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Best Gallien Krueger Bass head?

#45
seang15 said:
What about the 200MB? Or the 200 RCB? Those are my two faves, and didn't even make the list!
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Sorry I left your favorites out of my list of GK heads that I am considering. I figured the 200MB would be under-powered for my needs. I've never heard of the 200 RCB - I've been out of the GK loop for a long time and am looking to get back into it. I just started this thread for GK users to brag up their favorite head and to explain why its their favorite.

I'm definitely looking to cop that signature GK growl , but do like a bit of warmth and punch to my tone (if that makes sense??).

Thanks for chiming in - I appreciate it.
 
#47
The 200 RCB is a cool old school GK head. I've had one since 1989. It's fired up for me every time and never failed the tens of thousands of flicks of the switch. Hard to see but it's third from the top. What was cool about it was it had a built in chorus and, of course, it sounds damn cool.

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#49
4stringsonly said:
Look for a used 400rb , 700rb , or 800 rb, They are all great amps. The later series 400's and 700's have more tone options and conectivity options( More buttons and jacks) than the early models, But all these amps sound great and are built like tanks.

I've used these amps for many years, with great results.
some people may disagree about GK's tone' but I find these amps to be user friendly. Its hard to make this thing sound bad.

When playing a gig its rare to get a meaningful sound check (if any sound check) Just set this amp flat and your good to go.
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ljazz said:
I'm down to two GK heads...... and I love them both. A little bit about each and why....

1) 700rbII. I bought this back on '07, and the thing has been bullet proof. Sure it's heavier than the micro stuff, but c'mon..... it's under 20lbs. Throw it in the gk gig bag with the shoulder strap, and you can still get your bass and a cab in one trip. Earlier this year I let go of a 800rb, because I really had no problem copping the same tone with the 700rbII, and the 700rbII is quite a bit more versatile (variable contour and presence, string filter, and HMS is the cat's behind). This head replaced a 1001rbII, that required ear bleeding in order to growl. Pushing 1 or 2 neo112's is a thing of beauty. A 212 + 112, and it's a monster!

2) 400rb. This one is dated 1/90. I picked this up after letting go of the 800rb. What a warm little head! Sounds great through either 1 or 2 of my 112's. With the tweeters off, it has this lo-fi vibe that I love.
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Thanks for your input guys! I appreciate it.
The comments made here about the 700rbII has definitely climbed it towards the top of my list. If I can cop the 800rb tone with it and by-pass buying an 800rb that looks like it was dragged behind a tour bus would be a big plus.

I still am interested in the 1001rb-II , but if it needs to be cranked to obtain the GK growl might have it drop on my list a bit.

Still have the MB Fusion 500 at the top of my list , but a nice used 700rb-II would be a nice 2nd option as a back-up or just to change things up once in a while.
 
#50
The MB Fusion is my favourite and I have owned almost every GK head except maybe the 2001RBII and the 400RB.

Not sure if many gigging bassists will need the power of the MB Fusion 800 as the 500 is loud as hell. The Fusion 550 is also a great head, but the size and weight do not justify buying it over the MB Fusion IME (I have owned both).

The 800RB is a beast that is seemingly indestructible. I prefer it sound wise over the 700RBII and 1001RBI amps which to me sound just ok. The MB200 micro is just good for a backup IME.

The MB Fusion 500 is one of the best sounding bass amps made IMO. Surprisingly, it sounds a lot like the Mesa M6/M9 IMO which is potentially a good thing.
 
#52
Baird6869 said:
The MB Fusion is my favourite and I have owned almost every GK head except maybe the 2001RBII and the 400RB.

Not sure if many gigging bassists will need the power of the MB Fusion 800 as the 500 is loud as hell. The Fusion 550 is also a great head, but the size and weight do not justify buying it over the MB Fusion IME (I have owned both).

The 800RB is a beast that is seemingly indestructible. I prefer it sound wise over the 700RBII and 1001RBI amps which to me sound just ok. The MB200 micro is just good for a backup IME.

The MB Fusion 500 is one of the best sounding bass amps made IMO. Surprisingly, it sounds a lot like the Mesa M6/M9 IMO which is potentially a good thing.
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The reviews on the 700rb-II and the 1001rb in this thread have been mixed. Some people love them - some people just think that they are ok. One thing shining through in this thread is everybody's love for the 800rb after all of these years. Still wondering why that surprises me???
 
