Gallien-Krueger 200RCB

First of all, I'm a keyboard player kicking bass in a general business band. We go out as a 4-7 piece band. I use a Korg X-50 keyboard to do bass exclusively. My son (a bass player) shows up with the 200RCB one day and discards it in favor of his GK 800RB.
I tried out the 200RCB on a gig with a Roland powered sub as a back-up. I used 2 single 15" cabs and could not believe it could hold up to the band in smaller- medium venues. The limit light ends up comming on in the last couple dance sets, but never overheats. I love the eq and overall punchy sound. For 100 watts, its amazing.

Sound is full, round, punchy, flexable eq.

I use to sell these back in the 80's at a music store... I can't believe I'm giging with this over 20 years later. I always end up driving the amp till the limit light comes on and NEVER yet had a problem with it. So far SOLID.

Tried to get "normal original" sides for the amp cause it came with rack ears, but after 20 years of being discontinued... I ended up bending in the rack ears which actually protects the knobs now!

Considering I'm permenantly borrowing this from my son, and it continues to perform fine, I'm very happy with it.

First of all, I have to say I'm a keyboard player doing left hand bass for a G.B. band. My son aquired this 200RCB from the originals band he is working with. It was a discarded piece since they play loud and it won't keep up. That being said, I tried it with 2 single 15" cabs of my own design and was amazed how much bass it pumped. So I tried it with the GB band along with another bass amp to be safe and I had more than enough bass. You should know that the GB band I work with uses 1000 watts for vocal and brass PA. I use a Yamaha Motif with a 500 watt Yamaha powered mixer. Guitarist a Fender Twin. Most gigs I only use the 200RCB thru 2 single 15 cabs with a Korg X50 doing bass exclusively. By the end of the gig the limit light is comming on regularly so I'm using all it has but that is not bad for a 100 watt lightweight!

The sound and eq works very well for me as a keyboard player doing left hand bass. When I need more deep bass, I can get it with the eq.

This amp has been around for 20 years. I've only used it for about a year and never had a problem. I run it loud and hot constantly by the last 2 sets of a gig and it's never failed me.

I tried to order the original sides for this since it came to me with rack ears only.... GK has been out of production on this piece for many years so needless to say no more stock of sides with handles.

I never expected this amp to do as well as it has, a real surprise to me. No complaints on this end, especially since it's on permenant loan from my son. Thanks!

this is a cool little a poor mans walter woods with a chorus effect its nice to carry around its so lightweight but this is where all the fun ends so read on not enough power for a loud band

the sound is quite clean and the chorus is good for a built in

now for the BAD NEWS! this amp is a total piece of KRAP! & from now on i will label gk gallien-KRAPOUT! these guys need to take lessons from peavey ampeg swr fender &the best acoustic control & learn what the word reiable means i opened this up & got all this stikey white crap all over hands whats this all about!

ive been a bassist for 15+ years classic rock mostly ive used everything cheap stuff high end vintage etc etc etc i think its sick that bass amp makers like gk put out great sounding gear that cant hold up just because something is high dollar doesnt mean its good ihave a $35 rogue rb20 that souns crap but still running strong 2 yrs later the only thing good about this rcb 200 is i can chuck it 10 yards with one hand! i hear the promblems with the backline series so folks beware the curse of the gallien-KRAPOUT!

Hello there reader!

I took up bass guitar (again) in 1992, jamming with others my age (40+ y.o.). I first took up playing bass in a band while in high school in the late sixties, playing a Japanese beatle bass copy through a Fender or Sunn style tube head that I built in my high-school electronics shop, a a 2-15" Fender-styled cabinet that the rhythm-guitar player and I built in his Dad's workshop.

Today, I also play guitar, but bass is what I play in jams and gigs with others. My regular gig is playing bass guitar in our church on Sundays (along with two to three guitars, a grand piano, drums, and four singers).
I also do soundman duties for our church gig and a small electric rock & roll dance band and I have some PA gear to support this hobby.

Three years ago I downsized from new gear I bought in 1992: a Peavey Mark III head with a Peavey 1516 cabinet (donated it to my son's middle school) to a new Gallien-Krueger MB-150S Microbass combo with the matching 1-12" aluminum-housing speaker cabinet (MX112). For bigger gigs, I leave the metal extension cabinet at home and pack a GK Backline 115 cabinet (60-lbs with factory caster wheels). This is a great basic cabinet for the money ($259 on sale).

