Is Gallien Krueger A Good Brand
Anais Wachowski
i'm looken for a new bass amp with a minimum of 100 watts. I've already played the Fender Rumble 100 and have heard really good reviews about it. I havent played the Gallien-Krueger Backline 210 but have heard good stuff about that brand too. The Gallien-Kruger has 175watts but is $170 more though. Which one would you choose or is there an even better combo for the price.
I love GK's also but I'm not sure about the Backline series. The 400rbII/115 is a real pro amp that will fill the bill on any stage (especially with an extension) for a few bucks extra. If money's a real object, I would try that Ashdown above because it's a solid amp for 349.00. You may outgrow it though, which won't happen with the GK 400rbII/115 or 210.
Being a bass player who has always used a combo, I now find myself in uncharted territory and I'd appreciate your help in getting my thoughts around the correct head/ cab combination. I'm sure it's all very rudimentary to many of you, but I don't have much of a clue ... such has been my sheltered life in combo-land.
It's worth noting that my history of playing has been in small to medium sized venues, and that's how it's likely to continue. I need a set-up that is going to provide enough guts for small venues with no pa support, and medium-sized venues as an effective stage monitor. The option to expand on that would be attractive, but not vital (I think... certainly not for now anyway). That's playing in a band which variously consists of 4-8 people, including drums, bagpipes, guitar, singers, and so on.
I've had the good fortune to have been given a [b]Gallien Krueger 800RB[/b] head. It belonged to a friend and I've played through it before. I'm satisfied with the sound and functions of the thing, and I think that it's a suitable amp for my needs.
Now, whatever I do cab-wise has to be light-weight and affordable. I was thinking of initially buying a 4 ohm GK 410MBE (800w, neodinium) cab to run on the 300w low amp. This being my default amplification solution. If it was necessary at some later date I was thinking I could run an additional 8 ohm 2x10, bi-amping it on the 100w high amp. Does this sound like a sensible solution? or, would it make more sense to get an 8 ohm 4x10 to run from the low amp, with the option to add another 8 ohm cab later? The bi-amping facility isn't something that I'm desperate to utilise. Like I said, I kind of ended up with this amp and didn't necessarily take it for this feature. I wouldn't rule out using a different amp if this dosn't absolutely suit ... I just don't know.
I suppose my question is whether it's best to buy either a 4 ohm or 8 ohm 4x10?
Your thoughts on this would be most appreciated.
Thanks
E
You won`t hear that much difference between using an 8ohm 410 and a 4ohm 410 with the same amp. But you`ll hear a massive difference between using that amp with two 8ohm 410s as oppose to one. Saying that however, in my view it would be better to spend the whole of the money on one single top-quality 410 than two lesser 410s. The GK Neo range look good if wanting to keep to the same brand.
Edit - I say that there aren`t many situations where more than a 410 is really necessary - this is why the best possible 410 (or 212) is a good way to go, the best sound, depth and spread of sound, and practicality wise, less gear to cart about.
[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1378034964' post='2194878']
You won`t hear that much difference between using an 8ohm 410 and a 4ohm 410 with the same amp. But you`ll hear a massive difference between using that amp with two 8ohm 410s as oppose to one. Saying that however, in my view it would be better to spend the whole of the money on one single top-quality 410 than two lesser 410s.
[/quote]
Aye, I get what you're saying about having two 4x10's ... although in the name of remaining semi-compact I intend to buy only a single 4x10 (for the moment, at least. Maybe an additional 2x10 later?). Weight and bulk are a real consideration for me, which is why I thought of the uber-light and relatively compact neodinium equipped GK 410 MBE cab. Do you consider this to be a "lesser" cab? And are you saying that if I was using only one 4x10, there would be no benefit in it being 4 ohm rather than 8 ohm?
A purchase is imminent as I'm currently without amplification. I just don't want to make the wrong decision.
I used an 800rb with a Matamp 2x12. Sounded great, reltively cheap and relatively easy to carry. If you check out the Matamp porn thread in Gear Porn, Tayste has just got a new smaller lightweight 2x12...not sure on cost, but great quality
[quote name='Fionn' timestamp='1378037003' post='2194914']
Aye, I get what you're saying about having two 4x10's ... although in the name of remaining semi-compact I intend to buy only a single 4x10 (for the moment, at least. Maybe an additional 2x10 later?). Weight and bulk are a real consideration for me, which is why I thought of the uber-light and relatively compact neodinium equipped GK 410 MBE cab. Do you consider this to be a "lesser" cab? And are you saying that if I was using only one 4x10, there would be no benefit in it being 4 ohm rather than 8 ohm?
A purchase is imminent as I'm currently without amplification. I just don't want to make the wrong decision.
[/quote]
I don`t necessarily consider the MBE to be lesser, just that chances are the Neo range will be better. From experience of buying/selling many different items, I`ve found that getting the higher end gear is actually less costly, as it tends to satisfy the ears much better, and stop the eternal quest for improving your sound.
The difference in volume from using a 4ohm cab to an 8ohm cab will be negligible. Again, from experience, this was something I was concerned about when I had a Markbass 500 watt amp that put out 300 watts at 8ohms. I was worried connecting it to an 8ohm 410 wouldn`t be loud enough, despite having read on here about negligible difference. Didn`t have any issues, master volume (in a punk band, so noisy) never went past 4.
I use my GK800RB with a Genz Benz Neox212 and the sound is nothing short of stunning. The 2x12 handles everything you can throw it, from deep sub lows to glassy highs but thrives on the mid punch that the GK excels in providing..... I can't recommend this combination highly enough and I have had nothing but compliments on the sound....
What cabs on the 800RB? When my Barefaced Two10 is re-loomed from 12 to 4 Ohm, my GK is going to run that Two10 and a One 10 bi-amped. Matches with the impendances, experimenting the crossover knob ;-)
I was going to say that you should definitely run it full-range but as the drivers in the 10CR cabs overdrive at high levels you can experiment with running one cab taking all the lows and overdriving when you're LOUD and the cab with the mids and highs staying clean.
Since yesterday my Two10 is 4 Ohm. It was easy to do. It's a very big difference in volume, this 210 is LOUD! It will take some time and experiment to find the best adjustment between the two master knobs and the crossover, but it is clear that it gives me a (extra) variety of tonal possibilities. These cabs seems to be made for the '88 GK 800RB. 4 Ohm and 8 Ohm, Two10 for the lows, One10 for the mid/high. Together louder, lower and lighter than a 410 or two 210's. Masterpieces!
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I find that simply aligning the average bass level to the rough level of the bass drum gets you to a pretty good starting point in most cases. From there it does depend on whether you have more of an Example 1 or an Example 2 type of sound hitting the desk, but I almost always apply a bit of high pass to pull out extremely rumbly lows below about 30Hz (where the fundamental of a low B string of a 5-string bass would sound). I usually also cap off the high range EQ with a low pass at 5kHz-ish right at the liminal zone to remove any errant string noise or non-musical buzz/hiss remnants (which we happen to have occasionally in our raw samples!).
Jeff Hawley currently heads up the marketing for Allen & Heath USA. Jeff has a diverse background as a musician, engineer and trendsetting industry executive. In addition to performing and producing everything from noise music to disco and Afro-Cuban jazz to avant-garde klezmer, Jeff has designed award-winning music industry products and accessories and directed the branding and marketing functions for a number of top musical instrument and pro audio brands. He enjoys Cream of Wheat, dabbles in Heideggerian hermeneutical phenomenology and owns a handmade Swedish axe.
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