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GK Legacy 1200 white noise issues

U

universe

Apr 2, 2013
12
8
#1
Hey everyone,

so I am on the hunt for a bass amp for my fmc cl 410 (German made cabinet)
and I ordered three different heads to try them out with the cabinet.

Aguilar AG 700, Fender Bassman 800 and GK Legacy 1200.

Out of the three the clarity of the Legacy seems to fit most for what I need at the moment. Also the fans in the Aguilar are ridiculously loud (I wonder why they don't manage to fix this... cool amp otherwise).

No fan issues with the legacy BUT! there is a constant white noise coming through the speakers (no such issues while using the cabinet with other heads). This is happening no matter if a bass is connected or not and also when master and trim are turned down.

So I was wondering:are there other people experiencing the same with this amp and is there's something you can do about it?
 
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#2
universe said:
Hey everyone,

so I am on the hunt for a bass amp for my fmc cl 410 (German made cabinet)
and I ordered three different heads to try them out with the cabinet.

Aguilar AG 700, Fender Bassman 800 and GK Legacy 1200.

Out of the three the clarity of the Legacy seems to fit most for what I need at the moment. Also the fans in the Aguilar are ridiculously loud (I wonder why they don't manage to fix this... cool amp otherwise).

No fan issues with the legacy BUT! there is a constant white noise coming through the speakers (no such issues while using the cabinet with other heads). This is happening no matter if a bass is connected or not and also when master and trim are turned down.

So I was wondering:are there other people experiencing the same with this amp and is there's something you can do about it?
Click to expand...

Hey there, where is your trim knob set? Sounds like your trim might be dialed in low and you are cranking everything else? The Trim knob doesn't control volume, rather it controls the input signal going into the amp from the bass.
 
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#3
universe said:
Hey everyone,

so I am on the hunt for a bass amp for my fmc cl 410 (German made cabinet)
and I ordered three different heads to try them out with the cabinet.

Aguilar AG 700, Fender Bassman 800 and GK Legacy 1200.

Out of the three the clarity of the Legacy seems to fit most for what I need at the moment. Also the fans in the Aguilar are ridiculously loud (I wonder why they don't manage to fix this... cool amp otherwise).

No fan issues with the legacy BUT! there is a constant white noise coming through the speakers (no such issues while using the cabinet with other heads). This is happening no matter if a bass is connected or not and also when master and trim are turned down.

So I was wondering:are there other people experiencing the same with this amp and is there's something you can do about it?
Click to expand...
 
#4
NOISY GK LEGACY 115 - Hi there. I just bought a GK Legacy combo 115 a few weeks ago. Love it, but after warming up, got a constant midhigh whining noise from the speaker, louder than it seems it should. Tried all combinations of trim, vol., eq, horn on/off, other cords and basses-no change. Followed GK"S setup guidelines. The sound was gone with mute on, back with mute off. No unusual sound from the two fan ports in the back, it's definitely from the speaker. I do play in a quiet room, but it still seems abnormal. Contacted Jason Finley at GK, sent him video and audio samples, he replied it sounded abnormal. I actually bought ANOTHER Legacy 115 last week- it has the EXACT same problem. Awaiting another response from GK. I love the combo - it's earthshaking and clean, the way I like it - I just want to know if this sound is normal, in which case I have to decide if it's worth living with, or if it's abnormal, ie an engineering defect or something, and have to return BOTH! I'm out $2600 so far. Any thoughts? thanks!
 
#5
bassfret1 said:
NOISY GK LEGACY 115 - Hi there. I just bought a GK Legacy combo 115 a few weeks ago. Love it, but after warming up, got a constant midhigh whining noise from the speaker, louder than it seems it should. Tried all combinations of trim, vol., eq, horn on/off, other cords and basses-no change. Followed GK"S setup guidelines. The sound was gone with mute on, back with mute off. No unusual sound from the two fan ports in the back, it's definitely from the speaker. I do play in a quiet room, but it still seems abnormal. Contacted Jason Finley at GK, sent him video and audio samples, he replied it sounded abnormal. I actually bought ANOTHER Legacy 115 last week- it has the EXACT same problem. Awaiting another response from GK. I love the combo - it's earthshaking and clean, the way I like it - I just want to know if this sound is normal, in which case I have to decide if it's worth living with, or if it's abnormal, ie an engineering defect or something, and have to return BOTH! I'm out $2600 so far. Any thoughts? thanks!
Click to expand...
ps did I read that GK uses the same amp head in all the combos? so the same problem could be in the 112 etc.?
 
#7
thks! Sweetwater had their techs listen for the sound, sent me a replacement to try-same problem; sent me A SECOND replacement (gk legacy 115), same issue- i decided it WAS the fan. and GK never got back to me after their initial reply. Ultimately i decided it was not for me, but for those whom the hiss doesn't bother, it is otherwise a greatcombo amp. thks for checking in.
 
