Best Gallien Krueger Bass head?

[Pedulla-Player]

Originally Posted by KJung

Wow, selling the uber reliable Shuttle Max 9.2 for a 700RB when reliability is key. What don't you like about the Max 9.2? Very little tonewise that head can't do, and the volume is pretty massive. That is, IMO, one of the most slammin', high reliability, versatile head on the market.

Not saying 100% sure that I'm going for the 700RB-II - especially after seeing some of the reliability issues that some people had on the Musicians Friend reviews. My 1st choice is the MB Fusion 500 or the Fusion 550 (I'd be willing to try another one because it had the warmth and tone that I've been looking for right out of the box). Then I'd like to pick up one of the RB amps (used and resonably priced) as a back up or just to switch my sound up once in a while. Honestly , the couple days that I had the Fusion 550 before I returned it due to a crackling issue I liked the warm tone of that head better than my SM9.2. The SM9.2 is loud and punchy , but I can't seem to bring out the warmth I'm looking for (I'm sure it's probably in there - I just can't find it with all the knobs). I just need an amp that is warm and punchy out of the box or with minimal tweaking. If you ever make it to the northwoods please feel free to stop over and help me out. lol
Thanks for your input Ken - It's always appreciated. Stop by and say "Hi" in the Wisconsin thread once in a while - We'd really appreciate it!

[KJung]

Originally Posted by Pedulla-Player

Not saying 100% sure that I'm going for the 700RB-II - especially after seeing some of the reliability issues some people had on the Musicians Friend reviews. My 1st choice is the MB Fusion 500 or the Fusion 550. Then I'd like to pick up one of the RB amps (used and resonably priced) as a back up or just to switch my sound up once in a while. Honestly , the couple days that I had the Fusion 550 before I returned it due to a crackling issue I liked the warm tone of that head better than my SM9.2. The SM9.2 is loud and punchy , but I can't seem to bring out the warmth I'm looking for (I'm sure it's probably in there - I just can't find it with all the knobs). I just need an amp that is warm and punchy out of the box or with minimal tweaking. If you ever make it to the northwoods please feel free to stop over and help me out. lol
Thanks for your input Ken - It's always appreciated. Stop by and say "Hi" in the Wisconsin thread once in a while - We'd really appreciate it!

Unfortunately, the reliability issues IMO are not limited to the 700rb. The tone you are looking for is in that Max 9.2 IMO, and when you consider that 'all the knobs' on the Max are primarily due to the two equally featured preamps, it is really a pretty simple but powerful head. This amp is a touch 'tight and bright' out of the box, but is very easily tamed.

Just FYI, dial the gain up to noon or so (or higher, depending on the output of your bass) and set the volume at about the same level. Dial the bass control up to about 2 o'clock. Dial the upper midrange down to 10 o'clock with the frequency set at about 2 o'clock to take a touch of the brightness out of it. Set the hi pass/bass boost to around noon.... there you go

Don't mean to OT a GK thread, but since it is your thread, thought this would be OK. IMO, you might be making a rather large mistake.

K

PS Posted in the Wisconsin thread last week!

[Pedulla-Player]

Originally Posted by KJung

Unfortunately, the reliability issues IMO are not limited to the 700rb. The tone you are looking for is in that Max 9.2 IMO, and when you consider that 'all the knobs' on the Max are primarily due to the two equally featured preamps, it is really a pretty simple but powerful head. This amp is a touch 'tight and bright' out of the box, but is very easily tamed.

Just FYI, dial the gain up to noon or so (or higher, depending on the output of your bass) and set the volume at about the same level. Dial the bass control up to about 2 o'clock. Dial the upper midrange down to 10 o'clock with the frequency set at about 2 o'clock to take a touch of the brightness out of it. Set the hi pass/bass boost to around noon.... there you go

Don't mean to OT a GK thread, but since it is your thread, thought this would be OK. IMO, you might be making a rather large mistake.

K

PS Posted in the Wisconsin thread last week!

Ken - You are always welcome to hijack one of my threads. One thing that bothered me about the SM9.2 is that I would set my gig levels and everything would be fine. Then half-way through the gig my yellow peak light would start coming on even though I didn't make any adjustments on the head. It didn't seem to affect anything , but seeing the peak light come on would really bother me.

[dmusic148]

Originally Posted by KJung

Don't mean to OT a GK thread, but since it is your thread, thought this would be OK. IMO, you might be making a rather large mistake.

OP, I would STRONGLY SUGGEST you take Ken's suggestions seriously. He knows his (stuff).

[dmusic148]

Originally Posted by Pedulla-Player

...Then half-way through the gig my yellow peak light would start coming on even though I didn't make any adjustments on the head. ....

Did you turn up your bass? Make EQ adjustments on the bass?

[Chef]

Well now, lets not all jump off a "GK is unreliable junk" cliff.
I've had six in the last three years or so.
I've never had one fail, though I did have one develop a noisy mute switch, and another have a "power off quietly" capacitor fail.

