Gallien-Krueger Bass Amplifiers from the New RB Legacy Series
Two types of amplifiers from Gallien-Krueger, eagerly awaited by many players, are hitting the European market. These amplifiers belong to the premium RB Legacy edition, which the manufacturer describes as follows: "Our goal was to create a new standard in bass amplification. After 5 years of design work, 20 revisions, and thousands of hours in the lab, we've created an unrivalled analogue bass amplifier. Unprecedented performance, studio quality sound, boundless features, punch that never quits, indestructible analogue power, and a metal enclosure machined to perfection. The 1001RB and 2001 RB Legacy achieves everything we set out to do and more. This is the new standard of excellence for the modern professional bass player."
The RB Legacy models were designed by company founder and president Bob Gallien. They reflect his more than 50 years of expertise and dedication to his craft. Gallien's commitment to innovation and improvement has not only left a lasting impact on the world of modern bass amplifiers but has also raised the bar for what a well-designed and well-built bass rig can achieve. The RB Legacy lays the foundation for a new era of professional audio equipment and aims to satisfy the needs of even the most demanding players, whether on the road, in the studio, or at home.
Both rack-mounted amps, first shown at this year's NAMM music trade show in Anaheim, feature a solid-state design and a Class H power amp with two power supplies – one for lower output levels and one for higher output levels. These amplifiers are designed for loud playing, and thanks to this configuration, not only is their reliability increased, but it is also possible to play at full power without the device overheating or losing dynamic range.
Many amplifiers start to run out of power once they reach their maximum output, but the RB Legacy supplies the circuits in question with almost twice the current needed to reach peak performance. This allows the player to maintain control over their tone even in extreme conditions. Without this additional capacity, the sound could lack punch or definition. Even when playing really loud, the RB Legacy produces a stable, powerful and solid tone.
The RB Legacy edition is equipped with a proprietary active four-band equaliser with a variable Q parameter, the controls are arranged in series so that they do not add or interfere with frequencies that would compromise the resulting sound but instead offer an exceptionally wide range for setting almost any tone. In addition to the EQ, a trio of toggle switches can be used for further filtering, completely retuning the amplifier's voicing without affecting its volume: Bump adds roundness and volume, Contour emphasises highs and lows while reducing mids and Presence adds a sheen to the upper mids.
The preamp section uses two stages configured to optimise the G.I.V.E. (Gate Induced Valve Effect) effect, i.e. the tube-like grit first introduced in the RB 800 model. It can be set to either fatten your sound or create a saturated overdrive. In addition to the traditional Drive and Volume controls, there is also an Edge tone control and a Boost switch.
The input circuit is connected to a sensitivity potentiometer (Pad -25 to 0 dB) for optimising operation with active or passive instruments. The overall volume is controlled by the Master control, and there is also a Mute switch and a new adjustable limiter to help tame excessive signal peaks, reduce unwanted transients and prevent unwanted distortion.
It features switchable cabinet emulation, a DI Out XLR connector with Pre/Post selection and configurable ground switch, a mini-jack Aux In, a tuner jack, send/return effects loops, a boost footswitch input, 2x SpeakON (1001RB) or 6x SpeakON (2001 RB), and a headphone output with its own Class A amplifier inspired by high-end studio headphone amplifiers and compatible with transducers with an impedance range from 8 to 300 ohms.
Maximum output and prices
A more compact version of the GK 1001RB: burst 1000 W / 2 ohms, 700 W / 4 ohms, standard 600 W RMS / 2 ohms, 400 W RMS / 4 ohms, 300 W RMS / 8 ohms. Price: approx. 1900 euros.
Larger version GK 2001RB with dual power amp: bridge (burst) 2000 W / 4 ohms, standard 1200 W RMS / 4 ohms, 800 W RMS / 8 ohms, dual mono power (burst) 2x 1000 W / 2 ohms, 2x 700 W / 4 ohms, standard 2x 600 W RMS / 2 ohms, 2x 400 W RMS / 4 ohms, 2x 300 W RMS / 8 ohms. Estimated price: approx. 2660 euros.
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