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GK 1001RB II Blowing out Speakers?

#21
My thought was that the OP has too few speakers for the volume he obviously needs. Mixing a single 18 with a 4x10 is just as bad as mixing a single 15 with one and for the same reasons. I would look at a pair of identical 4x10s as being a probable solution. If you want loud you need the quantity of drivers to get you there.
 
#22
GK are know to have beefy power supply, which can put out transient over the rated power.

Were the two drivers damaged in the same manner?
Was it over excursion or burnt coil?

Mixing a single 18 with a 4x10, thou not ideal, is at least a little better than mixing a single 15 with one. ;)
 
#23
the GK head should have a pretty steep HPF so no need for external units imo.

It is just that the said GK head is rated pretty conservatively. Combine this with the compressor and sonic maximizer running full tilt and you're giving those speakers quite a pounding. Luckily there is a simple solution - adjust the settings or get more speakers. Another 4x10 should do the job ;).
 
#24
Bass_Pounder said:
Good info here................


Also, I remember from another thread you were talking about your Avatar cab losing low end, and starting to "fart out" as you turned up.

I had suggested then that you take a close look at your speakers.

You should do that again (to both cabs if you still have them) - and pay attention to the cone area closest to the accordian surround. If you see any lines in the cone around the outer area, then you are driving them way past there mechanical limits and creasing them (especially with boosted low end EQ).

Creased cones will still sound OK at moderate volumes, but will fart out like crazy when played louder.
Click to expand...


The speaker in question on the avatar cabinet is most definitely creased. I'm chalking that one up as toast. The plan tonight is to take the 2 best speakers out of each cabinet and see if they can be salvaged.
 
#25
IMO you should sell everything but the head and get the GK 412 Neo cab. It pushes plenty of volume yet is fairly easy to transport with it's tilt-back handle and wheels. GK's best, most powerful cab. Read the reviews, 5 stars across the board.

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#26
shutupdonnie said:
The speaker in question on the avatar cabinet is most definitely creased. I'm chalking that one up as toast. The plan tonight is to take the 2 best speakers out of each cabinet and see if they can be salvaged.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, if you creased one, then the others probably have some form of mechanical damage also.

Make sure you check them carefully.

Lastly, it is NOT a good idea to mix speakers in the same cab. Unless the speakers in both cabs are identicle (most likely not), then putting 2 from one cab and 2 from another cab is a recipe for bad sound, and most likely, blowing more speakers.
 
#29
Two 120 watt full stacks? And lemmee guess, they need to be cranked to get "my Tone, dude!"? Ouch, earplugs for sure.

Sounds like you need: another GK 1001 rb 2 for the other side of the stage along with two of the new 4-12 cabs. For a mere $2500 you should be good to go.

I'd lose the stuff in the effects loop, a simple compressor and any other effects would go on the floor with the sans amp bass driver. That'll free up rack space for the other GK.

I tried running a compressor in the loop and never got it dialed. The FEA dual band stomp box style compressor works great.

Here's what happens when you get old like me: you take the guitards hot rod amp away and tell him he can have any 15 watt amp he likes, or go straight from the pod to the board, with no amp. Dial the stage volume back to reasonable levels and let the PA do the heavy lifting. Suddenly you get along with all the house sound folks you work with and you can do the gig with a 35lb 12/6 cab. Carry all your stuff in, one trip.

Sounds like you smoked the speaks, and I missed the low end crank on the sonic maximizer.

Check out the fEarful cabs, they eat watts and put out stunning sound. Burningskies is just being modest by not mentioning what kind of wattage he's pushing through the two fEarfuls.

I'm with you on this: the ideal volume for bass should cause your vision to blur when you get on the B string. Problem is most of my gigs are a little small for that.
 
#30
I use to use a 600w Mesa PH 4x10 with the 1001rbII, and I could only turn it up to about 1/3 of the way before the cab started farting out, I usually ignore wattage ratings and listen to the cab for signs of trouble.

Pretty much every cab I've owned over the years I could have blown the speakers with that head but I was careful to test it and make adjustments between songs etc. That amp has a lot of low end too which can be hard on speakers.
 
#31
Set the voicing button to 4 string instead of 5 string. That will engage a really good high pass filter. You loose some deep bass but at full volume with a band it will probably sound much better. I play my 5 string with this setting. Also a VT bass pedal sounds much better than the BDDI. I have both. The BDDI sounds good at home but with a band it just makes me disappear. The VT has nice mids and the character knob is magic. It is a very good match for that head.
 
