New MB200 Arrives!!!

William Lake · Post by **William Lake** » 2 Jun 2012 12:02 pm

"Has anyone compared the MB200 with a Black Box or Freeloader to the MB Fusion?:

I have owned both MB200 and Fusion. The fusion beats the MB200 hands down. Of course it has 3 12AX7 tubes in the front end and costs 3X and weighs 2X.

I am currently in love with a Egnater Rebel 20 tube amp.

Dan Johnson · Post by **Dan Johnson** » 22 Feb 2013 2:34 am

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 12 Mar 2013 2:13 pm

bringing the thread back to life ! I have always been one of the last ones to come to the party..no exception here..

I started gigging on Bass again a few weeks back and picked up an SWR Super Redhead ( used of course ) great amp for the gigs but 80 pounds ! So I started thinking about this thread..

I ordered an MB200 today from MF with the spring so called sale..$220 total.. I was also thinking about Guitar and Steel as I do have 2 single 12 cabs just taking up space..

So..I guess I am joining the party, not just for a Bass application but maybe for Steel as well...

nice thread !

t

Bill Moore · Post by **Bill Moore** » 12 Mar 2013 3:11 pm

I have to admit that my first impressions of the MB200 were not very good, I didn't care for it at all. I've have the thing for about 2 years now, and just recently began to use regularly. Same reason as everyone else, I wanted to go with the least amount of weight. Now, after using it steadily for a couple months, I really like it a lot. It's a super clean sound, but takes a little experimenting to get it just right, for me anyway. I've been using it with a single 12" neo speaker, or sometimes a 15" neo. I tend to think the 12" sounds better, to me. Now, I can load my guitar, speaker cab, and steel seat on a small dolly, while carrying the MB 200, Rp 155, and power strip, in a laptop computer bag. Everything in one trip.

Steve English · Post by **Steve English** » 12 Mar 2013 11:43 pm

After 2 1/2 years, week after week, I'm still sitting with one in front of me,

and two behind me

quite happily....

Tony,
It will be interesting to see if the MB200 is a good bass amp

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 13 Mar 2013 2:59 am

Steve, you are using 3 MB200's ? ???

very kool !

The more I think about this the more impatient I am getting waiting for it to arrive !

and yeh, I hope it works well for its initial purpose, BASS !

Bill Moore · Post by **Bill Moore** » 13 Mar 2013 4:27 am

Steve, is your guitar sitting on some kind of a low riser? And, it looks like you have a couple of cds attached to the speaker grills, right in the center, whats up with that? Just wondering.

Steve English · Post by **Steve English** » 13 Mar 2013 9:26 am

That's the guitar players rig in front (Texas Steel Guitar Association PLAYER OF THE YEAR)

Mine are the back two.

The cd's are my poor man's "high frequency re-directionators". I started using them about a year ago as an experiment, and the boys in the band all said it improved the coverage on the bandstand too...

Although the cd's are flat, they do provide the all important visual excitement under the lights

They're attached to the inside of the grill with several small dabs of silicone.

That's the stage floor, the drum riser is the red carpeted piece just to the left of me.

Allen Peterson · Post by **Allen Peterson** » 13 Mar 2013 10:12 am

Where can I buy a 12" SICA speaker?

Allen Peterson

Bill Rowlett · Post by **Bill Rowlett** » 13 Mar 2013 11:17 am

Tony,

I have an SWR 350 bass rig with 2-10's and 1-15. I use a MB200 as a bi-amp to drive the 1-15 during loud gigs. It really tightens up the bass. Its a pretty good bass amp on it's own, so you should be happy.

I have used it with a 12" Black Widow for steel gigs too. It needs a reverb/delay box, which adds additional gear. The sound is a little thin. I would like to do as Steve does and use two behind me in stereo. It would be a lot lighter than the Mossvalve rig I use now.