For my church gig I use the <<G-K 200RCB>> to drive a custom-made 1-15" front-ported bass reflex cabinet, loaded with an older Fender 4-ohm (Emminence, stamped steel frame) speaker.

I got this 4-ohm speaker in exchange for my Emminence 150-watt 8-ohm speaker from the middle school band room when I heard from the band teacher that the Traynor head - Fender folded-horn enclosure combination they were using for keyboards was cutting out intermittently. The Traynor head was designed for an 8-ohm minimum load so I believed it was overheating and cutting out when driving the Fender 4-ohm rated folded-horn. This turned out to be a win-win trade and the teacher was pleased that I did the speaker swap & installation for him.

I like the sound of the <<200RCB>> + 1-15" 4-ohm loaded cabinet better than this head driving a 1-15" 8-ohm loaded cabinet. There just isn't enough power unless a 4-ohm speaker is used. I guess perhaps 70-watts maximum is all that you get at 8-ohms (the <<200RCB>> is rated at 100-watts into 4-ohms). For my ears, the coloration of the <<200RCB>> preamp is too warm (or perhaps even muddy). My current solution is to bypass the <<200RCB>> preamp by patching an ART TubePAC (a rugged direct-box tube preamplier, optical tube compressor) into the effects return of the <<200RCB>>. Since our church is a large, boomy, and acoustically hard space, I find a bit of very smooth and mild compression helps tame the bass transients generated from my fairly heavy-touch, finger-style playing on my 4-string Fender and Warmoth basses.

Since I like a round and articulate bass tone, the Art TubePAC driving the power-amp of the <<Gallien-Krueger 200RCB>> head, driving my Eagle-Works 1-15" front-ported cabinet, is perfect for my church gig. A plus is that this rig is light and portable, since I mounted four plug-in swivel casters on the 1-15" cabinet. So even the guitar player finds it easy too move!

If the <<200RCB>> were ever to need service, I probably would service it before looking for an alternate amplifier. For my other jamming and non-church gigging requirements, I don't think the <<200RCB>> is versatile or powerful enough. The above-mentioned G-K 150MBS driving either the matching G-K MX112 or louder, but bigger, heavier G-K Backline 115BLX has more power and articulation (without having to patch in the ART TubePAC).

For the really big gig that hasn't yet materialized, I've configured a custom 4-space SKB rack system consisting of a one-space rack shelf on which I've silicone-glued: (1) an ART TubeMP OPL (with OPL switched off; my bass guitar feeds this direct box) with its unbalan

1985ish, very versatile, Ive owned about 50 different pro-level bass amps and this thing is really good for all styles. One channel, but xlr and 1/4" outs. has a chorus effect that is ok. 100 watts is usually not that much but this baby seems more gutsy than amps 3 times the wattage.

I use a Beattle bass copy made by Jay turser, great round tone and it can be dialed in for many different sounds. I use it for rock/country and blues. no noise whatsoever. No distortion, very clean amp.

This thing is abour 19 yrs old and still looks and sounds great. I use it as my primary amp.If it had problems I would get it fixed!

n/a, but GK is still around!

Ive been playing for over 20 yrs. I would get another,it is a very neato amp. I like that it is small, loud, and was very reasonably priced. It has more balls than amps three times it's wattage.

The amp was made in 1984, one channel, four band EQ, voicing filters (contour and top boost), limiter and chorus (with adjustable rate and depth). Has an effects loop, wet and dry direct outs, and one speaker/output jack. The amp pushes 100 watts (solid state) into 4 ohms, and weighs only a few pounds (you can literally pick it up with your pinky). There are amps with more features, but amps should be about tone, that is where this one excels.