#32
I discovered awhile ago that some G-K heads can be rough on cabs - my 700rb-II is one of them... I really like alot of low end in my sound, but after I toasted 2 drivers in my PH610, and another area bassist toasted 2 more, I started looking into it...

First off - although it sounds killer, using the 5 string setting really makes the cones move ALOT - don't use it...

2nd - I started using a comp in the effects loop, to smooth out transient signals... These G-K heads are capable of really slinging the juice - you need to pay attention to that, or your cabs will suffer... I ended up using a dbx266, set at -15db for threshold, 3:1 for ratio, 1-2 o'clock for both attack and release, and output gain @ +5db... those settings didn't make a big difference sound-wise, but kept the 700rb-II from creating excessive cone movement - I haven't blown a driver since going this route, but still have great sound, with plenty of low end...

I think those G-K heads have such a robust poweramp section that they don't have any "sag" when hit with a strong sudden low end signal - they just power right thru it...

IMO, some light compression in the effects loop, lose the BBE, and add speakers - atleast eight 10" speakers for a band setting like the OP describes is a prudent measure, IMO...


- georgestrings
 
#35
BassmanPaul said:
My thought was that the OP has too few speakers for the volume he obviously needs. Mixing a single 18 with a 4x10 is just as bad as mixing a single 15 with one and for the same reasons. I would look at a pair of identical 4x10s as being a probable solution. If you want loud you need the quantity of drivers to get you there.
Click to expand...
That, that, that, and that. 8 10's is what you need, friend. The 4x12 is a neat idea, but I suspect you'll blow that, too- it's more speaker than a 4x10, but I doubt it'll be enough.
 
#36
shutupdonnie said:
No, I understand how the resistance works but I think it came out wrong. What I meant was that the 700W @ 4ohms would be distributed between the 2 cabinets, 350W per cabinet.
Click to expand...

You are correct here (and I took it that way when you posted it earlier).

But, I'm wondering if this might be contributing to your problem, in addition to the other points madea about contour:

There are three "bass" volumes on your 1001-RB-II (I have the 700-RB-II):

1) input volume in the pre-amp section

2) Boost in the Bi-amp Output section

3) Woofer in the Bi-amp Output section

To get the most "GK" tone from your rig, you should set the boost at about 3:00, but you have yours near 10:00 with the woofer volume jacked up pretty high near 3:00. Try this: set Boost at 3:00 and forget it. Set input volume to a comfortable distance below clipping at hard playing, and then dial in the woofer volume from there.

Lastly, I'm pretty convinced that GKs pump a great deal more power than their posted wattage ratings. My 700-RB-II is very loud - the 1001-RB-II is a wrecking ball.
 
#38
B-string said:
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^:cool:
Lose the BBE!
Click to expand...

I agree, the BBE will help make a bad amp sound ok but does nothing but get in the way of a really good amp. He just needs a supercab to deal with those loud geetard players and the GK 412 NEO will provide that (when) paired with the 1001RB. He won't need two of them, one will be deafening.
If I was in a really big band, The GK 412 or the Bergie NV610 would top my list.
 
#40
Thanks so much everyone! I took out the 1 severely damaged 10" from the avatar. It's completely toasted. there's something rattling around inside and the cone is creased to ****. It doesn't move freely back and forth. A clear case of over excursion I think. I'm going to give avatar a call in the morning and see about a replacement driver. The other 3 drivers appear to be fine and in inspected them very carefully.

The GK cab turned out not to be blown. So VERY CAREFULLY, I'm going to run both cabs together as soon as I get the replacement driver and I'm going to lose the 18" entirely. My band is down to one "guitard" running an original 5150 (with a bias mod) into a full stack, so I think 8 10"s should be sufficient. I've been considering this combination for a while, but now I think I've made up my mind. The GK 4x12 looks amazing, but space is really an issue at our practice pad. the $899 price tag is SOOOO do-able though.

I've also been debating the usefulness of the BBE for a while now. It's great in guitar rigs, so maybe I will save it for my guitar rig (I have a solid state Randall head that needs a lot of help.)

I appreciate all the input I've gotten about this. Cheers dudes!
 

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