Gallien Krueger

[Musicman20]

Just thought I'd ask for opinions on these amps n cabs.

Purely because the other day I heard a Stingray through one of these setups and it was awesome.

The GK1001 RB-II seems to be ridiculously loud and punchy and such a decent price!!!

I was looking into their neo 212s and they seem to be getting a lot of praise.

Hmm...

[warwickhunt]

[quote name='Musicman20' post='801964' date='Apr 10 2010, 06:07 PM']Just thought I'd ask for opinions on these amps n cabs.

Purely because the other day I heard a Stingray through one of these setups and it was awesome.

The GK1001 RB-II seems to be ridiculously loud and punchy and such a decent price!!!

I was looking into their neo 212s and they seem to be getting a lot of praise.

Hmm...[/quote]

I've had a bunch of GK amps (never 'that' impressed with their cabs) and as you say they all punch well above their rating; possibly to do with the voicing on them that has a bit of a mid bias. I'm sure you already know but don't ever think that because you hear someone playing xyz bass through abc rig that you will sound like that! Pop along and catch Howie 'Bass Doc' gigging his old PJ Fender through a GK1001 and an old 2x15 EV (or is it JBL) cab and then try and see what sound [u]YOU[/u] make if you try and play his set-up... never quite sounds the same!

[crez5150]

I'm really blown away by GK. I've been an avid user for a long time. I'm currently using the MB2 head which is really impressive. I like the old RBH cabs and really like their sound. Cannot comment on the current Neo cabs but I'm sure they are great knowing GK.

[The Bass Doc]

GK 1001 RB II can be made available to try if required - next gig not till 25th April.

H.

[Musicman20]

Oh, so I'm guessing they are very capable of a more vintage warm tone as well as their very crisp aggressive tone.

I was curious...then I read some posts my tom bowlus on talkbass who said the new neo 212-ii and 112 cabinets are fantastic...

[The Bass Doc]

The tonal characteristics will certainly be determined by the speakers you link it to. It will be equally capable of warm vintage sounds and 'up front' slap response with the selected cab(s) dictating the final outcome.

[Musicman20]

Thanks!

Interesting to know.

There was a point where I nearly went 'all GK' with a rig...before I go into the Markbass amps.

I still do think they look very interesting....I like the bi-amp feature etc etc.

The main attraction at the moment is their 39lb 2x12 Neo 4 ohm 500W combos....

[Wolverinebass]

Every GK I've ever played has been fantastic. All have been a mixture of heads (2001, 1001) and cabs Neos and RBH's. The sound is great from each and like everything it depends what you want. I found the Neos to be more what I wanted, but everyone's different.

The one thing I can't understand is why do they have the dials from left to right as treble to bass rather than the other way round? Who in their right mind EQ's an amp treble first? Unless I'm being utterly stupid here I'm sure there must something that approaches a logical reason....

[crez5150]

I could tell you why but I'd have to have you silenced after....

[Musicman20]

I just read about this...it's the shortest signal path for their amp design...when they used to hand wire them all back in the early days. Sound quality of eq I do believe.

I hate how much gas I get for amps and cabs!!!

[Raggy]

I really do miss my 1001 and will probably go back to GK soon.

[Master blaster]

I love my gk 700rbII head. ive gone of the RBX cab i use though. Ive started using my hartke transporter cab again, which i prefir. The gk was all thumpy and had big kahunas but i felt the higher ranges didnt stick out to well.

[Conan]

[quote name='Musicman20' post='802193' date='Apr 10 2010, 10:27 PM']I hate how much gas I get for amps and cabs!!![/quote]

Jeez man! Are you [i][b]ever[/b][/i] satisfied?!? You've got more gear than most music stores!!

[Musicman20]

[quote name='Conan' post='802442' date='Apr 11 2010, 11:25 AM']Jeez man! Are you [i][b]ever[/b][/i] satisfied?!? You've got more gear than most music stores!! [/quote]

I know. I'm hard work. It's the fault if the bass amp Market. There are so many good amps and cabs out now compared to 10 years ago I have trouble with not looking into all of them!

It's ok, I have realised I don't need to even try this gear...as much as I'd like to. If I do, i'd have nowhere to put it.

I have sold some cabs though, I realised they were too good to be unused.

If I do ever get more gear, it will be small and light.

[ThomBassmonkey]

I have a 700RB-II and a 210RBH and it sounds awesome. It's not as loud as I'd like it to be, but I think that's the cab (the head seems to go louder without distorting into other cabs and the cab seems to go louder without distorting with other heads). I'm sure if I was running it through a 410RBH it'd be far louder.

I'm actually tempted to get the Neo 212, either to go under the 210RBH or to replace the 210 completely and then get another 212. Not sure how the 210 and the 212 would interact with each other though so need to look it up. Sorry, I'm just rambling now.

[chriswilliams666]

As you may tell from my sig i am a big fan of GK. Have been since i saw Duff McKagan play, and his rig certainly rattled my rib-cage. For live shows i use the uber-versatile 2001RB with either 1 or 2 GK 410RBH cabs. For smaller shows i have the amp sat to the side of the cab, and the RBH cabs can be tilted back for better monitoring in smaller venues.

