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Looking for a good solid rack mount bass amp for the studio.

#3
People say the 1001 has a little more clean headroom, and the 700 has some grit kick in at lower volumes. Can't comment on the 700, as I have never owned or used one. I have the 1001 RB-II, and while I prefer clean tones, I have no issues getting some grit if I choose to do so. For your intended purposes, it would likely serve you very well. They sound freakishly awesome. Go for it.
 
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#6
Related to JimmyM's question, if it is for studio use only why does it have to be rackmountable? Will it live in the control room with other rackmounted processors or will the amp be in the studio/tracking room with the musicians?
 
#8
Well I can certainly understand that if you like the GK sound through a cab. But if I'm putting together a rig for the studio, I'm getting the lowest wattage head I can find and pairing it with one small cab. The studio is such a controlled environment that you won't ever need super volume. True, there are some bass players who like to bring SVT's and blast them in studios, but most folks use much smaller amps because you just need to give the mic a decent enough signal to pick up and you're good. And trying to mic two cabs being powered by the same head can lead to phasing problems a lot easier than using separate amps. So if it were me, I'd pick a cab and stick to it.
 
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#11
Yeah, I'm with Jimmy. If it's strictly for studio, there's not really a need for tons of watts, so you could take the wattage budget and reappropriate it to the tone budget (and probably look at something tube based, depending on what sound you're going for). A 100w or so tube head should be plenty to get those cabs moving for a mic to pick up. Or you could look at getting a nice tube preamp and a lower wattage power amp. For just studio use, a lot of the considerations for a gigging amp are either a lot different or just don't apply.

I don't get the rack mount thing either. If it's sitting on top of a couple cabs, why the need for a rack? Just more stuff to buy. If you rack it in your control room and have the cabs elsewhere, just means you need to buy super long speaker cables, which could affect tone somewhat. Don't overthink it.
 
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#17
If it's just between the 1001 and the 700, I'd go with the 700. You're not going to be able to run out of watts in the studio with those 2 cabs before you run out of speaker anyway.

What are the cabs, anyway?
 
#19
If you like
Ampeg 2 Non Pro for tubes ; 7 Pro for "sounds like Ampeg"
GK sound - RB400 (or 700, 800, 1001) or MB series ; your choice

The little GK 1x12 Combos work great but doesn't meet the rack requirement

GB has a similar offering which sounds somewhere between the above (at least to me)

Mesa Walkabout - love that tone and multiple voices
Mesa M6 / M9 - Big womb factor

Carvin, Peavey
etc.
 

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