NAD: 1992 Gallien-Krueger 400RB

[ossyrocks]

Erm, I can't really believe this myself, but I'm probably picking up a 400RB MK-I this evening from a member here. There have been crazy coincidences surrounding this, and I still won't believe it until it's in my hands. I'll keep you posted.

 

And yes, I know, I'm hopeless.

 

Rob

[ossyrocks]

Oh dear. This has to stop. I'm done now, unless someone comes up with an 800RB......

 

Back in February @The fasting showman listed a 400RB MKI. It was one here for a while, a couple of months, and at that time, they weren't on my radar. This was before I had heard @shug with his amp at Ribble Valley Jazz & Blues Festival, and I knew I had to try one. Anyway, the amp got withdrawn before it sold.

 

Very late last night I contacted Martin @The fasting showman, to see if he would reconsider his decision to withdraw the amp and sell it to me. "Perhaps" was the answer, but no postage. Then we realised he and his family were coming to stay in a cottage 12 minutes from my house, today!. The heavens aligned, and we met up this evening and the deal was done. We had a bit of a chinwag, much of which was in praise of these amps. @cetera I think Martin is still kicking himself over selling you his 800RB. 

 

So here we are, a MKI, MKII and a MKIII 400RB. I'm so chuffed I can't tell you.

 

Rob

 

[Lozz196]

You’re gonna have one for every day of the week soon Rob (and possibly two for Sunday).

[msb]

They did make four of ‘em.

[The fasting showman]

Nice to meet you Rob, doubtless I'll kick myself for selling it...I'm currently in the where are they now file so glad it'll get used in anger. My 700rb will suffice.

As I was saying, the Backline 600 shares a lot of circuitry and parts with the mk3 and 4, because of their price point they're often neglected and treated as a utility item. If you get a good one they're great amps, often dirt cheap.

[shug]

On 23/08/2024 at 21:30, ossyrocks said:

Oh dear. This has to stop. I'm done now, unless someone comes up with an 800RB......

 

Back in February @The fasting showman listed a 400RB MKI. It was one here for a while, a couple of months, and at that time, they weren't on my radar. This was before I had heard @shug with his amp at Ribble Valley Jazz & Blues Festival, and I knew I had to try one. Anyway, the amp got withdrawn before it sold.

 

Very late last night I contacted Martin @The fasting showman, to see if he would reconsider his decision to withdraw the amp and sell it to me. "Perhaps" was the answer, but no postage. Then we realised he and his family were coming to stay in a cottage 12 minutes from my house, today!. The heavens aligned, and we met up this evening and the deal was done. We had a bit of a chinwag, much of which was in praise of these amps. @cetera I think Martin is still kicking himself over selling you his 800RB. 

 

So here we are, a MKI, MKII and a MKIII 400RB. I'm so chuffed I can't tell you.

 

Rob

 

You're gonna need an 800RB, though...

[ossyrocks]

12 minutes ago, shug said:

You're gonna need an 800RB, though...

I am acutely aware of this fact.

[bremen]

There's suddenly so much online interest in these that the CIA are going to start making enquiries...

 

Looking at the schematic of the 400 preamp (because I'm nosey and I've read this month's Viz), it looks like "flat" eq is with bass and treble at 12 o clock, and the mids both at max. Am I right?

[ossyrocks]

1 minute ago, bremen said:

There's suddenly so much online interest in these that the CIA are going to start making enquiries...

 

Looking at the schematic of the 400 preamp (because I'm nosey and I've read this month's Viz), it looks like "flat" eq is with bass and treble at 12 o clock, and the mids both at max. Am I right?

They don't sound like that to me. Everything at noon seems to be where flat is, when compared with other amps.

[msb]

I found the RB series to have their own voice. And starting with everything at noon was a wonderful place to begin. Probably one of the easiest amps to dial in. 

[bremen]

'flat' always sounds very middle-y on a bass. I think Bob knew that and realised that no-one would want to boost the mids, hence the options are 'flat' or 'cut the mids'.

 

 

[nick]

On 03/09/2024 at 11:21, ossyrocks said:

They don't sound like that to me. Everything at noon seems to be where flat is, when compared with other amps.

Yeah, I find the same with my 400RB

Though I guess what sounds 'flat' can be quite subjective & can depend on choice of cab, room acoustics etc...

Here's the settings that I perceive as 'flat'-ish, at least to my cloth ears with a couple of 12" Vanderkleys.

[ossyrocks]

2 hours ago, nick said:

Yeah, I find the same with my 400RB

Though I guess what sounds 'flat' can be quite subjective & can depend on choice of cab, room acoustics etc...

Here's the settings that I perceive as 'flat'-ish, at least to my cloth ears with a couple of 12" Vanderkleys.

We could, and perhaps should, do a whole thread on eq and gain settings on the RB series of amps.

 

I’m a big fan of higher boost settings, around 2 o’clock is where I’m at, and I’m not playing rock, it’s blues on a P bass with flats.

 

Rob

[Minininjarob]

Just to dredge this up from the archives, I got my 400rb from ossyrocks and eventually I managed to get a GK cx210 cab to go with it for a decent price. 
I also refreshed the 400rb, respraying the cover plate black, touching up the white decals that had scratched off and popping it into a SKB flight case. 
Oh my it sounds glorious. Even into a 8ohm cab it has plenty of volume as far as I can tell.
I need another cx210 cab to make a 4x10 4ohm stack now. 

Total outlay on GK gear now £610. 400rb, cx210 and MB112mk2. So so cheap! 

Edited Thursday at 09:44 by Minininjarob

[Minininjarob]

On 03/09/2024 at 11:18, bremen said:

There's suddenly so much online interest in these that the CIA are going to start making enquiries...

The military will be called in when someone first cranks one of GKs new 2001rbs up. 

[ossyrocks]

An 800RB arrived here today!

[BassmanPaul]

I bought an 800RB via Ebay that needed servicing. What arrived was a pile of junk. Blown power amp, chassis parts missing. Naturally the seller was no longer on the site so I was stuck. I decided that all I could salvage was the pre-amp. I intend to drive one of my other power amps with it. One day I'll get round to doing the conversion work! LOL

 

[cetera]

2 hours ago, ossyrocks said:

An 800RB arrived here today!

Congrats! The holy grail 💜💜💜

[Minininjarob]

Well I couldn’t say no to that price. 

[Minininjarob]

Polar have slashed the prices on all the old GK parts so get in there quick. 

[bremen]

4 minutes ago, Minininjarob said:

Well I couldn’t say no to that price. 

Do they have any more?

[Minininjarob]

7 minutes ago, bremen said:

Do they have any more?

Check eBay, I doubt it tbh. 

[bremen]

Yes. I had a look. Was tempted by a power supply/power amp board but I have food and drugs to buy first.

[The fasting showman]

5 hours ago, Minininjarob said:

Polar have slashed the prices on all the old GK parts so get in there quick. 

I just got another 700rb power amp module for £30 and a preamp for £15.

Repairers can't seem to be bothered with fixing them so it's a good backup. 

 

I've used my old 700rb for 10 years so they work for me, small enough and more than loud enough so if I can keep it working myself, all good. 

 

Thanks for the heads up

Edited 14 hours ago by The fasting showman
Poor syntax!