Bill

Steve English · Post by **Steve English** » 13 Mar 2013 12:38 pm

Sica Neodymium are getting a little harder to find these days.

http://www.tubesandmore.com/products/P-A-PL12B25S

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Sica-PL12B3S-Ne ... 1212821051

http://www.shopping.com/papl12b25s-12/c ... OEw==/info

Plenty of people have posted positive reviews of other speaker options. I used a Blue Marvel for a little while and was happy, but went with the neodymium because my whole thing was about size and weight.

Allen Peterson · Post by **Allen Peterson** » 13 Mar 2013 12:48 pm

Thanks Steve. Size and weight are becoming an issue with me. For a while I couldn't figure out why my right arm was longer than my left. Then it dawned on me that it is from carrying my Fender Twin around all these years.

I am seriously thinking about trying your option.

I listened to Chuck Back's sound last weekend in Dallas. That's a strong selling point in favor of the MB 200.

Allen Peterson

Steve English · Post by **Steve English** » 13 Mar 2013 1:24 pm

Allen,

I watched Chuck bring in a number of nice tube amp combos and have never seen one make it past the first set before being replaced with his MB rig....and I would have never thought I'd hear such a killer sound come out of a guitar player's solid state amp, but I've witnessed the comparisons too many times now with repeatedly the same results. And, that's the same killer player, with the same guitar simply plugging his pedal board in to a different system.

I'd never pretend the MB is anywhere near the audio quality of the Sarno products, Tim Marcus' Milkman, or the Little Walter products, but for the $ and advantages, they do what I (personally) need them to do.

If I could rationalize the purchase of Brad's new preamp, I'd have one of those in a heartbeat, but I've already let go of the Revelation/SPLIT rig, and later, my beloved Black Box in my quest for a lightweight system that meets my needs.

I have been using a Goodrich Matchbox as a master volume control for my two amps. If Brad's new pre was stereo.....well I don't even want to go there....

I rarely use my Hilton pedal anymore simply because I (personally) don't want any thing else that requires a pwr cord, walwart, or additional cables to deal with.

If I was younger and a little more physically ambitious, I'd have a Milkman on one side and a SMS on the other, with a Little Walter in front......and a roadie!

It's nice that there a lots of options, and I'm very impressed with the wide variety of products available to us! Thank goodness we don't all have the same stuff.

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 16 Mar 2013 1:22 am

Interesting week I've had...

The MB 200 arrived last night and I did play with it for a bit..very impressive so far..weight, sound etc...lots of potential here...

I plugged the Steel in with a S12 cab and was quite impressed as well..it didn't take very long to find a "tone spot" that I was pleased with...so far so good !

This week I also picked up a used GK Backline 210 amp for $140 ! Pretty much mint shape..couldn't pass it by...

The amp is rated at 300 watts and weighs 13 pounds .The combo weighed in at over 60 pounds ..ugghhh...I already have an 80 pound SWR 210 Redhead..but I bought the GK combo with other thoughts...

I did surgery..I removed the top portion of the cabinet so I could have just the 2x10's...some cabinet carpet repair is in order but that will be a breeze, carpet is on order.....The 300 watt head will go in a small cab of it's own.... I did not want another combo amp but did want just the cab with the 210s...The MB200 with the 210's also sounds great..so now I have choices to make...keep the SWR Redhead combo, keep the GK 300 watt amp and/or keep the MB200 ...the 210 cab stays regardless... I'm thinking that the GK stuff stays ( both amps ) and the SWR Redhead goes...

Clearly liking the MB200...motivated to get it from this thread...

Sam Weisenberg · Post by **Sam Weisenberg** » 6 Apr 2014 9:42 am

Steve,
I saw that, during your experiments, you switched from rear-loading to front-loading the speaker. What design or construction criteria led you to that? Do you prefer one over the other?

Thanks for starting this thread and for sharing your build information along the way.

Sam

Douglas Schuch · Post by **Douglas Schuch** » 6 Apr 2014 7:51 pm

Nice to see this thread revived again. So much info on here! Steve, you really created a tidal wave of interest when you started with your MB200. I've got several thoughts/questions:

First, who has done side-by-side comparisons with some other amps, such as the Carvin BX's, Steelaire, Walker Stereo Steel... heck, throw the Peavey's in there, since they are the "standard" steel amp.

