Gallien-Krueger 400RB

This is an early to mid-80's model, totally original. Basic features, input volume, eq cuts and shaping buttons, 3 band eq, boost for that GK analog gain feature and master volume. Nice and basic. What more do you need?

This little bastard sounds great. Its a straight up rock head, which is why Duff used it for the first Guns record. I have owned an 800RB and a 1001RB, as well as an SVT classic. Ok, it doesn't really compete with the SVT, but it also doesn't weigh 2000 pounds and is not high maintenance like the SVT. I challenge anyone blind folded to take the pepsi challenge anyway with this amp A/B'd vs. similar amps in its class, or say for example the SVT3 and I think it blows them away. GK's have a 'sound' which is a combination of the punch and articulation of the solid state tech combined with their G.I.V.E 'valve' analog 'growl' that results in cranking the boost knob. For some reason the 400RB seems to have a rounder and warmer sound compared to the higher wattage models, and compared to the newer GK's, the old 80's models blow doors on them. They just don't make electronics like they did 20 years ago. I play Music Mans and am running the 400RBthrough a single Fender 1X15PRo and an Ampeg 4X10 cab and it moves a lot of air. I think due to the fact that its a little underpowered for the 8ohm cab, It has an overall drive to it that I like. Only thing is, its only gonna get so loud since its 200watts, but how loud do you really need it? If you are playing anywhere decent, you will be running through the house and/or mic on the cab and if you need more stage volume, get it in the wedges. Bands always roll with WAY too much stage volume anyway.. Still, it is very precise and the high end can be a little biting, so you'll have to roll off some highs and play with the eq.

So far so good. The newer ones crap out a lot. The old GKs blow doors on the new ones. I have had 1001rbs and 800's just totally crap out, fry, smoke and have bad inputs but these are supposed to be pretty reliable.

never had to.

I have been playing professionally and semi-professionally for 12 years; casuals, sessions, touring bands, signed bands, etc. and have played through a lot of amps. For me it always comes back to Ampeg or GK. I'm not into SWR's, edens, and all the 'bass player magazine guy' amps. GK is a good, lightweight and loud head. IF it broke, I'd get another one. The king of heads is the SVT classic, but in most instances, unless you have techs etc. loading and setting up your gear, who wants to deal?
I love the old GK look and tone. I don't like how biting and spikey the highs are.

este cabezote posee una buena cantidad de configuraciones distintas, su electronica es de excelente calidad, usa componentes finos de buena procedensia.

excelente sonido, yo toco metal y este amplificador (200w 4ohm) me da lo que justamente estaba buscando, un sonido gordo, pesado y bastante rico en grabes, se logra presionando el boton del medio.
en slap suena bastante bien, en fin, satisfecho completamente

excelente producto, confiable marca, excelentes materiales de fabricacion... solo una cosa mala, y es la pintura del chasis, no es demasiado resistente a los golpes. de resto, perfecto!

Hello... I've owned and played my 400RB since buying it used in 1990. I traded my GK 800RB for it because I wanted a smaller, simpler set-up. I won't go into the controls because they've been well-covered already. I actually found that I prefer the tone of the 400RB - it's a little fatter or rounder than the 800RB.
I've used this amp professionally for 18 years in both the studio and at gigs in venues ranging from tiny to enormous - the thing is LOUD if you have properly mated to a 4 ohm load.
If you need a lot of sound shaping for exotic tones, you may find the controls are not quite what you need but if you have a quality instrument and are looking for a solid basic sound then this is the amp to get and keep forever.

I play a 73 Precision with active EMGs, flatwound strings, and an older model Jerry Jones Longhorn with passive pickups and flatwounds. Depending on the gig, I use either an Ampeg 410 or an Aguilar 112. The amp sounds incredible through the Ampeg, but breaks up a bit in the Aggie - probably mismatched impedance. However, I use the small cab for quiet acoustic or country stuff so volume isn't an issue.
This is a very clean amp with very even tone throughout the frequency spectrum. If you want a dirtier tube sound, well, you'll have to get yourself a tube amp because this one will not go there.
Matched with the Jerry Jones bass and the Ampeg 410, this amp cuts through the mix with authority at very reasonable volumes.

Much has been said about the brick-like reliability of the 400RB - I'll add my voice to the chorus. This thing has seen well over 2000 shows, countless rehearsals and studio sessions and was even dropped down a flight of stone stairs and has never even blown a fuse - unbelievable. And it has never been in a roadcase.
To all you guys saying you'll get something else when your 400RB craps out... you are going to wait a very, very, long time.

