first loud test with it running my 2 Berg AE112 cabs at rehearsal volumes.
I would normally parallel this with my GB into a Berg HT322 cab.

Dave

[Lozz196]

They are very loud. With the Gain set to about 2 o`clock on both the MB500, and the MB Fusion, my gigging volume was 9 o`clock. If I pushed it to 10 o`clock just to see what that was like, it was incredibly loud. I reckon the MB200 should be fine for most gigs.

[Musicman20]

The MB800 is very cheap at Thomann.

[nottswarwick]

Mb500 even cheaper.

Tonight sees a wedding gig. Rig will be mtd kz4 (with modded Bart pups and pre), Mb200, 2 x Vanderkley 112 ext cabs, 1 x gramma pad.

Past experience says it will be loud enough. If I dig the tone, I will be close to getting the 500. Only other thoughts at this stage are mb fusion or EBS reidmar. I'm not sure about the fusion as my streamliner was too warm so it might not be for me. I love the price of the mb500 and the reidmar.

We shall see. Interesting times anyway.

[Merton]

Personally I found the 500 more "brittle" hence switching to the Fusion. Just my 2c of course.

I might gig my 200 tonight, tiny little Wedding barn probably doesn't need the Fusion...

[nottswarwick]

Fusion sounds nice in the demos. Only £480 at thomann. How is the build in comp to the mb 200? My 200 is fine just does not feel that substantial.

[nottswarwick]

So the little mb200 was unbelievable. I ran my mxr m80 in front of it for some drive on some songs too, but either clean (mxr totally bypassed) or with a bit of drive it absolutely rocked.

Seriously, it is nearly as loud as my old stm 600 - useable clear loudness with warmth and bite.

My vanderkley cabs are pretty efficient but honestly it's all you need for most gigs.

We are a loud covers band. Always use pa.support but still have a big stage sound.

Going to get an mb500 or maybe an rb700 or 1001.

[dmccombe7]

Cheers Nottswarwick, you are using more or less a similar set up with the GB and Vand's. Good to know the MB200 stood up to it.
Will find out later today after rehearsal.

Dave

[dmccombe7]

Update on how the wee MB200 fared at reherasals yesterday.
Tried it running via my Berg AE112 cabs and it was sharp and clear across all frequencies with all flat excpet bass boosted slightly.
Then ran it into the studion Ampeg 8x10 and paralleled up to my GB into Berg cabs. This would be my normal studio set up when using my Warwick amp as back up.
It was fantastic. The GB gave me the warmth and overall power while the GK gave that little bit extra oomph with the Ampeg cab. It was more than loud enough with max vol setting of 12 o clock when running my 2 bergs (4 ohms)
Overall it has a very sharp and clear sound with plenty of tonal change as and when required.

I would highly recommend this amp if you are looking for a lite weight powerful amp with minimal fuss.

Dave

[Merton]

[quote name='nottswarwick' timestamp='1345896235' post='1782839']
Fusion sounds nice in the demos. Only £480 at thomann. How is the build in comp to the mb 200? My 200 is fine just does not feel that substantial.
[/quote]

Sorry, been away a few days. The build quality is fine, it's a fair but heavier than the 200 (but still ridiculously light!) so feels a bit more solid but I don't have a problem with it or the 200

[Dr.Dave]

I get happier with my MB 210 combo every time I use it. I loved my old RB 400 top and had thought it louder than the new combo , but now I've learned to use the combo's eq better the combo's thunderous. Massive amounts of arse end.

Volume's relative , of course - but in practical terms it means I don't use the matching 2x15 for most gigs we do these days (whereas I always used 2 cabs with the old head) which means we can often get away with not taking the trailer. For a gigging pub band of a..erm...less young age !! - that's a real boost.

The xlr makes me seeth though. Clearly it's been put on backwards and you need a screwdriver or a key or smilar to release it. Somebody designed that...and somebody accepted that design. That makes me angry.

I rate GK amps very highly i terms of a reliable , workman like product with easily found , useable sounds for a gigging musician at a reasonable price.

[Beer of the Bass]

I've been very happy with my MB200 so far. I can't comment on loudness since I'm using it with a single 10" which can reach its limit with any >100w amp I've tried, but it seems a very musical sounding amp with the EQ centred at useful places. Although it's inherently slightly scooped, the EQ is more than capable of undoing that. It'll be interesting to try gigging it with my 2x12" some time.

[Beer of the Bass]

I finally got round to gigging the MB200 with my 2x12" last night, so I thought I'd mention how I got on. My cab has B&C 12HPL64 drivers and is 8 ohms, so the MB200 would have been capable of around 140 watts. It was a three band night, and we all used my rig. For my band and one of the others, it did a great job - the available volume compares very favourably to the 100 watt valve amp I usually use with this cab, and the tone didn't compare badly either, though with a more modern character to it. This was with mic'd kick and snare, and guitarists using Fender Blues Juniors, to give you an idea of what sort of volume we were working at.
One of the bands found they couldn't get enough volume onstage, but the guitarist was using a 350 watt Marshall Mode 4 with too much low end into a 4x12", and most of the punters left the room until their set was finished. So, I'd say it's a viable gigging head for me, but might not be if you have overkill guitarists.

[Merton]

If you have a very sensitive cab the MB200 can keep up with a Mode 4 no problem, mine has done on several occasions (Barefaced Vintage and S12...)

[Beer of the Bass]

[quote name='Merton' timestamp='1351512989' post='1851916']
If you have a very sensitive cab the MB200 can keep up with a Mode 4 no problem, mine has done on several occasions (Barefaced Vintage and S12...)
[/quote]
My cab should have similar sensitivity to the S12, but at 8 ohms instead of 4, it'll be a little less loud with the same amp. Mind you, this guitarist was stupidly, painfully loud, and I'd never expect a 140 watt bass amp through a 2x12" to compete with a guitar amp of twice the power through twice the cone area. With the more reasonable guitarists in my band, it does a fine job.

[Merton]

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1351514132' post='1851945']
My cab should have similar sensitivity to the S12, but at 8 ohms instead of 4, it'll be a little less loud with the same amp. Mind you, this guitarist was stupidly, painfully loud, and I'd never expect a 140 watt bass amp through a 2x12" to compete with a guitar amp of twice the power through twice the cone area. With the more reasonable guitarists in my band, it does a fine job.
[/quote]

Aha, yes my guitarist is generally quite sensible with his volume control, a rare breed indeed