GK MB200 no master volume?

organworthyplayer337

organworthyplayer337

Professional Hack
Oct 28, 2014
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#1
My amp is "broken" until further notice (contacted Sweetwater waiting for response) :( :( :( which really sucks because my build is supposed to finished sometime this month and a I don't have an amp to play through!!!! :spit:

Anyway, I'm just playing around with the thought of getting a new one.

Considering the Gallien Krueger MB200 head but realize there's no master volume. I play through headphones often and feel like that's a big part of what I do.

I DO have a Aguilar TH Pre/DI but am still worried that I won't be able to get loud enough...

Any help is greatly appreciated!
 
#3
The preamp/DI will not drive a speaker cab. The MB200 only has the input volume to control loudness (like amps only had in the past). If you are using The Tone Hammer for voicing you don't need a master volume to control preamp overdrive anyway.
 
#4
I assume you are concerned about the 200w being adequate for monitoring. The headphones get silly loud.

I am pretty sure the line in is post EQ so you should be the to rig it as a clean monitor power amp with your TH pedal.

The 200w should be plenty enough to carry the stage so long as you use enough cab.
 
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#5
As I understand it, the MB200 doesn't have the second gain stage of higher powered GK amps. That missing stage has the "Boost" and "Master". You can probably find a used MB500 for roughly the same price as a new MB200, which would give you that second stage with the master AND a head that you'll never need to upgrade again unless you start playing large venues. Hope that helps.
 
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#6
organworthyplayer337 said:
Considering the Gallien Krueger MB200 head but realize there's no master volume. I play through headphones often and feel like that's a big part of what I do.
Click to expand...

I've used my MB200 as my practice amp with headphones for the last two and a half years with the "gain" knob at 9 o'clock.

This little guy has a reputation for being louder than the specs on paper and its rather diminutive form factor might suggest, provided you use it with decent cabs. I use it in church as my stage monitor with a 210 cab with the gain knob at 1 o'clock. (And that's only 125w@8ohm.)
 
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#8
I picked up a used MB200 as a headphone amp, and since then I've made it my practice amp as well. As others have said, it's able to drive cabs quite well. Occasionally, I also use the Aux in to play to new songs. The higher level GK amps don't have that feature.
 
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#9
I guess the amazement is based on GK using the minimum sized case, and basic ignorance of power to loudness maths.

The first 50w gets you up with with a loud jazz drummer. 500w can put a real strain on a lot of regular gigging cab stacks and it's only twice as loud as the 50w if the cabs can handle that power cleanly.

200w is in between but it's the lion's share of the 500w loudness.

There are 3 equally appreciable volume nudges from 50 to 100 to 200 to 400w. 200 is two of them.
 
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