Fallen Value of Gallien Krueger MB150S-112 III?

[bobmartin]

I'm a bit puzzled by the very low used prices being paid for these combo's. The new price is around £777, but it seems that they're only worth about £300 used. Any ideas as to why? It hardly makes any sense to sell them with this disparity.

[BassBod]

They are just a very old design now.  Go back 10 years or more, and there wasn’t much that could do what they do for the size and weight - now there are many small heads and cabs that can..and more.  I also don’t think the later models added any performance...if anything they seem to have more circuit noise than previous versions.  

[chris_b]

+1

Great little amps. . . . for their time. . . . but so many better options out there these days.

[bobmartin]

I've been using them since the mid 80's, but they've started to become relatively heavy for the output. I play hotel gigs with particularly tricky get-ins, and add bit of age in with that..

A small Mark Bass amp and a light 1x12" cab like the Eden might be a go'er, but I don't fancy taking a bit hit on the Gallien though.

[chris_b]

13 minutes ago, bobmartin said:

I've been using them since the mid 80's, but they've started to become relatively heavy for the output. I play hotel gigs with particularly tricky get-ins, and add bit of age in with that..

A small Mark Bass amp and a light 1x12" cab like the Eden might be a go'er, but I don't fancy taking a bit hit on the Gallien though.

Checkout a Barefaced 112 for an even lighter cab.

[BassBod]

The current values look ok to me...they used to be around £650 -£700 new, so £300 feels about right.  No one with a ten year old GK paid £800 for it (hopefully!).  Also, the painted metal cabs can scratch easily, so if they haven’t lived in a bag they can look pretty rough, even if they are in good working order.  Last time I looked out for one most examples on offer looked pretty rough 😳

Edited May 13, 2018 by BassBod

[bobmartin]

2 hours ago, BassBod said:

The current values look ok to me...they used to be around £650 -£700 new, so £300 feels about right.  No one with ten year old GK paid £800 for it (hopefully!).  Also, the painted metal cabs can scratch easily, so if they haven’t lived in a bag they can look pretty rough, even if they are in good working order.  Last time I looked out for one most examples on offer looked pretty rough 😳

Closer to £800 at the moment. https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=gallien+krueger+mb150s-112+iii+shop&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

Edited May 13, 2018 by bobmartin

[BassBod]

If I still owned one, and it was reliable I’d keep it.   PA’s are getting smaller, lighter and better.  Modern small active PA speakers can carry some bass into the room, even fairly small systems.  That makes the little GK’s a viable close monitor in many more situations than a few years ago.

[bobmartin]

2 hours ago, chris_b said:

Checkout a Barefaced 112 for an even lighter cab.

I was thinking of putting the money from selling the GK into a good small amp like the Mark Bass or even the Quilter BB800, and using my GK extension cab in the short term until I've got some more cash to put into a better speaker. I don't do loud gigs anymore..

[Jack]

On 13/05/2018 at 11:18, chris_b said:

+1

Great little amps. . . . for their time. . . . but so many better options out there these days.

This. I've had an 'S' combo and two of the 'E' heads. They were the only/best choice for a high quality, tiny, light, gigging amp but now there's dozens.

 

I'd have a GK MB200 with a GSS 1x12" (new £580 total) but you cold have the TE Elf and the Barefaced 1x10" (~£550 ish?). Or this, or that, or the other. There are many rigs for <£800 that are lighter and louder these days.

[bobmartin]

I don't want to have 2 set-ups doing essentially the same job though, and the reason for the change is for physical convenience, and not particularly about the sound quality at the volumes that I work at.    

Sounds like I should put up and shut up..

[Jack]

2 hours ago, bobmartin said:

I don't want to have 2 set-ups doing essentially the same job though, and the reason for the change is for physical convenience, and not particularly about the sound quality at the volumes that I work at.    

Sounds like I should put up and shut up..

Well combos usually beat stacks in terms of convenience and if the GK is loud enough then stick with it. It's a classic and it sounds amazing.

[Larry_M]

A few thoughts having gone through this ...

I used an MB150S-III until about four years ago, sometimes with the GK extension cab added. The combo was 11kg, and the MBX112 extension cab just 5.5kg.  I changed to a head & cab for physical convenience as I don't have a car and so getting around London for gigs the convenience factor was important.

