dave_bass5

This shows how much willpower i lack. A month ago the MB 800 (middle one) was my only GK head, and in less than 4 weeks the GK’s grew to 3 🙂

Just had a quick low level play at home. Really like the tone. More lively than my MB800. not as bright as i feared which is good. I did think the hiss was a bit louder than my other heads, Even without a signal. i guess it wont be heard with a band. Might be because i had the input trim right up (with no clipping light on). I have realised its not going to fit any of my bags, at least not liek my other heads. I can just get it in a couple, but no room for my Helix and cables. All in all very happy.

So it wouldn't bother you if a new piece of gear had scratches and marks on it? For me its all about getting what i pay for. Nothing to do with OCD.

Dont forget the GK heads have a signature tone, so you cant just go by specs.

I dont think i ever used my VTDI as a OD as such, it was more an amp sim with dirt. Never used it as on or off, just on all the time.

Not even premium though, IMO anything you buy should be made properly. Obviously QC can vary etc, but an obvious miss alignment like that is not acceptable to me at any price.

Same for me. I sent two MIA Jazz basses back a few years ago because of string miss alignment. I felt that although it doesn't effect tone, for £1200 (at the time ) i should get a bass thats been made properly. I would feel the same about this one. Doesn’t matter what the cost, money is money and if my money is good, I expect the item to be.

Already one report of this amp dying after very little use. I know its not unique to GK, but even so.....

Thats the bass i was thinking about getting. Looks great on paper but i wanted to try one first.

Maybe something on here will fit. https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=small+camera+bag&ref=nb_sb_noss_2

Yes, thats a cool feature that i do use with my MB800. Its cool that my Helix Effects can control this as well. Having the ability to not change the tone but to have it go louder with a bit more dirt is a good feature. Looking forward to having more control over the second channel using the Edge knob.

Thanks. I wish the 500 was actually 500watts in to 4ohms, im sure that would be more than loud enough for any of my gigs. Still, nice to know i wont be drowned out by my drummer. Hoping there will be enough of a (good) difference between this and the MB800 to warrant it. Still, ive got two rehearsals and a gig within the first 30 days so the option to return it is there. Does anyone know were the HPF is set? I know it has one but havent seen the Freq mentioned

I loved mine as well. Only sold it because i got the BDDIv2 and didnt want to use both. In hindsight i should have kept the VTDI.

Must admit I don’t use any amps at home, so this won’t be a feature ill ever use. Same goes for my MB800 and Fender Rumble. For me I’d need a cab sim built in to the head to bother with the headphone out, although i do get how useful it can be for others who don’t have something like a Helix or Zoom etc.

Ill be using it with my 4 ohms Berg CN212. More than enough for any gig ill be doing without PA support (pretty much 100% of them). This head is replacing the MB800 for gigs, but ill continue to user my MB200 for rehearsals.

I’m off to start a rehab thread lol

Just ordered the 800 from Andertons. Should be here on Friday. Won't get to use it with a cab until next Tuesday though. Hope its going to be ‘the one’.

Ive just brought my second GK head this month lol. Ill never get the hang of this thread 🙂

Just as well i have thin piano player fingers. Cant say ive ever found the knobs to be problematic, but those heads are very small and cramped so i can understand the comments.

Yeah, that works fine in to our PA desk. Just a bit disappointed that the XLR is dead and seems to have been like that when i got it (new). I just didn't need to use it for the first 5 years so never noticed.

This is what Robert Gallien says about the 500. Bottom line, i cant get 500watts in to my CN212 so the end result is the same as i said above. I didn't post that chart though. I want to talk about the Legacy 500 concept. From the beginning of this project I wanted to bring out a model that had similar specs to the 800RB. We haven't had an amp like the 800RB since it went out of production so this is what I was aiming for. The 800RB put 300W into 4 Ohms from one side and 100W into 8 Ohms from the other side. Total output power was 400W but it took a 4 Ohm cabinet and an 8 Ohm cabinet. Very few people used the 100W side so mostly it was used as a 300W amplifier. As it turns out 300W is a very good power level when you want to use the rails and that is where a lot of the GK growl comes from. When you have more power, the levels get really loud when you go into the rails so 300W is kind of a sweet spot. When the Legacy 500 is loaded to the same max as the 800RB you will get 450W which is a little more than the 800RB. The 300W rating into 4 Ohms is at 1% which when compared to other amplifiers whose ratings are based on 5% or even 10% it will seem more powerful than it's rating. This has been a common comment regarding GK amplifiers, that they seem much louder than the rating. I am very interested in your comments regarding your new head, and I hope it delivers what you are looking for.

Cheers Pete. Yep, the MB200 is working well, and has made me realise my tone is in the GK world. Not had to push the gain over noon yet, and thats keeping up with a guitarist who uses ear plugs and a tube head in to a 4x12 cab at rehearsals. God help us lol,.

The only thing putting me off (other than cost), is deciding what ill gain tone wise, and what ill lose over the MB800. Im sure ive got a good idea what to expect, but its still a gamble. Most references i see about these heads are in relation to the RB800, but i have no experience with that head. Im thinking if its cleaner, tighter in the lows, and warmer then thats 100% what im after. Warmer isnt a big deal though. I also find the new Gain/OD Edge knob to be a big plus. I do use channel 2 on my MB800 for drive, so having a bit more control over it seems like a really nice addition.

Yeah. According to the designer the 500 was designed to closely mimic the RB800 that its based on. As that's only 400watts (i believe) i can see the point. you can push the head harder at lower volume. Still very confusing though.