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Topic: Gallien Kruger MB fusion 500w |
Jonathan Mitguard
From:
San Rafael, California, USA
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Posted 28 Dec 2012 1:58 pm |
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I am intrigued with this amp. I've seen posts about the MB 200 but this amp seems to have potential to span the tube solid state void. At 4 lbs it could make my life a lot easier. So if you are using one please report back. In particular can you set up a decent overdrive on one of the channels. Any issues you are finding. I'd love to try one but my local store doesn't carry it.
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Mullen and Williams SU12, Owens Square neck dobro. Amps evolving Princeton II reverb w/ eminence Double T 12" |
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Gerry Simon
From:
Ohio, USA
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Posted 28 Dec 2012 10:15 pm
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I've posted this before so, sorry to any who already watched, but here is a short demo vid of my Fusion in a few different bands: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0sVn--shvQ
I've been using it with the Sica 350 8 ohm 15" speaker and just bought an Eminence 4 ohm 15" but haven't played out with that yet.
You can overdrive it for a distorted sound but I still prefer the dedicated boxes for that. The tubes warm it up a bit and I've had good reports from the house on the tone. Gerry |
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Jonathan Mitguard
From:
San Rafael, California, USA
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Posted 31 Dec 2012 9:02 am
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Thanks Gerry, Sounds good. Have you used it in the studio or tried the direct out?
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Mullen and Williams SU12, Owens Square neck dobro. Amps evolving Princeton II reverb w/ eminence Double T 12" |
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Gerry Simon
From:
Ohio, USA
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Posted 31 Dec 2012 1:56 pm
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| Jonathan, I have not used it in the studio...I didn't buy it for that kind of use; I needed something loud and clean that I could hear over the lead guitar and drums in concert situations. I didn't even know there was a direct out (I hadda look after I saw your question), and have not used that. I prefer to be miked because I think my tone is warmer when I have my amp and speakers before the PA. From your equipment profile, it looks like you are already pretty well covered and I'm not sure what you would gain from a Fusion except the thing is really lite weight!! |
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Jonathan Mitguard
From:
San Rafael, California, USA
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Posted 1 Jan 2013 10:54 am
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The weight is certainly a big factor as it would carve off 40+ lbs. Also if the over drive channel was decent I could use that for general crunch and then a pedal for more extreme OD. Then I could maybe not need the Seymour Duncan twin tube which is fairly big. I too tend to prefer micing vs direct but some times it is so convenient.
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Mullen and Williams SU12, Owens Square neck dobro. Amps evolving Princeton II reverb w/ eminence Double T 12" |
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Jonathan Mitguard
From:
San Rafael, California, USA
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Posted 1 Jan 2014 12:32 pm update
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To answer my own question I did finally get one of these. It is working more or less like I had hoped. The first issue I encountered involved the speaker connectors. These are supposed to handle either Speakon or 1/4inch and they do but, I was using 1/4 inch and it was not a great connection and would get real funky intermittently. Switched to speakon and there has been no problem. I am running a JBL K-140 and it sounds pretty darn good usually. This set up can be very bright and at times I've had the treble dialed off completely. I guess bass amps aren't designed for the kind of highs I'm throwing at it.
I have a Damage Control Glass Nexus in the effects loop for all reverb, chorusing, delay, etc.
As for the over drive it works well. The only issue is that the thing is so powerful that to get some over drive tone it has to be fairly loud, at least around stage levels vs quite around the house levels. So I set it up for a gentle crunch and then use a tube screamer for more heavy OD.
So now all my effects, volume pedal and amplifier go in one box. Nothing gets unplugged except the guitar and speaker. Pretty quick set up.
The XLR out on the back is before the effects loop so will not send effects. If one wanted that you could use the line out/ head phone jack but this will not give good results as far as the over drive.
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Mullen and Williams SU12, Owens Square neck dobro. Amps evolving Princeton II reverb w/ eminence Double T 12" |
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Gerry Simon
From:
Ohio, USA
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Posted 2 Jan 2014 12:04 am
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| Jonathan, Glad you like the amp...Yes, the highs can get pretty hot and I use a Freeloader which does a good job controlling them. So far no problems with the speaker outs but the Speakons are probably the best way to go... I still have not messed with the direct out and since, as you say, the f/x loop is not passed thru, I probably won't. I'm using 2 distortion boxes: a Damage Control Womanizer run direct from the PU (after the Freeloader), and a Zendrive 2 after the volume ped, so I can get the hard stuff and the pushed sounds...Gerry |
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