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GK! 800B or New??

#21
Again - fantastic head. Mine died about 2 years ago but that was after 15 years of heavy use: hundreds of gigs, touring w/out a road case, etc. It never let me down in all that time, it's built like a friggin' tank.

My favorite story: I got hired to play in the pit for a production of the musical Hair, and the band was stationed on a platform 6 feet above the stage. My 800RB was on top of my Ampeg 4x10 without a case and somehow the speaker cable got yanked on. Down went the head - 8 feet to the floor. All that happened was I bent one of the fan baffles on the back and broke 2 solder joints inside. It was a $50 fix and back to business. Fantastic.
 
#23
On the subject of the 800RB,got a question. I have the older,87-88 version,no rack ears,with horizontal on/off switch. The bi-amp button,is it in bi-amp mode,when the button is in or out? I don't have a manual. Thought someone on here,might help me?
Thanks
 
#25
Chrome Dome said:
On the subject of the 800RB,got a question. I have the older,87-88 version,no rack ears,with horizontal on/off switch. The bi-amp button,is it in bi-amp mode,when the button is in or out? I don't have a manual. Thought someone on here,might help me?

Thanks
Click to expand...


Biamp is engaged when the switch is in , at least on mine. I always keep it off, even with both amps running.
 
#29
schwitters, make sure you put your new toy through its paces during the 30 day warranty ... especially the 100 watt top amp, that is 8 ohm minimum, and I have seen more than a few older ones that the top amp was no longer functioning on .. evidently they go quick when hooked to a <8 ohm load ...
 
#31
The GK 800RB is a classic to be sure and I had one for many years that served me well. However, I replaced it with GK's newer 700RB II head which is a classic in it's own right and shares many similarities in sound and operation to the 800RB only I consider to be the better unit of the two for three reasons:

1) More power and all of it in one power section. I (and most of the bassists I know who have/had one) never used the twin power section biamp function so the extra 100 watts into 8 ohms channel was almost always wasted.

2) Roughly the same preamp section with the boost control we all know and love only with noticeably more headroom and bottom end thump. I always thought the 800RB was a bit on the thin side, so I always used (F)enders (F)lats and (F)ifteens with mine which worked with it most famously.

3) The rotary contour control on the 700RB II is much more versatile than the in/out button on the 800RB and it has some useful modern appointments like a tuner out/mute function and a pre/post DI w/level control.

I consider the GK 700RB II to be "old school" micro ... @ 2 rack spaces, less than 10" depth and only 18 pounds ... it's a whole lotta amp in a relatively small package ... one of the "best buys" on the amp market, IMHO.
 
#33
pbassnut said:
The GK 800RB is a classic to be sure and I had one for many years that served me well. However, I replaced it with GK's newer 700RB II head which is a classic in it's own right and shares many similarities in sound and operation to the 800RB only I consider to be the better unit of the two for three reasons:

1) More power and all of it in one power section. I (and most of the bassists I know who have/had one) never used the twin power section biamp function so the extra 100 watts into 8 ohms channel was wasted.

2) Roughly the same preamp section only with noticeably more headroom and bottom end thump. I always thought the 800RB was a bit on the thin side, so I always used (F)enders (F)lats and (F)ifteens with mine.

3) The rotary contour control is much more useful than the in/out button on the 800RB.

I consider the GK 700RB II to be "old school" micro ... @ 2 rack spaces, less than 10" depth and only 18 pounds ... it's a lotta amp in a small package ... one of the "best buys" on the amp market, IMHO.
Click to expand...

I fully agree with this statement.
I currently have a 700RB II and I love it dearly.
But to the OP, in your given situation...
I would go 800RB all the way.
 
#36
pbassnut said:
The GK 800RB is a classic to be sure and I had one for many years that served me well. However, I replaced it with GK's newer 700RB II head which is a classic in it's own right and shares many similarities in sound and operation to the 800RB only I consider to be the better unit of the two for three reasons:

1) More power and all of it in one power section. I (and most of the bassists I know who have/had one) never used the twin power section biamp function so the extra 100 watts into 8 ohms channel was almost always wasted.

2) Roughly the same preamp section with the boost control we all know and love only with noticeably more headroom and bottom end thump. I always thought the 800RB was a bit on the thin side, so I always used (F)enders (F)lats and (F)ifteens with mine which worked with it most famously.

3) The rotary contour control on the 700RB II is much more versatile than the in/out button on the 800RB and it has some useful modern appointments like a tuner out/mute function and a pre/post DI w/level control.

I consider the GK 700RB II to be "old school" micro ... @ 2 rack spaces, less than 10" depth and only 18 pounds ... it's a whole lotta amp in a relatively small package ... one of the "best buys" on the amp market, IMHO.
Click to expand...

I got my 700RB-II as a back up to an all tube head - its been my main amp for about 6 years now!
 
#38
Can't go wrong with the 800RB. Gigged out regularly with one in the early 90's. Ran it through a massive Peavey 1820 cab, and it shook the house everywhere we went. My amp repair guy always cautioned, 'Just try not to drop it', so I carted it around in an old gym bag lined with thick upholstery foam and handled it with extreme care, and it never let me down. Wish I'd never sold it; it was a great amp.
 

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