Preamp question

[moeroncuban]

Hey fellow TBer's,
Quick question... I have a GK rig that consists of a GK 1001 RBII pushing a 410 and a 212 NEO cab. I'm finding that my tone is still quite "bright" not warm. I love the power that the rig produces, but I was wondering if adding a preamp to a solid state head would warm up the sound. I figure it's cheaper to add the pre than to buy a whole new set up. Duh right?

Anyhow, any and all advice will be greatly appreciated as I continue on my quest to "find that tone" LOL ! :^)

Thanks in advance!

Peace ~

[crossstick]

An Xotic Tri Logic Pre pedal will fatten things up without changing the character of you setup to much, it's a very honest pedal with a subtle EQ.

[sevenyearsdown]

Are you using all of the pedals in your profile info? That could drastically effect the tone. Have you tried eq'ing the head with just the bass directly in with no pedals? Just a couple of things to consider before looking for a new preamp.

If you have already done those things, might be worth your while to look for a used sansamp in the classifieds.

[moeroncuban]

The only pedals that are engaged ALL the time is the compressore and the noise decimator. I only use the chorus during the more quieter and worshipful songs during service. The reverb is simply there for my head when I'm messing around.

[VSR]

+1 on the Xotic Tri Logic, also an EBS Valve Drive (has very subtle E.Q.) and would be a nice choice but costs a little more.

[IvanMike]

I might go with the pedal approach, but to be honest, the first thing i'd do is to identify what in your signal chain isn't "warm" enough for you.

GK aren't noted for being really brittle and thin sounding, but it could be the preamp.

Try taking all of your stuff to a store that has a lot of stuff in it.

Try your cabinets (with your bass) but use a different head SET ALL THE EQ AND SHAPES FLAT. - - If you find that something like an eden head gives a radically different amount of warmth, then you are pretty close to being able to say that the GK preamp doesn't do it for you (the SS power sections in two amps will generally sound about the same)

Try plugging your GK head into different cabinets and see if this ends up curing your warmth issue.

also, try just running one of your cabs, and then both of them - see if the warmth comes back with just one cab.

and definitely, do all this with NO pedals in your signal chain - they are notorious tone sucks (even when off).

While you're there, you might be able to try a sans amp DI in the effects loop of the GK head. IIRC that GK lets you blend the effects signal with the dry one, which is a good thing as sans amp can really do a lot of mid sucking, even when off. But, I use one in this configuration with an old SWR head to fatten it up -i just blend to taste - (SWR can be very chilly).

[sevenyearsdown]

Then I would say try going straight into the amp with no signal chain but an instrument chord. Take everything out the equation to find out if you like what your head offers. Eq from there to see if you can get what you are looking for before you hook up any pedals. If you can't find the tone you are looking for at that point, then maybe a sansamp - or GK might not be your thing. GK does have it's own color.

[Whitbass]

I will say that the GK RB series are some of the brighter sounding heads to my ears. Good heads though, just not warm and fat.
You might still think about a different head. Lots of options...GK Fusion 550, Fender TB series, Mesa BB, Mesa M9 (though its less warm and more dynamic etc).

One if the best values in bass heads for warm, punchy bass is the Hartke LH series. These are dead simple heads that will flat lay it down. Considering the price of the LH series (LH500 or LH1000) vs a decent Preamp, you might give one a listen if you haven't before.

[moeroncuban]

Hey all!
A very *** BIG THANK YOU *** to my fellow TBer's for the advice and instruction.

I certainly will try everything that was suggested, perhaps even scale down a bit on gear if I do elect to go with a preamp.

Thanks again!

Peace ~