Gallien-Krueger 400RBIII

The 400rb-III's features have been described in the previous reviews. This review is written in response to "Fred" below. Fred's criticism of the previous reviews is misguided and inaccurate.

First of all, people use comparisons to other equipment because a good way to illustrate an amp's sound is to compare it to one the reader might be familiar with. It's also useful to know what basses the reviewer is using with the amp.

Fred says, "we want to know if the amp has a good tone, good volume and reliable." If he would read the reviews, he would find most of them offer exactly the criteria he requires. They give their opinions about the sound and reliability. If Fred wants a dry list of features, he can read the owners manual, which is freely available online. These reviews offer more than that.

Sounds terrific. Flexible EQ, but also sounds great when EQ is flat. Variable countour offers more control than previous models' on-off switch.

I bought it used. Previous owner reported no issues. My observation is that it is built very well.

Never used them.

I give the amp a good rating because I am very pleased with it so far.

This is perhaps the most bizarre set of reviews I???ve ever seen for a given product. Instead of giving a first-hand-experience review of this amp, the authors waste their time in tangential tirades about what will happen to the f****** who stole my amp, or a ???here???s detailed list of the all the wonderful basses I???ve collected.??? Inspector Gadget goes so far to compare the amp to an old Vox he???s gutting?!?!?! How is any of this helpful to the prospective buyer? The remaining reviewers struggled to put one coherent sentence together. I guess I can deduce the amp is easy enough for a three-year-old to operate, since that???s the level at which many of these users write. A Musicman Stingray, Les Claypool and ska/punk/jazz fusion are not features. Here???s a tip ??? start reading the knobs across the front of the amp. These should give you a pretty good idea of the features the amp offers. In a nutshell, we want to know if the amp has a good tone, good volume and reliable. If you want to share a relevant personal experience, like ???it???s as loud as the SVT I borrowed last spring,??? that???s fine. But nobody cares that it???s the same size as your ???69 DogWampinBass200 chasis, or that your collection includes 100 basses from Agazola to Zoiks ??? I collected over 1000 baseball cards as a kid, but still couldn???t hit a curveball. Please tell me something I can use.

GK 400 RbIII. bought it in 2001. every body knows it. their features are good. espec/ the mute button and the loop jacks. also its self circuitry protection.

here is where everything turns form light to dark. at first i was using with it my peavey fury and ampeg svt 410 HE cab. i found it to sound good. actually pretty da** good. but then i upgraded to a musicman stingray and everything turned in darkness. at first i tought it could be the ray (i was sad as hell)cause it sounded so bright doen't matter the way i twick the da** amp. then a friend of mine borrowed an all fender tube amp. OH MY GOD WHAT A IMPROVEMENT. i just coulnd't believe about the sound. was awesome. so i knew was the GK head. honestly too way bright AN THE LACK OF WARM IS NOTICEABLE. I am giving a five cause later on i found that my peavey (tought sounded good) didn't sounded that good trought the GK head. sounded too bright anyway.

a workhouse got to say

never dealt with them

bottom line. i've heard lots of complimment about this head i can't believe is the same i had. as far inhmo i think this head is so over appreciated. lack of warm in tons as tons of brights as well. anyway i sold it and bought myself a 2 hand/ all tube fender head. THE BEST INVEST I HAVE DONE. after i heard the fender all tube head the GK turned unusable to me. i know fender is tube and GK is transistor driven. but what the heck this is my experince. after seeking in the web and forums gotta conclude that GK are rellay good to passive basees or to double basses (maybe thats why you see lot of double-bassits using them) but STAY AWAY IF YOU ARE USIN ACTIVE BASSES.

Will do all you ever want it to.

Stock USA P-bass.Pick and finger. A little hissie w/gain up,but bearable.

MEN BEWARE!!!!If you have one with a "D" series board pay close attention to it.If your fan quits contact GK pronto!!!!!It is not the fan but a defect in the board. It will be putting out 53VDC to the 24VDC fan.So up in smoke she goes,you can put 3gillion new fans in with the same result.You will have to modify it GK has the info.It is a bitch to do so get some help if you can.THIS IS ONLY ON "D" series BOARDS!The parts are cheap,would be nice if GK would give em' to you since they know about problem.

The best I have ever seen.

If the darn thing didnt sound so good I would have sent it back in pieces.(thank god for thermal protect and a house fan )

2003? This is a kick-ass-all-the-feature-you-should-need amp PERIOD

OHHHHHHH.....Orgasmic.

Not gigging yet, just because I can't seem to find a decent drummer right now, but when the time comes, my SWR 2004's staying in the closet!

Never needed to, and would bet on not needing to. Of course, this might be because I don't put THINGS IN FRONT OF COOLING VENTS! That moron above me probably ties his luggage on his car grill in front of his radiator when he goes on trips.

