I play a lot of blues and country-rock, and I use Ampeg amps. They just work better for what I do, but like everybody else says you need to decide what you want works best for what you do.
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Gallien Krueger vs Ampeg tone
- Thread starter ics1974
- Start date
OP should maybe try some Genz Benz gear? I'm sure someone can give you a summary of the tonal characteristics.
I like both GK and Ampeg equipment, it sounds different, but both sound good and I can't put it in words that wouldnt just sound like a sales speech - you need to hear for yourself.
Have you found settings on your VT that let you cut like the 1001RB does on its own. I'm still playing with my VT/1001RB combo to find the right setting.
yes but no, I tend to still play w/ the settings alot, the cab you are using will play a big role in the over all sound as well.... the settings I'm currently using are close to the settings in the manual for the SVT CL.... this thread has some good ideas on settings with a 700RB II which should be close to the same w/ the 1001RB II....
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f36/vt-bass-gallien-krueger-700rb-ii-review-861707/
They both are nice,but you just have to play through the models in your price range and decide for yourself. Trust your ears and bass,ive had both and currently play Ampeg. Will33 is correct,they both have knobs to dial in the tone youre looking for. I prefer the extra warmth of a hybrid amp,amps the use a tube or tubes in the preamp. Alot of folks think that a tube preamp doesnt make a difference,but ive had trouble finding that organic,warm tone without it. My advice is save up a little more money,your choices will be more and not so limited to just these two brands. Someone mentioned Genz Benz earlier,i think Genz would be a best of both choice for you!
scottfeldstein
Roots and fifths and a little extra.
I don't think the Ampeg BA combo series are hybrid. I think they're solid state all the way through.
It's true that SS amps like my GK MB500 won't get you that tube sound like, say, a Genz can. But you can get close enough for love using any number of effect pedals. If that's even a sound you want. For some folks it isn't.
It's true that SS amps like my GK MB500 won't get you that tube sound like, say, a Genz can. But you can get close enough for love using any number of effect pedals. If that's even a sound you want. For some folks it isn't.
Do you see my avatar? I haven't touched any of that stuff since I got my MB800 for big gigs and my MB115 for small stuff. I don't see very many people giving up GK for Ampeg, but I'm sure it happens. I will always love my 'pegs, but in real world application, GK wins for me every time. ymmv.
Thats what i thought as well, but i just cant make the vt sound good with my mb500. It just makes it a bad GK amp (or a bad SVT)
A-B report.
Took my daughter to a rock show this past weekend at a local large venue. The first band's bass player played a Precision through an Svt-810 rig. I could feel him but could hardly hear the bass notes. The Headliner band's bass player played a Jazz bass through a GK rig what looked to be probably a 1001rb through a GK 412 cab. I could not only feel bass, I could hear it also. Smooth, clear and loud.
Took my daughter to a rock show this past weekend at a local large venue. The first band's bass player played a Precision through an Svt-810 rig. I could feel him but could hardly hear the bass notes. The Headliner band's bass player played a Jazz bass through a GK rig what looked to be probably a 1001rb through a GK 412 cab. I could not only feel bass, I could hear it also. Smooth, clear and loud.
I was standing 25 feet directly downwind of both amps during check and the performance. Doesnt really matter what the soundman boiled. I was close on purpose to compare tones of both amps. The GK absolutely killed it.
And if those bass players swapped rigs out completely, you would be saying the exact opposite.
It ain't the gear, folks. As Reggie Hamilton said on here, "Jaco and Larry Graham played nearly identical rigs, so it ain't the shoes."
It ain't the gear, folks. As Reggie Hamilton said on here, "Jaco and Larry Graham played nearly identical rigs, so it ain't the shoes."
No, I've just played enough rigs of different makes and sat in on enough friends' rigs and and let other bassists use my stuff, and in every single case, they sounded like them, and I sounded like me. If those guys swapped rigs at the show you saw, each of them would have tweaked the knobs until they got a sound that they liked, and you would have said the exact opposite.
Ampeg's tend to breakup and add dirt at a lower thresh hold when compared to a similar GK amp. With that being said it is a more subtle overdriven sound, (more rounded as other people have described).
Gk's on the other hand, tend to have a higher thresh hold for when they start to break up, and tend to sound a little more gritty and not so subtle.
If you want to take a look at the classics from each...look up reviews of the GK 800rb and the Ampeg SVT Both of those amps have set, more or less, the standard of bass amplification and can be seen on the stage behind numerous musicians of any genre.
Gk's on the other hand, tend to have a higher thresh hold for when they start to break up, and tend to sound a little more gritty and not so subtle.
If you want to take a look at the classics from each...look up reviews of the GK 800rb and the Ampeg SVT Both of those amps have set, more or less, the standard of bass amplification and can be seen on the stage behind numerous musicians of any genre.
Another point to make...
Playing style has a lot to do with amp choice. I play strictly with my fingers and never use a pick. Just this alone has a big effect on the sound coming from the amp. (As well as bass, pickups, cabinets, and other things)
But for me when I'm screwing around at home with my Pro 4, nothing compares to that warm full-sounding feel of playing with your fingers. It just has that sound that I want in a bass amp. If I played with a pick, I feel as if the natural attack sound from the pick would be played better with a GK 800rb or something to the likes of that, as I feel GK heads would bring that clangy-trebblish sound out more than the other one's sound with a pick. I've played both brand of amps before and that is my general consensus.
It really depends on what YOU want that matters. At the time, I never played my amp before so when I bought it I was taking a risk with it. I could have very easily picked GK but the deal came about at the right time and I jumped on it. Do I wish I knew what my rig sounded like if I picked the other guy? Heck yeah. However I could have been disappointed with my choice either way.
