Is Gallien Krueger any good?.....

Hi, i see you're relatively new. there is a search function that can be used as an option before starting a new thread. unfortunately it requires more than 3 characters, so even if you searched for GK, the search wouldn't work.

that being said, here's a recent thread about the pros and cons of gk: http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=141468

i hope that helps.

 

Backline Series = "affordable" lower powered heads & combos. Manufactured overseas. (To be honest, I don't know too much about this series).

Artist Series = Made in USA. The 800RB has been a "defacto standard" among touring bands in the '80s and early '90s. Built like a tank. The 1001RB-II (Also known as the "Mark II" series) seems to be a favorite among Talkbassers (including myself). The "Mark I" series of the 1001RB/700RB had some design issues that were addressed in the "Mark II" series.

GK Heads in general have a fairly unique sound. Typically very clean (some have viewed it as "sterile") with quick transients (i.e. punchy). If you were looking for a "warm", "tuby" sound then this would probably not be your amp of choice. Other unique features include:

- Biamp feature. Most models have two amps built in. One full range, and one dedicated to the highs. You need a specially wired cabinet (or one of GK's cabinets) to take advantage of this feature. Note that the amp is not necessarily limited if you don't.

- EQ wired in series. Someone more knowledgable can explain this better than I can, but from what I understand the tone shaping controls (bass, low mid, high mid, high) feed into and thus have an effect on each other.

- Boost control. Allow you to dial in some "tube like" grit/growl.

- Exceptional quality (and rather flexible) DI out.

- Access to Daniel Elliot (GK staff), an active member here at TalkBass. In the past he's been exceptionally helpful in answering questions, giving advice and helping those with support issues.

I can't speak to much about the cabinets as I've never used them, but others here speak well of them. I hope that helps.

- Ugly.

 

On all but the 800RB you need a GK cab to take advantage of bi-amping. The 800 has a 300 watt amp for lows and a 100 watt one for highs....you do need two cabs with diff ohms for each one, but it's been so long since I've looked at the back of my 800 I'm not sure what it requires for those cabs.

 

True, unless you know your way around a soldering iron... You can remove or disable the passive crossover in an existing non-GK cabinet and wire the woofer(s) to pins +1/-1 on a 4 conductor Speakon (or equivalent) jack, and the tweeter to pins +2/-2. Use a standard 4 conductor speakon cable, and you're all set.

There's also no reason you couldn't make a "Y Adaptor" with a 4 conductor speakon at one end and two 2 conductor speakons at the other end (with +1/-1 going to one for the lows/full range, and +2/-2 going to the other for the highs). You could then connect the low speakon to a regular cabinet and the other speakon (or 1/4" plug if that's how you wired it) to a high frequency box of some sort.

- Ugly.

 

Daniel Elliott has some good info on that in this thread...
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=141468&page=5&pp=20

 

Yeah, I remember his comments on this when I posted in that thread. I think what he's saying is that using the biamp feature of the GK to power two separate cabinets would be problematic because the tweeter amp is only sending frequencies above 5k so the woofer in that cabinet wouldn't be seeing much if any action. I wasn't suggesting that anyone use a splitter to connect to two full range cabinets... I was suggesting either rewiring a single cabinet to work with GK's 4 conductor cable scheme, or creating a splitter to send the full range signal to a full range cabinet, and the high range signal to a horn cabinet.

- Ugly.

 

I can add that I've had a 400RB since 1985, and I've never had one problem with it, other than having to replace the input jack a couple of years ago. Nothing surprising about that-- it finally wore out.
People like to characterize them as "sterile", which I think isn't quite right: SWR amps are "sterile"; GKs are clean, but they do have character. I usually bring the 400RB and an Ampeg SVTIII Pro to larger gigs, so that I can choose one for the sound of the room. The Ampeg (with a tube preamp) is warmer and more "organic" but can get muddy in the wrong venue. The GK is really punchy and has plenty of low end, but can be a bit "empty-sounding"-- it's the transistors vs. tubes thing.
Sometimes I'll think that my GK sounds too clean until I hear a recording of it in context, and it translates just fine in the mix-- I've gotten great results in the studio using the GK head as a preamp, with everything set completely flat.
The point I'm trying to make is: I'm an Ampegphile-- a lover of warm, fat tone -- and my GK has done that sufficiently enough for me for 20 years. And it's been super reliable.
Hope this helps.