Have any of you guys ever had to deal with fixing one of the old defective 2000 or 1000 RB's? I assume since so many of them have failed there must be some consistency to which component(s) is defective. How much did it cost to have it fixed? Which component broke? i just want to know so i dont get screwed over by some tech when i take it to get fixed. GK wont answer my emails(they probably thought the 1000/2000 RB fiasco was over went they came out with the 2001 and 10001) so i haveto get some adice somewhere. Thanks
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GK garbage
- Thread starter mccartjm
- Start date
Welcome to TalkBass. You might want to start by filling in your profile and then doing a search, that should help you find some answers.
I know there are a few here that have had issues with the old GK's. I'm sure they'll chime in. I'm a happy 1001RB-II user, so I can't help much. Dan Elliot is a TB'er who works for GK and posts here often. I'm sure he can get you some answers. You might want to send him a PM if it is urgent.
Good luck
I know there are a few here that have had issues with the old GK's. I'm sure they'll chime in. I'm a happy 1001RB-II user, so I can't help much. Dan Elliot is a TB'er who works for GK and posts here often. I'm sure he can get you some answers. You might want to send him a PM if it is urgent.
Good luck
Not sure about the 1000/2000 RB, but I suspect it's the same problem that existed for a while with the MB-150. As I understand it, GK introduced some digital circuitry/switching on these that was prone to failure. They subsequently returned to the tried-and-true analog version. If you happen to be stuck with one of the digital ones and it fails, the only solution I've heard of involves basically ripping out the digital stuff and replacing it with analog. The cost to have that done on my MB-150 would have been around $350, which was more than I was willing to spend.
I had the same problem as running dog when I first owned a MB150. That thing was ALWAYS broken. I purchased one that had the fix and have not had any problem at all
The original MB150 head was its own beast, in terms of having a switching power supply.
Be patient with GK. TB'er Dan Elliott is a good dude.
Be patient with GK. TB'er Dan Elliott is a good dude.
Getting my 2000 fixed was an absolute nightmare and their handling of it is the sole reason I will never own another GK product. I had a laundry list of of GK gear before that, but no more.
Their claim (although I heard MANY different explanations from them) was that it was a transformer issue and the entire board had to be replaced. It was not a simple fix and had to be done by them, at their factory and NOT at an authorized GK repair location.
I would run from the 2000RB model like the plague.
Their claim (although I heard MANY different explanations from them) was that it was a transformer issue and the entire board had to be replaced. It was not a simple fix and had to be done by them, at their factory and NOT at an authorized GK repair location.
I would run from the 2000RB model like the plague.
I owned a 2000RB on the other hand and had absolutely no problems with it. Tons of power, very reliable and I pushed it a few times too. It hardly got warm. I only sold it when I needed to downsize because of a change of gigs. As far as I know, the new owner is satisfied.
Yeah the first run of these amps with the 1 fan I would run from! I have my 2000rb in the "workhorse amp" thread here b/c its simply that. But of course it has the 2 fans.
mccartjm said:
Are you having the issue with popping and hissing? I'm having this with my both of m GK700RB's. If this is the issue you are having, the problem is in the preamp from what I understand. It was also mentioned the transformer may have to be replaced but isnt needed all of the time.
If so, I had talked to Daniel about getting it fixed. I really don't want to mention the price on here because its his position to fix it.
I'll eventually get it fixed and use it as a backup but ended up buying another amp. For me, and other users, I don't think its fair for us to have to pay for an issue that occurs (usually AFTER the warrenty is out) that is widely known with these amp. I'd be more than willing to pay for shipping but, in my opinion, I think there should be some type of recall on these amps and they should be serviced at no charge. If it was due to misuse, I'd be more than happy to shell out the price to fix it. But, obviously, since they know about this problems happening frequently, it is a design flaw.
Just my $0.02.. Don't want to sound greedy but if I knew that this would happen several years down the road, I wouldn't have bought one in the first place.
What is the "widely known" issue with these amps? My 1001rb2 is just over 2 years old and just out of warranty but I haven't had any problems at all. Should I be expecting something to go wrong with it?
No, The RBII series has a newly designed pre-amp. The older RB models suffered from the wave soldering process and bad design of the pre-amp board, The pre-amp board was actually relocated in the newer model (notice the knobs are now on the bottom of the head as apposed to the center of the head). I believe the older design caused fatigue on the solder joints after time due to location (moving the head around, vibrations from playing). From the looks it appears the pre board was supported in the past by the knobs out front thus creating a problem where the pots joined the pre-amp board, the flaw has been corrected in the newer version. Btw I own both version of the 1001RB and 1001RBII heads, The newer head is deeper sounding, mellower and a little more refined on the treble side than older 1001RB head. Hope this helps.lowmid1 said:
I don't know the circumstances of you trying to contact GK but I can assure you we would never 'ignore' you. Maybe you're sending to an email that isn't working or something. I will check on Monday to see what the current policy is on the 2000RB. My understanding is it just needs a second fan installed. We generally take care of those 'known' issues at little or no cost.
A recall doesn't apply here. That is usually done in the case of safety issue. We're one of the few amp manufacturers that bother to go through the time and expense to have our products rated for safety.