Been playing 2 years, although I'm infinitely dedicated and play so much my left fretting hand is usually sore in the morning (yes from bass playing) when I wake up (don't worry it's a good type of soreness) Compared it to my SWR 2004, Ampeg Portabass 250. I'd pick it over those two ANY day.

This things made in 2002, vintage performance but modern bass sound. there's 1 channel with swicther to using passive or active bass. send return for effect loop. 4 ohm for 260 watt and 8 ohm for 160 watt. I have problem to find the matching cabinet with 4 ohm or 8 ohm, including for gallien krugger cabinet. I using Marshall VB412S 4 ohm 400 watt ... the power not enough ... so sound feel too soft ....

I'm using Fender "66" Jazz Bass, epiphone viola and cort artisan with bartolini mk1. I play rock music from beatles, sting, police, motley crue, metallica, limp bizkit til' linkin park.

There no problem when i'm using my jazz bass and epiphone, but with cort, the sound feel "dark".

I'll try to record the sound using my digi 001, sounds great ... really great ...

Mid channel, i think feel like dirty if u turn the knob > 12 o'clock, but ... depend your taste

Overall the sound is great ... my problem only can't find the match cabinet .. that's it

I don't think so .. to depend with this amp ... I'm using SWR 350X now, great sound too, but different character ....

Actually I'm using this amp just for 1 week, and then I sell this amp, cause i can't find the match cabinet ... but i guarantee this amps it's really-really great

Never dealt with customer support

I've been playing for a week with this amp. I'm using trace elliot combo, and now i'm using SWR 350X with VB412S Cabinet. Sometimes I'm using Sans Amps PSA-1 preset (this is great amp for bass too ...) And of course Sans Amps Bass Driver DI

If you want buy this thing, think first about cabinet ...

This is a 2001 Gallien-Krueger 400RB-3 I bought for 500can used, including tax (at my local music store, they go for 750, not including tax). It is Solid State, has a tuner out jack, effects jack, 1 input, and tone controls that actually do something! I feel every knob on this amp is important. 150w at 8 ohms, 240w at 4 ohms. Enough power for small-to medium sized gigs, plus the PA out Jack can be used for bigger performances. It's a very versitile amp in my opinnion.

I'm currently using a Fender Jazz, and it sounds AWESOME with this amp. It's very quiet, quieter than most amps i've used, which ranges form many Yorkville amps to a SWR350. It's got a great clean sound with some GK growl, which can be increased with the boost control. Very little distortion, but that can depend on the Cabinet your using, and I've used this head with a Yorkville 410,a 210 peavey cabinet with SWR redhead spaekers, a SWR goliath 410, Yamaha 115s, and a Fender Bassman 410, my Cabinet. While this cabinet is only a 8 ohm cab, and this amp sounds better at 4, it still kicks ass. But when paired with a SWR goliath 410 at my local Long and McQuade... The sound was AMAZING! With the 5 string button on my amp pushed in, a think a might have cracked the buildings foundation!!! This amp suits my music style very well, which ranges from Jazz to rock.

I've accidentily droped this amp off a chair 3 feet of the ground. Fortuantly there was a carpet...I plugged than amp back in and it worked fine. That is a testament to this amps ruggedness. The only problem i have with this amp is when i push the power button in, it sometimes pops back out and shuts off the amp. This is barely a problem though, I'm just knit-picking.

I've been playing bass for 3 years. I also own a Fender BXR 15watt practice amp. If it were stolen or lost, I would either buy another or find the F****** B****** and beat the F****** S*** out of his/her F****** body! I love everthing about this amp, but it could used more power for larger shows. I compared it to some of the new Yorkville stuff and there was no comparison. I also tried some SWR but it is to expensive for me. I would like to end by saying BUY ONE OF THESE!, or the 800RB

Bought new in 2001.Single Channel, Solid State, 240W @ 8ohms. Variable Bottom,Countour(Mids),& High EQ filters. 4/5-string selector.Adjustable Boost,Low,Low-Mid,High-Mid,&High section. Input gain w/active or passive selector and clip led,master volume,XLR direct out,& EQ loop. This is a very versitile amp with a very conservative power rating. This little guy has been used in many a club and has never let me down. It's more than loud enough for any club gig and easy to transport.

Ultra quiet. I use Musicman 4 & 5 string basses. Great sounding amp! I'm able to get any tone I need. It's super punchy with massive lows, solid mids, and crisp but not harsh highs. I used this amp in a soul-R&B band. The only unsatisfied person was our guitarist,who's convinced tube amps are the only choice. Everyone's entitled to their opinion(even guitarists)and the money that paid for it came out of my wallet. It's the warmest sounding all- solid state amp I've ever heard.

I also own a G-K 2000RB(great amp!). G-K amps are bullet-proof,they can take whatever you can dish out and then some. I don't feel it's necessary to bring a back-up and I'm a charter member of the "Worry-Wart's Club".