I changed to GK MB200 or an Eden WTX264 with the GK cab.  It was worth changing as much lighter to get around with.   And I could add a second extension cab and it was still all light and compact.

One things to watch out for if taking that path: the GK cab only has one input so you can't daisy chain two of them. That means getting a head with two speaker outputs, which limited the options (eg, the MB200 has just one, as does TE Elf, and I think the TC BH250 and Nanomark also). The Eden was great though as it has 1 x speakon and 2 x jack outputs.  Or buy a second cab than can be daisy chained.

All in all, my experience was that if convenience is about lighter weight then the change from combo was worthwhile.  For a light cab, the BF One10 is great (I'm a recent convert at 7/7.5kg) and the GSS 112 might be worth a thought at 8kg http://www.guitarsoundsystems.com/gss-single12-12-bass-cabinet-c2x20335127.  Both those can be daisy chained.

On ebay I just got £387 for the MB150 combo, in good shape and with a bag. I had it on here cheaper before that but pots needed a clean and I wasn't getting interest. But I'd reckon that's about right on ebay.   

But the MBS still sounded great .... 

[Cathode_Follower]

Sorry for digging up an old thread, but I just finished repairing one of these for a friend. I suspect part of the depreciation issue is the build quality. Not sure how they put together the cabinets (possibly welded although there is no sign of any bead) but the one I was looking at had basically split apart.

Even after bolting everything back together with internal L-section along all the edges and a thorough epoxying there were still buzzes coming from other areas of the amp which were previously inaudible due to the primary issue.

Generally unimpressed with the build quality, noticing several threaded screws (speaker, one of the feet, several around the amp area) and many countersinks not adequately depthed which to me just screams cheap and lazy.

Granted the friend was using it on a regular basis as a jobbing musician in NYC but this was marketed to pros, so you'd think it would be robust enough..

[itu]

2 hours ago, Cathode_Follower said:

Sorry for digging up an old thread, but I just finished repairing one of these for a friend...

Generally unimpressed with the build quality, noticing several threaded screws...

Exactly the same situation, except the combo was 200MB. I had one but it was stolen (30 years ago). Love it, a good sounding and tiny work horse (my little pony?). But imperial bolts and nuts, no inserts or hitserts...

Still I think that it is a good unit. Was it meant to be in use for +30 years? Maybe not, it is still reasonably easy to repair and it very likely works the next decade.

[MANTIS]

I love my MBS-III.  I bought it new in 2020, after testing a dozen modern options (Trace ELF, Fender Rumble, MarkBass (everything)).  The GK has dynamic punch that none of these newer amps have, in my opinion.  For me, the whole point of playing bass is the feeling of dynamic power.  Some weak-a$$ newer designs have ZERO ability to move some air quickly.  I do have Eden WT300 with 410XLT and a couple 210XLTs, but I'm old.  I'd rather pack up just a DI and my bass, or bring the GK so I can hear myself.  It works great for all the small gigs I've been doing, as well as in the studio.  Sounds great with my EUB as well as all the regulars (Jazz, MM, Steinberger).  I love it and wouldn't trade it for the world.  It is a bit vulnerable to dings, though.  I need a case...

[BillyBass]

1 hour ago, MANTIS said:

I love my MBS-III.  I bought it new in 2020, after testing a dozen modern options (Trace ELF, Fender Rumble, MarkBass (everything)).  The GK has dynamic punch that none of these newer amps have, in my opinion.  For me, the whole point of playing bass is the feeling of dynamic power.  Some weak-a$$ newer designs have ZERO ability to move some air quickly.  I do have Eden WT300 with 410XLT and a couple 210XLTs, but I'm old.  I'd rather pack up just a DI and my bass, or bring the GK so I can hear myself.  It works great for all the small gigs I've been doing, as well as in the studio.  Sounds great with my EUB as well as all the regulars (Jazz, MM, Steinberger).  I love it and wouldn't trade it for the world.  It is a bit vulnerable to dings, though.  I need a case...

Welcome to bass chat @MANTIS.  Why don't you go over to the 'Introductions' forum on the Homepage and introduce yourself to the rest of the community.

 

If you are MantisKungFu from SBL, then hi!