Been researching GK heads and am a bit confused...

Each head has 2 power amps in it. Hence the "bi-amp".
Check out the GK site and click on the specs for each.

The 1001RB-II has over twice the power and can drive cabs with a tweeter. It is also a newer design. If you have the money and need the power you cannot go wrong.

Absolute lowest prices at RMC Audio.

Enjoy.

 

IMHO, even beyond the power ratings are the flexibilities afforded by the preamp of the newer design--- in particular, the 4/5 switch and the fact that contour and presence (hi boost) are constantly variable (instead of on/off).

i love my 1st-gen 700RB. it has plenty of power for almost anything, and definitely enough for the stuff i do. and it is *only* 380 wrms .

that said, 800RB is a classic, and i am sure you can find some killer sounds with it.

the one major drawback of the newer design is the top-mounted fan, which when the head is mounted in a rack, requires an empty space above it. wonder what they were thinking when they designed it like this? REAR exhaust people, like practically every other forced-air-cooled amp.

 

1001RB-II for sale here right now...
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=448556

add his Neo 212 cab and you're set...
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=448558

 

Isn't it easier to get the famous GK solid state grind from the 800rb? Just something to think about if you like a grindier sound. I've owned the 1001rbi and it was extremely loud and clean. You could get some grind with the boost function but I've heard maxing out the 800rb is the way to go for that sound.

 

800rb uses heat sinks I believe - is a classic thats been around for decades and essentially remains unchanged from the original design. You have more flexibility with the crossover on the bi-amp system

1001rbii is fan cooled, tone is not totally exactly like the 800rb for some but close, has more flexibility with the voicing controls - also has all effects send, direct out sockets on the front panel, it's designed to be rack mounted.

You can't go wrong with any of these amps, I originally wanted a 800rb (because I like the classic look and the fact you don't need to rack-mount it) but they don't sell them new here so I got the 1001rbii and don't regret it for a second.

 

well my main issue concerning these two amps is that the 800rb throws 300 watts to one speaker cab and 100 to another. And you can't put them both into one cabinet, so your looking at a 300 watt head in comparison to the 1000rb which has a lot more juice. One thing I notice about GK heads is that the older 800's and 400's sound better. For some reason a 400 pushing 250 watts with all the knobs at twelve, has a better sound than a 1000 turned up only a little. I have to admit that unless your playing heavy metal, 250 watts is more than what you will need in any situation. anything bigger usually you will get some kind of pa support. I push an ampeg 8x10 with a old gk 400 and it's loud enough to do 600 plus shows. Now I use eden and Glockenklang, but I only use a 320 watt head. Heads seem to sound better when pushed a little, a 1000 you barely have to move it to get a lot of sound, but I don't know if it gives you the same sound. Just my long winded opinion!

 

Try to find something that has sweepable mids, with the low mid going down to at least 200, though 150 is better. This allows you - if you want of course - to EQ out the nasty spot that most bass cabs have somewhere around 150 to 200.

 

i'm a longtime 800rb user and have never really paid attention to the newer GKs but this seems like a terrible idea to me. unless the jacks are mirrored on the back at least. i could see the convenience of having jacks on the front for fast access things that don't stay hooked up all of the time but for rack mounting it just doesn't make much sense since the point of rack mounting is to leave things connected and neat. it would result in some really messy wireing solutions

of course i've had the same problem with my 800 in the past considering that the input is on the front only. when using a wireless and a korg rack tuner it's simple to go wireless>tuner in the back of the rack but then you have to bring a cable around the front for the amp input.

 

The 1001 is more powerful. Also, it exhausts through the front of the amp, not the top. You only need a small space above it, not a whole rack space. Depends on your rack whether or not it is enough - half an inch I believe is what GK calls for.

The 800 I believe is a biamp system, whereas the the 1001 (although technically 2 amps) actually has a 50w amp for driving a tweeter only, NOT a cab. The internal crossover sends everything over 5k to the horn amp.

 

hmm... i dont know which way the fan blows, but it *feels* like it exhausts "up" on my 700RB, and "in and up" really makes a lot more sense than "down and out" when you are trying to wick heat, but i am obviously not on the GK design team.

also, yes, GK manual asks for "at least 1/2 inch". but how exactly do you get that in a rack other than with an empty space? i know i cant get that in *my* rack case without cutting a hole in the top.

i still dont get it.

 

your wrong, it blows out the front. Put a piece of paper on top of the fan when its on, youll find it wont be blowing away. Also it makes more sense to blow air directly across the hot parts, not hope that the fan draws air across. All this being said, the top fan design is the most annoying part. I'm always afraid of something falling into it.

 

i do not *have* a wrong

(your vs. you're is one of many of my pet peeves, lol. like ECK-cetera, realAtor, and IRregardless, but i digress....)

also, i am *not* "wrong", because i stated:

i stand behind that statement.

it is true that with forced-air cooling, "up" vs. "down" doesnt necessarily apply. that said, i still do not agree with GK's decision to pull air in from the top (i am taking your statement as truth, which it probably is). convection is a bitch, and a physical property that can be difficult to defy, like gravity. particularly so since the GK fan isnt always on.

in most cases "design" is not based on "hope". well, hopefully it isnt .

i think we agree that the top-mounted fan is a design flaw (in application if not in effectiveness) for the new-style GK heads.

i love this place, lol.

 

BTW, no disrespect intended in the above post, so please dont take it that way.

 

It was a way off keeping costs down (I read in a interview or article somewhere).

 

Tonight I worked with a guy who had either a GK 1001 or 700 through an Eden 4x10. The head's low mid EQ had almost no effect on the low mid roar the cabinet was blasting into the house. (Maybe the low mid EQ was broken and I was kidding myself that it was doing anything at all.)