Pedulla, I'm sorry you had a preamp tube fail in your Fusion550, but KJung, didn't you have one fail in your Streamliner?
Anything with a tube in it could have that issue.

I'm not on either side of the "reliability issue," fwiw.

[Pedulla-Player]

Originally Posted by dmusic148

Did you turn up your bass? Make EQ adjustments on the bass?

Nope I set my gig levels with the volume on my bass maxed out. I do tweak the tone knob on my Thunderbass once in a while depending on the song but after the amp starts peaking it doesn't seem to matter where I have the tone knob on my bass set.

[KJung]

Originally Posted by Pedulla-Player

Ken - You are always welcome to hijack one of my threads. One thing that bothered me about the SM9.2 is that I would set my gig levels and everything would be fine. Then half-way through the gig my yellow peak light would start coming on even though I didn't make any adjustments on the head. It didn't seem to affect anything , but seeing the peak light come on would really bother me.

That indicator just means that you are beginning to hit the power management/tube emulation circuitry. It is not a traditional 'clip/problem' indicator.

The reason it came on later in the gig without making any adjustments on the head is that, like most of us, you started to dig in a bit more with your plucking/picking hand as the gig went on, the band cranked up, and the intensity increased. Very normal. If you dig in more, a hotter signal will be hitting the input gain, which means a hotter signal will be hitting the power amp.

There is no issue with that, and the only thing you will hear is a slight warming of the peaks and attack and tone.... pretty nice actually.

Again, the GK amps will be brighter, more aggressive/grindy and a bit more open in the lows, and actually louder per watt than the Genz. However, with 900 watts on the Genz, their amazing service, and the uber reliability of those heads, it seems that a bit more time spent would be worth it for you. That really is a wonderful head.

In the GK line-up, you will probably be the most happy with the GK MBFusion.. small, loud, a little warmer and less aggressive than the 'non tube' heads, and almost as loud as the Max 9.2.

[Pedulla-Player]

Originally Posted by Chef

Well now, lets not all jump off a "GK is unreliable junk" cliff.
I've had six in the last three years or so.
I've never had one fail, though I did have one develop a noisy mute switch, and another have a "power off quietly" capacitor fail.

Pedulla, I'm sorry you had a preamp tube fail in your Fusion550, but KJung, didn't you have one fail in your Streamliner?
Anything with a tube in it could have that issue.

I'm not on either side of the "reliability issue," fwiw.

I'm not - look at how many of the old 800RBs are still out there kicking serious bass butt (even though they look like thay have been used and abused.)! I know that customer reviews are to be taken with a grain of salt - just seemed like an abnormally high number of reliability issues in the 40+ reviews given on the 700RB-II. It's true that every company no matter what they produce makes a Lemon once in a while.
That said - I am bummed that I didn't have a tube to swap in the 550 because it honestly was one of the best sounding amps that I ever played through.

[KJung]

Originally Posted by Chef

Well now, lets not all jump off a "GK is unreliable junk" cliff.
I've had six in the last three years or so.
I've never had one fail, though I did have one develop a noisy mute switch, and another have a "power off quietly" capacitor fail.

Pedulla, I'm sorry you had a preamp tube fail in your Fusion550, but KJung, didn't you have one fail in your Streamliner?
Anything with a tube in it could have that issue.

I'm not on either side of the "reliability issue," fwiw.

+1 Talking about all the other threads/posts on a wide variety of GK heads... MB200, MB500, the 700rb especially, the 1001, etc., etc., etc. All companies have a certain percentage of failure, some companies have a higher percentage of failure.

Even with companies that have problems, it in NO way means that 'every amp will fail' or even that 'most amps will fail'. It is always about 'the probability of having a problem on the gig'. Im sure many, many GK customers have had no issues. Just pointing out (as the OP did when he reviewed the 700RB comments on various on-line retailers and the many threads on Talkbass, that there does seem to be an issue, just like with, for example, the Mesa M9.

That being said, +1 if I can, I avoid preamp tubes. However, the good news is, a bad preamp tube is easy to replace... just not in the middle of a gig.

[Greevus]

GK MB500 blew the doors off of a new Orange Terror Bass for me last night. I pitted the two head-on and was willing to sell my soul to an Orange English devil.

Robert Gallien is the real beast.

Only problem I ever had with an MB250 was fixed by Brian at GK via a phone call and shipping payment to them. They are the BEST for me. Been playing 'em since '88 and anyone who calls them "junk" is just a hater.

[KJung]

Originally Posted by Greevus

GK MB500 blew the doors off of a new Orange Terror Bass for me last night. I pitted the two head-on and was willing to sell my soul to an Orange English devil.

Robert Gallien is the real beast.

Only problem I ever had with an MB250 was fixed by Brian at GK via a phone call and shipping payment to them. They are the BEST for me. Been playing 'em since '88 and anyone who calls them "junk" is just a hater.

Again, no one is calling them 'junk' at all. Interesting that even you, who love the head, basically had to ship it back, per your post.