#53
Pedulla-Player said:
One thing shining through in this thread is everybody's love for the 800rb after all of these years. Still wondering why that surprises me???
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simple, it's a now classic amp with its own sound many people have enjoyed for many years. I still use one (for 2 or 3-15s) as well as the 400RB (1 or 2-10s) as my go-to amps. I've found the latter is very good for double bass with the 10s or a Bose 802.

Have played the MB Fusion as well as 1001RB and liked them very much, but those older ones seem to capture something for me the others don't quite for my current gigging needs.

That said, if I needed a more "modern" GK sound and/or more power, I wouldn't hesitate to use the current models. Which ones? Hard to say, would have to sit down with as many as I could, oh darn :D
 
#54
Pedulla-Player said:
One thing shining through in this thread is everybody's love for the 800rb after all of these years. Still wondering why that surprises me???
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It's just one of those heads that has a certain "magic" to it. Maybe it's the low end roll off, maybe it's the FET front end, maybe just a combo of any/all of them but it just does what it does damn well. It never makes a fuss either and is as reliable as a ball peen hammer.
 
#56
Basically, you have variants of three flavors here.

The RB series are venerable warhorses, been around forever, and are the basis for "the GK Sound." A little grit, a little grind, a lot of punch. All "biamp ready." The 800RB is a tad bit different of a bimap than the 700/1001 though. It's sort of meant to drive "a brighter top cab (210 or so) and a deeper bottom cab (115 or so).
The 700/1001 have a woofer power amp, and a horn power amp meant to drive a horn; these are, IMO best used with the GK Neo, biamp ready cabs.

The Fusion and MBF500/800 are another flavor. Much cleaner than the RB series stuff, but, the three preamp tubes still "soften and warm things. These are not biamp ready. However, by turning the horn on your speaker cab off, and turning the head up, you can more or less emulate the RB thing.

The MB series are more "hi-fi" in nature yet, with deeper native lows, higher native highs. You can still do the RB emulation as with the MB series via turning horns off.

I personally have an 1001RBII, and an MBFusion500.
Two different flavors of killin'.
I have an MBF800 ordered; I've never needed more than the MBF500 has, but I like clean headroom; so, there.

Pedulla-Player said:
I'm in the market for a Gallien Krueger bass head and I'm kinda torn between a few of them. I bought a Fusion 550 from Musicians Friend two weeks ago and I loved the sound of it , but it had a crackling issue so I returned it. It may have just been a tube , but I didn't have any tubes to swap them out to see if the problem went away. That said - The GK heads that I am curious about are :

#1 - Fusion 550 (may give another one a try if other people think theirs have been reliable)
#2 - MB Fusion 800 (When it's released)
#3 - MB Fusion 500
#4 - MB 800
#5 - MB 500
#6 - 1001 RB
#7 - 800 RB
#8 - 700 RB

I'm sure this question has been asked before.
GK users - What is your favorite GK head (Model and mark)??
Thanks for your input!
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#57
I believe he's using the RBH series cabs.
Great choice with the RB800 head.


Pedulla-Player said:
I used an 800 RB from the mid 80's through the early/mid 90's. It was so long ago and I've used so many different amps in-between that I can't remember much about it. I saw Pinback last month and their bassist (Zach Smith) was rocking a 800 RB through a GK410 and a GK 115 (not sure what series cabs though) and he sounded amazing. We'll he is an amazing bassist thou - that may have helped. lol
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#58
I've owned an older 400RB, an 800RB and a 1001RB-II. I liked them all but they don't compare with my Ampeg heads. If I had to chose, I would pick the 1001RB-II for the added power but you can't go wrong with an 800RB either.
 
#60
If a bad tube was the hitch in yer 550, the MBF500/800 will be vulnerable to that same scenario.
It does happen, though it's not often!
Last time I lost a 12ax7, it was in my Mesa M9.
-snap-...gone;dead.
About 28 screws and a new tube later, and "we're back!"

Not big deal, but certainly off-putting coming out of the box, new..or kinda anytime, really. I get why that miffed you.


Pedulla-Player said:
After my hiccup with the Fusion 550 the MB Fusion has jumped to the top of my list. I was kinda intrigued by the 1001RB-II due to all of the good reviews I read about it on Musician Friends site. I need to push a lot of bass at times for my larger bar gigs and outdoor gigs even though I do have some PA support.
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