GK1001RBii settings query

[dmccombe7]

I have been mucking about with various volumes, boost and EQ on my GK1001RBii to see if i can get a nice mildly overdriven sound. Having read threads from other forums the amp is capable of achieving that sound using a combination of BOOST and pre and power amp volume settings.

I've also been reading threads about how many isolated bass tracks have shown the bass with a slight overdriven sound when it sounds clean in the band mix. ie Rush, Kansas, The Who and even Sting as being some examples but there are so many to choose from.

Normally i would be using the following :-

Gain : 12:00

Contour : 9:00

Presence : 0

EQ : all 12:00

Boost : 9:00

Woofer : adjusted to whatever is required for either at home or gig volumes (almost OFF at home up to approx 9:00 - 11:00)

To that end i was curious as to what settings other owners are running their GK1001RBii at and what style of music are you playing. ?

Dave

 

[Jack]

Gain set to hit the preamp as hard as possible without overdriving. This depends on instrument and playing style more than desired volume.

Boost to taste (HIGH!).

Woofer to set overall volume.

 

Or at least, that's how I did it...

[Lozz196]

When I bought one of these I did a fair bit of reading up on them on Talkbass and the general concensus was that these amps need to be pushed to get that famous GK growl, and given the power of these amps at that point your ears will be more than likely bleeding. I only ever used mine with a Sansamp so got the drive from that

[Graham]

I read somewhere that the way to run these was to turn the input off, turn the output to max and then increase the input to taste, as they sounded best with power stage running hot.

However, if you do try this, be VERY careful to avoid blowing your head off

[dmccombe7]

19 minutes ago, Lozz196 said:

When I bought one of these I did a fair bit of reading up on them on Talkbass and the general concensus was that these amps need to be pushed to get that famous GK growl, and given the power of these amps at that point your ears will be more than likely bleeding. I only ever used mine with a Sansamp so got the drive from that

That's where i was getting all my info but thought i would ask what others did on BC. What you say is what i was trying out but found at home volumes the power amp volume or Woofer volume is literally just ON and another slight touch is deafening at home so really not a workable set up at home so i need to turn down pre-amp a bit. Still to gig with this amp even tho i've had it for approx 5-6 yrs as a back up amp for my Ampeg SVT (which is in for repair again).

Just thought i would experiment with it to see what i can get from it. Its never been out of the house 

I've also been using my Markbass or Orange rigs over past few years.

Dave

[dmccombe7]

11 minutes ago, Graham said:

I read somewhere that the way to run these was to turn the input off, turn the output to max and then increase the input to taste, as they sounded best with power stage running hot.

However, if you do try this, be VERY careful to avoid blowing your head off

Too dangerous to my ears. 

Might take it to rehearsals soon and experiment a bit with it.

Dave

[The fasting showman]

As others have said I'd run boost and woofer at 2 o'clock and use the input vol as your overall volume. I use a 700rb but previously used an 800rb (sniff, sob, it's now with cetera!) and a mk1 400rb and ran them the same, it's counter intuitive as I always pushed input gain on other amps but running boost and woofer high seems to get the GK growl. I tend to run the eq as bass just below midday and push the low mid but that may not appeal to you.

Jealous of your 1001rb! Realistically, I've got all I need with the 700

Martin

[dmccombe7]

Cheers Martin, I've been experimenting at home with it but i realize that isn't best idea but it will give me a starting point.

I'll give that a try as i've always ran the pre-amp side up to clipping and back a notch typically 12:00 on most amps using my Jazz bass.Then control my volume using the master volume (woofer in this case) The boost is the control that confuses me thru all of this but seems best around 2:00 or 3:00 no matter what i try.

I've tried presence at 12:00 with varying levels of Contour and that's given quite a change in tones too.

Its turning out to be quite an interesting amp now that i need to use it.

The more i use it the more i like it thru my Berg HT322

Dave

[The fasting showman]

39 minutes ago, dmccombe7 said:

Cheers Martin, I've been experimenting at home with it but i realize that isn't best idea but it will give me a starting point.

I'll give that a try as i've always ran the pre-amp side up to clipping and back a notch typically 12:00 on most amps using my Jazz bass.Then control my volume using the master volume (woofer in this case) The boost is the control that confuses me thru all of this but seems best around 2:00 or 3:00 no matter what i try.

I've tried presence at 12:00 with varying levels of Contour and that's given quite a change in tones too.

Its turning out to be quite an interesting amp now that i need to use it.

The more i use it the more i like it thru my Berg HT322

Dave

Forgot to say Dave I don't scoop with the contour, it stays all the way off, anti clockwise. Presence I run midway or all the way up (latter case if I use the 700rb head plonked on a random cab when rehearsing),  my own stuff has the GK bi-amp so the tweeter brings in the highs; I either use a 700rb 2x10 combo and 115rbh ext or 700head for rehearsal / backup.

I've said ad nauseum, and this isn't a slight against Ampeg as I've owned '70s SVTs and V4Bs and persevered, that much as I like other people playing them I get the sound that suits me best with GK. Other than a brief left turn with Ashdown ABMs that didn't work out I've used GK RB heads/ combo for 7 years now.  

Settings aside, the RB heads sound better with an aggressive touch I think. I suspect that they get their volume from not having a great deal of extreme low end or mush, I appreciate that characteristic and tend to go with the innate sound of the amps rather than trying to eq it out.

They are great amps the RBs and cost next to nothing for the quality of sound they have. The quirks are getting used to the juggling of vol/ boost/ woofer and crackly jacks (don't forget to jump lead the fx loop if the amp starts acting up!) and pots. As I always say, my sound gets way more compliments than my playing!

All the best

[dmccombe7]

Quite a few amps suffer from the effects return jack getting dirty connections and should be easy enough to clean the contacts or as you say just use a jump lead. I've not had any issue with crackling jacks to be honest although the amp has only been used very occasionally at rehearsals and very rarely leaves the house. So its not had much use.

Think what i need to do is get the rig into a rehearsal room and crank it up first and then start tweaking things to get a more realistic interpretation of tone.

Dave 

[Delberthot]

17 hours ago, Lozz196 said:

When I bought one of these I did a fair bit of reading up on them on Talkbass and the general concensus was that these amps need to be pushed to get that famous GK growl, and given the power of these amps at that point your ears will be more than likely bleeding. I only ever used mine with a Sansamp so got the drive from that

This is why I sold mine. It had to be incredibly loud to get the proper GK growl. The 700 was the best one for me as it had the perfect amount of power to get the signature growl