Gallien-Krueger Backline 600 Head

Standard features as listed by others. The overdrive lacks definition, buy a pedal. I've practiced with this amp for 15 months and until now have had no problems

Pretty good sound. You can shape the tone well, contour knob doesn't seem to do anything though. High volume is still as crisp as it is turned down.

After 15 months the distortion feature will not turn off. It's not turned on, but won't go away. I play mostly blues with no need for distortion so...It's junk to me now. Maybe it'll make a good boat anchor... But, it did work great until now.

Haven't called them yet, but they will definetly be hearing from me.

It worked great for a while...4 hour practices with loud playing didn't seem to bother it until... Wish it still worked, but now I have an excuse to tell my wife I need Ampeg gear

I bought this amp used from eBay about a month ago. This appears to be a fairly new amp, late 2007/early 2008 at best. Solid state, and very light weight. Features include 2 channels (1 clean, 1 distorted - footswitchable), Contour control to boost lows and highs and cut mids, 4 band parametric EQ (Trebble, Hi-Mid, Low-Mid, Bass), boost, master, and gain controls, tuner out with mute, effects loop, XLR out, -10db input pad for active basses, and 2 1/4" speaker outputs. All very usable, though I'm not so sure about the distortion channel yet. The EQ is tough at first, very little adjustment is needed.

I play Fender Jazz basses with passive pickups in a rock band, and this amp suits the style perfectly. It's punchy through my Sunn 1x12/1x18 cabinet, and it has enough power to cut through the mix. The amp is very quiet, unless you use the distortion channel, but that's expected. I noticed that high peak notes in the lower register tend to distort even on the clean channel, but I think this is controllable.

I've only had this about for about a month now, and we haven't played any gigs yet, so I'm not sure how it will handle constant gigging. But, it can handle a long practice with ease. No issues so far.
I've never used a backup before, but my recent experience with my Trace Elliot dying without any warning might make me rethink that decision.

I only had to deal with GK once. I had a question regarding the fan, and decided to call. I got someones voice mail, so I decided to e-mail GK. I got a response within 20 minutes. Kudos to GK for that.

I've been playing bass for 20 years, mainly in rock or metal bands. I'm currently using the previously mentioned Fender Jazz basses and Sunn 1x12/1x18 cabinet (heavy, but powerful). In the past I've used amps from Peavey, Hartke, Ampeg, and Trace Elliot. It's tough to compare to my previous gear, as the Backline 600 really has it's own voice. I really like this amp, and would replace it if lost or stolen. I compared it to the Berhinger and Ashdown offerings in the same price range and wattage, and this one just seemed to stand above the other two. I wouldn't mind getting matching cabinets for this amp, or even another amp as a backup. For the price, it might be worth it. This is a great amp for the price.

2 channels, solid state - 1 clean, 1 overdrive, so you'll need to purchase a footswitch.
It has an effects loop in the back of the unit which is a nice option to have effects like delays and loopers that still play when you're in silent tuning.
It's rack-mountable, so you don't have to worry about damage during transport.
I used this head in a heroin rock/shoegaze/rock band and a post-hardcore outfit. The two channels made it versatile since I didn't use any pedals up until the time that I sold it.

I used both active and passive Fender jazz basses with this. I had to disengage the active pickups in the one bass b/c when I activated the overdrive channel, there was insane feedback.
The head suited the different styles of my bands well. I wish there was more shaping to the overdrive channel that wouldn't effect the clean channel.
The clean channel was clear, but not warm like tube amps.
The overdrive channel was heavy, but again, it's not warm like tube distortion...

I had some crackling on the high knob from the time of purchase and I didn't want to bring it back to the store (too lazy at the time), so I dealt with it.
I never had any real issues with the head. It was solid!

I sold this head to upgrade to an Ampeg SVT classic tube head. I gave up 2 channels and an effects loop for warmth in my sound.

If you want a 2 channel, solid state head that's loud, durable, and dependable, this head is for you!

