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Dont think i can ever trust a GK head again.

#82
dave_bass5 said:
Ive had my MB800 for about 2-3 years. First year it was used a lot, but on more than one occasion i could not get anything out of it for 10-15mins at gigs. It never cut out once it came on, but i started to need to take a back up amp just in case, and needed it a few times. All the lights would come on, but no sound. After a while it would work, but that’s really not good enough when I’m trying to set up or sound check.
I haven’t used it for about a year, but started again a few months ago. Jump to last week and we finally went in to the studio. Engineer plugged his lead in to the XLR out....nothing. Stone dead. Switched to Post EQ and i got a very distorted, low level sound. Totally useless. Needed up going from the DI on my board, and that was fine.

Having tried a few leads, and substituting my MarkBass F1 with the same leads its definitely the amp.
Now i know these things can happen, but quite honestly if this is a pro piece of gear, designed to be used on tour etc, then these things shouldn’t happen.

It too late to send it back, and I suppose i can be fixed, but I’d never trust it again so I don’t think ill bother. It can gather dust in the cupboard with the rest of the stuff that i have but dont use.
I know others love these amps, and i do, but its not been reliable and we all know how that can turn out at a gig.

This is the 3rd (and last) piece of GK gear thats been rubbish. The first was a small combo (many, many years ago) that had a really low output, and would distort on the DI if the built in chorus was turned on, and a RB1000-II that crackled (not distorted) on anything above 1/3 of the volume.

Rant over
Click to expand...
ive had 2, brand new 1001rb ... I bought them both off musicians friend.. got the first one in, hooked it up to my 410 ampeg hlf cab... brand new SPEAKER cable not guitar,. lol... and jammed at a fairly low level... sounded pretty good.. 45 maybe 50 min in to playing.. it pops and smokes and makes a clicking noise and the bass is at an even lower volume... nope im done , call mf right away. they have good cs as well...I get a replacement head. lets say its 7 days later my new head comes in.. set it up.. different outlet a different new speaker cable... and 50 min to 1 hour in.. the same thing. loud pop smoke and then no sound.. I call mf up and sent it back. and got 100 bucks credit and what I paid for , for the brand new amp.. and got the ampeg svt 7.. never had a issue and im almost 4 years in .
 
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#83
I've been running my 700rb for a few years now. The only time it's in air conditioning is when it's brought into a venue with one. Otherwise it sits in a Pelican case in a trailer in Texas where it stays miserably hot 4-6 months out of the year. Used on the road every week in all sorts of gigging conditions. Works great. No issues.
 
#84
I don't think this is the right place to dis a manufacturer. Your gear doesn't work correctly, but yet you've never contacted them to see if they can be of help.
There is no such thing as a perfect record from ANY manufacturer of ANYTHING.
Seems like you've had a string of bad luck. I feel for ya. By another brand, and when it fails, let us know.
 
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#86
There are definitely companies who are known for poor reliability, but across the broader population I've never seen GK accused of being one of those companies. Admittedly they've had some poor launches on a few products and an occasional QA issue or two on production runs in recent memory, but to the best of my knowledge they have always made things right with the customers who contacted them.

While this won't make the OP feel any better about their own unfortunate situation, it should at least help them recognize that this is not typical of GK products in general.
 
#88
I've had two GK 400RBs, an SWR ST-200 and SM400, a BBE BMAX/QSC900 lead sled, and now an MB500 and they all have one thing in common; none has ever failed. Max usage five nights a week, minimum two. Very, very happy with the MB series and their sound.
 
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#89
bumperbass said:
I don't think this is the right place to dis a manufacturer. Your gear doesn't work correctly, but yet you've never contacted them to see if they can be of help.
There is no such thing as a perfect record from ANY manufacturer of ANYTHING.
Seems like you've had a string of bad luck. I feel for ya. By another brand, and when it fails, let us know.
Click to expand...

Not the case, according to the OP. See Post 37.
 
#90
eban3 said:
i used to Know a GK endorsee who never travelled without 3 back up amps because of their unreliability , I had a fusion 500 5 months old power supply went ,,,no more gk's for me
Click to expand...
I saw an Aguilar endorsee’s DB750 fail mid gig and had to use a backup. Also seen an SVT fail live. Had a Mesa 400+ blow up on me at a gig as well as an M2000 at a rehearsal.
 
#91
Altitude said:
I've run GK gear off and on for almost 30 years; never a problem.
Click to expand...
This...
I have not gone that long BUT I have hundreds of gigs with GK and no issue what-so-ever
TonyP with GK

TonyP with GK

  • Media owner TonyP-
  • Date added
TonyP with GK
 
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#92
emailed generic support a few hours ago, Jason emailed me back 10 min ago. He is giving troubleshooting tips right now.
apparently, using passive P pickups on this one amp overloads the input stage? J told me to pad the input and increase volume.
problem no longer there. weird but yeah

that is pretty dang good CS. I feel bad now having never put any money into their pockets, only used purchases.
 
#93
grinx said:
emailed generic support a few hours ago, Jason emailed me back 10 min ago. He is giving troubleshooting tips right now.
apparently, using passive P pickups on this one amp overloads the input stage? J told me to pad the input and increase volume.
problem no longer there. weird but yeah

that is pretty dang good CS. I feel bad now having never put any money into their pockets, only used purchases.
Click to expand...
So what would happen with a bass that was actually hot?
 
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#97
popcat said:
Cold/cracked solder joints are common on various electronic equipment -- especially at through-hole connectors and capacitor pins. Sometimes they manifest quickly, but they often don't become a problem for years or are annoyingly intermittent. I can't tell you how many of these I've fixed on my own stuff over the years; from worn TV sets to a PC board in a brand new oven. Most recently, my external PC speakers were intermittently going in and out and crackling for a couple of years; after all that time I finally took apart the power-side speaker, and guess what I found?

They can also be difficult to find, wiggle connectors and use the eraser-side of a pencil to tap and poke at components -- if you feel comfortable doing so.
Click to expand...

I wouldn’t feel comfortable using a pencil to probe electronic circuits. Graphite is highly conductive to electricity. Wood can also be conductive under various circumstances. But more importantly, vacuum tube gear caries lethal high voltage. Even moderately conductive materials can be a problem when dealing with high voltage. High voltage or not, there are properly insulated probes available cheap to use when checking for cold solder joints, loose connections, etc. Why not use the right tool for the job?
 
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#98
dave_bass5 said:
Well thats my point, if its ‘luck’ that you have to pray for to stop them breaking down then its time to move on.
I’m sure we all have stories about gear malfunctions, but with a 100% failure rate over 3 amps that’s a just too high to take a gamble on anymore.
Never had an amp fail during a gig, but neither have I had any issues with amps other than GK.

My old Markbass F1 is still going strong so back to that.
Click to expand...

If it were me, it would have gone to the best technician in town for a thorough diagnostic on the first failure. Obviously, your tech overlooked something. These things aren’t designed to fail. JMO
 
#100
Nevada Pete said:
I wouldn’t feel comfortable using a pencil to probe electronic circuits. Graphite is highly conductive to electricity. Wood can also be conductive under various circumstances. But more importantly, vacuum tube gear caries lethal high voltage. Even moderately conductive materials can be a problem when dealing with high voltage. High voltage or not, there are properly insulated probes available cheap to use when checking for cold solder joints, loose connections, etc. Why not use the right tool for the job?
Click to expand...

Like I said, only if you feel comfortable doing so. Some guys are just more confident in how they handle their pencil.
 

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