I use Fernandes basses with EMG pickups and I play everything from metal to classical, depending on who I am jamming with. This amp should suit just about any style that requires good tone. If you have no chops and your idea of a good bass sound is tonal mud with no definition (some people actually like that!!), this is not the amp for you. If you want to play with some articulation and actually hear what you are playing, this amp is the bomb. It can go from tight and crisp to warm and round, and just about anything in between. The EQ is not only four bands, but each knob is VERY responsive, unlike some amps where the difference between 2 and 10 is minimal. It's solid state, but it doesn't have that tinny, cold sound that most solid state amps get. I have a GK 400RB that I've had for 15 years and I have always sworn by that amp as the holy grail of bass amps (unless money is not an issue, in which case there are some dandies that will cost you an arm and a leg). I picked up the 200RCB just so that I could leave one amp in the studio and one at home. My hope was that the RCB would sound good enough to use at home and I would leave the 400RB in the studio. Well, it might just end up the other way around because the 200RCB sounds every bit as good, and maybe even a tad better. The older 400RB's (mine is from 86) are famous for having a very warm sound not usually associated with solid state amps. The 200RCB is even warmer, if you can believe that. As for it only being 100 watts, I thought that might be a problem, but it's every bit as loud as the 400RB, which is twice the wattage. I'm not a big fan of the chorus, but the fact that the rate and depth are adjustable means that if you spend the time to fiddle with it, you should find what you are looking for, I just haven't spent the time to dial in a chorus setting that I'm happy with, but I've never used effects in my bass sound anyways. The limiter is great, it really smooths things out when you get aggressive. If you want aggressive/choppy, leave the limiter off.

I've been using GK gear (both guitar and bass) for years and I've never had a problem. I've had the 400RB for 15 years and haven't even had to change the fuse!! The other GK's that I've owned (or still own) were all bullet proof.

They stopped making this amp a long time ago, so the manual isn't even on the homepage, but they will track down the schematic for you if a repair is ever neccessary. Their homepage is pretty thorough, and they have authorized service centers all over the US.

I've been playing for almost 20 years and I swear by GK's bass gear.
For the money, it's an astounding amp. I've plugged into bass amps that cost a grand that couldn't hang with this little beast. It's so light that when you pick it up, you'd swear it was hollow. These are hard to find, but if you see one in good shape, buy it, you won't be disappointed. If anything happened to it, I'd search high and low for another one.

My GK RCB 200 was made in 1986 as noted on rear panel. I purchased it used from a reputable store in 92. Used with a JBL MR Series 1-15' full range cab. Variety of gigs. Small jazz trio quart. stage moniter system for rock etc. amp is perfect for private practice. Stereo chorus makes a lame inst. sound good. I use it now as a pre-amp. works perfect with Carver PM 1200 stereo amp.

Amp used with yamaha bx-1 stick bass. Insts. tended to be noisier than amp alone.
Very Good to Excellent variety of sound shaping to learn and appreciate
Anything can be dist at extreme spl. I value my ears.

That amp was it at the time. Never failed. Operater error most of problem.
As a pro. I never neglect to care and service all my gear. Equip. failure due to neglect is not an option.

No exp. here. But would like to have a manual for the 200 RCB

Pro for 32 yrs. Bass vocals and guitar
Trace Crown Carver JBL
not likely to be replaced easily. not much to compare this units features to without going over 700 dollars

It's a series II 100 watt Bass amp head, all solid state electronics,
built in Calfornia around 1985. Main advantage very small & lightweight head under 12 lbs. Front panel has single input, footswitch and headphone out jacks. Nine knobs, Volume (pre-gain), four tone controls 4K, 1K, 250Hz, 60Hz, two voicing filters Hi boost & contour switch, compression W/adj. sustain knob, chorus on/off switch w/adj. rate & depth knobs, Master level w/red LED limiter light. Two rack space all metal case only 7 inches deep with handle on one end. Back pannel has single speaker output labled 100 watts into 4 ohms, plus ballenced XLR low impedance outputs for stereo and mono and direct, plus 1/4" hi impedance output. Power cable is three prong grounded, removable, w/ 3 amp fuse holder. Great features for a small head this portable & lightweight. What more could you want?

I used this as my main amp for ten years, drives a KMD 1x15" and a Hartke TP210 cabinet with ease. In a word "beefy" is the sound yet very clean with great true lows. Tone controls are nice, compression is useful, I have not found any real use for the built in chorus. Replaced this year with GK 1001RB (540 watts) for more power.

I have kicked the shit out of this amp for years only had one problem and that was my fault it was fairly quickly repaired. No problems if you don't abuse it, don't try to drive 2 ohm loads with it and you'll be ok. Beat on over and over again this amp still puts out great sound, very clean.

My repair was well beond warrenty. But GK does have a nice website.
I don't really know on service.

I beleave this is the smallest Head only amp GK ever made for Bass. It was well worth every dollar I paid for it, great value now going on over fivteen years running. Seemed more powerful in it's day but today 100 watts is considered only moderate in size. Still it is the most power per. lb. of weight ever built into a small bass head. Now it is my backup amp which I still take to coffeehouse gigs when space is at a premium.