Wish Gallien Krueger 2001RB

DXMG503

DXMG503

Member
I own one, and I also have the schematics for it. It’s in great condition, and I will mail it in if Fractal will model it.

I know there’s so much stuff on the wish list already, and the Fractal guys are super busy, but I think this could really be a good thing! GK is a staple for so many bass players, and so many folks wish they could have their GK on their Fractal, and I would love to contribute to this. I think it would also go a long distance as far as giving bass payers more options in Fractal land too.

The 2001RB is GKs flagship model. It’s got the old classic 800RB sound, and so much more. They don’t make it anymore, unfortunately.
 
Anything for bass is welcome!
I have the GK800 Brainworx vst which is pretty good! Does the 2001 sound the same as the 800?
 
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Bodde said:
Anything for bass is welcome!
I have the GK800 Brainworx vst which is pretty good! Does the 2001 sound the same as the 800?
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I haven't had a chance to A/B them side by side in real life, but GK claims its the same circuit and EQ. IMO they do sound the same. There's a plugin for both, and those sound the same. The larger power amp and included dirty channel in the 2001 would be the only notable differences.
 
DXMG503 said:
I haven't had a chance to A/B them side by side in real life, but GK claims its the same circuit and EQ. IMO they do sound the same. There's a plugin for both, and those sound the same. The larger power amp and included dirty channel in the 2001 would be the only notable differences.
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Ok thanks. The 800 vst is pretty clean. The dual/bi-amp thing confuses me sometimes. That’s a concept not many amps have. Not sure if the original amp also has that or only the vst?
 
Bodde said:
Ok thanks. The 800 vst is pretty clean. The dual/bi-amp thing confuses me sometimes. That’s a concept not many amps have. Not sure if the original amp also has that or only the vst?
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Google the manual for the real amp, and the plugin, and spend some time understanding it. It’s worth it. Took me a while. I have to read it a few times.
 
Man, I spent a few hours last night shooting IRs of this amp and trying to match it in Fractal, and I just can’t get it there. It’s close, but it’s missing something. This thing is so mean and aggressive, and I just can’t get that. And I’m just talking about the preamp section, nvm the power amp in it.
 
I've owned a 1001RB for years, and it's a great sounding amp. In fact, after an excruciating process of weighing options, I sold my SVT Classic all tube head and kept the 1001RB. Wish I'd kept my old 800RB, but I wore that thing out in the 1990s and had to retire it.
A big part of the circuit for drive and harmonic coloration is the BOOST: G.I.V.E (Gate Induced Valve Effect technology).

I do wish Fractal would do a model of the 800RB. In the 1980s I worked in a music store that sold GK and Hartke, and the combination of the 800RB/400RB along with the 2x10 or 4x10 Hartke was very popular. That combination sold themselves if you could afford it. Since there's already the Hartke DynaCabs, it seems to me that the 800RB is a no brainer pairing.

https://medias.audiofanzine.com/files/800rb-service-manual-472053.pdf
 
jimfist said:
I've owned a 1001RB for years, and it's a great sounding amp. In fact, after an excruciating process of weighing options, I sold my SVT Classic all tube head and kept the 1001RB. Wish I'd kept my old 800RB, but I wore that thing out in the 1990s and had to retire it.
A big part of the circuit for drive and harmonic coloration is the BOOST: G.I.V.E (Gate Induced Valve Effect technology).

I do wish Fractal would do a model of the 800RB. In the 1980s I worked in a music store that sold GK and Hartke, and the combination of the 800RB/400RB along with the 2x10 or 4x10 Hartke was very popular. That combination sold themselves if you could afford it. Since there's already the Hartke DynaCabs, it seems to me that the 800RB is a no brainer pairing.

https://medias.audiofanzine.com/files/800rb-service-manual-472053.pdf
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What's your take on the 800 Vs later models like the 1001 and 2001 - do you think they're totally different beasts, or the same with a few additions?
 
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DXMG503 said:
What's your take on the 800 Vs later models like the 2002 and 2001 - do you think they're totally different beasts, or the same with a few additions?
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Only going from memory here, so FWIW. The original 800RB had that trademark GK sound vs. the 1001RB/2001RB, which sound similar, but are less obviously colored tonally. It's never been my expectation that the 1001/2001 were supposed to exactly mimic the 800. GK now makes legacy amps that do just that. In many ways I prefer the 1001RB since it isn't as narrowly focused, tonally.

Comparing the two series is more like comparing siblings as opposed to identical twins. Many similar characteristics, yet just a tad different.
 
jimfist said:
Only going from memory here, so FWIW. The original 800RB had that trademark GK sound vs. the 1001RB/2001RB, which sound similar, but are less obviously colored tonally. It's never been my expectation that the 1001/2001 were supposed to exactly mimic the 800. GK now makes legacy amps that do just that. In many ways I prefer the 1001RB since it isn't as narrowly focused, tonally.

Comparing the two series is more like comparing siblings as opposed to identical twins. Many similar characteristics, yet just a tad different.
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Appreciate it!
 
DXMG503 said:
Man, I spent a few hours last night shooting IRs of this amp and trying to match it in Fractal, and I just can’t get it there. It’s close, but it’s missing something. This thing is so mean and aggressive, and I just can’t get that. And I’m just talking about the preamp section, nvm the power amp in it.
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IRs or ToneMatch?

In either case you're really only going to get the EQ delta from those and not any differences in gain, compression, etc...
 
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