do you leave an open space when you rack your GK 700RBII?

If the fan's on top, then yes there should be a space.

 

Probably best to leave a space at the top.

My 1001RBII is in the middle two spaces of a four-space rack and I leave the back cover of the rack off so there's always plenty of room for air to flow through. Other than an occasionally scratchy sounding pot that it had when I first bought it, that amp has been trouble free the entire time I've had it.

 

I do.

When the manufacturer recommends leaving one rack space (1.75&#8221 clearance above the unit (page 4, 700RB-II & 1001RB-II Owner’s Manual), then you should do it. They designed and built the thing – they know best.

 

IME, it depends on how deep the preamp is - I had my 700rb-II racked with a Korg DTR-2000 tuner directly above it, which covered less than 1/4 of the fan opening, and I never had any problems...

IIRC, the manual for the 700rb specified 1/2" of fan clearance - one of my 700rb-IIs has been in this SKB 2U rack for years, and has never given me any troubles:

 

George, who makes the tuner that's plugged into the top right 700RB II amp - and does it track bass well, easy to see in sunlight?

 

Actually, your problem was likely caused by the fan drawing the heat from the preamp tubes into the G-K.

 

That's a Korg Pitchjack - it tracks pretty well, even down to low A... Regarding sunlight - I don't know, but I'll try it out on our next sunny day, and let you know... My gut feeling is, sunlight will be a hindrance - but then, it is to most tuners without an LCD display...


- georgestrings

 

I rack mine in a two space wood case,with a space cut out
over the fan area,attached a small piece of grill material
over the cut out for a clean look,sorry not vsable in this pic..

 

I leave an empty space above my 1001RB II....