GK 400rb

[AdamR]

On my 800rb I start with everything at noon, cut a bit of bass and boost the low mids and boost.

[Catbuster]

Originally Posted by skulletwhip

I found a gentlemen selling one of these on Craigslist for not much money at all, like he may as well give it to me.

My only concern is if they are loud enough for my band. We are loud. Guitar player is a fuzz fanatic and our drummer has an affinity for Dale Crover. I use an Ampeg 8x10 cab, so I assume I should have enough speaker to keep up. I just wanna know others' experiences with these heads.

You should be able to drive the living sh!t out of an 400RB and get its best tone with that 810. You won't be short volume unless the guy you play bass next to has a Mark V set on 90W with both 412 cabs... The 400RB will keep up with it's bigger bro, the 700RB on volume 90% of the time.

[johnson79]

I am definitely going to pick up a GK when the time is right

[skulletwhip]

Originally Posted by Catbuster

You should be able to drive the living sh!t out of an 400RB and get its best tone with that 810. You won't be short volume unless the guy you play bass next to has a Mark V set on 90W with both 412 cabs... The 400RB will keep up with it's bigger bro, the 700RB on volume 90% of the time.

That's what I figured. Thanks!

[Lowbrow]

Originally Posted by skulletwhip

I found a gentlemen selling one of these on Craigslist for not much money at all, like he may as well give it to me.

My only concern is if they are loud enough for my band. We are loud. Guitar player is a fuzz fanatic and our drummer has an affinity for Dale Crover. I use an Ampeg 8x10 cab, so I assume I should have enough speaker to keep up. I just wanna know others' experiences with these heads.

Used mine regularly at a club that had an SVT 8x0 as house backline and it sounded great. In fact, it is one of those heads that sounds great with just about every cab it's paired with, and has ample power. Doubt you will need more wattage in most situations despite the TB current obsession with 500+ watts. The 400RB got me through many many years of steady RnR gigging from cigarbox clubs to balcony echo halls, and it satisfied me with the only negative commentary from sound people being 'turn it down.'

[skulletwhip]

Originally Posted by Lowbrow

Used mine regularly at a club that had an SVT 8x0 as house backline and it sounded great. In fact, it is one of those heads that sounds great with just about every cab it's paired with, and has ample power. Doubt you will need more wattage in most situations despite the TB current obsession with 500+ watts. The 400RB got me through many many years of steady RnR gigging from cigarbox clubs to balcony echo halls, and it satisfied me with the only negative commentary from sound people being 'turn it down.'

Sounds like something I am into. I have a few amps lying around, but this guy's price is too good to pass up.
I figured volume wouldn't be an issue considering how much my 800RB can put out.

Thanks for the input, sirs.

[ljazz]

Originally Posted by Catbuster

The 400RB will keep up with it's bigger bro, the 700RB on volume 90% of the time.

Having both of these heads, I can say without a shred of doubt, that this is absolutely untrue. Even when running a 112 cab, the volume ontap from the 700rbII is big. Running my 112/212 the difference is really noticed. I haven't run my 400rb into a 'peg 810 yet, but I have pushed the fridge with my 700rbII...... wickedly loud...... much louder than even the 800rb I recently parted with.

Now, that being said, the 400rb pushing both of my gk neo112's (both series 1) is beautiful thing! My 800rb didn't sound anywhere as good into those cabs (not sure why though). And I'm glad there is a bigtime volume difference between the 400rb and 700rbII, because I can get the 400rb to "sing" at a much lower volume level. Don't get me wrong..... it's no slouch volume-wise. A couple of good, efficient, 8ohm cabs and a 400rb will cover most club stages without a problem.

[bcb123]

Originally Posted by dmusic148

First, there is no 'Mid Boost,' only a Contour(cut) button. Do not press it. To make matters worse, you cut the low mids even further with the low mid knob. These things took all of the punch/balls out of your sound.
Next time, don't press any buttons and set all knobs at 12:00. Make slight adjustments from there. Or not- it should sound damn good like that.
For flavor I like to run the Boost knob at around 2:00.

