I'd buy this amp again, in fact I have become a big GK fan, I don't know what the amps with more power sound like, but it is anything like this one of them will be my next amp.
Price: $300.00
Where Obtained: friend
All the features have been spoke on, so I wont go there.
Great amp I found my sound with this head. I play R&B, Jazz, and Classic Rock. I think this is one of the best sounding heads I've ever used. I use a Schecter Elite 5 bass, with a Big Crunch compressor stomp box.
I had to pick from this or a Hartke 3500 and I didn't even get out the house with the Hartke this amp was so easy to use I took it on a gig with no real time with it, and found my sound with ease.
I drop this head on a gig, and I didn't have a chance to check it before the next gig, and it worked without any problems
WOW+ What can I say! After playing and loving my 400RB III, I was so in love with the GK tone- So I desided to get something with a little more power, but the same tone.
This amp rocks, add that it's 18years old and it's even better. They dont make amps like this any more- solid! The tone is even better- The likes of Duff McKagan and Flea used and I believe Duff still does in the studio... All for a reason they are great.
If you like the Gallien Krueger tone, or after something purely simple pick up one of these, they go second hand for pretty cheap usually- and a solid preformer.
Model Year: 1987
Price: $400.00
Where Obtained: Second Hand / Pre Loved
This is the amplifer that really started it moving along for Gallien Krueger, since the 800RB, they have had alot of very successful amps modeled after it.
It may be old- this amp was made in March of 1987, accoeding to the date on the back. For an amp that is nearly 20years old it is jamp packed with features.
Effects Loop: Good to see, especially on an older amp.
Bi-Amp: 2 Channels with seperate volume, a 300w @ 4ohm low channel, and 100w @ 8ohm high channel. With a crossover from 100hz to 1kHZ. Both Channels can be used on full range- both have a fair bit of juice too... Lovely!
Direct Out: Not fully featured, but it doesnt buzz or anything- will be usefull for a recording project coming up for me.
The amp has the usual, Input volume, High, High Mid, Low Mid, and Low controls, as well as Gallies raved GIVE technologie boost- which provides abit of warmth. Also seperate controls for the High and Low Channels along with a Bi Amp crossover control... Verious switches to handle contour.
300w @ 4ohm is the loudest 300w you'll ehar short of all tube power- these heads are incredably powerful. The 100w channel has the same deal.
Great- Very clean raw kind of sound- the boost gives abit of warmth and grittyness. This is no Ampeg SVT, it weights less than half as much, and costs a s---load less also so dont expect all tube warm.
Very clean as I mentioned- speaks the true voice of your basses, and shows up all your fretting mistakes clearly audiable- HEaps of power, and never gets distorted when pushed hard- very punchy!
Old School- They never all these 1000 knobs on their amps back in the old days- why would need them now? You'll find a nice sound in about 2minutes- 10 minutes after that, you should have a nice tone.
Gallien Krueger still lists these amps on their website, and still manufactures them... Says enough for me, pure classic.
Well this particular amp was made in March of 1987 it has seen many gigs from the previous owner- and I plan to give it a fair few also... It not long had the pots replaced and had some of the power section replaced before I recieved it. Still it is over 18years old some running maintenece isnt bad!
Hopefully it sees out another 18years of use with me...
SWR, Mesa Boogie and Fender. I chose it because it was better sounding and had a more solid low frequency response and clearity. Yes, I would buy another one. Very user friendly. It stands out with the rest of them. The caps for the controls keep popping out and they tend to get lost and is very hard to get replacements. This amp is very versitile in any type of setting and/or venue. If you have matching speakers and you bi-amp, you can accomplish a variety of sounds through 3 different filters and 4 eq settings. A very friendly and powerful amp.
Price: $599.00 (new)
Where Obtained: Musician's Friend
Bi-Ampable. yes it has an effects loop. yes it has enough power for small night club gigs. It has solid state electronics
No effects used. Rock, reggae, island music. Yes well suited for any style. Sounds very solid and has it's own unique sound. Not noisy at all. Yes very clean at high volumes. no distortion but has the capabilities to distort to my liking.
