Thrifty Kreuger - GK Backline 112 - NAD

Picked up this amp and the Ibanez GIO locally. I thought I would like it and I do.

Class A/B combos may be a bit outdated I guess with the Class D and Neo stuff that is now out there but I’ve always been more about the slightly outdated bargain stuff.

The amp has a three band EQ rather than GK’s usual 4. This seemed disappointing when I plugged it in and found it not just mid forward like most old GK’s, but even more pronounced in its mid forward ness. Cutting the mids a bit did not help, but boosting them did — I think the EQ point must be solidly in the low mid range, and boosting it brought me more into 400/800/700/1001 RB Tone land. It’s not quite that but is a very enjoyable sounding and responding amp.

The treble is a little harsher than what comes out of my usual Bag End fifteens. Definitely tameable though.

The contour is pleasing for practice, and better sounding than most small
Combo contour buttons. I never trust a lot of smiley face contour live, but if one were likely to work, it’s this one.

The pleasant surprise was the drive channel. The perfectly grainy, musical overdrive is just the thing that cuts well when it’s called for. And when I dig into the bass strings it has a really pleasing envelope “wow” to it as the sound blooms. I want that sound in a pedal! It’s perfect. I don’t use my pedalboard’s dirt often, but this is the sound I tend to go for. It’s like a mellower version of the Hot Tubes sound that I tend to prefer.

It’s compact but not light. I’m look in forward to running my double bass piezo through it. I bet it will make a solid DB amp.

 

I should really put baby in a corner and see if it will push deeper bass out.

That said, I like the design choice of loud in the low mids with good tone and not deep. In a gig situation, that matters more IME. I don’t *need* under 150 Hz in a coffee shop or duo gig.

Buyers in a big music store or reading/writing reviews often don’t see it that way. I think manufacturers follow that lead.

 

I was right about the low mids. EQs are
7kHz / +\-14dB
250Hz /10dB
60Hz /10dB

I can’t wait to hear this with my double bass. The 1MOhm input impedance is good for piezos.

 

This only confirms that I am a nobody.