New Gallien Krueger Legacy heads

[tvickey]

Yeah, it sounds pretty good so far... but the neighbors definitely wouldn't be loving it fully cranked... so headed out of the house this evening to do just that.  

[tvickey]

This was my setup for the Legacy 800 test... in addition to doubling up my hearing protection!  I did turn the volume all the way up at some point.  Crazy loud, but the head does indeed sound excellent.

[dave_bass5]

So how's everyone getting on with their Legacy heads? Must admit I'm very close to buying one. would like the 800 to replace my MB800, but feel the 500 will be enough for now. 

[dannybuoy]

They've just announced a new Fusion S line with tube preamps also:

https://www.gallien-krueger.com/fusion-s-heads

 

Edited January 28, 2020 by dannybuoy

[dave_bass5]

Yeah, already a thread  about that. There is also a tube version coming with tube compressor in it. 

[cetera]

15 hours ago, dave_bass5 said:

So how's everyone getting on with their Legacy heads? Must admit I'm very close to buying one. would like the 800 to replace my MB800, but feel the 500 will be enough for now. 

 

I'm loving my Legacy800!

Fantastic punchy tones, authority/heft (lol!) and the ability to add a little grind if needed.Back off my tone or use flats and I have clear, solid traditional tones.

Since using it 'live' I've had nothing but compliments - from audience members and sound crew alike. Apparently I'm cutting through 2 guitars, keys, drums and four vocals with ease..... though this is probably as much to do with my use of Spectors as the GK...

I'd recommend spending the little extra on the 800 rather than the 500. You can never have too much headroom or power and the 800 provides as much as you'd likely ever need (as well as going down to 2 ohms).

Edited January 29, 2020 by cetera

[Al Krow]

@dave_bass5strongly recommended you follow @cetera's excellent advice. I certainly did! 

 

 

...and get a Spector 😁

 

[dave_bass5]

34 minutes ago, cetera said:

 

I'm loving my Legacy800!

Fantastic punchy tones, authority/heft (lol!) and the ability to add a little grind if needed.Back off my tone or use flats and I have clear, solid traditional tones.

Since using it 'live' I've had nothing but compliments - from audience members and sound crew alike. Apparently I'm cutting through 2 guitars, keys, drums and four vocals with ease..... though this is probably as much to do with my use of Spectors as the GK...

I'd recommend spending the little extra on the 800 rather than the 500. You can never have too much headroom or power and the 800 provides as much as you'd likely ever need (as well as going down to 2 ohms).

Thanks, thats not what i wanted to hear lol.

Ive never played a RB800, although do use the sim in my Helix at home. Had a RB1001-Ii for a while but cant remember what that sounded like. I do love my MB800 but feel something a bit thicker might be better for me. Not after the GK grind so much, but i love how they have that kick to them, even when playing Motown stuff.  Ive read a few comments about the treble being quite bright, but i guess thats why we have a knob to tame it.

After i posted last night i read some reviews on the 500 and realised its not a 500watt in to 4ohms head like it seems, so yes, its the 800 or nothing.

[cetera]

35 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

...and get a Spector 😁

 

He's right you know....

 

[cetera]

23 minutes ago, dave_bass5 said:

I've read a few comments about the treble being quite bright, but i guess thats why we have a knob to tame it.

 

Indeed, they are inherently quite trebley. I usually have to cut the treble on mine.... but then Spectors are bright and grindy...
No lack of low end on tap though with the bass/lo-mid controls and bass boost switch.

[Al Krow]

9 minutes ago, cetera said:

.... but then Spectors are bright and grindy...

Yup, as an example outstanding sales pitch for our beloved brand, can't see how that's gonna fail to nail it.

😁

[dave_bass5]

5 minutes ago, cetera said:

 

He's right you know....

 

I did some research over Christmas on the Spector's but didnt really find anything i liked in my price bracket. Not too keen on over bright tones, especially because i play with a pick and dont like the extra fret buzz i tend to get when i dig in. Never say never though.....

2 minutes ago, cetera said:

 

Indeed, they are inherently quite trebley. I usually have to cut the treble on mine.... but then Spectors are bright and grindy...
No lack of low end on tap though with the bass/lo-mid controls and bass boost switch.

Good to know it can be tamed.

[stoo]

1 hour ago, dave_bass5 said:

After i posted last night i read some reviews on the 500 and realised its not a 500watt in to 4ohms head like it seems, so yes, its the 800 or nothing.

According to their manual from https://www.gallien-krueger.com/legacy-heads it's not really 500W at any impedance... unless the 300W @ 2ohm is a typo... which probably makes sense. 

And... the 1200 doesn't appear to be any more powerful than the 800 unless you're using 2 cabs, with at least one of those being a 4 ohm. There doesn't seem to be any mention of a stereo effects loop return, so the 1200 looks to be a pretty weird proposition. I guess it's not a massive price jump over the 800 but how many folk are likely to be using 2x 4ohm cabs big enough to benefit from >400W each and yet still want a dinky amp head? Am I missing something here?

Quote

 

Output Power:

Legacy 500:
190W @ 1% THD+N, 8Ω
300W @ 1% THD+N, 4Ω
450W @ 1% THD+N, 2.7Ω
300W @ 1% THD+N, 2Ω

Legacy 800:
400W @ 1% THD+N, 8Ω
800W @ 1% THD+N, 4Ω
800W @ 1% THD+N, 2.7Ω
800W @ 1% THD+N, 2Ω

Legacy 1200:

1 CHANNEL:
400W @ 1% THD+N, 8Ω
800W @ 1% THD+N, 4Ω

2 CHANNEL:
800W TOTAL @ 1 %THD+N, 8Ω PER CHANNEL
1200W TOTAL @ 1%THD+N 4Ω PER CHANNEL.
950W TOTAL @1%THD+N 4Ω ON ONE CHANNEL 8Ω ON THE OTHER CHANNEL

 

 

[dave_bass5]

Yeah. According to the designer the 500 was designed to closely mimic the RB800 that its based on. As that's only 400watts (i believe) i can see the point. you can push the head harder at lower volume. Still very confusing though.