My point is, sometimes its better to not know and wish you did other than to know and wish you hadn't. Pick one and treat it like it was the better choice.
Playing style has a lot to do with amp choice. I play strictly with my fingers and never use a pick. Just this alone has a big effect on the sound coming from the amp. (As well as bass, pickups, cabinets, and other things)
But for me when I'm screwing around at home with my Pro 4, nothing compares to that warm full-sounding feel of playing with your fingers. It just has that sound that I want in a bass amp. If I played with a pick, I feel as if the natural attack sound from the pick would be played better with a GK 800rb or something to the likes of that, as I feel GK heads would bring that clangy-trebblish sound out more than the other one's sound with a pick. I've played both brand of amps before and that is my general consensus.
It really depends on what YOU want that matters. At the time, I never played my amp before so when I bought it I was taking a risk with it. I could have very easily picked GK but the deal came about at the right time and I jumped on it. Do I wish I knew what my rig sounded like if I picked the other guy? Heck yeah. However I could have been disappointed with my choice either way.
My point is, sometimes its better to not know and wish you did other than to know and wish you hadn't. Pick one and treat it like it was the better choice.
Listen to bass players that use Ampeg and listen to bass players that use GK then decide which is more your sound.
If you're looking at BA and MB combos, it makes more sense to compare specific models, than to simply generalize about "Ampeg tone" vs "G-K tone".
The BA series have 3-band tone controls, vs the 4-band G-K preamp. The G-K is certainly voiced brighter and more modern with the controls straight up, but both brands will do bright or dark tones. IME, the Ampeg is a little easier to dial up with only three knobs, but the G-K preamp gives you more flexibility.
The Ampeg cabs are possibly more durable than the super-light MB's, but they are stupid heavy, and harder to transport in a small car. They also sound more "old school", and in general they won't go quite as open and grindy-sounding as the G-K's.
But there's much more at stake than preamp voicing and weight, once you start actually looking at specific models:
At around $400, it's the BA115 vs the MB115. The Ampeg is solid-state, and 100 watts. It's heavy (62lb) and underpowered, compared to the G-K (38lb and 200 watts). The G-K is louder. The Ampeg has the advantage of a tilt-back feature.
Another $100, gets you the BA115 HP or the BA210, with 220 watts, a tweeter, and no tiltback. They're stupid heavy at 80-86lb. I haven't played through the 115, so I can't comment on whether it's as loud or louder than the less expensive G-K.
In the $600 bracket, G-K offers the MB210 combo with 350 watts, at only 33lb. That's seriously light for that power output, and it has the G-K contour knob, for quick, variable access to slap tones. It also offers you the option of pushing the power to 500 watts, if you add an extension cab.
At the same price point, Ampeg gives you the BA300 in a 115 or 210 format. Still stupid heavy at roughly twice the weight, but the power rating is getting more competitive, and they have a 12AX7 tube in the preamp. If you like distorted tones, the Ampeg will give a more complex approximation of "tube tone" than the G-K.
The $700 point is where I'd be shopping. That gets you enough power to gig out with a reasonable drummer, and a better feature set.
At this price point, Ampeg offers the 50-55lb, 600-watt BA600 in 115 or 210 formats, and it offers a 2-tube preamp for better, more complex tube tones, a good tube DI, and extra tone-shaping.
G-K offers the MB212 for about the same money. It's still solid state, and needs a pedal to compete with the Ampegs for distorted sounds. But it's still well under 50lb, and moves a lot of air with 500 watts into two twelves.
The BA series have 3-band tone controls, vs the 4-band G-K preamp. The G-K is certainly voiced brighter and more modern with the controls straight up, but both brands will do bright or dark tones. IME, the Ampeg is a little easier to dial up with only three knobs, but the G-K preamp gives you more flexibility.
The Ampeg cabs are possibly more durable than the super-light MB's, but they are stupid heavy, and harder to transport in a small car. They also sound more "old school", and in general they won't go quite as open and grindy-sounding as the G-K's.
But there's much more at stake than preamp voicing and weight, once you start actually looking at specific models:
At around $400, it's the BA115 vs the MB115. The Ampeg is solid-state, and 100 watts. It's heavy (62lb) and underpowered, compared to the G-K (38lb and 200 watts). The G-K is louder. The Ampeg has the advantage of a tilt-back feature.
Another $100, gets you the BA115 HP or the BA210, with 220 watts, a tweeter, and no tiltback. They're stupid heavy at 80-86lb. I haven't played through the 115, so I can't comment on whether it's as loud or louder than the less expensive G-K.
In the $600 bracket, G-K offers the MB210 combo with 350 watts, at only 33lb. That's seriously light for that power output, and it has the G-K contour knob, for quick, variable access to slap tones. It also offers you the option of pushing the power to 500 watts, if you add an extension cab.
At the same price point, Ampeg gives you the BA300 in a 115 or 210 format. Still stupid heavy at roughly twice the weight, but the power rating is getting more competitive, and they have a 12AX7 tube in the preamp. If you like distorted tones, the Ampeg will give a more complex approximation of "tube tone" than the G-K.
The $700 point is where I'd be shopping. That gets you enough power to gig out with a reasonable drummer, and a better feature set.
At this price point, Ampeg offers the 50-55lb, 600-watt BA600 in 115 or 210 formats, and it offers a 2-tube preamp for better, more complex tube tones, a good tube DI, and extra tone-shaping.
G-K offers the MB212 for about the same money. It's still solid state, and needs a pedal to compete with the Ampegs for distorted sounds. But it's still well under 50lb, and moves a lot of air with 500 watts into two twelves.