Never had to contact GK because I've never had a problem with the amp...

This is the finest amp ever built, in my opinion. I've had many amps which have included Ampegs (SVT, V4B, etc), the GK 800RB, and numerous others but this one will probably be the last amp I'll ever own.

Mine is an old early-80's model. Most people know the features by now...VERY simple...volume, four bands of EQ, a volume boost knob. There are three push switches for treble boost, mid dip, and low dip...I never touch 'em. In fact, ninety percent of the time, I leave the EQ controls in the flat position. Might boost some bottom or top slightly depending on what cabinet I'm using. But in general, this is one of those "you-turn-it-on-and-it-sounds-like-a-bass-is-supposed-to" amps. They could have left most of the controls off, especially if you have it paired with a high quality cabinet.

I do put the boost knob in about the 12:00 position, and it gives the amp a little more analogue-sounding fatness.

I use a '74 Fender Precision with flatwounds, a '72 Fender Jazz Bass with flatwounds, and a Modulus 5'string with roundwounds. I am a full time live and studio musician. I make my living by playing virtually any style I am paid to play. I think some of the negative reviews for this amp are from guys that mostly play one particular style. If you need one amp that will span any style that gets thrown at you, you will not find a better one than this. Most records are produced with the bass run direct in the studio...therefore this amp, since it is solid state, mimics the bass sound you hear on most classic studio recordings. If you need a grungy, distorted, or effected sound, use a pedal.

Also, it has plenty of power for a sane person. I have used it on everything from club gigs to outdoor festivals, to huge concert arenas. On the larger stages, the sound company will run you direct anyway...the amp is there as your on-stage monitor, not to fill the house.

I've used and abused it for 20 years. It will never quit. Has never let me down once. It's a tank. I don't even have it rack mounted...I just sling it around by the handle, in and out of vans, tour busses, equipment trucks, you name it.

Have never had to deal with them. No problems.

Like I said, maybe it's not the amp for guys that play one specific style of music only. I make my living playing music, and I have to play all styles. I have used all the other big brand-name amps on large stage gigs where the backline equipment was provided by the sound company. Eden, SWR, Ampeg, Hartke, Trace Elliot...nothing ever made me want to sell my old GK400RB. (Well, the Eden Traveller came close. Ha! I do like that tube stage on the Eden, so I guess in a perfect world the GK would have a tube stage on it. But hey, it's a whole lot cheaper than the Eden.)

Summary: You can pick up one of these old 400RB's used for a song nowdays, and they are a solid, inexpensive workhorse for any gigging musician who is required to cover a wide range of musical styles. Be sure to invest in a great-sounding cabinet, too, though. No amp sounds good through a bad cabinet.

Gallien Krueger 400RB, 200 watts, it's an older one with the gray front/knobs, solid state, sticker on the back says "4-85", not sure if that is the month/year or not, it looks like one from the 80's though, it's seen alot of use, you can play most any type of music with this thing, features:

Front: input jack w/ -10db button underneath (for active pups I think), volume, lo cut, mid contour, hi boost, treble, hi middle, lo middle, bass, boost, master volume, boost preset footswitch jack, power switch w/ red LED. 3 1/4" tall, 17 1/4" wide, 7 1/2" deep.

Back: GK, Campbell, Calif s/n 33538, 4-85, 125v/5a fuse, power cord, 30 cooling fins, 2 - 4 ohm speaker jacks, direct in/out jacks, send & return jacks, 200 watts rms, handle on left side & 4 rubber feet.

Pretty simple stuff here, not a ton of features, but enough to get some different sounds out of it for the different styles that you might play.

I play punk, rock, surf, rockabilly, metal, & country & this thing likes it all. Sure, it's not an ampeg svt, but it get's the job done. I usually push the lo cut button in, & have all the knobs at 12'oclock. You can get alot of different sounds out of this thing. I own a few Fender P basses, a couple of jazz basses, some kramer stikers, & an Ibanez roadstar 2, mostly stock pickups, a couple sets of emgs, they sound great through this thing, it seems like you can get that low, boomy sound if you want without alot of mud with this thing, I like a little treble in my bass sound so I use the "lo cut" button. It has a slight hum when the volume is up around 5 or so, I'd never need it that loud at home, it could've been the bass I was using though, very quiet up to 5. This thing has seen some use, that's for sure. It's 20+ years old! The knobs are very responsive, even a slight turn & you hear change, unlike some other amps I've messed with. As with most amps, if you turn this all the way up it will distort some, but not much, very loud for 200 watts.

