Thinking of trading my 800rb for a GBE750/1200

[JDeewond]

Hey all! Basic info would be that I play rock/hard rock(Still Avenue) in a 5-piece band with 2 loud guitars. Not too long ago I got a GK 800rb to pair up with my Genz Benz cab(610T-XB2). I play finger style with an ebmm Stingray 5 string.

I've spent a lot of time in practice trying to get the sound in my head out of the cab and have yet to find it. I'm not giving up on the head just yet, just thinking about other heads to try up.

About a week ago I went to a pop semi-acoustic gig where the bassist was using a GBE1200 and a 5 string sadowsky. It hit me, this is the sound. Round and articulate, but not completely clean, a bit rough round the edges if you know what I mean. Figuratively speaking, it sounded like a big ass snowball going down a hill. I can't help thinking, with an extra overdrive edge to it, this would sound killer for the band's sound.

My cab will handle 900w @ 4ohms. The 800rb can only output 300w but is amazingly loud, I've never been past 12' on the master so power is not an issue. I usually keep the boost fairly high and the EQ flat. I just never found it to be round and punchy enough. Sometimes, it even sounds a tad too brittle.

Anyone has an idea of what I might try without changing the amp or maybe someone can convince me to change asap? I'm considering both the GBE750 and GBE1200 as they apparently share the same functions/tone but the 1200 just has more power.

[murphy]

If all else works for you, try a sansamp bass driver before the amp to get a growly thick sound

[lbwdog]

Originally Posted by JDeewond

I've spent a lot of time in practice trying to get the sound in my head out of the cab and have yet to find it.

About a week ago I went to a pop semi-acoustic gig where the bassist was using a GBE1200 and a 5 string sadowsky. I

Maybe it's your cab that's not giving you what you need.

[cavedweller]

Dont you do it!

[JDeewond]

Originally Posted by cavedweller

Dont you do it!

I was thinking about just that! I'm going to go through every single possibility before letting that head leave my hands. I've had it for too little time to be disappointed just yet.

So much of my struggle is subjective, most of you 800rb owners seem to like it as is, I too like the sound, especially on my own. It gets fairly unnoticeable in the band mix, I'll spend more time with EQ'ing.

[lbwdog]

You know, the bassist's tone you liked was a product of his bass (Sadowsky), amp and cab, so you may not be able to duplicate it with your bass and rig. I've found the 800RB to be pretty versatile for me.

Try this. Engage the "contour" button, then experiment with dialing in more mids with the "Lo Mid" and "Hi Mid" controls. Like wise, maybe dialing down the "Bass" and/or "Treble" controls with "Contour" engaged. I can get a whole bunch of more tonal options this way. BTW, I run my "Boost" at 12:00 or 1:00 usually.

[IvanMike]

pretty sure the key words in your OP are "sadowsky" and "stingray"

might not even be a sadowsky "bass" thing so much as a jazz bass thing and/or a sadowsky (or similar, like aguilar or T-rex) preamp thing. The sadowsky and aggie preamps are available in a pedal or as unit you mount in the bass.

[lbwdog]

Originally Posted by IvanMike

pretty sure the key words in your OP are "sadowsky" and "stingray"

might not even be a sadowsky "bass" thing so much as a jazz bass thing and/or a sadowsky (or similar, like aguilar or T-rex) preamp thing. The sadowsky and aggie preamps are available in a pedal or as unit you mount in the bass.

+1.....Exactly what I was thinking, plus we don't know what cab he was using.
I'd think the two amp heads would have less effect on the tonal difference than the Sadowsky/Stingray factor and the cab difference.

[JDeewond]

For everybody who posted, thank you. For my dilemma, I've decided to forget about the GB head for a while since I've gotten around to a tone I love that fits snuggly in the mix. Might post later about settings I've been happy with but I'm still playing with it enough to warrant waiting a bit.

[seanm]

I can understand your dilemma. I have an 800RB as a backup amp. It is a great amp, but it makes me work to get the tone I want. Fortunately, it has a EQ section that allows you get a great tone. So it's versatility and reliability keep me from selling it off.

[DrowningBrian]

dont sell it you WILL regret it. its my back up amp. no problems ever.
these are my settings. this is how you use a gk800rb!

volume: use for loudness
treble: 10 oclock
hi mid: 1 oclock
lo mid: 2 oclock
bass: 2 oclock
boost: full
master: full

with the master and boost at full it sounds best. no biamping. i use an ampeg 8x10 cab and its pretty beefy.with a jazz bass or p bass. i will sometimes use a sansamp bass driver but with the blend at 50% because i still want the gk tone. try buying a sansamp bddi it will give you a rounder tone. you have to know how to use it or it can make you disappear in a live mix.

[Timi]

Whatever you get don't sell the 800RB, you won't get much and will probably regret it.

[JDeewond]

Quickie. Just sold the 800rb. I agree with all of you, the amp is a beast. It's got power and in a mix it fits incredibly well. I had it on sale for what I bought it for($420) and someone picked it up, which made my day since a GBE 1200 was for sale used for a good price just close by..

I can get the 800rb sound out of it and then some. I stilll had the 800rb in the studio with the GBE1200, and A/B them extensively. Same bass, same cab and I could get them to sound nearly identical, no one could tell the difference. But then the GBE has the other features that got me to the heavens..

True story. 2 weeks ago we were playing at a local recording school during an open house of sorts and another bassist(who ended up playing througn my rig) mentioned he wish he hadn't sold the 800rb. I was playing a Spector Euro but he had an NS-2, honey to the ears.