#8
bassfret1 said:
thks! Sweetwater had their techs listen for the sound, sent me a replacement to try-same problem; sent me A SECOND replacement (gk legacy 115), same issue- i decided it WAS the fan. and GK never got back to me after their initial reply. Ultimately i decided it was not for me, but for those whom the hiss doesn't bother, it is otherwise a greatcombo amp. thks for checking in.
Click to expand...
Oh I didn't realize yours was with a combo amp. I'm waiting for GK to get back to Sweetwater about my head at the moment. It's not a big deal to me if it's normal amp noise, but if a replacement that's silent comes in I'd be happy.
 
#10
bassfret1 said:
FYI....I believe that GK uses the same 800 head in all their current bass combo amps, so they may be the same. good luck, enjoy!
Click to expand...
Ahh ok, that makes sense. I ended up talking to Jason at GK earlier and he explained that the faint hiss is because of the noise floor of those amps. It's honestly very faint, and I can't hear it when standing 6 ft away, or when playing. So, i can live with it. It's just a tad more noticeable to my ears than other amps I've had.
 
#12
musicman556 said:
Do these cabs/amps have adjustable tweeters? If so, does attenuating the tweeter help a bit?

My Legacy 800 is dead silent with tweeters in my GK112 II cabs at mid-point or lower, but if I have them all the way up I get some hiss.
Click to expand...
I have my tweeter off anyways, but its worse with it on. I ran it with a preamp pedal for the first time today, bypassing the Legacys pre, and it still had the hiss. It comes from the power section.
 
#14
musicman556 said:
Gotcha. Sorry man. That's a bummer. :/

I run the gain as instructed in the manual, which ends up being 3 o'clock for me depending on the bass. Cooking along with a good drummer I'm usually around 9:30/10 o'clock on the master. Howbout you?
Click to expand...
I just got this amp and cab a couple weeks ago, so I haven't used it anywhere but home yet.
 
#15
I've a Legacy combo and I hear the noise, it's consistently there regardless of what's plugged in or where the knobs are set, trim/level/volume doesn't seem to affect it. It's noticeable at bedroom levels, but I can't imagine it being any issue at decent volumes as I'm positive that any hiss/buzz from my instrument and pedals will drown out the noise coming from the amp. It doesn't bother me as it's by far the best amp I've ever owned. I wonder if there's some sort of interference happening from other electronics in my house.
 
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#16
Frovan said:
Ahh ok, that makes sense. I ended up talking to Jason at GK earlier and he explained that the faint hiss is because of the noise floor of those amps. It's honestly very faint, and I can't hear it when standing 6 ft away, or when playing. So, i can live with it. It's just a tad more noticeable to my ears than other amps I've had.
Click to expand...
Wish I had been told that for sure at the beginning....I just needed to know that it was NORMAL, and not an inherent problem that could worsen over time and needed attention....oh well, done deal, it's now in the past.
 
#17
Chamber said:
I've a Legacy combo and I hear the noise, it's consistently there regardless of what's plugged in or where the knobs are set, trim/level/volume doesn't seem to affect it. It's noticeable at bedroom levels, but I can't imagine it being any issue at decent volumes as I'm positive that any hiss/buzz from my instrument and pedals will drown out the noise coming from the amp. It doesn't bother me as it's by far the best amp I've ever owned. I wonder if there's some sort of interference happening from other electronics in my house.
Click to expand...
Same here. Jason at GK told me it's from power section, so the pre wouldn't affect it at all.
 
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#18
bassfret1 said:
Wish I had been told that for sure at the beginning....I just needed to know that it was NORMAL, and not an inherent problem that could worsen over time and needed attention....oh well, done deal, it's now in the past.
Click to expand...
bassfret1 said:
Wish I had been told that for sure at the beginning....I just needed to know that it was NORMAL, and not an inherent problem that could worsen over time and needed attention....oh well, done deal, it's now in the past.
Click to expand...
It sounds like we're talking about different things. Based on what you described your's doing, I don't think mines making the same noise.
 
#19
Just purchased GK 1200 Legacy with GK NEO IV 1x15 cabinet. The Legacy has the white noise issue other TalkBass members reported. It's annoying. The Trim knob set to dime (full right for my passive bass). Master Output level to GK cabinet is 3 or less. Turn the tweeter off, the white noise from the tweeter stops; however, the white noise continues to sound through the 15 inch bass speaker. I started with all knobs in the positions as instructed per GK and no combination gets rid of the white noise. Naturally, turning the volume up, increases the loudness of the white noise. Tried the DI Out--100% clean...expected, since it appears to be power amp-related noise. White noise same with or without bass guitar plugged in. Disappointing given how much engineering GK has put into their entire designs and manufacturing process...
Any members have experience with Mesa Engineering amps and cabinets? Thx!
 
#20
I know this is a old post but I've just bought and sent back a legacy 500 because of the same problem. Setting the trim as instructed and with the master at 9 there was a very audible hiss. When you turned the amp up it got worse. I realised that this amp was more top heavy then what I was used to so I tried it through a different cab and turned the tweeter down and it improved. Problem is the tone wasn't what I wanted then.
Im not sure if anyone else noticed this however. When I was testing out the gk legacy with my other gear and the gk was on standby my other gear would be more noisy and pick up more feedback etc. Then when I switched the gk off at the mains and took it away into another room it stopped. Then it started making a horrendous popping noise.
 

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