gallien krueger mb200 mb 500 and cx115 advice

artschool

artschool

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Nov 22, 2015
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#1
i am set on buying a head and cab to replace my ageing trace elliot blx80.

looking at either a mb200 or mb500 and perhaps a cx115 to start with that i could add a cx210 to later on.

its for pub gigs etc.

i am struggling a bit understanding about impedence etc. i.e. would the mb500 work with the cx115?

do i need two speakeron outputs to stack the cabs in the future?

any advice greatly received.
 
#2
Speaker cabs have the "ohms" that load an amp. The MB500 will drive an 8 ohm CX115 to the point of damage if you play loud enough, use two CX115's and that makes a 4 ohm load to the amp (full rated output at minimum load).

You don't need two speakons, you can use the 1/4" jack on the first cab to daisy-chain to the second cab's 1/4" or speakon (two 8 ohm cabs this way again make a 4 ohm load on the amp head).
 
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#5
been reading through some of the older threads and i am defiantly going to go for the MB500 head.

just need to work out if i buy a cx115 or a cx210 to start with.
 
#6
michael_t said:
I was once considering two CX210s for my MB200...until I was told the CX-series cabs DO NOT have the option for daisy-chaining the two.

Was I told wrong?
Click to expand...

gkCXbackpanel.jpg


I guess you were. The speakon and 1/4" (plastic whistle plug in place on the pic) are parallel connections and the unused input can parallel (chain) a second cab.
 
#12
Any amp has a rated output wattage at a certain load.

Let's say 500W at 4 ohms. If you use 8 ohms the wattage of the resistor would make it 250W for DC, but as the sound signal ist AC you have to factor in the squareroot of 2 which would make the output power at the load about 350W.
 
#13
Any amp with an output transformer is NOT speaker load dependant. The output at 8 ohms will be the same at 4, 2 or 16 ohms depending on the OT secondary taps. The Hellborg is an example of a SS amp with an output transformer so that is not just a "tube amp" thing. There was also an OTL tube amp but I don't remember the brand off hand.
 
#18
michael_t said:
I see you also have a Bergantino CN212. How's your MB500 with it vs. CX210?

I ask because I've got the MB500 and two Berantino CN210s on my GAS list as my ultimate rig.
Click to expand...

My MB500 with the Berg is outstanding. The cab is 4ohm and the MB500 is in its glory Im starting to prefer it over the Walkabout. With the CX210 its a nice vintage pure GK tone. I love both. Any head sounds good with the Berg.
 
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#19
If the 210 runs out of puff in a loud situation, try putting it up on a chair so that you may hear it better. Then add another 210 asap. A vertical stack of 4 tens makes a great little rig for rocking out with unamplified drums.

Unfortunately GK put the feet on the wrong side. They should be on the short side to give a tall cab and better dispersion. You can rectify with a cheap set of feet or shift the stock ones.
 
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