This thing is built like a tank. heavy metal plate construction, lots of screws holding everything together, huge transformer inside, I wouldn't bring a backup with this thing. I used to watch these things get tossed around back in the 80's on a daily basis, I used to own one & sold it like an idiot, finally got around to buying another one recently. It's well used but sounds great.

n/a

Been playing 20 years, owned a ton of stuff, I got this off ebay for $179 plus shipping ($17), I'd been looking for one foe a while & just could find one cheap enough. They used to be everywhere but are going up in price. I'd replace it if it were stolen. The knobs are very good quality & the size is great too. I like that distinct sound it has. When I'm playing guitar, I usually want tube, but for bass solid state is ok, that's what makes this amp nice. It doesn't have that "sterile" sound I hear with other stuff. Sounds better that my old Hartke 2000, my Crate B150, but not as nice as my late 60's Kustom B200. They did a good job on these things; if you take care of them (hell, even if you dont!) it will be around for a long time.

simple to use.easy to dial in a great sound.
wish it had a balanced DI but oh well I bought one
problem solved

I have an Ampeg SVT 3 Pro that I've used for a long time after I bought this the Ampeg became the backup.Originally I bought this amp as a backup..lol

never ever had a problem with it.
bought mine used about 7 years ago.
done alot of gigging alot of practices..never a problem.

never had to call or e mail

great sound
easy to use
I play punk rock perfect for me
I also play a little alternative - works for that as well
best $200 used I ever spent

Ok this is all I have to say. I did a short tour recently. I brought the GK RB400 head along as a backup. I ditched my main head -a Trace Elliot a few dates into the tour. During one sound check, the Trace hummed like crazy- the Sound guy said, It's normal for stuff to hum here. I plugged in the GK and it was silent.
The trace sounds better to me. But in the real world (under concert lights, crappy electric etc.) it hummed like crazy. I had an Aguilar DB 359- ditched it for the same reason. Great sounding amp at home but hums like crazy on stage. Nothing sounds worse on stage than hum out of your rig. In the music store or at home the GK isn't the best sounding head. But in the real world, I'll compromise bass tone any day for a bass head that doesn't hum.

I play Roots music with stock 1975 P bass

my 400RB looks like its a good 15-20 years old. got it on ebay recently. very versatile for MY needs..to my ears, this is the best sounding amp i've found for less than maybe $700. of course, some may disagree..although, keep in mind, 200 watts is not enough to play the biggest venue, but it plays loud enough to play average bars, stuff like that...a reasonable 200 watts.

i use it with a Carvin XB76 (J at the neck and humbucker w/ coil splitter at the bridge) and the sound is simply amazing. especially considering the price..before i go deeper into the sound..many people give this amp bad reviews because they dont know HOW to rate it. i've found that people plug in this amp and say "oh, it doesent sound like ______ therefore its trash" ..if you want to sound like someone else..use what THEY used. this amp is good for creating MY sound. lots of body punch and strong bottom. the scooped mids are good if you like using mid scoop, (wich i dont, so i dont touch it) i never touch the presets, but if i WANTED a treble boost, yes, it does it well. the boost isint so good..thats the only flaw..but hey, nobody is MAKING you use it. it works for a light grittyness for rock stuff..but i use other pedals for overdrives like that..

oh god. these things are definate work horses. this amp has litterally been submerged in water before plugging it in for a gig and its worked! (dropped it in a deep puddle..my bad!) when i first got it off ebay (the guy said in the auction) there were some freaky issues with the volume knobs and distortion on certain settings- it was just a blown cap, not a hard repair, fairly common in ANY old amps.

anyway, its a brick.

never talked to them. wouldent need too. i brought it to my guy for the capacitor repair..

before i get started on this, just to make it clear, i know it says "nothing is perfect, be critical" but this amp really is, to ME, perfect. only thing that isint good about it is the boost knob..but nobody makes you turn it on, right?


been playing for 6-7 years and this sucker does what i need. i use it for guitar and keyboards as well, and hell, if i needed to mic my drums with my own stuff, i'd use this amp. for bass i use my carvin XB76 and tons of effects that i shouldent bother naming..

so, its a great sounding amp, pumps out reasonable volume, and its only $200? from the sound alone i'd be willing to pay 600+

Early 90s/late 80s solid state amp. 200w at 8ohms. i used this amp at least two times a week for the past 3 years and it almost provided me with enough power, but not quite. High and low boost. Minimal features. Just a bass amp.

