umcoo Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 Found one of these rare beasts on Gumtree and shot the guy an email expecting it to have been snapped up straight away. It hadn't, so I nabbed it. Arrived today and first impressions weren't great as there was no sound coming out. Twiddled knobs and the input jack then it burst into life. Thick rich bassy goodness! It's been cutting in and out so I think a bit of contact cleaner may be in order. Bit scratched on the top but nothing unexpected from a20 year old amp and might look into a rack for it if I decide it;s a keeper. Definitely a cleaner sounding amp than my AD200B but still warm and growly. Ideal! Anyways...here's a few pics for the porn addicts... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thumbo Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 I bought one of these as a back up for my AD200B a couple of years ago. This amp combined with a Rusty Box pre-amp gave me exactly the dirty tone I needed, so I sold my Orange. It felt kinda strange going from using a £1300 valve head to a beat up old amp that I bought second hand for about £300, but it does just what I need. I like the immediate punchy sound of the 800RB, if that makes sense! I heard that Duff McKagan bought 2 when Guns n Roses got their first advance but he's only ever used one of them because he hasn't needed a backup. Nice little testament to how solid they are! Good purchase dude what cab are you using with it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
umcoo Posted April 20, 2011 Author Share Posted April 20, 2011 It's definitely punchy. Sounds great and warm for solid state, but then maybe I've forgotten how good solid states can sound with me being used to valve amps. Using it with a Matamp 2x12. Might be a while before I get to crank it at next practice, but that should be jolly good fun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicman20 Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 Nice!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomBassmonkey Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 (edited) Very nice! A good find. The "classic" GK amp, I need to find one to have a go on sometime, I've never seen one in the flesh close up. You'll have to give us a review of it once you've cranked it some in practice. The 800 is the one that all the major artists either use, or they use amps that are based on this (the RB-II series are all based on this, the manual even name checks it when talking about how to use the contour to make it sound like an 800RB). It's a shame they're not available new in the UK any more, something to do with EU laws and the materials/components used IIRC. Edited April 21, 2011 by ThomBassmonkey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thumbo Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 (edited) [quote name='umcoo' post='1206517' date='Apr 20 2011, 10:21 PM']It's definitely punchy. Sounds great and warm for solid state, but then maybe I've forgotten how good solid states can sound with me being used to valve amps. Using it with a Matamp 2x12. Might be a while before I get to crank it at next practice, but that should be jolly good fun [/quote] I bet that sounds cool with a Matamp cab. I think you'll be pleased with the amount of headroom at your next practice, I have mine turned up about 1/4 on the master volume and have the boost on 1/2 with my 6x10. - that's running it at 4ohms. Edited April 21, 2011 by thumbo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warwickhunt Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 I've had a couple of these over the years and they rate in my top 5 of fave amps. I used to get annoyed that the top end (100w) amp was rated to 8 ohms and the bottom end (300w) amp was 4 ohms as like many others I rarely owned a 4 ohm AND an 8ohm cab! It was all just numbers at the time and it means less to me now but as a youngster trying to get the max out of my amp/cabs it was frustrating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cetera Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 I have one of these too and I LOVE it! Great, punchy and growling amp - some great tones to be had Enjoy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
voxpop Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 What a great find...... A real classic amp. Well done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
umcoo Posted April 21, 2011 Author Share Posted April 21, 2011 Thanks all. The signal issues seem to have disappeared...maybe just needed the jack slotting in and out a few times (that's what she said) The hi-boost switch is giving me great tones...snarly and with attitude, but still clear and defined...not at all sterile or hi-fi (which is what I'm looking for in an amp) Does the 300w volume knob act as a gain then? Sounds great when that's cranked and the master to suit. Slight bit of hiss with it like that though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casapete Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 Had mine for years, never needed anything doing to it. Great sounding amp, loud, light (ok not by Markbass standards, but easy to carry at around 20lbs) and works well with all my cabs - 4x10, 1x15, 2x15 EV (rocks with that) and also Barefaced Compact. A lot of hire companies (especially in the US) use these as an alternative to SVT's. They don't sound the same, but do sound great - not bad for a 30 year old tranny amp design. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chriswilliams666 Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 I too have one of these and they are amazing amps. The perfect amp in my eyes. Enough power for most gigs unless your Duff McKagan playing stadiums, then you'll need 3 of them! I run mine through a newer GK 410RBH and it really rocks. So much so my 2001rb rarely gets used, haha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chriswilliams666 Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 Just out of interest. How much did this cost you? Ive got one already and just like to keep upto date with current values! [quote name='umcoo' post='1206338' date='Apr 20 2011, 08:00 PM']Found one of these rare beasts on Gumtree and shot the guy an email expecting it to have been snapped up straight away. It hadn't, so I nabbed it. Arrived today and first impressions weren't great as there was no sound coming out. Twiddled knobs and the input jack then it burst into life. Thick rich bassy goodness! It's been cutting in and out so I think a bit of contact cleaner may be in order. Bit scratched on the top but nothing unexpected from a20 year old amp and might look into a rack for it if I decide it;s a keeper. Definitely a cleaner sounding amp than my AD200B but still warm and growly. Ideal! Anyways...here's a few pics for the porn addicts... [/quote] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
umcoo Posted April 22, 2011 Author Share Posted April 22, 2011 £266.99 including delivery. Bazinga! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chriswilliams666 Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 Git! That's the 2nd 800rb this year at a bargain price. They're like buses... [quote name='umcoo' post='1208727' date='Apr 22 2011, 10:44 PM']£266.99 including delivery. Bazinga![/quote] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
umcoo Posted April 22, 2011 Author Share Posted April 22, 2011 Hah, tell me about it. I've been looking for one for years. Seems this year is proving pretty good for them coming out of the woodwork. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AttitudeCastle Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 I call dibs on the next one on the forum Always wanted to use one of these! The 100W horn sounds awesome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thumbo Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 Not to gloat or anything here (well ok, I'm gloating a little), this is what I played through at a jam with a couple of buddies last night. The rig on the right is mine, the rig on the left is my friends slightly older 800RB with his own homemade cab with a 15" full range speaker. Tone heaven. My Yamaha TRB 6 string has never sounded filthier!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
umcoo Posted April 24, 2011 Author Share Posted April 24, 2011 Beautiful. Quick question Thumbo. Where did you get your rack ears? They have them on the gk website, but when I tied to pay, they only shipped to a few countries. Not including the UK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomBassmonkey Posted April 24, 2011 Share Posted April 24, 2011 [quote name='umcoo' post='1210127' date='Apr 24 2011, 04:47 PM']Beautiful. Quick question Thumbo. Where did you get your rack ears? They have them on the gk website, but when I tied to pay, they only shipped to a few countries. Not including the UK.[/quote] You should drop Polar Audio an email, they should be able to sort you out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chriswilliams666 Posted April 24, 2011 Share Posted April 24, 2011 I did exactly that and got them. After waiting a while they turned up. If you need any GK spares get them at the same time as postage isn't cheap. [quote name='ThomBassmonkey' post='1210204' date='Apr 24 2011, 06:15 PM']You should drop Polar Audio an email, they should be able to sort you out. [/quote] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thumbo Posted April 24, 2011 Share Posted April 24, 2011 As mentioned by the other guys, Polar Audio seem to be the best (or only?) option. I ordered mine from them, paid quite a bit in postage and waited a while for them to come from the states. I'd recommend housing it in a 4U rack for a little extra breathing room as they can generate a fair bit of heat when they're running at 4 ohms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nollaig Posted April 8, 2012 Share Posted April 8, 2012 Help! I just bought an 800RB from pbass67 and I'm having a bit of a time trying to get a step-down transformer rated at 1000w. It's doing my head in that I can't hook it all up yet. I was going to try and get the transformer altered to suit UK voltage but I need to wait until our tech is back from holiday. Polar offer an aftermarket 240v transformer which will probably be the eventual solution but it's £115 so I'll just go with the step down transformer in the short term. Any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WinterMute Posted April 8, 2012 Share Posted April 8, 2012 I used an 800RB through the late 80's into an Ampeg 8x10 and a Trace 4x10, bi-amped. Very nice, clear and powerful, could have used a gain stage in the pre-amp but at the time it was just fine. Lovely amps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucifersam76 Posted November 18, 2012 Share Posted November 18, 2012 I own one of these babies and they rock I have it going through an ampeg 1510 with high rated vintage celestions in it. sweetness. however I do believe that the ones with the vertical on off switches are not 20 years old and were made in the 2000's maybe late 90's. is that 20 years? i don't know but I believe the ones with the horizontal switches are the vintage ones which brings me to a question, are those different? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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