Check out my review of the G-K 2000RB. G-K is the best amplifier company I've dealt with. Most people are'nt aware that they're a small company. Their tech-support people have been very good to work with. You're as much of a valued customer as Flea is.

I've been playing for over 25 years. I've owned or tried Ampeg,SWR,Eden,Trace-Elliot,Peavey,etc. In my humble opinion,the 400RBIII is a fantastic amp. I use it with either an SWR Goliath-III or a Carvin 2-10 cabinet. This amp WAS purchased to replace a stolen 400RBIII. Remember: Try as many brands of gear as you can. Let YOUR ears be the judge,it's your money and your sound.

Nice compact-size bass head with plenty of EQ/Tone control and I/O options. Single instrument input jack, but has an XLR direct-out for PA or recording (and the signal can be derived pre or post EQ..nice!).
Reasonable power at 240W into 4 ohms. Looks like solid construction with toroidal power transformer. Aesthetically pleasing front-panel design and very portable.
I like the additional features like: input attenuator switch, 4-string/5-string EQ switch, tuner muting, and the pre-amp output and power amp insert for patching in external effects.

This unit has plenty of sound options with EQ controls for Bass, Mid-Bass, High-Mid, and Treble. Also has Presence and Contour controls for added flexibility. There is also a Boost control to control the amount of overdrive before the Master power amp. This head sounds great and has a wide range of tones. It's very clean up to the full output rating, but you can get distorted overdrive via the boost control if you need it.

The one negative comment I have is the fan control circuit. GK has a good idea with it's variable speed fan (keeps fan noise down in the studio at low power settings), however it can fail easily if the chassis vents are inadvertently blocked or plenty of space is not provided around the chassis!

My unit had gotten partially covered when a bag was placed on the top of the chassis. During a rehearsal, as the unit warmed up it called for the fan to come on and begin cooling. The fan control circuit provides DC voltage to the fan proportional to temperature, and in this case the temperature kept rising due to the bag over the vents.
At a certain point the fan stopped, and a thermal circuit-breaker kicked in. The amp would then only run for a few minutes before overheating and shutting down.

I found that the fan-control circuit could drive the fan with as much as 56VDC at very high temperatures (there is no voltage limit in the circuit) but the fan is a 24VDC fan! So whenever the temp climbs too high the voltage drive to the fan can approach 56V. At that point the fan windings burn open and also destroy the control transistor in series with the fan.

I am not faulting GK here( they warn us in the manual to keep the vents clear), just pointing out that it cannot be overstressed that the vents must not be covered in any way! Even so, the circuit design could be improved to prevent exceeding the fan's rated voltage (28V max)at the highest temperature expected.

Or better yet, GK...whay didn't you use a 48VDC fan instead??

I tried contacted technical support with emails about the fan problem I had. Got no response after a week of waiting. I couldn't wait since I need my unit for rehearsals twice a week and since I'm an EE, I repaired it myself.

Overall, I like this amp. It has plenty of features, sounds good, is priced reasonably, and aside from the cooling fan incident, has performed flawlessly.

made in USA in 2000. 240W@4ohms 150W@8ohms. one channel like most of the bass amps.
very versatile. can get any sound i want, i play rock and blues. has a post EQ effect loop, tuner out, direct out XLR oytput, post/pre EQ button, for the P.A output, ground lift, against noise it the P.A, clip LED that informs you about the preamp being overdriven, and an attenuator to prevent a damage. a mute button foe silent tuning, a separated input and output/master volume knob, for maximum control of the sound, 3 voicing filters. this is where it get real better than the original 400-RB. instead of 3 buttons, that boost lows, lows and highs (and drops mids), and boosts highs, you have 1 buttons and 3 knobs: the button, boost lows, and in that way change the EQ for a 5 or 6 strings bass (it really helps), the first knob boosts lows and highs, and drops mids, and the last voicing filter (presence) gives an adge to high frequencies. 4 band active EQ, better than any graphic or parametric EQ. boost control that gives a growl to the sound.
it has enough poewr. my last amp was a Peavey mark-VIII that gave me 350W@4ohms, but 240W is more than enough.
at first i wished it had a compressor, but i don't need it right now. the EQ and the voicing filters do the job.

i use it with Rickenbacker 4003 and a Fender Bullet Bass Deluxe, both passive. suits my style perfectly. i had a little noise st the beginning, but the problem was at the frequencies knob at the back of my Peavey 2x10 4ohms cab. turned it all the way down and it sounds much better now.

I do depend on it wuth no back up.

never dealt with GK, only some questions by e-mail.

i play for about 9 years. i owned a Peavey mark-VIII. definitely would buy it again If it were stolen or lost.
except the sound, i love its light weight, very easy to handle.
very easy to work with, with any bass. it has no compressor or chorus, but right now, i don't need them.
just loved it.