Features of this head are all I need for rock, metal, slap and jazz sounds I play. I play in mostly small areas the size of a very large garage and the BK600 is far more power than I need, but it carries a full sound that can inspire you to dance. I rarely use the distortion channel and would choose to use the patch bay when inserting different effects. But if you choose to use this channel you will probably like what you can get out of it.

I would recommend using the amp without effects connected in the patch bay at least for the first few hours of getting one. I say this because my effects generator was the culprit in creating noise instead of having full quieting between songs. Also, my effects box was limiting the level of clean power and amplitude that I could get from the 4x10 cabinet and the 1x15 cabinet. The active band equalizer seems to need small adjustments to aquire a large margin of sound variance. After purchasing the 115 GLX cabinet to go with the 4x10 cabinet, the sound is punchy, full bodied and you can literally feel some breezes comming out of the sound baffle on the upper edge of the cabinet. The lowes highs are clean and I really like how clean the sound is, and for less then half the price of many fine amps in the same power catagory. I've had my amp for 3 months now and about 15 of my musician friends love the sound and want to buy one now.

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This amp kicks butt.

I bought this amp in a second hand store a month ago for 166???. It has two channels, one for overdrive and one for clean sounds. Included is a parametric 4 band EQ, a Contour knob, a Boost knob (to add some growl to the mids, I think), a gain knob for the overdrive channel, volume knobs for both channels and a master volume knob. It has a tuning mute switch, a switch to reduce the signal in the preamp and outputs for tuners, two cabinets and a D.I. XLR output (pre/post-EQ switchable).

enough to get a proper sound out of it.

I use a Yamah BB 404 a passive Jazz-Bass with it. My cabinet is a GK Backline 2*10". It's a little noisy if you only use one of the Pick ups with tone-control at 10, but does not matter at all. after trying a few EQ settings, I decided to push the mids to 2 o'clock and to bass and treble to 12. The contour knob is interesting, but I don't need it for my sound. The Boost knob, I turned as far as possible, Volume A (Gain for Clean channel) is turned to about 10 o'clock. I use the Master volume to get the right loudness. The amp sound good over the cheap Cabinet, in comparison to other Cabinets in this price range, but when you hit the e-string too hard, there is somekind of distortion.

The heights come clear and not too loud, the middles a nice and punchy and the bass delievers a nice foundation.

All in all you can get a very nice tone out of it, if you only try to.

I mostly don't use the overdrive channel, in fact I don't own a footswitch. But the channel has an interessting dry tone. I like it.

I cannot give a statement for this topic, I just own it for a few days.

Dunno

Good amp for this price. But you should get a better Cabinet, maybe a 2*12" or a good 1*15" and 4*10" to get a realy great sound.

I'll give it an overall 8, cause it's (of course) not comparable to higher class amps, and I just don't know how the amp sounds live. In practice room I've got enough power, and a lot of headroom.

I bought my GK Backline 600 in 2005. For the price, the features are very good - balanced line out with ground lift, nice EQ and tone shaping controls such as Contour, and the dirty channel rocks. The ability to add a pedal is essential for switching between the clean and overdriven sounds. The only feature I would say GK could realistically add to an entry-level amp like this would be Speakon connectors.

I will give this a 10 since it could really have a bunch more features, but considering the price/sound/reliability I have experienced it has PLENTY.

I played this amp using a Fender P/J and a Spector, both 5-string. The amp has a decidedly solid-state sound particularly suitable for hard rock, which is mostly what I play. The EQ and tone shapng is sufficient to be able to get what you need out of the axe/amp/cab combination you are using, and the overdrive channel is great for some hard rock tunes. It is not super-quiet, but sufficiently quiet for most purposes. I tried this amp next to similarly priced and marketed models (such as the Behringer Ultrabass) and it was the better sounding amp BY FAR.

My 9 rating should be put within the context of other amps in this range. Against my Ampeg SVT I would give it a 4.

