GK 1001RB Factory Upgrade to Mark II

fractal0243 · #1 10-13-2011, 12:51 PM

My 1001RB has been my gigging tank for the past 4 or 5 years. The thing is flawless and never ever hiccups. Recently, the DI has been a little noisy. At first I thought it was a power or grounding issue at the venue I played at, but every PA lately is getting a pretty bad hum from it. Long story short, I got in touch with someone from GK support, and they recommend I upgrade to the mark II, which they will do for $250. (I'm assuming this doesn't cover shipping.)

Does anyone have any experience doing this factory upgrade? Is it really worth the $250 to do it? The DI hum isn't really a big deal, since I either just mic my cabinet or use a DI box, but if the upgrade is really worth it, I might jump on this.

Cristo · #2 10-13-2011, 01:11 PM

Search around - I believe I read a thread a while back from someone who did this and was pleased. I vaguely recall that they did some general reconditioning type work during the upgrade. Sorry I can't link the thread.

fractal0243 · #3 10-13-2011, 01:24 PM

No problem, I appreciate the reply. I dug around for a little while, but couldn't find much. GK support did tell me that it's a full upgrade to the board and the power supply, so it sounds like I would pretty much be getting a new amp, minus the case.

JonnyAngle · #4 10-13-2011, 03:31 PM

There was one for sale a few months ago... Mark I case and power with Mark II updated board. I want to say the Mark I's have a pinch more power.

Fred312b · #5 10-13-2011, 03:36 PM

Actually, the II's have more power- 700w into 4 ohms vs 540. I don't know about any DI or board differences though.

steveinohio · #6 10-13-2011, 06:42 PM

I've read of a few guys who have done this and liked the results. The MKII is supposed to be warmer. If the scratch isn't a big deal for you I would go for it.

Wes Whitmore · #7 10-14-2011, 06:27 AM

I have done this twice...out of necessity.

My Mk1 blew up after bringing it in after 2 cold nights of being in a 10 degree car. My core charge was much more than $250 though (It was back in 2005 though. I think I paid close to $400). I had to send my broken one in. I think the preamps are slightly different in those models. I know the 700RB to 700RBII are different.

I had a 500MB2 that I bought used and start to fail on me. I sent it in and got the new and improved 500MB, and paid $150 for the upgrade. I was probably going to have that much in getting my old one fixed, and the new features seemed worth it, so I went with it.

They price it right at the point where it's a good deal compared to a brand new head, and you get a warranty. The bad news is that if you add up the price of the first and second head, it gets pretty pricey...
Wes

fractal0243 · #8 10-14-2011, 07:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wes Whitmore

I have done this twice...out of necessity.

My Mk1 blew up after bringing it in after 2 cold nights of being in a 10 degree car. My core charge was much more than $250 though (It was back in 2005 though. I think I paid close to $400). I had to send my broken one in. I think the preamps are slightly different in those models. I know the 700RB to 700RBII are different.

I had a 500MB2 that I bought used and start to fail on me. I sent it in and got the new and improved 500MB, and paid $150 for the upgrade. I was probably going to have that much in getting my old one fixed, and the new features seemed worth it, so I went with it.

They price it right at the point where it's a good deal compared to a brand new head, and you get a warranty. The bad news is that if you add up the price of the first and second head, it gets pretty pricey...
Wes

Thanks, that's good info.

I have a Mark II coming to me that I just traded for, so I'm going to hold off on sending the Mark I in for the upgrade until I can compare the two. I love my Mark I's tone, so if they're really that different, I might just keep it as is and have the Mark II as a backup.

Wes Whitmore · #9 10-14-2011, 08:01 AM

Mine sounded a bit different...I never needed the power of either the Mk1 or MkII. Honestly, I would just make it a practice amp since you have another one coming. Deal with the DI issue later, or just use a DI box in a pinch.
Wes

fractal0243 · #10 10-21-2011, 04:21 PM

Well, I finally got my hands on a Mark II and spent a good half hour tonight A/B'ing the two. I was playing my Cirrus 5 and running them through an SWR Golight 410. I've gotta say, there is a definite difference in sound. I'm not sound guru by any means, but I'll do my best to sum up my initial findings.

The first thing I noticed is the Mark II is incredibly quiet compared to my Mark I when it comes to hiss and white noise. The Mark II is almost dead silent when you're not playing through it, which I'm not used to. I almost thought it was broken at first. My Mark I (maybe others are different, who knows) has a noticeable hiss when it's not being played through. I never really noticed how significant it was until now.

With both amps set flat, the Mark II is, I don't know how to put it, warmer maybe? It still had the typical GK sizzle, but wasn't as aggressive, and I mean that in a good way. It might be a little more mid-scooped on a flat setting, but it was hard to tell. It seemed making adjustments was also more noticeable. I could crank the knobs on my Mark I all over the place, and it didn't seem to make as much of a difference. The Mark II can dial in more tones for sure. I could get the Mark II to always sound like the Mark I, but not the other way around.

As far as power, I didn't notice too much of a difference. But then again, I am playing through an 8 ohm cabinet, and in my basement, so it's hard to test true power output, volume levels and headroom. I'll have to test that more at a next gig.

All in all, the Mark II is a big improvement, but I'm not sure it's worth the $250 to upgrade the Mark I, though. I'll probably move the Mark II into my gigging rig, and use the Mark I as a backup for now.

On a somewhat-related-but-not-really note, I picked up a GK MB210 combo amp for practice and rehearsals, and as a big time GK head lover, I'm completely disappointed. I cannot for the life of me get that thing to sound good. It has a ridiculously harsh hissy tweeter, and it seems really mid scooped and muddy. I'll have to really sit down and play with it for a significant amount of time when I can get a night to myself.

Wes Whitmore · #11 10-21-2011, 05:04 PM

That amount of hiss varies from head to head...not really generation to generation.

johnk_10 · #12 10-21-2011, 05:21 PM

just an FYI. i ran my GK 1001RBII thru my RTA program and here's how its frequency response looks with all of the tone controls at noon, no presence or contour (fully counterclockwise) and with and without the 4/5 switch to give you an idea of how it's voiced.

**B-string** · #13 10-21-2011, 09:15 PM

Just for info, the MKII upgrade is the MKII preamp board, MKII power transformer and cooling upgrade IIRC. Not bad for $250.