GK consistency in production?

[OhDee]

Hey rastas!
I want to buy a serious Amp and I was thinking of the GK 800RB

Here's the weird thing... I had the oppurtinty to play 3 different GK 800's and 2 were just insane sounding - one was just OK... (owned by a rehersal studio).

So I couldn't find a 800RB for sale so I tried a 700 that was cheap second hand - I didn't like it at all. I was wondering how different these amps really are from one another? They felt very different - but I'm not sure whether they left the factory different or just were in very different condition...

Then a friend who is a great bassist told me : that's the thing with GK's - some are amazing, some are crap.

What do you think?
Is this consistency issue true or myth?

And also - if there is infact a fundimental difference between the 700 and 800RB... Do GK currently produce something similar to the 800RB? Because I see it's out of production....

 

[willsellout]

People who make Blanket statements like your friend made are generally not to be trusted.

You can find lots of used 800’s online without an issue. As far as new production, their new line of amps are heavily influenced by the RB series.

But in your search for a serious amp how did you land on an amp that’s been out of production for 5 years -ish? Lots of great serious amps out there right now. Why GK?

 

[OhDee]

People who make Blanket statements like your friend made are generally not to be trusted.

You can find lots of used 800’s online without an issue. As far as new production, their new line of amps are heavily influenced by the RB series.

But in your search for a serious amp how did you land on an amp that’s been out of production for 5 years -ish? Lots of great serious amps out there right now. Why GK?

I always kinda liked them... then I recently played a show on one.and it felt right..
And another friend owns one...
Plus where I'm from they are pretty common and relatively inexpensive (I'm not from the US not much of an online market here for amps because it's a heavy thing to import)...

on tour we rent Ampeg pro 3 or CL I'd love one of those but those are expensive as hell even more so than US because of import fees...

Also I really liked some Mark Bass but only on 6x10 or 8x10 situations.. this probably is mostly in my head but when I tried Mark Bass on 2x10 or 4x10 they didn't feel right... Whereas the GK kindof felt OK also on the small cabinets... dunno if that makes any sense at all or just coincidental

 

[MarkA]

I haven't played enough old GK amps to comment on their consistency vs. any other make -- I'd expect them to be pretty consistent, but it is possible for amps to vary a little bit, either because of component tolerances or because of small revisions that might happen over the production life of an amp. The 800RB has been made (was made?) for decades and, if I recall correctly, saw several revisions (@B-string?). There could be some small differences there or, as you said, the condition of the amp could play a big part - even dirty electrical contacts can affect the sound. Different rooms/cabs could make a difference.

All that said, if you like the 800RB and it matches well with the cab(s) you play, you can find one of those "insane" sounding examples you mentioned and have a good tech give it a look-over to make sure it's in good health. The heads have a reputation for being reliable but, again, that's not something I can attest to from personal experience.

They do sound and feel different than the 700RB, in my limited experience, but GK aficionados will be better able to elaborate on that than I.

 

[TinIndian]

Never used an actual 800RB before but it was one of the most popular amplifiers in the 80's and into the 90's. I do However have it's little brother a 400RBII. I picked it up recently for cheap. I love it. It has everything that made GK what it is, Growly if you want and even though it's only 200 watts its a loud 200 watts. I used to have a 700RBII and while it was a great head I could never get the kind of growl out of it like I can this old 400RB and that is just due to the different designs. I never had any reliability issues with the 700RB, I owned it 5 years, and the 400RB - even though it's around 30 years old - doesn't have any issues that I can find. I've already gigged it twice in one of my bands at it was incredible.