I'm becoming disatified with my GK, need help!

metallicafan18 · #1 03-27-2011, 06:29 PM

I've been playing GK for about 3 years now and I've been very content with what I hear. I play through the Fusion 550 and a NEO 410 and 212 cab.

Recently I've been having second thoughts about my setup. It seems that if I want to have that nice punch of note definition I have to have the amp cranked or have the bass knob up, but if I have the bass up, the tone gets muddy and I lose that GK clarity. I really want a tone that can sit in the mix without being muddy, but still hit really hard no matter what I'm playing.

I've been looking into Ashdown and even Mesa amps to see what is out there.

Any recommendations on amps that could help me with this tone, or should I just stick with the GK? I am at a loss right now.

Tunaman · #2 03-27-2011, 06:32 PM

Play with the mids on your amp & on your bass more than low or treble. mids make the most difference to tone.

Fusion is a great amp.

metallicafan18 · #3 03-27-2011, 06:40 PM

Right now I have my EQ on the amp at treble and bass at 12 o'clock, and both mids at 1.

The basses I use most are passive, and the tone is about flat on those as well. If I get the tone knobs up too high, I get a lot of clanky tones, and it gets too muddy if I roll them back.

The amp sounds killer when i play with my hard rock band and I boost the gain. but for my classic rock, and southern rock stuff, I just can't get a punchy, yet clear tone.

Joe Gress · #4 03-27-2011, 06:44 PM

Keep your bass where it is. For more bottom end punch, boost the low mids and cut the high mids a little. If you want clearer boost the high mids and cut the lows.

I have a GK 700RB-II that I had to play with for a while to achieve what I wanted. Cutting and boosting your mid knobs is the best way to do this. Also make sure your contour is set fairly low if you want the mids to come though. The boost also needs playing with. I find that the best settings are when its almost dimed, but not quite.

Tunaman · #5 03-27-2011, 06:45 PM

I'll admit that I personally hated GK amps with GK Neo cabs. Although I had a GK 1001RB for years with my SWR 610 & loved it. I would buy another GK head but not with a NEO cab. I JUST bought a GK NEO 115 III with my Streamliner tube amp & like it a lot.

You may have a bad combination but each piece is VERY good with the right mate.

heath_r_91 · #6 03-27-2011, 06:46 PM

Maybe try putting a Sansamp in the signal chain?

Jaco who? · #7 03-27-2011, 06:46 PM

I've used a 700 RBII with a pair of the neo 212s and it sounded very clear and punchy, more fusion/funk type stuff though. Have you tried either a pair of the 4x10s or a pair of the 212s?

I'm guessing that the ideal EQ for your 2x12 will not jive with the 4x10, and vice versa, but I haven't used that combination, so take my advice for what it's worth.

Slowgypsy · #8 03-27-2011, 06:53 PM

Question... are you running both 410 and 212 at the same time?

metallicafan18 · #9 03-27-2011, 06:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joe Gress

Keep your bass where it is. For more bottom end punch, boost the low mids and cut the high mids a little. If you want clearer boost the high mids and cut the lows.

I have a GK 700RB-II that I had to play with for a while to achieve what I wanted. Cutting and boosting your mid knobs is the best way to do this. Also make sure your contour is set fairly low if you want the mids to come though. The boost also needs playing with. I find that the best settings are when its almost dimed, but not quite.

I have the contour at 9 o'clock. The Fusion doesn't have a boost control. I run the cabs at full range. So the tweeters are off on he cabs

rag · #10 03-27-2011, 10:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by metallicafan18

Right now I have my EQ on the amp at treble and bass at 12 o'clock, and both mids at 1.

The basses I use most are passive, and the tone is about flat on those as well. If I get the tone knobs up too high, I get a lot of clanky tones, and it gets too muddy if I roll them back.

The amp sounds killer when i play with my hard rock band and I boost the gain. but for my classic rock, and southern rock stuff, I just can't get a punchy, yet clear tone.

Where do you set the Master?

::::BASSIST:::: · #11 03-28-2011, 01:16 AM

This may be a little nutty, but I use my gk mb500 with a 15 band eq and I can get all the punch I want by cutting 25, 40hz and boosting 160hz etc.

I have total tonal control.

AwkwardLoudness · #12 03-28-2011, 01:45 AM

I haven't played a GK Fusion amp, but like ::::BASSIST:::: suggested, a rack EQ or pedal EQ could make a difference.

Since you're local to me near Louisville, you are welcome to try your amp through my cabs for some comparison.

metallicafan18 · #13 03-28-2011, 04:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rag

Where do you set the Master?

I have the gain and master both set at 11 o'clock.

I fiddled with the tones last night, and I boosted the low mids and cut the bass back, and that definitely helped.

lomo · #14 03-28-2011, 04:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Slowgypsy

Question... are you running both 410 and 212 at the same time?

+1. Not a great pairing of cabs. Much better with 2 identical boxes. Also agree with puching low mids and possibly cutting bass and/or highs.

jnewmark · #15 03-28-2011, 05:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by metallicafan18

I have the gain and master both set at 11 o'clock.

I fiddled with the tones last night, and I boosted the low mids and cut the bass back, and that definitely helped.

I run the master on my RB 700II on 3 o'clock, and the gain around 10 o'clock. Very clean, cut through tone this way in my 212 LDS.

DWBass · #16 03-28-2011, 06:08 AM

It's not your amp. It's those Neo cabs! I'm having the same issue (I run 2 Neo112's) but I'm using Markbass and Genz Benz amps. I miss my old Avatars! They were clean and musical! The Neos are basically subs with tweeters, IMO. I know others will have more to say but that's what my ears hear!

Swift713 · #17 03-28-2011, 06:17 AM

Build yourself a fEarful cab. It will accurately reproduce what your amp puts out and you wont have to sacrifice bottom for punch for clarity.

Fender74 · #18 03-28-2011, 06:45 AM

Is anyone using the RB700II with the GK 410SBX cab? That's my setup now and I notice the SBX cab is kind of "dark" sounding...more or less bass and high mid heavy.

dogofgod · #19 03-28-2011, 06:50 AM

The 212 can get somewhat muddy. At home it sounds good, but what I do for gigs, is I roll the low-mids to about 2:00, and I turn the bass down to 10:00. This has really helped me gain clarity at louder levels.

And btw, I am incredibly happy with GK products.

I also run the gain at full, and the master at 9:00-12:00. No boost.

Tunaman · #20 03-28-2011, 08:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DWBass

It's not your amp. It's those Neo cabs! I'm having the same issue (I run 2 Neo112's) but I'm using Markbass and Genz Benz amps. I miss my old Avatars! They were clean and musical! The Neos are basically subs with tweeters, IMO. I know others will have more to say but that's what my ears hear!

My GK Neo 115 is MUCH more musical than a sub. I just think it doesn't pair well with a GK head. I use Genz SL900 & its great with my GK Neo.

I didn't like my Eden head with my Eden 610xlt either.

Some people don't like the $900 Bergantino 212 with certain amps, doesn't make it a bad cab.

Mix & Match my friend... its not lack of quality.