GK runs almost on a skeleton crew to keep the cost of the products as low as possible so sometimes it takes us a few days to respond to emails or phone calls. We're currently scrambling to get our new products ready for NAMM in January so have been very busy lately.
Call the GK factory on Monday and ask for Gene. In addition to dealing with all customer service issues, he also happens to handle all artist relations. So he is very busy. If he's not immediately availabe when you call. ask for me.
I know some of you will ask about our Artist program so let me answer now. We're pretty much restricted to working with noteable full time national acts at this stage. We just don't have the manpower to support regional or part-time national acts. So I would appreciate it if you don't bother him to much with the artist relations questions.
Thanks
Daniel Elliott
A recall doesn't apply here. That is usually done in the case of safety issue. We're one of the few amp manufacturers that bother to go through the time and expense to have our products rated for safety.
GK runs almost on a skeleton crew to keep the cost of the products as low as possible so sometimes it takes us a few days to respond to emails or phone calls. We're currently scrambling to get our new products ready for NAMM in January so have been very busy lately.
Call the GK factory on Monday and ask for Gene. In addition to dealing with all customer service issues, he also happens to handle all artist relations. So he is very busy. If he's not immediately availabe when you call. ask for me.
I know some of you will ask about our Artist program so let me answer now. We're pretty much restricted to working with noteable full time national acts at this stage. We just don't have the manpower to support regional or part-time national acts. So I would appreciate it if you don't bother him to much with the artist relations questions.
Thanks
Daniel Elliott
A few people are trying tio create a problem that doesn't exist or has already been taken care of. GK is a good company, they stand behind their product and take care of problems as they arise. I can't say the same for a few other big companies.
I've never had any serious problem and I've used GK for many years.
I've never had any serious problem and I've used GK for many years.
62bass said:
+1
I've never had a problem with my 1001RB-II.
GK customer service: When I received one of my NEO cabinets, it was missing a screw. I contacted Dan Elliot about it. He sent me the screw, plus extra screws (not needed), plus some GK stickers..etc. GK took care of my small problem promptly and professionally.
Email response from GK is slow. Telephone calls usually land in voicemail land. But GK get's back to you, at least they have for me and my questions.
I will vouch for this, when I suspected a problem with my 1001RB 2x10 combo they told me where to take it and have it looked at even though it was out of warrantee. Arnel at GK has been more than helpful in the past with any problem or question I might have had, That's why I didn't hesitate to buy my 1001RBII head.62bass said:
I've had good and bad experiences with GK customer service.
Dealing with Daniel Elliot has always been a pleasure, however, I had (note...had) a 210BLXII cabinet, just for rehearsals. (I know..this is the backline cheapie line.....but we're talking low volume basement rehearsals). I was using an Ashdown Electric Blue head with this cab, so it's not like I was pushing a ton of watts through it. It got used less than once a week, over the period of a little more than a year (so I was out of warranty). One of the speakers blew, I have no idea why....again....low volume, low wattage, but I emailed GK about getting a replacement. After a week, I got an answer from someone asking me to mail someone else. I did so, and a few more days go by. I was made the GENEROUS offer of obtaining a replacement driver for $90 plus shipping. Are you kidding? $90 for one 10 inch speaker of the cheapest variety possible? No thanks.
Having said this, I think their "non backline" stuff is really nice. I used a 1001RBII for my main gigging head for quite a while, and it had a ton of useful features, a great amount of power, and sounded pretty darned good.
Dealing with Daniel Elliot has always been a pleasure, however, I had (note...had) a 210BLXII cabinet, just for rehearsals. (I know..this is the backline cheapie line.....but we're talking low volume basement rehearsals). I was using an Ashdown Electric Blue head with this cab, so it's not like I was pushing a ton of watts through it. It got used less than once a week, over the period of a little more than a year (so I was out of warranty). One of the speakers blew, I have no idea why....again....low volume, low wattage, but I emailed GK about getting a replacement. After a week, I got an answer from someone asking me to mail someone else. I did so, and a few more days go by. I was made the GENEROUS offer of obtaining a replacement driver for $90 plus shipping. Are you kidding? $90 for one 10 inch speaker of the cheapest variety possible? No thanks.
Having said this, I think their "non backline" stuff is really nice. I used a 1001RBII for my main gigging head for quite a while, and it had a ton of useful features, a great amount of power, and sounded pretty darned good.
Did you buy this head used??
GK's issues with these models have been post and re-posted several times. I sure that the Dan loves to look at the posts and see the word garbage after his company;s name. I am not a big fan of a lot of the manufactor;s products, but if I needed help with one, I would not start the process with that post.
For the record "GK products, I've used are 1st class and have had zero problems".
GK's issues with these models have been post and re-posted several times. I sure that the Dan loves to look at the posts and see the word garbage after his company;s name. I am not a big fan of a lot of the manufactor;s products, but if I needed help with one, I would not start the process with that post.
For the record "GK products, I've used are 1st class and have had zero problems".
62bass said:
I wasn't "trying to create a problem" when my 2000RB was held for over FIVE MONTHS awaiting a warranty repair, only to be told something different by GK every single time I called for a status.
Your assertion offends me.
