Nate Dort wrote: Mon Jun 26, 2023 1:06 pm The direct out 1/4 on the earlier 400RB is unbalanced. It's just a padded-down version of the speaker output signal, so it runs through the power stage and then gets attenuated. This is different than the 800RB, which is a balanced signal tapped from the preamp section.

Cross-posting this here for historical ref info down the road for any 400RB owners. The "direct out" jack is not at all a DI as some folks (not here) have misinformed me in the in the past so don't tell the sound guy or recording engineer that it is, they may take you at your word.

That's not to say it doesn't sound good because I don't know/can't verify, but if you want to try it, it should go into a DI from there with a 1/4" patch cable and not a 1/4" to XLR adapter.

Anyone had this 400RB issue?

A few times recently the switch wouldn't power it on. The first thing I look at is the fuse, so I unplug the power cord from the amp, inspect the fuse, and it seems to be ok. So I put the fuse back, plug it back in, and it powers up fine (albeit with the loud GK pop that seems to be common). Any ideas?

Bad power switch. Some deoxit or other contact cleaner would probably help, albeit temporarily.

or maybe an oxided contact in the fuse holder. Again, deoxit.

Garth wrote: Fri Jun 30, 2023 3:05 pm

Nate Dort wrote: Mon Jun 26, 2023 1:06 pm The direct out 1/4 on the earlier 400RB is unbalanced. It's just a padded-down version of the speaker output signal, so it runs through the power stage and then gets attenuated. This is different than the 800RB, which is a balanced signal tapped from the preamp section.

Cross-posting this here for historical ref info down the road for any 400RB owners. The "direct out" jack is not at all a DI as some folks (not here) have misinformed me in the in the past so don't tell the sound guy or recording engineer that it is, they may take you at your word.

That's not to say it doesn't sound good because I don't know/can't verify, but if you want to try it, it should go into a DI from there with a 1/4" patch cable and not a 1/4" to XLR adapter.

Just wanted to update this: Wowsa played at Bell's last week and Chafe uses a 400RB so I got a chance to just pigtail out of the back w/ a small pedal cable into a DI.

Sounded great, way better than the DI out on the considerably more expensive Mark Bass amps. Those come through a lot and those amps are ubiquitous enough, it makes me understand better maybe why people think they hate bass DI sound when it could just be a crap DI they've been using. A decent one like a Radial can go a long way to getting a good direct sound.

OP here. I used my 800RB at band rehearsal yesterday after spending some time tweaking EQ settings. It sounded fine, maybe a little less low end than my Fender head but a bit more clarity.

So it seemed sensible that I stop by the local MGR and purchase a 400RB, which I did. Looking forward to trying it next practice.

In the meantime I'm interested in any hot tips re: cabs. I currently have a 4x10 and a 1x15 (Fender) but wouldn't an 8x10 be fun? Or maybe something else, you tell me.

Also most of the gray knob caps are missing so I need those, or some cool replacement knobs like chickenheads or skulls or pentagrams.

ErikG wrote: Mon Apr 29, 2024 4:44 pm OP here. I used my 800RB at band rehearsal yesterday after spending some time tweaking EQ settings. It sounded fine, maybe a little less low end than my Fender head but a bit more clarity.

So it seemed sensible that I stop by the local MGR and purchase a 400RB, which I did. Looking forward to trying it next practice.

In the meantime I'm interested in any hot tips re: cabs. I currently have a 4x10 and a 1x15 (Fender) but wouldn't an 8x10 be fun? Or maybe something else, you tell me.

Also most of the gray knob caps are missing so I need those, or some cool replacement knobs like chickenheads or skulls or pentagrams.

IMO 8x10 is fun, but often just a little bit too much fun to fit in every vehicle you want it to. For this reason, the mecca is the 6x10.

You may find the 400rB has at first blush 'more' low end . I have both, and either is just fine for most anything I do, but once I got used to how the 800 works I do prefer it.

TylerDeadPine wrote: Mon Apr 29, 2024 5:39 pm

ErikG wrote: Mon Apr 29, 2024 4:44 pm OP here. I used my 800RB at band rehearsal yesterday after spending some time tweaking EQ settings. It sounded fine, maybe a little less low end than my Fender head but a bit more clarity.