I have twice done some A/B testing vs. an Evans AH 200 belonging to Don Brown, a steeler living in Tanjay, Philippines. When we had both of our rigs set up, and just swapped the guitars into each others rigs, we felt like we could hear no difference from our guitars (me: Zum U-12, him: Kine S-10). We each felt like we sounded the same, playing the other's guitar through our own rigs. Tim Marcus recently said that the amp was more important than the guitar for tone, and I absolutely agree, assuming your guitar/pickup does not butcher the tone anyway.

BTW, we both use Sica standard Neo 15" speakers. Neither amp seems to overdrive at any playing level I want to listen to while practicing!

The thing I like best about the Evans is the "buff" knob, which adds in some overtones, getting a more tube-like tone. In truth, I end up dialing it back, but it is nice to have that option.

The MB200 has a much more rich, resonating bass - as to be expected from a bass amp. In comparison the Evans is more punchy and a bit tinny sounding. The same thing goes somewhat for the mids, as well - so, in short, if one wants to dial in a vintage tone, I don't think the MB200 is the right amp. The Evans, though, I think will deliver more of that. On the other hand, if you want a more modern tone the MB delivers that superbly. The Evans can get close, but those punchy bass notes prevent it from matching the MB for a clean, full modern sound.

Since I play U-12 and D-10, the MB200 does a better job of covering those deep bass tones on the lowest strings - I can rattle the walls playing "Boot Heel Drag" with it.

I tried both amps with and without the amp modeling I have set up in my RP ('65 Blackface Twin, no cab - direct, bass - 5, mid hertz 1300, mid 2, treble hertz 2500, treble -8: these settings tame the overly-treble tone of the Blackface Twin modeling). I liked both amps better with the amp modeling, but the distinction was less with the Evans.

Both Don and I liked my tone better through the MB200. On the other hand, he has dialed in a good tone for his playing with his Evans. Not sure I would pick one as better for him - I thought I did a pretty good job of getting his tone with the MB200.

My conclusion is, for me anyway, I really like the Evans, but I prefer the MB200. And, considering the Evans costs 4X the price of the MB, I'll stick with the MB.

The Carvin BX500 sure looks intriguing, and John McClung's comments makes me confident in the tone quality of the amp.

William Lake - you say you very much preferred the Fusion - can you say exactly what put it over the top? Do you feel the tubes give it a very different tone? Or is it just the added controls or additional power?

Steve English · Post by **Steve English** » 7 Apr 2014 8:19 am

Sam,
The first cabinet was originally a speaker box only. The speaker was rear mounted to the baffle board, and covered with grill cloth. It was when I was attempting to mount the amp in the same box, and with very little room, decided to front load the speaker to allow for a very little more space to work with.

The pic below(right) shows how tight the amp is fitting next to the speaker:

The cabinet on the left (the big one

) was the second build and I added a 1/4" on all sides to allow for a little more mounting room.

The only thought was small and light.

Douglas,
Glad to see you're having fun A/B equipment! There's lots of options available, and it's always an interesting process finding a setup you like.

The MB's have been a great decision for me over the last few years. The size/weight, sound, affordability, and configuration options have trumped any other options I've encountered to date.

If I was younger I'm sure I'd be trying a lot more product that's emerged, but I'm pretty much convinced this is what I'll ride off in the sunset with...

The SMS Black box really sounded sweet in front of these amps.

I chose 2 MB-200's over the cost of one of the larger ones only because I like playing in stereo, and the option of just using one box at small gigs. The pair really provides lots of setup and sound variations.

Thanks for your comments!

Gaylon Mathews · Post by **Gaylon Mathews** » 7 Sep 2014 5:29 pm

Mounting solution for those that don't want to put your MB200 inside your speaker cabinet.

http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=271024

The Steel Guitar Forum

New MB200 Arrives!!!

New light Rig

!!

front or rear load speaker?