Edited January 29, 2020 by dave_bass5

[casapete]

40 minutes ago, dave_bass5 said:

Yeah. According to the designer the 500 was designed to closely mimic the RB800 that its based on. As that's only 400watts (i believe) i can see the point. you can push the push it harder at lower volume. Still very confusing though.

The 800RB is 400 watts, but runs 300w into 4 ohms for the main amp and a separate 100w into 8 ohms amp for the high end if you’re using it that way. Mine has always sounded like it’s got enough headroom, and is second only to my old SVT rig on my list of favourite amps I’ve owned. Still really fancy trying the new Legacy stuff though!

Hope you’re enjoying the MB200 too Dave. 😊

[dave_bass5]

2 minutes ago, casapete said:

The 800RB is 400 watts, but runs 300w into 4 ohms for the main amp and a separate 100w into 8 ohms amp for the high end if you’re using it that way. Mine has always sounded like it’s got enough headroom, and is second only to my old SVT rig on my list of favourite amps I’ve owned. Still really fancy trying the new Legacy stuff though!

Hope you’re enjoying the MB200 too Dave. 😊

Cheers Pete. Yep, the MB200 is working well, and has made me realise my tone is in the GK world. Not had to push the gain over noon yet, and thats keeping up with a guitarist who uses ear plugs and a tube head in to a 4x12 cab at rehearsals. God help us lol,.

[Al Krow]

I think there's a typo Dave on the Legacy 500 spec you quoted. 

If it's 300W at 4ohms and 450W at 2.7ohms then 500W at 2ohms is very plausible.

Needs to be paired with two 4ohm cabs to deliver that 2ohm load, so entirely feasible. 

Edited January 29, 2020 by Al Krow

[dave_bass5]

22 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

I think there's a typo Dave on the Legacy 500 spec you quoted. 

If it's 300W at 4ohms and 450W at 2.7ohms then 500W at 2ohms is very plausible.

Needs to be paired with two 4ohm cabs to deliver that 2ohm load, so entirely feasible. 

This is what Robert Gallien says about the 500. Bottom line, i cant get 500watts in to my CN212 so the end result is the same as i said above. I didn't post that chart though.

I want to talk about the Legacy 500 concept. From the beginning of this project I wanted to bring out a model that had similar specs to the 800RB. We haven't had an amp like the 800RB since it went out of production so this is what I was aiming for. The 800RB put 300W into 4 Ohms from one side and 100W into 8 Ohms from the other side. Total output power was 400W but it took a 4 Ohm cabinet and an 8 Ohm cabinet. Very few people used the 100W side so mostly it was used as a 300W amplifier. As it turns out 300W is a very good power level when you want to use the rails and that is where a lot of the GK growl comes from. When you have more power, the levels get really loud when you go into the rails so 300W is kind of a sweet spot. When the Legacy 500 is loaded to the same max as the 800RB you will get 450W which is a little more than the 800RB. The 300W rating into 4 Ohms is at 1% which when compared to other amplifiers whose ratings are based on 5% or even 10% it will seem more powerful than it's rating. This has been a common comment regarding GK amplifiers, that they seem much louder than the rating.
I am very interested in your comments regarding your new head, and I hope it delivers what you are looking for.

[dave_bass5]

Just ordered the 800 from Andertons. Should be here on Friday. Won't get to use it with a cab until next Tuesday though. Hope its going to be ‘the one’. 

[tvickey]

I'm taking my GK Legacy 800 into the recording studio with me at the end of February.  I'll give a go at using the low-Z out, as well as putting a mic on a cabinet.  We'll see how that goes! 

[tvickey]

29 minutes ago, dave_bass5 said:

Just ordered the 800 from Andertons. Should be here on Friday. Won't get to use it with a cab until next Tuesday though. Hope its going to be ‘the one’. 

Which cabinet did you choose?

Edited January 29, 2020 by tvickey

[dave_bass5]

38 minutes ago, tvickey said:

Which cabinet did you choose?

Ill be using it with my 4 ohms Berg CN212. More than enough for any gig ill be doing without PA support (pretty much 100% of them). 

This head is replacing the MB800 for gigs, but ill continue to user my MB200 for rehearsals. 

[tvickey]

5 minutes ago, dave_bass5 said:

Ill be using it with my 4 ohms Berg CN212. More than enough for any gig ill be doing without PA support (pretty much 100% of them). 

This head is replacing the MB800 for gigs, but ill continue to user my MB200 for rehearsals. 

The headphone input is really convenient too... if I'm at home and don't want to bother the fam while I jam away.

[dave_bass5]

9 minutes ago, tvickey said:

The headphone input is really convenient too... if I'm at home and don't want to bother the fam while I jam away.

Must admit I don’t use any amps at home, so this won’t be a feature ill ever use. Same goes for my MB800 and Fender Rumble. For me I’d need a cab sim built in to the head to bother with the headphone out, although i do get how useful  it can be for others who don’t have something like a Helix or Zoom etc. 

 

[cetera]

13 hours ago, dave_bass5 said:

Ill be using it with my 4 ohms Berg CN212. More than enough for any gig ill be doing without PA support (pretty much 100% of them). 

This head is replacing the MB800 for gigs, but ill continue to user my MB200 for rehearsals. 

 

Congrats on the purchase! I use mine through a 600W 4ohm Genz Benz Neox 2x12 and my Master Volume barely creeps above 9 - 10am!