Gallien-Krueger ML/E Combo

Honeymoon review. My MLE combo just came in. I think first reports are important....gives you a chance to air your first impressions about an amp before it has a chance to "grow on you"......so here goes. I purchased this amp off the Harmony Boards. It is in MINT condition. The guy said it never left his bedroom and I beleive him. It came with the $200 GK footswitch.....also in mint condition. Has a TON of options....unfortunately none of them seem to do much. I purchased this amp as a practice amp. I wanted a GK because 1) They are small and powerful. 2) They have a stereo aux line in which is perfect for me to jam along wth a CD player. 3) You can drive a 4X12 stack nicely with one if needed. Seems to have enough power, but it does not sound like 100 watts.....could be due to the small 6" speakers.....dunno. It's plenty loud for a practice/rehearsal amp though.....I just wouldn't try to use it in a gigging situation without an external cab. Mine also comes with a factory option to either turn the 6" speakers off when you connect an external cab or to leave them running in parallel with the external cab. Very cool.

Guitars are an Ernie Ball Axiss SS, and a Washburn WMS USA Custom Shop. I tested this amp running both guitars straight into the amp.

Well......my first reaction on this is a bit of disappoinemt. I owned a GK 250ml before this and I think it sounded better. I've been using a Roland JC-120 for the past year. Perhaps the JC-120 has just spoiled me. Nevertheless, here we go on my complete initial reaction.....itemized in no particular order:

1) Volume: One nice feature is a master volume, so once you get your clean and dirty volumes set you can raise/lower your master volume to suite without screwing up your volume ratios.

2) EQ: VERY nice four band EQ. Sounds like it's active. Wow, I wish all amps had eq'ing features this nice.

3) Compressor: There is a compressor on the clean channel. Darned if i can hear a difference using it though. The compressor is also footswitchable.....which would be great if i could hear the stinkin thing. I've heard others complaining about this as well.

4) Volume boost: Quite honestly I haven't tried this yet, but I'm tickled pink that it's there.....and yes, there is a volume boost on the footswitch as well.....way cool!! I'll update this board with a report after I've had a chance to test this feature. I understand it goes up to 9db, and it is adjustable.

5) Chorus: Very weak compared to my JC. As a mtter of fact I even had to turn it on and off a few times just to see if I could hear the difference, which was barely perceptible (even with the depth and rate set to full). Sounds like one of those weak DOD chorus boxes from the 80's.

6) Reverb: LUUUSH!! Man I love this reverb. One of the nicest features of the amp!! Bettr than my JC-120!!!

7) Distortion: pretty unuseable. Lot's of gain.....just way too raspy for my taste. I thought the chorus would mellow it out a bit, but it doesn't. The distortion has a disonent unmusical tone to it. OK for practice. Otherwise unuseable. I figured this would be the case and planned using my Tri-OD with this amp anyway.....so no big deal.

Noise: Seems just a little noisy....even on the clean channel. Again no big deal for a practice amp. The noise did NOT get louder as I turned up the amp, and it is no noisier than my JC-120. The distortion channel wasn't too noisy, which was a bit of a surprise.

The amp wouldn't turn on when I got it out the the UPS box. After playing with it a couple of minutes it just magically came on. Maybe the power cord was loose....dunno, but I'm a bit worried about this. Who knows.....it could have been tossed around a lot by the UPS monkeys. Otherwise seems very well built....but I really won't be able to comment on this until I submit an updated review.

Web site has been down for 4 days. Hmmmmmm. I sure would like to track down a user manual. I'm going to try calling their 800 number. I'll update this board with my findings.

Been playing about 20 years. I've darn near owned just about everything out there at one time or another due to my GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome). I'm on an anti tube kick right now. So far I'm not regretting it. My JC-120 does it all, and coupled with my Tech 21 Tri-OD it does it better than any tube amp I've ever owned (and that would be many tube amps). Like I stated earlier, I wouldn't use this to gig with like I do my JC, but it should make a fine practice amp. I'll use it occassionally in church as well, because I don't want to lug the JC around just for a church service (I don't mean that to sound as sacriligous as it does). Overall, I was more impressed with my 250ml, and now wish I hadn't sold that. For what it is (a practice amp) it should work just fine for me. I was also intrigued by the idea of hooking this up to a 4X12 cab. Will update this forum after I've had a chance to do that.

