Gallien-Krueger MB112-II 1x12" Bass Combo Amp Reviews

4.7/5.0 based on 3 customer reviews

Sweetwater Advice

Jared Kalish

I've been really impressed by the sound quality and power of the Gallien-Krueger MB1120-II. This little 1x12 combo not only makes a great practice and rehearsal amp because of its size and light weight, but when I need more power for bigger shows I just daisy chain some GK powered cabinets for the ultimate modular bass rig!

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Customer Reviews

Bruce
from Baltimore, MD
January 22, 2013Music Background:
Bass Player: no thumping or popping: 4 strings and GROOVE baby

Great amp: great sound, really simple to get that sound and easy to carry

I play 2-4 times a month in a number of different places/ generes. I need a simple/ portable bass amp with a great sound. I tried many with the graph EQ, compressors, 12AX7 front ends, etc. For the weight: nothing beats the sound and ease of use. Truly easy to carry: case with 2 basses in one hand and the amp in the other. No need for wheels or dolly (and I am no strong man!)

Kevin Kitchen
from Las Vegas, NV
October 30, 2012Music Background:
Pro Musician-32 Years

Best Bass Amp that ANY MONEY could ever buy!

I don't normally write reviews but I felt I had to on this one. Geoff Allen,
my sales guy, really recommended this amp so I took a gamble on it. To be honest, I'm really more of a guitarist who plays bass for needy gigging musicians. Also, one very important point, I've owned 19 basses and have never actually owned a BASS amp...mainly because most of my bands already had an amp for me and on some, I ran directly into the PA.
When the box arrived, I was thinking-"man this might be heavy," but after carrying it to the bedroom, I felt different. It's light and LOUD. Very LOUD and the EQ system is just wonderful with many options of
tone. Especially if you own a bass that doesn't have much tone. I have a Geoff Gould Modulus in surf green(EMGX Pickup). It has a lot punch. The thing I noticed the most is when you turn up the volume, it doesn't distort or loose tone. Having the controls in the back of the amp is a nice feature especially with headphones. BUY IT...You'll thank me later!

Collin
from Minneapolis, MN
September 18, 2012Music Background:
Musician, Engineer

(Almost) Perfect combo

I was getting some smaller room gigs and wanted a small combo to lug around instead of my GK100RBII head and cab. Thinking I'd just use the MB112II for those small gigs, I was blown away when I first tried it in a rehearsal setting. By itself, it cut through 2 electric guitars and drums and had volume to spare. Of course, volume is nothing if it doesn't sound good. This thing shines in terms of quality tone. The EQ is much different than my 1001RBii and small tweaks can make a big difference in the tone. Set flat, it's super punchy with a good amount of bottom end. I have yet to find a "honky" setting like some other small combos. Very warm sounding. Overall, there aren't many things to fiddle with on this amp. No compressor, no effects, no fx loop and no gain/master controls like the RB series. The volume and gain are the same on this amp and the louder to go, the more 'growl' you get from it (as obvious as that sounds).
My one gripe about the amp is the line-out. GK rotated the plug from the previous version so you can actually get your xlr cable out, but the signal is noisy (or at least mine is). It's so noisy that I can't use it to record or DI to a PA. This isn't a deal breaker, but I was excited to try it out since I was getting such a sweet sound from the amp. Seeing as how the RB1001's line-out has been reliable for years, I'm not sure why GK would have skimped on this.
This little amp is so close to being perfect, but the crumby line-out is a big knock since this amp will mostly find itself in a studio or small gig setting with perhaps PA support.