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Gk 1001rbll vs. Carbine m9 vs. Ampeg?

Brattbugg

Brattbugg

Jun 28, 2009
765
166
Motor City
www.atomicradioband.com
#1
I currently have a Gk 1001rbll and was looking to make a change in tone. I play a Fender P/J as my main bass. How would you describe the tonal differences, in general between the GK, the Mesa stuff, and Ampeg? Id like to stay in the same power range (at least perceived volume). Specifically, the GK is a little to modern sounding for me. Id like something a little less bright and more gritty, but not really distorted. What other amps should I look at? Im in Detroit, so I should have access to a bunch of stuff, but before I start driving all over town, I'd like to get some ideas.
 
#2
IMO the Ampeg gear in general does sound more warm and organic.
To me the Mesa M6 is closer to the 1001RB (clear, clean, studio) and the Walkabout is more warm and smooth like other tube amps incuding the SVT (although 300 watts at 4 0hms deosn't meet your power goals). Have not had a decent audtion of the GK Fusion so that might be worth checking; GB Streamliner is another to audition.
 
#3
They're all very good amps. I prefer Ampegs because I find their EQ's easier to work with and they have a certain tonality that I like that's more in line with that "less bright/more gritty" thing, although they do a great clean sound as well. Mesas are good at it too, but I find the most of the ones I've played a bit on the harsh side. Really good amps, just too tight and brash for my tastes. That said, I haven't played every Mesa amp made, but I have played the D-180, the 400+, the M6 and Walkabout, and they all seem to do it. Not a good or bad thing...some people really dig the Mesa vibe.
 
#5
Ya, no real rhyme or reason. Well if you want to stick with traditional solid state, the SVT 4 Pro is the next highest power amp. If you want to try micro, the SVT 7 Pro is. And they're less wattage but the SVT-CL, SVT-VR and SVT 2 Pro are their 300w all-tube amps.
 
#6
Out of the 3 the Mesa M9 is going to be the most "in yo face" amp. It is really aggressively voiced in the upper midrange but, with that said, can be tamed with the voice control.

The Ampeg, depending on which model, is well....Ampeg and this is good. Ampeg tone has been "doin' it" for decades. Just a classic tone.

The GK can be made to sound a lot like the M9 IMO. GK will have that tight and bright GK tone. Not especially warm but can cut with the best of them.

3 great choices and horses for courses.
 
#8
You really need to play them all to form your own opinion. I've owned an Ampeg SVT in the 70s/80s, and currently have the GK and Mesa in stock at my store.

All are great amps, but dfferent for sure. Tweaking the EQ can go a long way, especially if you assume all knobs at noon is flat. (e.g. I thought the Mesa M6/M9 were too up front for my taste, but taming the EQ (cutting some mids and treble) made them sound much more suited to my ears.

At the end of the day, I could be happy with any of them. Of course, YMMV.

Dan

(Disclaimer: I'm a GK and Mesa dealer, but currently not an Ampeg dealer, though I love the Ampeg sound.)
 
#10
brattbugg@sbcgl said:
Seeing that I don't use "all" of the power the GK has to offer, is there enough power in the carbine m6?
Click to expand...

If that's the case, you should try a 700rb-II before buying anything else.... they're plenty loud, yet "warmer" sounding than the 1001rb-II... I *thought* I wanted the M6 or M9 when I was ready to flip my BB750, but they really couldn't do anything for me that the 700rb-II wasn't already doing... I ended up with an M-pulse 600, and have been very happy with it - you might want to check one of those out, too...


- georgestrings
 
#12
brattbugg@sbcgl said:
Seeing that I don't use "all" of the power the GK has to offer, is there enough power in the carbine m6?
Click to expand...

The M6 with a couple 8 ohm cabs (4 ohm total load), is louder than anything I'd ever need. Plus, it will handle a 2 ohm load.

As a reference point, I play 5-strings and really like the headroom of higher wattage amps. So I'd usually vote for more watts than less. That said, with enough speakers (like a pair of 2x12 or 2x10 cabs) the M6 can handle everything I'd ever need.

Dan
 
#13
What genre are you playing in mainly? If you are doing harsher stuff where you need to cut through the mix I'd suggest the latest M-series or Mesa amps in general. I *love* the grind high gain settings the M-9 preamp delivers, they must have tailored this amp to deliver in that area. M9 is insane though, enough muscle to make 2 8x10's sound angry.

Ampeg stuff is great too, though I really like a Sansamp to brighten/grit them up a little. You might be able to just use a Sansamp of some sort (try both in front of your signal chain and also blended in the FX loop, adjust amp settings for more mids). I'm sure a few people here use them with GK rigs.
 
#16
Pedals? Naw, you gotta love your amp before you can think about pedals...I've had pretty good luck with all of those amps, personally...the sound is mostly YOU...don't forget :)

That being said, of the choices listed above, I really like the SVT7Pro...light and sounds just like an Ampeg, if that's yer flavor. The SVT3Pro sucks, for reasons I cannot figure out...that's a slug of an amp. The SVT2 (nonPro) is heaven on a stick. The Mesa M9 is pretty darn rad too.
 
#18
mouthmw said:
Just grab a VT Bass for your GK rig to warm up and fatten your tone. It also adds a great tube like breakup. You can get the best of both worlds that way - GK meets Ampeg tone.
Click to expand...

+ 1000000 I can't believe that it took 15 posts for someone to get it right. I play a 1001Rb-II with the VT as my practice rig and it is great! You can adjust the EQ as well, I find the settings to be less harsh at Bass and treble at 9 o'clock, low mid at 1 and high mid at 2:30. I don't want the inhead preamp clipping so it is at most at 1 and then I adjust the woofer for the room I'm in. If I can get the woofer up around 3 I find it really starts to have the sound I am looking for, I don't need the VT at high volume levels. I think this is why people say the 700rb is better, it hits it's sweet spot at lower SPLs. I use the VT to add grit at lower volume levels with my SVT II as well.
 

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