Other then having my Hi mids and boost at noon this is exactly were my 700RB is set and it sounds amazing. You know its a good amp with you dont need to mess with the EQ at all
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NAD: Gallien-Krueger (GK) Gain Staging
- Thread starter groovaholic
- Start date
Just found this thread today, gotta try this out!!!
Hope my GK 2001RB doesn't kill me with volume during rehearsal xd
Hope my GK 2001RB doesn't kill me with volume during rehearsal xd
Its gonna be loud, LOL. Im running my pad in to kill some volume. with the woofer at noon the input is hardly up on 700rb
- Aug 21, 2003
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Wear hearing protection...
Serious...The 2001 is just maniac of an amp.
The 1001 is a beast in and of itself never mind the 2001.
Let us know how it goes!
Sometimes I want a really fast, immediate amp, and sometimes I want one that's a bit slower and slightly distorted -- but I always want solid lows, intelligible mids (without sounding nasal) and a clear, bright top end.
So, I'm finding that my EQ settings stay the same most of the time, and the three gain controls are the more effective way to access those different sounds.
Sometimes I want a really fast, immediate amp, and sometimes I want one that's a bit slower and slightly distorted -- but I always want solid lows, intelligible mids (without sounding nasal) and a clear, bright top end.
So, I'm finding that my EQ settings stay the same most of the time, and the three gain controls are the more effective way to access those different sounds.
Just as long as you know the "Boost" needs input gain (Volume) to be effective and the Boost interacts with the Master (Woofer).
I had read the mentioned posts and paragraphs about running the gain at 100% also. Just last week I was trying out the GK500 fusion at a local shop and I immediately set the gain at 100% on channel B. The salesman kinda moaned and said 'it doesn't need to be anywhere near that high.' I just said "watch me!" I set the master channel B at zero, then slowly began moving it north. In about 15 seconds I had the most wonderful distortion and grind and we could talk to each other over it. He said he would take note of what I did. Good for him. It can work nicely. FWIW I began lowering the gain until it was about 1 o'clock. That (to me) sounded about right.
The Fusion 550 is on my short list...
I played through one while amp shopping (at Premiere Bass in Colorado) and while it didn't immediately blow my hair back, I was on the hunt for a warm, overdriven head -- so it might have been in my blind spot, so to speak.
Interestingly enough, the Mesa Carbine amps, while also very clean, totally grabbed me!
Go figure...
But later, when I had a chance to A/B my Carbine against a 700RB-II, I liked the GK better -- thus began my patronage of GK.
Since I've heard that the Fusion is similar to the RB's, but with a "special something" added, it seems like it deserves another look.
I played through one while amp shopping (at Premiere Bass in Colorado) and while it didn't immediately blow my hair back, I was on the hunt for a warm, overdriven head -- so it might have been in my blind spot, so to speak.
Interestingly enough, the Mesa Carbine amps, while also very clean, totally grabbed me!
Go figure...
But later, when I had a chance to A/B my Carbine against a 700RB-II, I liked the GK better -- thus began my patronage of GK.
Since I've heard that the Fusion is similar to the RB's, but with a "special something" added, it seems like it deserves another look.
It's a great day today!!!
I'm a moron, but finally after a year I got THE tone out of my GK 2001RB!