No, it's not programmable. No, not much fiddling. Very easy to use and easy to operate compared to others I've used.
Very reliable and steady for live playing. Not often, if maintained right, there's ablsolutely no repaires needed. I'd say on a scale of 1-10 for heavy-duty construction, it's an 8.
When i started playing bass I only played on SWR, and I thought they were great. Till my band rented a GK head and borrowed an SWR cab for a gig. I love the head, it sounded much warmer and less edgy than the SWRs. When I'm alone in my house I crank the volume on my drum machine and shake the whole house, this think is loud.
Model Year: 2001
Price: $750.00 (new)
Where Obtained: new at music store
Four EQ control. very loud. 100W or 300W outputs. I use 100W into a fender 4X10 and director still tells me to turn down. many ways to tune your sound.
I use a standard fender jazz bass and it is very warm and sounds great. I'd like to think what it would sound like if I had an active bass. I play jazz and it sounds way better than my school's SWR silverado. I don't do much slap, but when I do it sounds good. I would easily use my amp over any of the others i have played on. No noise, I can set the bass right next to the amp and no feedback can be heard, no static, only a little if you blow the volume.
Its pretty heavy. I have it in a modern case company big wooden case, and its pretty heavy. It is pretty easy to use, but like any amp you have to fiddle to get the perfect sound. Compared to my school's SWR silvirado it is pretty much the same on ease of use.
So far mine is in just like new condition. I've seen some used that look pretty beat up, but mine is well taken care of. There have been no repairs needed so far. Since I have it in a case it won't be getting beaten up.
This amp is so simple but still has an amazing range of options. I hate to use effects loops in general but I run my compressor through the gk's loop and there is hardly any loss of signal. My compreesor also has an effects loop so I run a line from the effect out on the compressor to the tuner but don't return the signal. that way the tuner is always active but you don't lose any signal quality. The gk could be updated with clip lights and a tuner out but other than that it really is a fine product
Model Year: 1998
Price: $925.00 canadian (new)
Where Obtained: long&mcquade
Very simple to use. has a great growl for a solid state amp. I use and eden 2-10 and and eden 1-15. this combo makes for a very versitile and loud setup that really is quite portable. I am amazed at the power and punch this amp provides. I would like to upgrade my 2-10 to a 4 ohm 4-10 to maximize the power of the main channel but it really isn't necessary. This amp has been around for 20 years but is still the best deal for that kinf of money and the di is very quiet. I have mine in a six space SKB rack with a furman pwr conditioner, korg rack tuner and a behringer autocom pro compressor. Its a great rig and I couldn't reccomend a better head for the price
I play Fury basses (made in Canada) which use passive humbuckers and they work well with this amp. It has great headroom and can be driven hard without any clipping. It's very quiet and allows me to cut through distorted guitars very well
Not much to adjust. the eq is very simple. With my speaker combination I can run biamped or full range but I find that full range always cuts through the band better. The only real frature missing from this baby is a clip light on the input stage. My basses are really loud for passive pickups and you have to use your ears to get a clean input stage
Very reliable, no problems yet
Price: $450.00 (new)
Where Obtained: Friend
100watt send & 400watt send. (ideal to run some 10"s on the 100 watt channel and then a 15" on the 400 watt channel). I have an SWR goliath cab (6x10") which i run through the 400 watt send, and I absolutely love it. It has a footswitch-able boost, high/mid/low levels, separate channel levels, and a direct xlr line out in back.
It sounds great. Seldom do i have any problem with noise. I typically have the volume at 75% and then the gain at 20%, and that usually shakes the stage.
It's a straight forward, easy to use amp
It's a heavy guy. I keep loosing the little plastic tips on the knobs, though. But that's no big deal (and that's just because i didn't have it in a rack case for a while).
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