Gallien-Krueger ML/E Combo:

This a 2000 model that I purchased barely used in 2001..
I play Lite Alt. Metal, Fusion Blues, and Shred-Blues, and I can tweak this amp PERFECT for the sound I need in those styles.
Mr. GK here has 2 channels, reverb, chorus, effects send/receive, and multiple output and input jacks. I do believe it it footswitchable, but I have no footswitch for mine..:(.
It has multiple knobs for bass, mid cut, treble, and rate and depth for the chorus, as well as reverb and overdrive controls.
I use this amp as primarily a practice/jam amp, but when I start playing clubs, this baby and my Peavey 112 cab's going with me. It has a solid-state, 150w (I believe?) head, and a Celestion 80 Greenback "Vintage tone" speaker. This is more than enough power for the situation I'm in now.
This amp is loaded in this department, and is VERY versatile.

I am currently playing my 1992 Washburn N2 LM with Dimarzio humbuckers through this amp..I play everything from Metal to Blues, and you can get ANY sound you want for ANY kind of music with a little tweakage. For chording sometimes I hook up my Peavey 112 cab for some extra "Punch", and use a Boss HM-2, but this amp delivers.
For blues, she dishes out a classic "Down Home" vintage sound on her second channel. I use my Dunlop Wah pedal with my tone knob rolled back to boost the cut for soloing, and with my humbucker-equipped guitar, I can get an SRV growl. This amp is not noisy at all when you tweak it right, but if you scoop the mid alot...It's a very little bit noisy, but nothing to be concerned about.
One thing I dislike about this combo is the Distortion. When unadultered, it is NO GOOD for soloing or lead playing. It's pitiful when you try an artificial harmonic or two, it just naturally doesn't have the cut to play lead. I have to use my Dunlop Crybaby 'open' with my guitar's Tone knob rolled back a bit, and I use my neck pickup, THEN it's VERY good sounding, excellent for my style of shred-blues. But, without anything boosting the cut, it's totally useless for soloing the higher notes and trying harmonics. On the second channel, if you scoop the mid, it's good for rhythm playing, but nothing spectacular. I suggest that if you're going to play any lead on this amp, either get a Distortion unit (IE: Boss HM-2, excellent box), or get an EQ or Wah to boost the DB cut. Otherwise it's very muddy.

I will use this in a gig without backup, as soon as I start gigging clubs. I've had it for nearly 3 years without any problems. *Knock on wood*

I've been playing around with guitars all of my life (16 years), but serious practice for about 4 years, practice pays.
If this amp were stolen, I'd find an amp to fill its shoes (IE: Behringer Shark) without getting another new (They're $800+).
I love how tweakage pays with this amp. I tweaked on this for about a year until I found the perfect sound. I really don't like how the distortion sucks though....I highly recommend getting a boosting unit (EQ, Wah) if buying this amp, or getting another Distortion unit (IE: Boss MT-2, HM-2) if you're going to get Metallicious. I do wish it had, maybe, a +15db boost on the Gain channel...
But all in all, this amp is killer if you can find one, and if you know how to tweak it. The other effects (Chorus and reverb) are studio-quality. Perfect, I love them. But, like the amp, they require tweaking also. If you'd like any presets, feel free to e-mail me.
Very quality-made amp, GK rocks!
Cody

I've had this amp for ten years (its hard to believe I've had it that long). I bought it used from a friend (I think I traded a 1x12 cabinet and about $100). The amp has two channels, chorus and reverb all switchable with a foot switch, I don't know if the switch comes separately or not. Now if you're looking for a classic tube sound you better keep moving along, there is nothing to see here for you. Now if you want a versatile amp in a small package then we're open for business. I use this amp to power two 2x12 cabinets which is more than enough power for your typical practice or show. The amp is also great because all I have to do is disconnect it from my speakers and take it home for a great little practice amp. I run the amp in stereo which bleeds away from the overall power but sounds much better.

I use a steinberger GM-Pro which has alot of sonic potential and this amp keeps up with it. The clean channel is great, the distortion can be light to out of control, to be honest when I use the distorted channel it is for that out of control sound. I play alternative/progressive music and never had a problem with this amp at any level. I wish it could push a little more power out to my cabinets but not a big deal if everyone in your band can play at reasonable levels

I have not had a problem with the amp although the switch has broken and I haven't gotten around to fixing it. I have been told that there is a very good chance of blowing the amp if the internal and external speakers are on at the same time. So I am very careful when I set-up to make sure the internal speakers are off before I turn the amp on. I have gigged without a back-up numerous times with this amp.

I really like this amp for its versatility and portability (which believe me if you're gigging alot is very important). Granted it is not traditionally sounding but I've never been one for the traditional sound.