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I'm becoming disatified with my GK, need help!

Lammchop93

Lammchop93

Supporting Member
Feb 4, 2007
8,875
14,215
Southern Indiana (Louisville, KY)
#1
I've been playing GK for about 3 years now and I've been very content with what I hear. I play through the Fusion 550 and a NEO 410 and 212 cab.

Recently I've been having second thoughts about my setup. It seems that if I want to have that nice punch of note definition I have to have the amp cranked or have the bass knob up, but if I have the bass up, the tone gets muddy and I lose that GK clarity. I really want a tone that can sit in the mix without being muddy, but still hit really hard no matter what I'm playing.

I've been looking into Ashdown and even Mesa amps to see what is out there.

Any recommendations on amps that could help me with this tone, or should I just stick with the GK? I am at a loss right now.:hmm:
 
#3
Right now I have my EQ on the amp at treble and bass at 12 o'clock, and both mids at 1.

The basses I use most are passive, and the tone is about flat on those as well. If I get the tone knobs up too high, I get a lot of clanky tones, and it gets too muddy if I roll them back.

The amp sounds killer when i play with my hard rock band and I boost the gain. but for my classic rock, and southern rock stuff, I just can't get a punchy, yet clear tone.
 
#4
Keep your bass where it is. For more bottom end punch, boost the low mids and cut the high mids a little. If you want clearer boost the high mids and cut the lows.

I have a GK 700RB-II that I had to play with for a while to achieve what I wanted. Cutting and boosting your mid knobs is the best way to do this. Also make sure your contour is set fairly low if you want the mids to come though. The boost also needs playing with. I find that the best settings are when its almost dimed, but not quite.
 
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#5
I'll admit that I personally hated GK amps with GK Neo cabs. Although I had a GK 1001RB for years with my SWR 610 & loved it. I would buy another GK head but not with a NEO cab. I JUST bought a GK NEO 115 III with my Streamliner tube amp & like it a lot.

You may have a bad combination but each piece is VERY good with the right mate.
 
#7
I've used a 700 RBII with a pair of the neo 212s and it sounded very clear and punchy, more fusion/funk type stuff though. Have you tried either a pair of the 4x10s or a pair of the 212s?

I'm guessing that the ideal EQ for your 2x12 will not jive with the 4x10, and vice versa, but I haven't used that combination, so take my advice for what it's worth.
 
#9
Joe Gress said:
Keep your bass where it is. For more bottom end punch, boost the low mids and cut the high mids a little. If you want clearer boost the high mids and cut the lows.

I have a GK 700RB-II that I had to play with for a while to achieve what I wanted. Cutting and boosting your mid knobs is the best way to do this. Also make sure your contour is set fairly low if you want the mids to come though. The boost also needs playing with. I find that the best settings are when its almost dimed, but not quite.
Click to expand...

I have the contour at 9 o'clock. The Fusion doesn't have a boost control. I run the cabs at full range. So the tweeters are off on he cabs
 
#10
metallicafan18 said:
Right now I have my EQ on the amp at treble and bass at 12 o'clock, and both mids at 1.

The basses I use most are passive, and the tone is about flat on those as well. If I get the tone knobs up too high, I get a lot of clanky tones, and it gets too muddy if I roll them back.

The amp sounds killer when i play with my hard rock band and I boost the gain. but for my classic rock, and southern rock stuff, I just can't get a punchy, yet clear tone.
Click to expand...

Where do you set the Master?
 
#11
This may be a little nutty, but I use my gk mb500 with a 15 band eq and I can get all the punch I want by cutting 25, 40hz and boosting 160hz etc.

I have total tonal control.

gk2.gif
 
#15
metallicafan18 said:
I have the gain and master both set at 11 o'clock.

I fiddled with the tones last night, and I boosted the low mids and cut the bass back, and that definitely helped.:bassist:
Click to expand...

I run the master on my RB 700II on 3 o'clock, and the gain around 10 o'clock. Very clean, cut through tone this way in my 212 LDS.
 
#19
The 212 can get somewhat muddy. At home it sounds good, but what I do for gigs, is I roll the low-mids to about 2:00, and I turn the bass down to 10:00. This has really helped me gain clarity at louder levels.

And btw, I am incredibly happy with GK products.

I also run the gain at full, and the master at 9:00-12:00. No boost.
 
#20
DWBass said:
It's not your amp. It's those Neo cabs! I'm having the same issue (I run 2 Neo112's) but I'm using Markbass and Genz Benz amps. I miss my old Avatars! They were clean and musical! The Neos are basically subs with tweeters, IMO. I know others will have more to say but that's what my ears hear!
Click to expand...

My GK Neo 115 is MUCH more musical than a sub. I just think it doesn't pair well with a GK head. I use Genz SL900 & its great with my GK Neo.

I didn't like my Eden head with my Eden 610xlt either.

Some people don't like the $900 Bergantino 212 with certain amps, doesn't make it a bad cab.

Mix & Match my friend... its not lack of quality.
 

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