Gallien Krueger GK 800RB Discontinued -- Long Live The 800RB!

[dmusic148]

Originally Posted by husky123

What a great sounding amp.

+1. What kills me is, it doesn't care much what you plug it into. Last night at a rehearsal place I'd never been to, I plugged it into the provided cab- some weird old Bassman-esque thing with 4-10's and a 15. I fully expected it to be a horrible muddy mess but with a slight bass cut, it actually sounded great.

[husky123]

Originally Posted by dmusic148

+1. What kills me is, it doesn't care much what you plug it into. Last night at a rehearsal place I'd never been to, I plugged it into the provided cab- some weird old Bassman-esque thing with 4-10's and a 15. I fully expected it to be a horrible muddy mess but with a slight bass cut, it actually sounded great.

I agree. I have a nightmare rehearsal space that reeks havoc with so many of my amps (SVT, Mesa M9, MB800, Carvin B1500, etc) but the 800RB gives me consistent tone no matter the room. I'm far to stupid to try and explain it.

[will33]

Originally Posted by creis2

SVT heads sell like hot cakes. Although the 800rb is a classic, it's no SVT. The SVT is a pretty amp, also, Ampeg has updated the look over the years. The 800rb was hideous and was only admired by those who have played one.

Also, the brand new asking price of $800 was a bit steep. You can get so much more for that price today. I'm sure they just weren't selling many.

I hope to see an 800rbII one day. Maybe a non-rack version that's a little easier on the eyes. It would be cool to see a tolex enclosure 800rb like an Ashdown ABM or an SVT.

What the matter with grey on grey on grey?

Good point about the new ones being priced a little steep compared to their other stuff.

[B-string]

They were an expensive amp due to the fact the design was un-changed. That made producing them expensive by today's standards. For the last decade or so it was a break-even amp head when it left the G-K plant to dealers.
People complain about wanting old world build quality and components, until they have to PAY for them apparently?
I guess I will not be selling mine!

[will33]

Not sellin' mine either, matter of fact, like to pick up another.

Good point about build quality. Some of you guys with 400's and 800's, just pull the cover off and look inside that thing....it's what amps should be.

[4001]

Still use mine. It's at my rehearsal spot plugged into an Acoustic 106 (2X15).

[willsellout]

Still looking for an 80's 800RB. It's the only head I've ever regretted getting rid of.

[Bromosapian]

Best of their amps, by far. It actually had a useful biamp rather than the tweeter **** theyve been doing lately that is utterly useless.

[Bromosapian]

Originally Posted by MysticMichael

You guys need to get with the times. What are you? A bunch of guitards, forever pining for crappy "vintage" gear?

The 800RB played its role, and occupies a significant place - in bass guitar amplification history. But it was a dinosaur: underpowered, with very limited EQ, with a hardwired voicing that was incompatible with modern extended-range instruments, etc. etc. You couldn't even order one with Speakon jacks - it was 1/4" phone jacks only. That should tell you something...

Grieve if you must. But then, move on...to a fuller appreciation of how far the state of the art in bass amplification has evolved since the heyday of the 800RB. And be grateful for progress...

MM

Normally I agree, but everything else they make is **** compared to it.

[MuthaFunk]

I have a soft spot in my heart for the RB800. This thread makes me sad because I always considered the RB800 a classic much like the SVT. I thought they would never stop making it.

I used to run two separate Fender 15's on the 300W amp and a Fender 410 on the 100W amp in Bi mode. It was spectacular!! I personally never felt it was lacking for 5-string use but back then there wasn't any www.talkbass.com so what did I know.

I might have to sell or trade one of my micro's for one of these iconic amps. Unleash the hoarders!!

I agree, they have their own characteristic that for me will be best served in the studio as the micro's available today really are great for gigging. I still love the punch of the RB800 for live playing though...

I am one of the people that can feel a difference between the old iron SST amps vs the D-Class Switching PS amps of today, so take my comments for what their worth.

I noticed there were a few minor revisions to the RB800 over the years. Were their any years that should be avoided vs others? I know there was a Power supply transformer change from IE to Toroidal. Anything else?

[B-string]

Wired power cord to detachable. Eliminating one "high amp" output jack and they replaced the switching IC that became obsolete. Oh, horizontal to vertical power switch.

[dmusic148]

Didn't they also move from metal to plastic input/output jacks?

[husky123]

Originally Posted by dmusic148

Didn't they also move from metal to plastic input/output jacks?

Yes, IIRC the vertical switch models have plastic, horizontal have metal.

[the aXeman]

Hey guys,

I found one for a steal on Craigslist... Newer one, I believe.. I'm picking it up Thursday.... So from what I've gathered here you all dig your 800RB's? I'm running a Kustom Groovebass head now which is 600 watts.... I had an SWR 350X head last which was 50 watts more than this and sold it because I wanted more growl/punch and most of all.... VOLUME!! I know the tone's gonna sound killer.... My question for you guys is how does it compete volume-wise compared to other heads?? I'm running a Crate 215 loaded w/ JBL's and that cab snorts like a beast.... So I'm just curious if by cutting the wattage on the head in HALF is gonna be noticeable?? I'm willing to sacrifice a reasonable amount of volume for better tone if need be but I still wanna be able to hear myself onstage and stuff.... thoughts??

aXe

[B-string]

I had an old Acoustic 215 loaded with 16 ohm Altec 421A's (8 ohm cab) really never had a volume problem. Highest on the master was 11:30 with half boost and input volume at 11:00-12:00, passive bass.

[BassmanPaul]

Mine is in pieces - I bought it that way as a project. I have to say the 800RB was never a favourite of mine but will freely admit to it being an iconic design. I never did like the way the high amp was so easy to kill with an accidental 4Ω load. A simple in-line speaker fuse would have saved many of the units from expensive tech repairs.

[ko stradivarius]

FWIW there's a NOS 800RB sitting at Gravity Strings here in St. Louis if someone really needs a minty one.

I dont work there. I just love to seek out gear.

[eddododo]

Damnnnnn, I want a second one

[NDpeppers]

Long live the 800rb! My fav amp...

[Standalone]

Live long and prosper, 800RB. (my volume needs put your little brother in the sweet spot, though...)