Gallien krueger legacy 800 - loud buzz?

[Bassy]

Hi I have just got a legacy 800 but there's a couple of things annoying me. The amp sounds great, but it is being affected by lighting on a dimmer switch. There's a loud buzzing when I take my hand off the bass? Other lights don't affect it? Is this normal with the legacy amps, my old 800rb didn't do this?
Another smaller problem is that the on/off switch seems to be loose, it tightens when clicked on, but rattles when off. Seems strange as all the other switches a well engineered.
Could anyone let me know if this a normal across the new GK amps or do I have a dud?
Other than these problems, the amp seems great, I can't believe the volume I can get out of it and it closely sounds like my old 800rb.
Thanks!

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

With passives and even some actives you always get noise when you take your hands off the strings. Most of the time it isn't much, but when you have a dodgy power situation it can be a lot. Chances are it's not the amp at fault, it's the dimmer, although some amps have less power line noise rejection than others. 

[Bassy]

I have never had this problem with other amps. I was wondering if it is just the GK legacy amps that do this?

 

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

If it was common with them it would have been reported long ago. An internal fault is always a possibility.

[Bassy]

OK I'll go back to the store and ask. Thanks for your reply.

[BassmanPaul]

@Bassy Let us know how this all turns out please. It will add to the current knowledge base.

[BillyBass]

I have a Legacy 800.  Noise when playing certain basses has occurred, but after shielding said basses all was good.  

 

I am an electrician and as a consequence of my work experience, there are no dimmer switches in my house.  

 

Overall, I am very impressed with my GK amps; they are well made and sound great.

[Brucegill]

I’ve got the same amp, no odd noise issues and I have a dimmer still in this room, though only ever on full I guess. Also the switch is solid unlike how you describe. It’s been faultless, sounds great too. I’m moving mine on, but only as I’ve got a Baby Sumo on the way to use with my preamp of choice - seems overkill to just use the power amp side - otherwise it would stay! 

[Bassy]

I swapped the amp over at the shop. Tried both amps in the store no difference, both were quiet no buzz? Brought the new amp home and there was no buzzing with the dimmer light. No idea if the original amp was faulty, but the replacement is quiet. Excellent sound, really nice eq and great preamp switching options. It's also super loud!

[BassmanPaul]

I'm glad you got your problem sorted.

[ReeV0]

On 29/12/2023 at 15:17, BillyBass said:

I have a Legacy 800.  Noise when playing certain basses has occurred, but after shielding said basses all was good.  

 

I am an electrician and as a consequence of my work experience, there are no dimmer switches in my house.  

 

Overall, I am very impressed with my GK amps; they are well made and sound great.

What's wrong with dimmer switches?

[BillyBass]

17 hours ago, ReeV0 said:

What's wrong with dimmer switches?

I regularly replace dimmer switches that are either faulty or, with LED bulbs, just don't work very well.  Simple on-off rocker switches normally last for decades.

 

I also regularly replace dimmer switches designed for use with halogen or tungsten filament bulbs as nowadays you can pretty much only buy LED bulbs in your local supermarket and most people aren't aware that they won't work well with their existing dimmer switch.  If you google 'leading edge and trailing edge dimmers' you will get an understanding why.  Even so, trailing edge dimmers will not dim an LED anywhere near as well as the old leading edge dimmers could dim a halogen bulb.  A diode is a gate, it is either on or off but technology has provided us with dimmers for them; perhaps in a few years time we will have dimmers that actually work well with them, as in dim from 100% down to 0% with no strobing.

 

If there was a fan club for lovers of on-off rocker light switches, I would join.

[Bassy]

17 hours ago, BillyBass said:

I regularly replace dimmer switches that are either faulty or, with LED bulbs, just don't work very well.  Simple on-off rocker switches normally last for decades.

 

I also regularly replace dimmer switches designed for use with halogen or tungsten filament bulbs as nowadays you can pretty much only buy LED bulbs in your local supermarket and most people aren't aware that they won't work well with their existing dimmer switch.  If you google 'leading edge and trailing edge dimmers' you will get an understanding why.  Even so, trailing edge dimmers will not dim an LED anywhere near as well as the old leading edge dimmers could dim a halogen bulb.  A diode is a gate, it is either on or off but technology has provided us with dimmers for them; perhaps in a few years time we will have dimmers that actually work well with them, as in dim from 100% down to 0% with no strobing.

 

If there was a fan club for lovers of on-off rocker light switches, I would join.

😀

[tauzero]

On 04/01/2024 at 23:27, ReeV0 said:

What's wrong with dimmer switches?

 

Not all dimmer switches are made to control LEDs, and not all LED bulbs can be controlled by dimmer switches. Plus (critically for audio) they can generate a lot of electrical noise. They work by cutting out part of the duty cycle from the mains waveform, so a leading edge dimmer doesn't let the first part of each half-cycle through, a trailing edge dimmer doesn't let the last part through. What proportion is let through determines the brightness of the light.

[Mark6]

I am currently looking for a new bass head and the GK Legacy 800 is my first choice but I’ve read a number of posts two to three years ago about “white noise” coming through the rig even if the bass is not connected. Has this issue been resolved or if not is there another head with the same tone?

[BassmanPaul]

White noise is a product of all active electronics. Some folk are more sensitive to it than others. Same goes for fan noise. In reality, on stage, neither would be audible. 

 

[BassManGraham]

I have a GK Legacy 1200 and a GK Legacy 800. I love the GK sound, and these seem amongst the most powerful (i.e. super loud) Class D amps I have used. I regularly use a range of amps including Mesa Subway, Markbass, Genz Benz, Hartke, Quilter, GR, & old Trace Elliots. I do find that the GKs seem the most susceptible to extraneous noises, particularly mobile phones in close proximity. I often trim down the treble and high mids as the GKs can be quite bright anyway.

[cetera]

22 hours ago, Mark6 said:

I am currently looking for a new bass head and the GK Legacy 800 is my first choice but I’ve read a number of posts two to three years ago about “white noise” coming through the rig even if the bass is not connected. Has this issue been resolved or if not is there another head with the same tone?

 

Never had an issue with mine.

[Mark6]

A lot of good information, thanks for responding!

[Chrisan2]

To add to the knowledge base, my new gk 800s fusion has a slight twist in its chassis and doesn’t sit on all 4 feet. I was at a shop recently and checked out a 1200s and a legacy 800 , and they both had the same problem! 
Anyone else notice this? 

[cetera]

No, mine is fine!

[BillyBass]

I have both the Fusion 1200 and the Legacy 800, no chassis issues, or any other issues for that matter.  Fine heads both of them.

[patrikmarky]

On 17/12/2023 at 14:58, Bassy said:

 

 

Edited July 12, 2024 by patrikmarky

[BassAdder60]

I had one and it was a great amp but I didn’t gel with the very mid focused EQ 

Build quality was very good but I suspect there are duff ones around like everything. Send it back under warranty if only 5months old