I have also used a 700RBii in the past, however i wanted more power and in-built distortion. Also the 2001rb is the only GK Artist head that has FX loop/Tuner out on the back. Something to consider when having lots of rack gear.

If anyone is around the West Sussex/East Sussex/Hampshire area you're more then welcome to come to a show and try my rig.

Also i have never had ANY GK gear fail on me and i rehearse twice a week, and gig most weekends!

[doctorbass]

Last night i gigged my 700RBII with my Barefaced Vintage - loads of headroom, punch, very warm sounding growl from the Jazz bass with this rig too. An excellent combination that Im going to keep using. I cant imagine ever needing more on-stage volume!!

[Etienne]

I've been running a 1001RB-II since last October, and I love it- it's the best gigging amp I've owned by far. My two gigging basses (US '62 reissue Jazz and Squier JV P-bass) sound great plugged straight into the head, which is a winner with me- I like to keep the signal chain simple! Previously, I've always used a Sansamp BDDI ahead of the amp to get the sound I want (with the exception of my old Tech 21 Landmark head, for obvious reasons!), but the G-K gets me there on its own, and with far better control of the midrange too. I can always quickly find the sound I want on the gig- usually a few minor EQ tweaks are all I need from venue to venue. I know that some bassists find the layout of the front panel to be too cluttered with controls, but I've personally found it no problem to adapt. I find having the DI level control on the front of the amp to be very useful for adjusting FOH and stage levels independently mid-gig... great when you're doing your own sound!

I've been running the 1001RB-II at 8ohms with a single Barefaced Compact for all the gigs I've done until now, and have rarely wanted more volume from this combination, even with hard-hitting drummers- it's a very loud setup! However, I've recently picked up a second Compact for a good price, and can't wait to put the pair of them through their paces with the G-K this coming week!

[ReeV0]

My GK 1001RB-II is in the for sale section, someone please take it off me!

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=81854"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=81854[/url]

[Urban Bassman]

[quote name='ThomBassmonkey' post='802621' date='Apr 11 2010, 02:12 PM']I have a 700RB-II and a 210RBH and it sounds awesome. It's not as loud as I'd like it to be, but I think that's the cab (the head seems to go louder without distorting into other cabs and the cab seems to go louder without distorting with other heads). I'm sure if I was running it through a 410RBH it'd be far louder.

I'm actually tempted to get the Neo 212, either to go under the 210RBH or to replace the 210 completely and then get another 212. Not sure how the 210 and the 212 would interact with each other though so need to look it up. Sorry, I'm just rambling now. [/quote]

Used to run a 700RBH II through a 4 ohm 410RBH - flapped my trousers no problem , loud enough for almost every occasion I reckon.

[Dood]

I've never really played any GK gear - well - not long enough to form a proper opinion. However, on the strength of the full interview with Bob Gallien in Bass Gear Magazine a couple of months ago - I have mucho respect for him as an amplifier designer! Real no-nonsense architecture!

[gelfin]

Hi one GK head that hasn't had a mention here is the Fusion550. (Its big brother the Fusion 1050 should be out about now)
A valve pre amp teamed up with the legendary 1001 power amp section. Bi-amping for their RBH cabs. Great feature is the foot switchable channels. Set up two sounds and when you hit the footswitch all the motorised knobs quickly move to the other channel settings I have use mine with a variety of cabs / combinations. GLX 410, RBH 410, BLX 210. Another cute feature is taking a feed from the effect send and plugging into the effect return of my RB400/115 combo and using this as my on stage bass monitor.

[Bottle]

I've been very impressed with my MB2-500 - plenty of juice to drive either my EBS 4x10 or the 1x15.

Brought it along to the SE Bass Bash last year, Alex C popped it through his Compact - wow!!! That goes loud as well. Stuffed it into a Big One as well - seriously impressed.

Well, had it 9 months now, and it's been regularly gigged (about twice a month, plus a couple of weeks of rehearsals and studio time), no issues with it so far, and sounds pretty meaty with the Sansamp.

HTH, Ian

[didle]

I've been using my Fusion 550 for almost a month now. It sounds great - so much punch it's hard to believe. The two channels are fantastic, having two different sounds available for pick and finger style. I know most heads these days come with a tuning mute but that's also a godsend.

I running it through an old Hartke 4x10 Transporter and it sounds incredible. I've got 1x15 and 2x10 NEO cabs on order from the Bass Center so once those arrived I'll be GK'd to the max :-)

My only complaint is that the stuff is so hard to come by here. The distributor had the 1x15 in stock but I have to wait for the 2x10 to be shipped from the US. I managed to find 2 Fusion 550s in the whole country when I was ready to buy - crazy!

Cheers,
Doug

[JimBobTTD]

I play a 700RB-II through GK 2x10 and 1x15 SBX cabs. The amp is very powerful with a great tone, and the cabs sound just fine to me too. I love the rig and I love the sound - I'll be sticking with GK for a lot longer.