I have had ZERO problems with this amp. Before I could afford a backup, I played many gigs with the same Backline 600 with no backup. After 2 years of using it without backup, I would not be too nervous doing it again. That said, I do value the professional reputation of my band and myself so I recommend always having a backup when feasible. The Backline is now backup for my SVT and I would be comfortable playing an important gig with it if necessary.

I have not had to deal with support in any way, thus my lack of opinion on the matter.

I've been playing bass casually in local bands for about 15 years. I have used various amps such as a Fender BXR300C, GK 800RB, and Ampeg SVT6-PRO. In this price range, I have never seen a better value. I had $300 to work with, went to the store, and tried everything in that range and this was the standout. The fact that I have had no issues is icing on the cake.

This amp was made in 2007 i believe. I play rock and funk and this amp is versatile enough to fit any style. I can get a great edgy rock tone that cuts through the mix as well as a great slap tone. I like the overdrive, however, i do like my pedal's distrotion better. All the features you could want, but a headphone jack would be a bonus. Plenty of power, really fills up the large auditorium at my school, garages, played an outdoor show and plenty of volume (basically if you need any more power, then you can just mic your amp anyway).

I have a fender p bass. like i said you can get a great rock tone as well as a sweet slap tone. No noise at all, not even at hight volumes. you can get as much variety as u need, the contour feature is great and the eq is also killer. no distortion at high volumes, at least as high as ive gone (as high as you can go without being permanantly deaf ;>0). i had a fender rumble 100 before this, and that sounded thin to my ears, where thsi sounds smooth as butter. the thing that i notice all the time and the thing i like the best is that the sound really fills up the room and sounds so smooth.

i can rely on my baby for sure. i gig without a backup, why would i want to schlep out 2 amps? amp has never broken down, i treat my gear well, but i put it thru a few marathon practice sessions and it got hot but made it through.

man, i love this baby. i would buy it agin in a heartbeat. i compared it to pretty much anything in the price range, read reviews, tried out amps, and this was the best for sure. i have an extremely limited budget, so i was definately looking for some reasonably priced gear, and this gave me everything i wanted and more. this kicks my old fender rumble 100's buttock. if you are on a budget, but want a quality piece of gear, this is them amp for you.

-I bought this amp new Late Nov. of 06. It was made that same year.
-This head produces a nice slap tone a finger. I jam with a band and we go from 70s disco to 80s R&B and back to 70s funk. Country, Blue Grass and Gospel.
-It has 2 channels clean and overdrive that is footswitchable, There is an effects loops.
-I wish the mute button was footswitchable. I don't use the over drive channel.
-I play this in church on sundays, the church can hold about 350 to 400 people with high ceilings and a lot of empty space. It has more then enough power I keep the gain at about 50% and the master at 75%
-It is solid state, just the way I like it.

I play most Ibanez bass with 2 humbuckers.
No not noisy at all.
It makes most every sound out there, clean to funk to slap ooh at the raggae thud sound. I have never heard it distort on the clean channel.

Don't know I have had it for 4 or 5 months with no fail.

n/a

Great buy. There is only a few heads cheaper but I don't think anything can compare to this one.

has distortion feature decent sound but you needs 4 10 and one 15 to get optimal sound Too bassy with one 15

used with 73 jazz bass again good but not as good as ampeg Tone is only average unles you looking for no tone deep bass

No do not buy mine in sh0p after two gigs. It cuts out in the middle of a song

not worth the money overrated

This Head has pretty much anything you could need in a head.

I played this head thru a backline 2x10 and 1x15, using an ibanez semihollow. It sound's good not amazing but for what you pay it still sounds pretty good.

At higher volumes it tended to distort so if your planing on playing with a full band be careful.

The day after i bought this amp the overdrive started turning itself on and off without any provocation.

A couple weeks after i returned it for a new head it short circuited and fried itself.

I never once abused this amp and honestly only played on it around 6 times.

i bought it threw Guitar Center and they gave me no problems when i returned it

Don't buy this!!!