Good advise when using an unfamiliar amp. Start with everything flat. Don't judge your tone until you play a song. Usually I find I will set my tone much too warm when no one is playing only to find out it's too muddy once the band kicks in. Then, if you still don't dig it, only make one small change and then play another song, etc.

[Standalone]

Greatest amp ever?

[bcb123]

I had one for around 10 years, playing every weekend. Not one hiccup ever. It was used when I got it and it was still working perfectly when I sold it. Always sounded fine. The only reason I got rid of it was that I thought "it just can't last forever!" or can it? Should have kept it for sure and was foolish to let it go. Eden Time Traveler was the next amp dependable and good sounding enough to be the next "keeper".

[Eric Cioe]

I miss this head. Best pairing I found with it was an SWR Workingman's 1x15.

[Toptube]

Originally Posted by lvbass

I just did a gig with one and had tone problems all night. This was a unit provided by the venue and it was through a 4x10and a 1x15. I play a Pbass with flats. I try to get the old school Jamerson tone and it was really tough on that amp. All night it was either to bassy or too trebly which ever way I adjusted. Now as I said it was not my amp, and I did not have a ot of time to play around , but I would love any suggestions as I will probably have to use it again.
THe best I got was settings similar to this:
Mid Boost in
Treble about 1/2
Mid HIgh about 1/2
MId Low about 1/4
Bass about 1/2
Amp still broke up with any aggressive paying and sounded really muddy to me on stage. There was PA support with pro sound, so it was probably(hopefully?) better sounding out front.
Guitar was full out on tone and volume
Amp Volume about 1/4
Boost about1/4
Love some ideas for the next time.

In my opinion, the EQ section on these is not intuitive. changing one knob actually alters other frequencies. Its tough to wrap my brain around. Actually getting a "flat" sound out of them requires a really weird EQ setting. They are loud and have some good sounds in them, but you cannot just turn the knobs and get sounds you'd expect, based on using other amps. These are very "colored" amps.

[B-string]

His biggest problem was there is no "mid boost" switch, it is a mid cut (scoop) switch he pushed in then cut the punch with the low-mids to boot. The "Volume" control is signal into preamp, the "Master" is signal into the power amp.
The tone controls are not interactive as you say. Bob Gallien design a whole new way to eq bass amps. Learning the eq is much easier and more intuitive than any other amp I have used, just don't overthink it.

[ljazz]

Originally Posted by B-string

His biggest problem was there is no "mid boost" switch, it is a mid cut (scoop) switch he pushed in then cut the punch with the low-mids to boot. The "Volume" control is signal into preamp, the "Master" is signal into the power amp.
The tone controls are not interactive as you say. Bob Gallien design a whole new way to eq bass amps. Learning the eq is much easier and more intuitive than any other amp I have used, just don't overthink it.

I don't find them to be interactive at all...... very easy to operate (on both my 400rb and 700rbII). I do find that I sometimes need to adjust the low end a touch when I bring up the boost.

I've been using my 400rb and 2x112 neo's with a new band.... classic rock/country/blues thingy, and it keeps up wonderfully. I love hearing the grunt coming from this rig. I haven't played my 700rbII a whole lot lately.

[1958Bassman]

Originally Posted by Toptube

In my opinion, the EQ section on these is not intuitive. changing one knob actually alters other frequencies. Its tough to wrap my brain around. Actually getting a "flat" sound out of them requires a really weird EQ setting. They are loud and have some good sounds in them, but you cannot just turn the knobs and get sounds you'd expect, based on using other amps. These are very "colored" amps.

You need to realize that "flat" in one room isn't, in another. The room reacts to what the speaker produces and where you stand affects that, too. You shouldn't assume that your speaker's output is flat, either- it isn't. By a long shot.

Do you know the 'center frequency' of each control? You need to, in order to get the most from any amp.

[NeonVomit]

Loved my 400 so much that after 6 years I went back to GK with a new 700. Wonderful little amp that's louder than its 280w rating suggests.