Just when I thought I had my bass rig all settled,
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incubus2432
- Senior Member
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highway_star
- Intermediate Member
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Here's the latest update (yeah, right):
I stopped by the local GC last Saturday just to see what was in stock. I found a Gallien-Krueger 1001RBII with a 410SBX and 115SBX set up, so I grabbed a J-Bass to try it out. After a hour on it, I was intrigued enough that I went home to get my 4003 and Stingray 5 to do more testing.
I found the GK rig to be a bit flexible and transparent. It wasn't as warm as the Ampeg, but I had a pretty decent growl dialed in with a fairly articulate E string. But since it was a Saturday, it was hard to really get a super good assessment of it, so I bought a 700RBII since I didn't need the 1001RB's power and decided to try it out at home knowing that I had 30 days to return it. Well the assistant manager saw me there and cut a huge price break for me since we're performing at his wedding in December.
I got the head home and ran compared it to my other heads. Once again, brighter and more dynamic than my Ampeg, but not as warm. More articulate on the lower strings compared to the Ashdown. So far, so good.
Well it got better yesterday. I found another GC with GK's top of the line cabinet, the 410RBH. So I took the Ric with me and tried it out. Man I was pleased! The two matched up well together. The tone was somewhat reminiscent of Mike Mesaros of the Smithereens and I had nice warm enough growly sound that would clean up well. I liked the bi-amp feature since I could adjust the tweeter from the amp instead from the attenuator on the back of the cabinet. And the cabinet was marked down $150, so I saved over $300 on the entire rig.
I got the cabinet home and did one more comparison with the Ashdown and Aguilar cabs and it looks like GK works for me. One big clue was that I normally spend a lot of time tweaking knobs on other amps. I read the owner's manual, did a rough setup and found a usable sound very quickly with just minor tweaks. After that, it was set and forget.
I may get a 210RBH for small events and jams. I haven't decided if I want to part with my Aguilar's yet. They're great cabinets at their size, I just think the GK amp and cabs work better together.
We'll see what next week brings.
I stopped by the local GC last Saturday just to see what was in stock. I found a Gallien-Krueger 1001RBII with a 410SBX and 115SBX set up, so I grabbed a J-Bass to try it out. After a hour on it, I was intrigued enough that I went home to get my 4003 and Stingray 5 to do more testing.
I found the GK rig to be a bit flexible and transparent. It wasn't as warm as the Ampeg, but I had a pretty decent growl dialed in with a fairly articulate E string. But since it was a Saturday, it was hard to really get a super good assessment of it, so I bought a 700RBII since I didn't need the 1001RB's power and decided to try it out at home knowing that I had 30 days to return it. Well the assistant manager saw me there and cut a huge price break for me since we're performing at his wedding in December.
I got the head home and ran compared it to my other heads. Once again, brighter and more dynamic than my Ampeg, but not as warm. More articulate on the lower strings compared to the Ashdown. So far, so good.
Well it got better yesterday. I found another GC with GK's top of the line cabinet, the 410RBH. So I took the Ric with me and tried it out. Man I was pleased! The two matched up well together. The tone was somewhat reminiscent of Mike Mesaros of the Smithereens and I had nice warm enough growly sound that would clean up well. I liked the bi-amp feature since I could adjust the tweeter from the amp instead from the attenuator on the back of the cabinet. And the cabinet was marked down $150, so I saved over $300 on the entire rig.
I got the cabinet home and did one more comparison with the Ashdown and Aguilar cabs and it looks like GK works for me. One big clue was that I normally spend a lot of time tweaking knobs on other amps. I read the owner's manual, did a rough setup and found a usable sound very quickly with just minor tweaks. After that, it was set and forget.
I may get a 210RBH for small events and jams. I haven't decided if I want to part with my Aguilar's yet. They're great cabinets at their size, I just think the GK amp and cabs work better together.
We'll see what next week brings.
If you think all is going well, you've obviously overlooked something.
The nicest amp I've tried recently was unfortunately way too small for practical use; a Hartke A70 1x12 combo. I tried an Epiphone Jack Casady through it and loved it! (bass AND amp!). Was totally blown away! Unfortunately not really big enough for anything except home use; if it were louder I'd probably ditch everything I have... I could play ANYTHING on the Epi through that combo, it was even fantastic for slap. I was totally amazed....
And yes, I hate all this too! I recently did what David did and decided I wanted a growlier sound, hence the Ashdown....next week I'll be back to super clean.....aarrrggghh. I suppose the ideal is to have several rigs, but (a) I'm not rich enough, and (b) the girlfriend complains that I need amps at all....if it's not a 1x10 combo I get it in the neck.
And yes, I hate all this too! I recently did what David did and decided I wanted a growlier sound, hence the Ashdown....next week I'll be back to super clean.....aarrrggghh. I suppose the ideal is to have several rigs, but (a) I'm not rich enough, and (b) the girlfriend complains that I need amps at all....if it's not a 1x10 combo I get it in the neck.
"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle."
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highway_star
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Ron, 2nd cab is already on it's way. Besides, I think the shipping from you to me (UK) may have been slightly on the expensive side 
....
I think the problem I have is the same as Mark King once said; every time I plug something else in, just because it's different, I think, whoah, that sounds great! Except when it sounds terrible of course....
.... I think the problem I have is the same as Mark King once said; every time I plug something else in, just because it's different, I think, whoah, that sounds great! Except when it sounds terrible of course....
"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle."