Gallien-Krueger Backline 115 Combo

This is a great 1X15 amp - I have a home recording studio and keep this amp for bass players that do not want to haul a rig. I got it because it has way more features and tone quality than found in any of the other bass amps that I looked at. The amp has a ton of power and is able to rock the house when we crank it, I am a guitar player so I do not use it myself much.

The amp has had a ton of bass guitars played through it and has a unique feature with contour of tone that makes it much more versatile than other bass amps I have used in the studio. Everyone is impressed with the low grind from the distortion.

Never have we had an issue with it, but it has not been gigged or beaten in anyway.

Never had to deal with customer support, everything works great.

I have been playing 40 years and had my studio for the last ten years. So far this is as good as we have found for a bass amp that gets the job done no matter who is plugged into it.

I have had the GK Backline 115 for about 2 years now. When talking features I think it is a good amp. It is more than just a simple EQ and not too much. It is good for "begginning-techheads".
It has some voicing features and a distorted channel.

I use the amp with a Morris P-bass copy from the mid 70'ies and play rock/hard rock. Before the Morris I had a cheap Washburn, and with the Washburn the amp sounded as a GK sounds, but with the Morris it has NP clean sound what so ever, which is really bad in my opinion.
It has the well known GK "farty" tone which I sounds great if you play the right music, for the music I play I find it kind of annoying.
Never really used the dirty channel and when just used for fun it lacks bottom end.

I do not have the amp at home but by the drummer in my band, so only play it when we are gathered. When I had had it for 2 months or so it stood off during jamming. Really annoying when I had just payed the money for an amp that the shop had recommended with great enthusiasm.

Never dealt with GK, but the local dealer was helpful when it broke down, so I don't have an opinion on the support.

The amp is good if you got a cheap bass with a low output, and are just starting to move into the world of "amp buying".
It has alot of tone possiblities with the contour and boost knobs, in addiction to the EQ.

The amp is fairly useful, sounded alright for jazz and some rock. Never used the overdrive feature. Looks like its a nice solid state combo at first glance.

I use a mim fender jazz and a mij Rickenbacker from the 70s, both sounded alright when playing jazz or rock. Never got any noise, the clean had that classic gk "fart" tone.

The voice coil of my speaker exploded a few weeks after I played some major gigs and was left with a 10 watt practice amp! (my sunn 8x10 was in the shop). At first I thought it was a factory defect and had been there all along, because I never pushed it past 6 or 7, but read some other reviews here and apparently the speaker cant even take the power of the amp!

Tried to talk with GK, they kept me on hold for hours then told me that it was MY fault!

Don't buy this amp unless you want to by a new one a few weeks later.

You've seen the other reviews and features. I'm in my office and can't remember them all right now. It's all good. Mine was made about 2004 or so. I've had it about 3 years. I play mostly country,contemporary christian, western swing, some jazz and blues. I play rock but use a much bigger rig for those gigs. Only thing I wish it had was a tweeter. I use this amp in smaller coffee house type gigs, practicing at home and at church. It has plenty of power for what I use it for. I give it a 7 overall but FOR THE MONEY this is a very good buy.

I use a Musicman Stingray 5 with this amp. It handles the low B just fine. It is not noisy at all. Slapping and popping is ok but not great...need that tweeter. Jazz it sounds awesome. Jaco type sounds it does very well. Blues and country it's just fine. Heavier rock it's OK but if you wanna rock you gotta be loud and as I said before, when I rock I use a bigger rig with a 410 cab. The distortion sounds OK but I don't really use distortion much. Overall I'm happy with the sound. I recently added a presonus tube pre and a BBE sonic maximizer in my chain and it takes this amp to a whole new level. To a very kick ass level but then again i wouldn't use it for loud heavy rock. The tube pre adds a lot of tube punch, more growl and lots of warmth. The BBE sonic maximizer really adds definition to my playing. Even without these effects I liked the amp but with them I love it. ESPECIALLY FOR THE MONEY. You can find better sounding amps for much more money but I don't think you can find a better amp in this price range.

So far so good. I've had no problems whatsoever. Practice every day and play at church twice a month. Don't use it at coffee house gigs anymore as my band has moved on to bigger venues and use my bigger rig for them. I did use it every weekend for a year with no problem.

Haven't needed them yet.

Been playing guitar for 20 something years. Bass about 7 years. I do about 50 gigs a year and regular church services. I play a EB MM Stingray 5. My other amps are a Peavey Nitrobass head and 410 TVX cabinet (it's a workhorse, loud and extremely dependable) Other bass players who have used it or heard it loved it and were very surprised because "eww it's a peavey" Love it! Have an SWR head and ampeg cab but don't use them much anymore. Like the Peavey better. My only real regret with this amp is I'm getting older and it's getting heavier. For a combo amp, I wish it were a little lighter but I only carry it now about twice a month.

My Backline 115 was manufactured in 2003.
In my band, I play mostly alternative rock, but we do lots of cover gigs as well. In my spare time I play jazz, blues and really heavy rock.
The amp controls and jacks, from left to right:
Input Jack, -10dB Pad switch for active PU's, Tuning Mute (mutes both speaker and DI out, but not tuner out), and a channel switcher for distortion sounds. we'll talk about this later.
Then the tone-shaping part begins:
First we have the gain and (mix)volume for the distortion sound, then we have the normal (clean) gain.
Then comes the most interesting knob, the "contour" knob. It acts like the contour switch on the old RB400 when turned on full. Full blown, it changes the following:
500 Hz -10 dB // 40 Hz +8 dB, 6 kHz +8 dB - that means, by gradually turning the knob you turn on the typical Slap sound. the manual says that you should turn it down when playing at high volumes, "for midrange clarity". actually, I never turn it all off, no matter how loud it gets, I don't turn below 12 o'clock. Very interesing knob, it can change the voice of the amp quite much.
then we got a 4band eq: treble (8kHz), hi-mid (1000 Hz), low-mid (250 Hz), Bass (60 Hz). Bass and treble are working from -12 to +12, while the mid controls actually go from 0 to +12. that means, you can cut treble and bass, but the mid's are - maybe because they make up the "GK" sound - only additional, if you want to cut them you should use the contour knob.
next: Boost - this is weird somehow, the manual says it emulates saturation of the amp, means you can have the sound of an amp near it's power limit even at low volume. this is right so far. On high volumes this acts more like a very very good compressor, it sustains the sound and keeps the lowmids growling. But it also sucks off the "LOUD"-capability.
last knob: master level. I usually have this at maximum, and control the volume with the boost knob. When practising, I have the knobs turned at 80%, 30% (the main vol is very soft in the first half).

Then we got a serial fx loop, which is ok, next to it we got the footswitch connector (IIRC for distortion - maybe tuning mute too? would be cool! - footswitch isn't enclosed though) and the tuner out.

Furthermore: a symmetrical DI out with ground lift switch and pre/post EQ switch. That would have been a great idea, but actually I nearly killed a channel from a house PA mixer because the output is SO unbelievably loud. This is definitely not normal, there is way too much output, you can't really work with that. The idea would be good, because the main volume and the EQ (if pre-eq switched) aren't going to the house PA - that means, you can make yourself a nice decent monitor sound and have a bit pre-shaped (due contour controls) sound for the PA, you can mess around with the EQ without a sound engineer yellin at you. Not working correctly though. I never wanted to fix it, because I didn't need it so far. I'm planning to get a better amp someday, but my next step will be an Ampeg or SWR, but despite my account balance I will stick around with this amp for the next 2 or 3 years. For right now it's quite ok, but I'm missing the headphone jack.
I would give this point an 7, because ultimately it's nothing extraordinary there, but nothing obvious missing.

I play a Peavey Millenium AC BXP 5string (mostly, because my band plays at drop C) and a Spector NS-4 Europe (for the cover gigs in "normal" tunings). It plays it ALL. The ultimate weapon of this amp is its slap sound which is, simply, fantastic.
For 5-string players which like low-end: THIS AMP HAS IT ALL. It has got an incredibly doomy and boomy sound, if you like standing waves, this amp is for you. I like it, most of the times. On some gigs, I wished I had more focus on the 80 Hz.
A word on the distortion channel: It's quite fun if a bass player has got a guitar too, but without completely changing the EQ the distortion sound is very un-bassy. But you can get the "Around the World"-Intro sound from the Chili Peppers very easy!
Although the distortion channel isn't for low-end rhythm stuff..
The clean sound has got a hifi-like clarity, when driving the "boost"-knob hard, it get's warmed up and bit fuzzy, but not even close to a tube-like sound.
The most positive thing about this amp is it's dynamics. I never ever played an amp like this, and I played Eden heads for per piece 2500? for testing. With bit-too-old strings, the treble boost doesn't cut enough, but you can add more highs via the contour knob. I would really like a tweeter for having more hifi-sound on low volumes.
When driven really loud (boost at 90%, master @ full) the sound gets a bit muddy and slightly distorted. But I only had one gig where I had to have such a loud sound on the stage. Normally, the 125 Watts are enough for medium sized club gigs. Above that, you should really use a mic to retain the punchy tone.
The distortion channel is very fun with a guitar, but it has very very little low end. it starts to sound OK with fulldriven contour and bass at +80%. the EQ works after the preamp, probably that's the problem. I don't like the dist-sound, it sounds very "generic".
But the normal channel sounds so incredible, I'll give it an 8.
I already described the EQ above, its frequencies are very common to engineers, it won't "overcolor" the sound of your bass.
With the Bass pot you change the "ooomph"
With the low-mid pot you change the growl, and presence of a distortion guitar (on 12 o'clock, most guitars will be heard, on 1 o'clock the guitars are a bit thin, on 11 o'clock I play with my band).
With the hi-mid pot you change the "nose" and the power of popped notes
The treble pot is very subtle in the first three quarters, but puts definition to the sound.
My EQ setting which I use with my 5string: (from 1 to 10)
Treble 8, Hi-Mid 4.5, Low Mid 4, Bass 5
EQ setting for my 4string:
Treble 6, Hi-Mid 4, Low Mid 5.5, Bass 6

After a club gig most of the pots crackled, but that was because of the moist air, and this effect can be reversed by turning the knob repetative from 0 to 100% until the crackle is gone. I witness this on many amps, I wouldn't go so far as to blame someone for that. that's a normal analogue behavoir in my eyes.
I never broke a fuse, even after a gig where I borrowed the amp to a punk band, they drove the Amp at 100% on all knobs and played for nearly two hours. the amp was quite hot, but I hadn't any trouble with the speaker or the power amp.
It never let me down since 1,5 years now. In the first months I had the "buzzing" problem too (tho I never realized it until I read about it), but after the gig with the punkband it went away :) .
I would give this a 9, because I NEVER head trouble with this amp and it always does what I expect from it.

I have this amp for 1.5 years now.
Pro side:
I really like this amp because of the size, you can handle with it even alone, it fell off the last two stairs at a transport, it was no problem. the metal grill is sturdy, the carpet covering still looks ok, the tilt-back design is fine for the rehearsal room or the living room..
I wanted to buy a Fender Bassman 100 first, but the GK just overruled it in volume by a good 30-50% and has much more mids. As said, the sound is very punchy. I like the distortion channel somehow, because I have guitars at home too, and "it works" :) The weight of the amp is ok, ...

Contra side:
There are WAY better 15" speakers. They (GK) should have installed a horn. The distortion channel sounds bit crappy with a bass, esp. a 5-string. The sound _SHAPING_ possibilities are modest.
NO HEADPHONE JACK... I hate that!

If this amp was stolen I'd probably keep saving money and buy a bigger rig. My actual favorite for flexibility is the hartke 3500, because of the 10band EQ +2band EQ, compressor, tube and solidstate preamp, last but not least 2x350 watts - for actually near the same prize (without a cabinet, naturally ;)). But I can't get the GK sound out of an Hartke...

If I really stuck on GK, I would take the RB-2000, because it has a 5-string switch for the EQ, which changes the frequency response of the EQ.

No idea what year the amp was made in. My band kind of plays a mix of Indie, Hard Rock and kinda Semi-Progressive style and this amp works wanders for that, it has beautiful clean tone if played correctly and also has a wanderful gritty sound if used right (Usually if tilyed back). It has 2 channels, although the distortion is terrible, not nesicarily tonally, but at its ability to cut through the guitar sound, even the quietest guitar sound could drown it out, but it does sound good if you want to simulate the "Death From Above 1979" sound used on Romantic Rights. The annoying thing is that you have to push a button on the amp inorder to change channels. My favourite feature on here is the Effects Loop. If u put it straight from the bass when u put your foot on the stomp box the amp makes a horrible clicky sound. I usually use this amp in my drummers garage and it really works for their, but this amp uses enough power to fill the congress theatre in eastbourne.

I use a Fender Precision bass (mostly) and sometimes a Squier Jazz. It works well for my style in the fact that it can have a fantastic bite to it when u really molest the bass. I have also played through an Ashdown 8x10 at a BOB competition, although this seemed to fill the room more it didnt have the tonal qualities that i have with the GK that i love. At an outdoor gig i used a Trace Elliot 4x10 cab with a Peavey Head, although this was closer to the tonal qualities of the GK it was too gritty, if anything the GK is the perfect compromise between the 2. It can have some realy unwanted distortion that sounds horrible but its nothing that can't be fixed by some screw tightening rounf the speaker. I use a Boss Bass Chorus with this and it sounds really goos with this amp especially as i use really deep chorus. Also when my band played at a charity gig with lots of other bands and all the bass players brought their own amos but everyone wanted to plug into this.

It is really dependable, you just have to look after the speaker, i mean i keep this in the car, it only comes out at gigs and band practise, so its never broken down due to neglect. It's the only decent amp i have so yeah, i do use it at gigs without a back up.

Never needed it

If it was stolen it think i would buy something else.

The amp was made in 2000, it's 125w, with 4 mid controls, a level A volume & master volume, a contour control and a boost volume (that apperantly gives the amp a greater bite).
I personally I like limited features, I'm a big believer that the focus on tonal variations should firstly rest upon the individuals playing techique and manipulation of the instrument rather than the amp settings.
Having said that I don't change my tone all that much and I could very easily understand why someone who would need to have a great variation in their sound (away from whats possible from individual playing) would become frustrated with this combo that really only delivers one type of tone (this will be explained in sound)

The amp sounds great with my Double plugged into it, it delivers an excellent replication of the basses accoustic tone and controls the bass frequencies so that the tone's tight and defined. However for my Fender 02 active Jazz, the amp is lacking, it's great for a warm singing blues/soft rock tone and a low end muted tone (for Soul, Raggae, Tower of Power style Funk) but can't deliver much variation from there on.

In addition I made the mistake of buying this amp thinking it would cut it for Rock, Punk and Metal outfits. Despite having since changed my musical direction from when I bought the amp (rarely playing in these genres) I still retain that this combo becomes muddy and toneless at too low a volume. Yes I probably should have known that at 125w it wouldn't deliver but for the brand name, the considerable weight of it and admittedly my niaveness in believing the salesman who sold it to me, I really thought this combo could crank it a bit more.

Aside from the fuse blowing in the amp when I first bought it, due to an apperant mistake in the building process. The second combo Gallien Krueger sent me has proved to be quite the brick, it's very well shielded and can survive alot of neglect without effecting the tone. Also I've driven this amp to distortion point many a time (because it really can't handle that much) and the sound output hasn't altered.

When the fuse in the amp blew they were very prompt in sending a replacement.

I've been using this amp very regularely (2-3 gigs a week) for the last 2 years and despite its numerous failings all in all I've been able to get the tone I want out of it and its proved reliable.

I'm not that much of gear head and I really believe that the players technique and manipulation of the instrument can compensate for shortcomings from their gear. The bottom line is that if your playing quiter music and you want a smooth, bottom end tone then this amp is good for you. But aside from that its not versatile and doesn't lend itself to louder music.

The amp was made in 2004 and it is the backline II model , which is way better becacs the kind of messed it up the first time around. This amps got lots and lots of features, especially for a bass amp , It can sort of go with different genres, it sounds a little to punky for me though , so I'm gunna give it a 8.

hmm ... it sounds like punk bass with my ibanez bass which means most fenders will sound like punk bass aswell. The speakers not all that great but the whole combo is definitly a steal for like 300 bucks. I think it has potential to sound amaizing with any bass its just that you need to figure out how to work the thing which may take months. The clean channel is distorted at high volumes but whats new there ... noting

No problems yet, ive never really depended on it because i dont play shows very much and am mainly a guitar player. It seems prety solid though.

N/A

Depending on what sound you want out of this thing it is definitly a good amp , it has some problems such as the distortion on high volumes which happens in baisically every single amp ever made, the speaker is a little bit too punchy , and i heard that its not very dependable but i havent had any problems. DEFINITALY don not buy this amp over a website, i encourage you to go try it out and see if you like it or n ot , actually try it with your bass too to see if they match up.

Features are pretty fair. Clean and distortion channels, 4 tone controls, contour, boost, etc. Kickback, 125W into a "300W" 15" speaker, more on that later. One note, this amp is HEAVY. Been gigging with it for months and I recently used a friend's fender 15" combo amp. I was shocked at how light the fender was compared to this amp.

A very muddy sound, even with all the tone options available. Plenty of bass, but the 15" speaker cannot drive the sound like a cab of 10" speakers, nor can it provide good mids or highs. The distortion channel is crap.

Come on GK! It's a combo amp, the speaker should be able to take the wattage of the amp. Unfortunately the voice coil of my speaker exploded 2 days before some major gigs (I was able to borrow an excellent Ampeg Portabass, and a Fender combo, both of which outperformed the GK). I never turned this amp past about 7 volume cause of the muddy sound and STILL the speaker blew!

Yes, I did read the comments here before buying this amp, but I was short on cash and time. That is why I did get a warranty (see below). I never had the overheating/fuse problem that other reviews mention.

I'm going with N/A on GK support because I did not deal with them. I did get the Guitar Center performance warranty, and am very thankful. I was on my own for the upcoming gig because they do not support downtime for broken equipment. But "the check is in the mail" for the full purchase price. Apparently they too realize GK products are not worth fixing.

Don't buy this amp without a warranty. It has poor performance when it comes to sound, and it DOES break. Mine lasted 7 months and maybe 20 gigs.

Bought it new on December 2002 at Guitar Center along with a new American Jazz Bass (my first bass ever).
I like the four knobs EQ and the contour knob. To tell the truth, the EQ is just right, 60Hz (bottom), 250Hz (warmth and mud), 1KHz (cream) and 7KHz (clarity). Can crank it very boomy for reagea or very clear for jazz. The countoor provide just the right balance between the dirty 60 sound (flat) and the deep clean moren sound by gradually cleaning first harmonics. The overdrive channel is not appropriate for a bass but fun with a guitar. The direct out is useless, because the preamp is way too noisy. You can't reccord withthis amp. The thin grill resonate somewhere between 250 and 2Khz. Melamine cab, not veneer.

Everybody bass player GK sound. It's a modern sound. The opposite of Ampeg. This amp sounds surprising good for the price. The big speaker is very clear, and the treble control gives you a good control on the clarity of the sound if you have a bass with a brigh sound. More limited with old fashion axes like the a P-Bass. The sound is crisp but the bottom is limited by the 125W amp. You can really shake a small house, but I would recommand it only for house practicing, gararage band, or Jazz player on a small cafe. Really great for Jazz. If you seek more clarity than boum boum this is a great amp for the price.

I will never depend on GK for a gig. Ever, unless playing at very moderate volume. GK is well known for their poor quality (I didn't know that). As I was practicing and learning to play bass in my apartment, and at a relatively low volume, the sound slowly degraded. I first thought my ear was deteriorating, being punished for the sin of playing electric bass. I've noticed that by removing the grill, a bad fuzz was generated by the small hole left by the screw holes. I had the idea to tighten all screws (not too much, it's a melamine cab). The sound improved very much. But it wasn't what it was before. I even sealed all screw holes from inside with silicone. Still improved, but the power was very limited. Tightening the poor driver connecters also helped. I dismonted the driver and I tested it outside of the cab to see if there was a problem with the coil. That was it. The coils was loosen or burned if you prefer and it was delivering a fuzzy sound when the lows were cranked up a bit. When I called Guitar Center, they complained about the poor support they had from GK, and they later told me they had complains about every GK they were selling. They were sick and tired dealing with GK problems, but they keep selling it because poeple ask for it.

Customer support (on the phone) is ok, but it doesn't improve the quality of the product and the guys on the shop are morrons. When I told my driver was making a noise similar to loosen coil, even if the warrenty was terminated a few weeks earlier, the nice lady on the phone told me she would send me a new driver right a way. I recived it 2 weeks later, poorly packed and dented. Since air seems to be a problem, I did not try it at all. So I called back and they sent me another one (with excuses). I received the second one more quickly, and when I put it in the cab, there was still a fuzzy noise. I realized the cone was not glued properly to the basket. That's when I gave it up.

Sounded good just for a few mounths. I was thinking of getting a GK RB-1001 but I first look at harmony central for reviews this time. That convinced me to look for another company. The guy at Guitar Center was kind enough to give me a generous discount on a new amp perchase. I went to my bank, get a $2500 loan and I bought an SVT-4Pro along with a Bergantino HT322 cab.

And they lived hapily ever after... May G-K R.I.P.