The case was a bit complicated because the GK is a bit overpowered for my needs, but I wanted a GK amp and it was the only one that could go down to 2ohms. I tried to use your advices and turn the woofer to around 12 and use the gain as a volume control. The amp sounded a bit better that way, but it was extremely hard to dial the volume (down) because every little move of the gain knob made a huge difference in the volume level. I tried different settings and figured out that it sounded best when the gain is around 8:30-9 and woofer around 12. The problem with those setting is that the amp is so bloody loud that it's impossible to use it in a rehearsal space. The first step I did to solve this problem was to plug both of EBS CL 410 into the same power amp (not to plug each of them into a separate ones). Using both of the poweramps I had 360w per 4ohm cab, plugging them into the same poweramp gave me 540w (2ohms) divide into both of the cabs. I thought, hymn it's less then my EBS TD 660 had (600w in 2ohms), but the 'GK watts' surprised me again, it was much louder then the EBS ever was. I got a bit down by the fact that I have a brilliant sound that is too loud to use in most small gigs/rehearsal situations. I went home, grabbed the GK manual and started to think how to solve this problem. The long forgotten 'right level' knob turned out to be the answer! Today I plugged both cabs to the right poweramp, turned the gain and master to the settings mentioned before and started messing with the right level and the the magic happened. It worked really great as an attenuator, I backed it down to about 11 and finally got the sound! The amp is set to a useable volume level(not being louder than everything in the city :d), but the sound is full, rich and dynamic as never before (when the gain was very low and the master was up, or when the gain was high and the woofer was very low, the sound was much flatter with less lows and dynamics).
I feel in love with my GK once more, and even harder then the first time. It's just such a great sounding amp that I lack words
The thing I really love now is that I nearly don't have to tweak this amp anymore! I just plug my bass (without even messing with its preamp) and it rocks!
Ok strange question, does this mean the amp is a flop because you have to do this so maybe find something else?
Or, it's meant to be like this and you should buy one?
Also, will you even be able to play it in a living room at lower volume without pissing the neighbor off?
Or, it's meant to be like this and you should buy one?
Also, will you even be able to play it in a living room at lower volume without pissing the neighbor off?
Sounds like "neither" to me: I don't think that "bedroom amp" was a design goal for the 2001RB 
It's geared toward rock stars playing arenas!
But, he's figured out a way to get great tone at acceptable levels.
I've been notorious in past bands for having ridiculously powerful rigs
(my rack system used a QSC PLX 3002 in bridged mode).
It's been amazing to me that my humble 700RB-II is MORE THAN powerful enough, and I'm playing a Dingwall 5-string.
If the GK wasn't doing justice to that Dingwall B-string, the GK would be long gone.
But I love the GK!
It's geared toward rock stars playing arenas!
But, he's figured out a way to get great tone at acceptable levels.
I've been notorious in past bands for having ridiculously powerful rigs
(my rack system used a QSC PLX 3002 in bridged mode).
It's been amazing to me that my humble 700RB-II is MORE THAN powerful enough, and I'm playing a Dingwall 5-string.
If the GK wasn't doing justice to that Dingwall B-string, the GK would be long gone.
But I love the GK!
Any amp that you eventually find your happy sound on is never a flop.
I'd say suit your amplification goals to your own needs. Just because one person thinks they sound great, it might not work for you. Experimentation is key.
There is a volume knob. That being said, getting that same tactile feel of this amp at full-tilt boogie in a living room without alarming the neighbors would be highly improbable, and has been mentioned, not what @rag had in mind when he built this amazing piece of tech.
Yeah I was mainly concerned that it only sounded good blasted, that turned down to practice levels would be a drag. Sounds like a great head for the money.
I did some more experimentation with my 700RB-II this weekend; I was getting a somewhat "boomy" tone out of the amp, even with the 4/5 switch set on 4, bass at 11 o'clock, and contour all the way counterclockwise.
I found that bringing my volume up to 10 o'clock and boost down to 10 o'clock, then controlling the output with the woofer control got me the best results; good clarity with tons of punch and as much volume as I could handle (and I can handle a lot).
Again, it was another huge lesson in how interactive those three controls are: they completely reshape the sound of the amp...almost more than the EQ.
I found that bringing my volume up to 10 o'clock and boost down to 10 o'clock, then controlling the output with the woofer control got me the best results; good clarity with tons of punch and as much volume as I could handle (and I can handle a lot).
Again, it was another huge lesson in how interactive those three controls are: they completely reshape the sound of the amp...almost more than the EQ.
I need to try this. I have a 1001rb and can't ever imagine needing more volume from an amp. Those of you with a 2001rb must be destroying buildings. I think the 1001rb is the loudest 700w on the planet and if I didn't know it was 700w, I would guess that it easily had north of 1000w.
