Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hello to my fellow Rick forum folks!
I'm looking for opinions/advice, & I figure that there is plenty of both here!
I'm unloading my old Fender BXR 400 & am in the market for a new bass head. It needs to have a tube pre-amp & be at least 400 watts.

...oh, & it needs to be UNDER four figures.

I was looking at the Genz Benz GBE 600 as it seemed to match all of my criteria. I played one briefly today & it sounded pretty good, but I didn't have time to give it the full workout. I was wondering if anyone out there had any feedback regarding this amp, or had any suggestions for additional choices. (Both Yorkville & Eden have comparably priced ones as well.)

Please advise.
Thanks...

Chris,
I own a GenzBenz 1 x 12 combo and I absolutely love the sound. It gets me the warmth and grrrowl out of my 3001. I'm looking to add a GB cabinet to it, as the combo is only about 200 watts.

Good luck in your quest.

Thanks Michael.
Ironically enough, a 3001 is one of the basses I'll be playing through it as well! You gotta love that 3000 series...

Anybody else out there in Forumland have any feedback regarding GB amps?

I would HEARTILY recommend Gallien-Krueger amps! Especially the GK400RBIII. I tried a lot of them and this one RULES, especially for the price. Try it out, you won't be disappointed, and it's got all the features.

Why is it neccesary to have a tube preamp? There are a lot of SS amps that sound as good or dare I say, better than some tube front ended amps. I too vote for GK in the range you are looking for. More nuetral sounding than SWR which I do also recommend if you want a tilted up treble response.

In your power and price range:
GK 700RB or 1001RB
SWR 550X

I own 3 bass amps ... ampeg b2r ... ampeg b2 ... ampeg b3 ... I use various combinations of 10's, 15's, and 18's ... and I use a line 6 bass pod for tone shaping ...

I was looking at some used GKs as well.
I must say this, I have played SS amps exclusively for over 15 years & I messed around with some tube stuff over the w/e & was blown away.
You guys think the GK stuff will give my Ricks the desired warmth?

P.S.
I have to give a huge shout-out to Jeff Rath for his "offline" Line 6 tutorial he gave me earlier in the week.

I had a GK RB 400 with a 15" cab about 10 years ago and at the time I thought it sounded too clean (sterile?) with my 4003 so I parted with it quickly. I usually prefer tubes, However, after playing a GK ML 200 (I think thats the model name) last week I did like the tone with a Ric. When gigging I use a solid state BXR 400 - it does the job.

Marc,
Do you mind if I ask about your settings on the BXR? I've had one of those for quite awhile. It was my main amp for many years. I packed it away for awhile & recently started playing it again and it's just not sounding good to me anymore - a little too bright/crisp/sterile.

Or maybe I've just got the "fever" for new gear...

I use a GK 700RB 210 combo with a 115 cab. I attenuate the tweeter and dial in a little contour so it's not too brite. I front it with a Sansamp DI to get a "tube" sound for my Fenders. I will say the big complaint with GK's, and it bugs me too, is the hiss from the hi frequency amp. Live it's no big deal, but at home I hate it. This is a consistant theme in consumer reviews I have read. They play loud for their power rating without breaking up. They are bomb proof though and have wheels and retractable handles which is handy for giging.

GK's are nice amps, they sound almost as good as an SVT, if I ever get too old to lug my SVT, I'll hire someone to lug it, haha! I can get away with it now.

Chris, I don't have the amp next to me now but will try to remember the settings. Bass knob 1 step after the middle, treble a little more than the bass. I usually don't use the treble and low boost BUTTONS. There are 2 mid frequency knobs 1 I set about half way up (middle) and the other (maybe it's the 1Khz?) just a little turn up. I know this explanation is not so clear so I suggest you "experiment" with the 2 knobs (mid and 1khz) - play with them untill you get a good sound - I was able to get a more or less Squire/ Geddy Lee sound like that with my basses. You can get a nice punchy sound. Let me know how it worked.

I used to have a Fender BXR 300C amp and I sold it to my church. I would love to have it back, it sounded great,but it's serving a much higher purpose now. I'm very proud of that fact. I use a Hartke HA4000 head now. The pre-amp in it is not very good, so I use a Tech21 Sans Amp Bass Driver,and use the Hartke as a power amp only. It works quite nicely with my 4003 and V63.

Sometimes I use a SansAmp bass driver DI that I recently got, though my bands guitarist always gives me this weird look when I use it. He believes it cuts too much of the mid frequency. He says, "You got a Rick - let it sound a Rick"...

I agree, I tried out a SABDDI and was not too impressed because it did cut the mids with no recourse to get it back.