No 'hating', just 'is what it is'. Great sounding heads (if you dig the aggressive, bright voicing of those heads), that are a bit 'wonky' regarding issues (not always 'out and out failure', but lots of 'noisy switches, etc.). It just 'is what it is', and is pretty obvious from both a perusal of various threads, online reviews, and if you know people who work in stores that handle the brand, just talking about return/service rates versus other brands.

I played a zillion gigs back in the day with my 400RB, but even it went back twice, once after blowing up two JBLK140's by dumping DC into them (to be fair, GK fixed the head and reimbursed me for the K140's).

[Pedulla-Player]

Originally Posted by KJung

That indicator just means that you are beginning to hit the power management/tube emulation circuitry. It is not a traditional 'clip/problem' indicator.

The reason it came on later in the gig without making any adjustments on the head is that, like most of us, you started to dig in a bit more with your plucking/picking hand as the gig went on, the band cranked up, and the intensity increased. Very normal. If you dig in more, a hotter signal will be hitting the input gain, which means a hotter signal will be hitting the power amp.

There is no issue with that, and the only thing you will hear is a slight warming of the peaks and attack and tone.... pretty nice actually.

Again, the GK amps will be brighter, more aggressive/grindy and a bit more open in the lows, and actually louder per watt than the Genz. However, with 900 watts on the Genz, their amazing service, and the uber reliability of those heads, it seems that a bit more time spent would be worth it for you. That really is a wonderful head.

In the GK line-up, you will probably be the most happy with the GK MBFusion.. small, loud, a little warmer and less aggressive than the 'non tube' heads, and almost as loud as the Max 9.2.

The MB Fusion 500 is more than likely what I want. I think it would kill with the two GK Neo 212 cabs that I have coming. I had to sell the Uber because I blew my back out lifting it - Ironically at the gig that I posted a short video clip of. It hurt that night and went into my sciatic nerve the next day. I was done for after that...
Anybody know how a SM9.2 would be a good match with the GK Neo 212's. It's hard to say what I will eventually do with my amp situation , but I do want a GK head in my arsenal no matter what I do. Albeit a new one (Fusion) or a used RB. Just undecided at the moment on which direction I will go yet.

[Kitsapbass]

800RB followed by the 400RB.

[Chef]

Heh, look at me stirring the pot

I'm not trying to induce any fisticuffs from either side.

btw: the Orange Terro is a mighty fine head, plenty powerful, and well voiced at what it does.
However, if an MB series head is what you like, I totally get why the Terror would be one you -wouldn't- like. It was not my flavor either, but dang, really good at what it does.

Also: the MBF and two NEO 212's is a mighty potent deal too.

[Pedulla-Player]

One thing is true - GB and GK make some of the finest most affordable heads on the market today.

[KJung]

Originally Posted by Pedulla-Player

The MB Fusion 500 is want. I think it would kill with the two GK Neo 212 cabs that I have coming. I had to sell the Uber because I blew my back out lifting it - Ironically at the gig that I posted a short video clip of. It hurt that night and went into my sciatic nerve the next day. I was done for after that...
Anybody know how a SM9.2 would be a good match with the GK Neo 212's. It's hard to say what I will eventually do with my amp situation , but I do want a GK head in my arsenal no matter what I do. Albeit a new one (Fusion) or a used RB. Just undecided at the moment on which direction I will go yet.

I think you would be quite happy with that rig. The MBFusion is a bit less 'in your face' than the MB800/500, is very small, and again, even if there is an issue, it usually turns up pretty quickly out of the box, and assuming you buy from Musician's Friend or some on-line company, they will just give you a new one if there is a problem.

Used RB... I wouldn't do that

+1 that even a moderate weight neo 410 can be a ball buster. IF you consider keeping your Max 9.2, the new version of the NeoX212 is VERY nice and matches will with that head, and is quite lightweight.

[KJung]

Originally Posted by Chef

Heh, look at me stirring the pot

I'm not trying to induce any fisticuffs from either side.

btw: the Orange Terro is a mighty fine head, plenty powerful, and well voiced at what it does.
However, if an MB series head is what you like, I totally get why the Terror would be one you -wouldn't- like. It was not my flavor either, but dang, really good at what it does.

Also: the MBF and two NEO 212's is a mighty potent deal too.

+1 Very different voicing there.

[WingKL]

Just so people know, the 1001RB is the same amp as the 700RB except for a higher voltage power transformer and probably higher power supply capacitor voltage ratings. The pre and power boards are exactly the same otherwise. If you popped a 700RB power transformer into a 1001RB you'd get a 700RB. The 1001RB doesn't sound exactly the same as the 700RB because the higher voltages are making the transistors run at a different operating point. Theoretically, someone could tweak the 1001RB to sound as warm as a 700RB at low volumes but have a higher headroom.

[willsellout]

I had two 1001RB's die on me within 5 minutes of turning them on. Haven't bought one since. I've owned several 800RB's and never had as much as a scratchy pot.