I just a p-bass with emg pickups. I play post rock and some psychadelic/funk stuff. It doesnt really fit my musical style as I am in need of a more dense, powerful, bass tone. The GK kind of delivers an overly bright, clangy, fuzzy tone. It is very noisy at high volume and boost. The distortion isn't good distortion, like the kind you get from an overdriven tube amp, but a kind of high, tinny distortion that you might get out of a 15w combo amp from Sears.

This will never die.

never dealt with em

I paid way too much for this, and I would advise anyone to hold out for a better amp. If you can find this amp for 100 bucks and you are just playing out of a cheap combo amp and want to upgrade, buy it. I am glad I just got an SVT. I am glad to get rid of the GK. I got rid of it for 80 bucks too. If the kid didnt want to pay that much, I would have sold it for 25. Pretty worthless amp as far as tone goes. Reliable, though!

everything has been explained as to what this amp is.. mine is a 1998 400RB.. solid state, 200 watts..

i have this in my rack with a Digitech GSP-2101 Artist and a BBE 362.. i have the 362 in the 2101's fxloop, and the 2101 running into the front end of the 400RB, instead of into the fxloop.. all of this is sitting on top of an Ampeg 4x12 full stack.. top and bottom cab.. i'm currently playing my 1983 Fender JBass (passive), a 1987 Charvel Model 3B (18v active) through this rig.. using the 2101 in front of the 400RB, i can really control the overall tone.. the 12AX7s do make a difference in warming up the tone of the 400RB.. and the BBE clarifies it.. with the BBE in the fxloop of the 2101, i can turn it on or off within the patch that i'm using..

with the JBass, i can get very growly tones from it without being too brittle.. it can get pretty warm, considering the sterile reputation that GK has..

with the Charvel, it's concussive-heavy-thick-lardacious.. but, can get bright and ringy.. the 400RB's power shows off with this bass..

there is an amazing amount of power in the 400RB's 200 watts.. it's a must to run this amp at 4 Ohms, and match impedance.. and keep it cooled off.. in a rack, with a fan or two..

i really don't understand why people rag on this head for not having enough power.. i understand that this is not an SVT, but for the 200 watts that it is, it's more than enough to fill a small/medium gig with a decent set of cabs.. i'm using eight 12's and it's amazing..

i play most anything (or try to).. i know that this rig is versatile enough to play smooth jazz, to fusion, to hardcore, to metal.. and come back for a country set, or two.. it's very flexible.. so flexible that it can be hard to dial in a specific tone.. i know that if i use my JBass, the GK really accentuates the settings on the bass itself..a minor turn of the tone knob and it sounds completely different.. and it's the same with the Charvel.. a little boost on the bass knob, and it becomes concussively boomy..

if you can't find a tone that you like with it, keep making small adjustments.. and adjust one knob at a time.. don't make gross adjustments and expect an amazing tone from it.. start out "flat".. everthing at 12 o'clock.. then adjust it..

i'm seriously considering getting another one to run in stereo..

it was kinda flakey when i first bought it, used.. it would cut out.. for no reason.. i wasn't pushing it, either.. i found out that the connector on the PCB for the fxloop corrodes and causes the power loss.. a couple of squirts of Caig's DeOxit on the molex connector and the pins, and worked the contacts, now it's flawless.. i am considering upgrading the filter caps with higher end caps for tone..

the company is it total deal.. when my 400RB was flaking, i went on talkbass.com and spoke to a few people that are GK fanatics.. they referred me to Gene Lopes, and he got me squared away with a .pdf of the schematic for the exact model that i have.. and i emailed GK about the knob caps (that everyone loses), they sent me more than what i needed and included a couple of GK stickers, for free.. and it was really fast, it came in 2 days in the mail.. so far, everyone at GK has been helpful and unbelieveably fast in responding..

GK will work on thier older amps.. which is amazing for a company to work on amps that they made, all the way back to the 70's..

i'm stoked at how they stand behind thier amps.. and the attentiveness of the people at GK.. (the GK forum is a total opposite.. post and no one will respond..)

there are service centers all over the country, but you can send it back directly to GK..

overall, it's a great amp.. i considered other amps before getting this one.. Hartke for one, but between reading and actually talking to people about them, i decided that Hartkes have become very flimsy recently.. too bad for them..

i'm not going to BS you.. if i could afford a Vintage Tube SVT rig, i'd have it right now.. but, for the cash, and the tone, this GK is the deal..

i will get another GK amp at some point.. i just wish that i had bought one years ago, instead of wasting my time and cash on lesser amps..

what a pawnshop prize this one was.. ;)