So it seemed sensible that I stop by the local MGR and purchase a 400RB, which I did. Looking forward to trying it next practice.

In the meantime I'm interested in any hot tips re: cabs. I currently have a 4x10 and a 1x15 (Fender) but wouldn't an 8x10 be fun? Or maybe something else, you tell me.

Also most of the gray knob caps are missing so I need those, or some cool replacement knobs like chickenheads or skulls or pentagrams.

IMO 8x10 is fun, but often just a little bit too much fun to fit in every vehicle you want it to. For this reason, the mecca is the 6x10.

You may find the 400rB has at first blush 'more' low end . I have both, and either is just fine for most anything I do, but once I got used to how the 800 works I do prefer it.

I haven't tried it at practice yet but playing the 400rb in our rehearsal space I was struck by how round it sounded vs the 800rb.

And I don't think lack of power will be an issue. Little fella gets plenty loud.

I've had several GK800RBs and they are my favorite bass amp. I've not spent a lot of time with the 400, but 200 watts is probably enough, depending on your cabinet and the music you're playing. I played my 800 in Fake Limbs with an Eminence Delta 15a in a wide, ported Emperor cabinet, and that was plenty. Its got an awesome growl when you push it (I also have hot wired p-bass pickups). I recall playing a 400rb through a smaller cab and not really liking it, but that was a very limited experience.

There's a GK800RB amp sim on Plugin Alliance that is spot on and relatively cheap. Sometimes you can pick it up for $29. GK also makes their own amp sim and IR cabinet modeler that looks great. I have yet to try it, since I have the GK800 from Plugin Alliance and plenty of cab sims, but I am curious to try it out. I don't remember all the amps that GK has in their suite, but I don't think the 400 was in there.

There's also a GK amp pedal that supposedly gets the 800 sound (and two other of their amps). It's a mixed bag all around, from what I've read. If there truly is a GK800 amp pedal that sounds like the real thing, I'm gonna be all over it.

I'm really amazed though that they've nearly tripled in price. I recall buying my last one online at Music Go Round for under $300, probably 9 or 10 years ago. Now, I'm seeing them sell above $800. I saw that GK had stopped making a lot of their solid state gear very recently. Their offerings are much slimmer, and I think there was an amp they had that could do the GK800 sound, but that was one of the discontinued models. I can't recall why they did this, my guess is that they're going more in the direction of class D and amp sims. Even still, the GK has been discontinued since 2012, though I thought it was discontinued in the 90s because I've only ever bought used ones.

As far as sound goes, the GK is one of the best solid state bass amps I've played .The 800 can sound beefy and clean, or growly and mid-rangy... it's pretty versatile. The closest thing that came to it was a Traynor Monoblock. I really love getting that sub low end with a fat, growly top end. It's just... chef's kiss. They take pedals well, I liked using a Klon and a Super Hardon to give it more punch when needed. The Super Hardon would really push up the full range, the amp almost felt like a bomb ready to explode, it was amazing. The Klon brightened up the top end. I'm sure a muff or some kind of hard clipper would also sound amazing.

cakes wrote: Tue Apr 30, 2024 9:37 am There's a GK800RB amp sim on Plugin Alliance that is spot on

It's really really good. Record DI bass, put that thing on it, immediately it sits in the mix like a bass is supposed to.

cakes wrote: Tue Apr 30, 2024 9:37 am
I'm really amazed though that they've nearly tripled in price. I recall buying my last one online at Music Go Round for under $300, probably 9 or 10 years ago. Now, I'm seeing them sell above $800.

I think $800+ is an extreme outlier. $500 is about the average recently: https://reverb.com/marketplace?query=80 ... _at%7Cdesc

The highest price shown for a sold listing on Reverb is $799.99, and that included a road case and free shipping.

I don't disagree that the prices have gone up over the past few years, but I always thought these things were kinda underpriced at $300 back in the day. Bob Gallien said himself somewhere that they barely made any profit on the 800RB because of how expensive they were to produce, which is why they went to the 700RB.