OLD GK vs. NEW GK

[silvertripper]

So about 10 years ago I bought a 1001RB and I played it for nearly all of those 10 years. Is was punchy, plenty of tone, cut like a knife, sounded like a typical GK. I also played with a Fender MIA Jazz with a 410 and a 115. One of the best bass tones Ive ever heard or had imo.

Last night I went to hear my friends band practice (they are rather inexperienced but its all good) and the bass rig sounded extremely "Flubby" and lifeless. It was seriously one of the worst sounding bass rigs I've heard. I would even make the stretch and say the bass tone made the band sound bad. At the end of their session their bassist asked me for some advise and if I could help him get a better sound from his rig. Im always happy to help! He was playing with a "NEW" 1001RBII, a 210 and a 212, Corvette Standard. I tried everything in my book to get better tone and although I did sharpen his rig, it still sounded "flubby". Kinda like the sound of strings that are so loose they dont sustain or have "bite".

And now I'm asking myself, does the older GK stuff sound better than the new? Or is it possibly his Corvette Standard doesnt cut the mustard? Im seriously at a loss why I couldnt dial in a better sound. It just sounded so lifeless... flub.. flubby... flubbidy flub flub...

Old GK VS. New GK... anyone have experience and can shed some light on this.



OLD GK 1001RB
Attachment 211991

NEW 1001RBII
Attachment 211992

[playerunk]

maybe it's not the amp but the cab combination (phasing issues) and the room acoustics.

[N.F.A.]

Dead strings?

[silvertripper]

He said the strings were a month old.

4 ohms

[silvertripper]

He also had like 10 pedals of which 8 he never used. So I suggested taking all the pedals out of the chain and adding one at a time in the event he had a faulty pedal or cord.

[georgestrings]

IME, the G-K stuff currently being made is their best ever...


- georgestrings

[4Mal]

Originally Posted by georgestrings

IME, the G-K stuff currently being made is their best ever...


- georgestrings

+1

I've had 2 1001 RB II's and they both punched like Ali. My current MB2-500 punches like his little bro ...(uh, did Mohammed actually have a little bro ? Google is your friend no. Well Sugar Ray then ...)

After the amp settings, A string of 10 pedals ? that would be where I looking for answers ...

[Sundogue]

You know the ol' saying..."All things being equal..."

In this case the only things equal are the heads. Everything else is different. Just a matter of the process of elimination.

[ddbassGA]

Originally Posted by georgestrings

IME, the G-K stuff currently being made is their best ever...

That's the opposite of my experience.

[stingray56funk]

Originally Posted by ddbassGA

That's the opposite of my experience.

+1

[joeydavidson]

There was a thread where a 700rbII owner a-b'd their amp with an old(?) 800rb, and after EQing found both sounding identical with the exception of the 700rbII being slightly more versatile with it's 4/5 string button.

[Rockman]

Originally Posted by Sundogue

You know the ol' saying..."All things being equal..."

In this case the only things equal are the heads. Everything else is different. Just a matter of the process of elimination.

Not even, different generations of the same model does not identical make.

[Calaverasgrande]

I like the older 400RB and 800RB better.

[joeydavidson]

There is a difference in wattage but I think the old and new heads are 'identical' enough to make the difference more attributable to a Fender MIA Jazz vs a Corvette Standard + pedal(s) and also there's the cabs to consider.

[brndn123]

GK is very perceptive depending on personal experience. Of coarse you have the old school purists that insist an old block of wood p bass from fullerton sounds/plays better than a new Lakland made with *cough* precision *cough cough* simply because its older. Then you have guys that swear by the new squiers and guys who swear AT new squiers. Bias?

Anywhoo, my 1001rbII has been all over the place and has yet to let me down in any department. I've under powered it, dropped it, cranked it, you name it. It still sounds amazing regardless of which bass I run through it or how I tweak the knobs. However, the sound does dramatically vary from cab to cab. I've ran it with several different configs, some of which sounded amazing and others very very bad. I would place blame on the other factors given GK's rep. Then agian, could be a pickle...errrr...lemon

[deeptubes]

I bought a new, old stock 1001RB-II about a year ago. Then, it was 3 or 4 years old, still in the original, unopened box. I freaking love that thing! It pushes my SWR Workingman's Tower 8x10 very nicely. Together, they make your bones vibrate! When I crank up my rig, crap falls from the ceiling, no matter where I am. NO EXAGGERATION!

[jelwood]

It is definitely not the guy's 1001rb-II. Take your 1001rb to one of his practices and then swap it with his 1001-II. You will be surprised at how bad your 1001rb will sound and then you will see just how much of a difference a bass and cabs and room can make taken together.

[DWBass]

Pedals! A friend of mine used a handful of pedals and his tone was pretty muffled and stuffy. He came to one of my gigs and was amazed how clean my sound was. I told him I don't use pedals of any kind.

[silvertripper]

I figured the heads would be comparable and alike... Just wanted to know from the rbii users. I'm thinking (a) the bass, (b) bad cord, (c) bad pedal, (d) all of the above.

Thanks for the responses guys. My old 1001rb was bullet proof for sure.

[HolmeBass]

I second the pedals. Get those bad boys into an effects loop, radial or barge concepts, get them out of the signal chain when they are not engaged. They don't have to be "bad" to suck tone.