The new, less Hostile New Gallien Kruger RB Legacy Thread!

[JimiLL]

Alright guys, for the sake of actually being able to talk about an exciting new product, can we just accept and respect everyone's opinions on bass amplification? If you want one model and not the other and vice versa for any reasons, so be it. We shouldnt let this devolve into a bunch of political theatre, there's enough of that going around already

 

[MaxCellExcelWon]

There was already another thread here that is still open:

https://www.talkbass.com/threads/ga...ng-new-rb-legacy.1666352/page-4#post-28889341

 

[Element Zero]

Hostile? 4 pages and it ain't even shut down. Just read the whole thing. It's pretty tame.

 

[MaxCellExcelWon]

Hostile? 4 pages and it ain't even shut down. Just read the whole thing. It's pretty tame.ea

There was another thread where there were complaints (of course) about weight and being rackmount and all that kinda stuff. Attacking anything that isn't class D and/or 5lbs. You know, the usual for this place.

 

[Iristone]

Weight-wise it's okay to me. The main selling point is that it's modular internally, which should allow for easier repair.
Funny that I was just thinking of some G-K when they came up with this. It's "when I want to sleep, here comes a pillow" .

 

[JimiLL]

Weight-wise it's okay to me. The main selling point is that it's modular internally, which should allow for easier repair.
Funny that I was just thinking of some G-K when they came up with this. It's "when I want to sleep, here comes a pillow" .

I do wonder if these new heads have any parts in common with the old rb series…

 

[Modulus 96]

I do wonder if these new heads have any parts in common with the old rb series…

Are those old components even made anymore?

 

[DJ Bebop]

I do wonder if these new heads have any parts in common with the old rb series…

Are those old components even made anymore?

Yep, I missed the boat when GK would replace the innards of the Series I RBs with Series II guts for a flat fee. So I was wondering that too.

 

[Hypocrite]

Attacking anything that isn't class D and/or 5lbs. You know, the usual for this place.

Attacking anything that ISN'T class D is the usual!? I must have been sleeping under a rock or something.

 

[frankie5string]

I'd like to try it. They're really talking up the "to the rails" aspect. I can't remember the last time I ever had to drive a bass amp that hard, even an older GK. So for me I'm more curious how they voiced the preamp - if it's any different to somehow take advantage of what they built.
It'll probably be a while before I see one in the wild. Also thought maybe these were the answer to replacing backilne rigs for rental companies, because existing ones might be getting harder and harder to source repair parts for?

 

[monkeyland]

I'd like to try it. They're really talking up the "to the rails" aspect. I can't remember the last time I ever had to drive a bass amp that hard, even an older GK. So for me I'm more curious how they voiced the preamp - if it's any different to somehow take advantage of what they built.
It'll probably be a while before I see one in the wild. Also thought maybe these were the answer to replacing backilne rigs for rental companies, because existing ones might be getting harder and harder to source repair parts for?

I spent a lot of time with an old 400rb in my youth. They were relatively common and could be bought used for a price that worked for me right out of high school. They were just powerful enough to be useable in a relatively loud rock band and that hitting the rail sound gave them a very desirable flavor. That to me along with the way the EQ works is the bones of the GK sound, and what seems to have been missing from the class D offerings. At least it seems like their marketing department feels as such.

I'd be very interested in hearing these new amps. They won't be for me because I'm firmly in the small and lightweight camp for my gig life but if I were buying backline for my business right now I would be very curious

 

[ihixulu]

I'd like to try it. They're really talking up the "to the rails" aspect. I can't remember the last time I ever had to drive a bass amp that hard, even an older GK. So for me I'm more curious how they voiced the preamp - if it's any different to somehow take advantage of what they built.
It'll probably be a while before I see one in the wild. Also thought maybe these were the answer to replacing backilne rigs for rental companies, because existing ones might be getting harder and harder to source repair parts for?

My impression is that they basically took their current Legacy pre and mated it to a different power section. (In a very ugly enclosure, but that's another discussion). I haven't played through one of the new ones so I don't know how close it is to an OG 1001rb. If anyone has done a side by side, I'd love to get their take.

 

[HP Hovercraft]

The clips sound great and I love the look.

Anyone know if the rack ears are removable?

 

[Smooth_bass88]

am I missing something?

 

[UntitledProject]

am I missing something?

Yes

 

[JimiLL]

It does look a little hodgepodge with a faceplate build around the existing chassis, but then again it does make it look kinda utilitarian, which is cool in itself.

Whats the general preamp difference between the legacy and og rb series?

 

[moon-bass]

The 800RB was one of my first "real" amp heads back in the day (after owning a Peavey Megabass). Great amp ahead of it's time. I bought one awhile back, mostly for nostalgia, but ended up selling it shortly thereafter.

I need to go look, but I know at least two modellers captured it nicely, and that was a huge factor in selling it.

 

[FrenchBassQC]

A thread with no hostility, I'm bailing out, too boring.

 

[Saetia]

It does look a little hodgepodge with a faceplate build around the existing chassis, but then again it does make it look kinda utilitarian, which is cool in itself.

Whats the general preamp difference between the legacy and og rb series?

Same EQ sections. A drive switch and drive pot with an edge control instead of a boost. Contour and presence are a switch instead of a pot and the edition of the bump switch.

 

[groovaholic]

I haven't played through one of the new ones so I don't know how close it is to an OG 1001rb. If anyone has done a side by side, I'd love to get their take.

I haven't played through the RB-Legacy, but I did own an 800RB, 700RB-II, and my Legacy 800 at the same time, and did multiple round-robin comparisons.

The 700RB-II and 800RB sound most similar, but the 700 goes lower and higher, and I preferred how the 700's Contour and Presence were knobs rather than an all-or-nothing switches.

With all knobs at noon, the Legacy has a lot more midrange. Legacy lows at flat are comparable to the 800 and less than the 700.

The overdrive section of the Legacy is useful to get the "rails" tonality - but your results are closely related to how much you trim back the input: GK recommends running trim all the way up, then only reducing it enough to avoid clipping - but that approach gave me too much breakup in the overdrive section.
Starting with Trim at noon and experimenting gave me better results.

Comments from NAMM suggest the RB-Legacy might have a thicker starting tone than the Class-D Legacy - but I'd have to demo one in person to see if the tonal gains outweighed (pun intended) the size increase.

But I'm pretty darn happy with my Class D Legacy - and I rarely play gigs where I could be loud enough to push an RB-Legacy "into the rails".

So as much as I love that these new amps exist, I'm unlikely to buy one.