Gallien-Krueger ML/E Head

The copyrights on the circuit boards are from 1990-91 so I assume the amp was built about that time.

It's a 2 channel amp (clean / distorted (duh)) with reverb and chorus.

The distortion is rather metalic, not at all smooth like a tube amp. If you're real patient with tweaking you may be able to dial in an acceptable crunch tone, but it's best at doing solid-state distortion.

The clean channel is very clean. There's an on-board compressor for the clean channel which sounds best in small doses.

The reverb is very good, not great, but definately usable. The chorus leaves a lot to be desired.

The amp is physically very small (about 14" x 2" x 7"), but it puts out a huge sound. Don't let the small size fool you, this amp can really crank.

On the back side there are XLR left and right outputs for going straight to a mixing board (great for live performance with a PA), effects out with both a mono and stereo return, and a 5 pin port for the foot switch.

There's other stuff too. You can see everything you need to knwo about the features by going to the Gallien-Krueger website and searching for the owners manuals.

Overall, the sounds are good (except the chorus). I've used it with single coils and humbuckers and am quite satisfied. My range of styles includes classic rock, jazz, blues, punk. The distortion channel channel works best for 80's style metal, but is passable for other styles. There is not a great deal of noise on either of channels even when the volume is turned up.

It's not the most versitile sounding amp I've ever played, but there's no lag on channel switching and any sounds you don't find on this amp you can easily plug in through the effects loop and tailor your sounds to your taste that way.

I hesitate to give this a rating since I bought this unit used through e-bay. I had it for about a year or two, then one day I turned the thing on at practice and all the magic smoke came out. I was really pissed about that and figured I was out of luck since Gallien-Krueger no long makes guitar amps (pity). The broken amp sat on a shelf at home for another year before I decided to see if maybe I could fix the thing myself.

After removing about a million screws I got the thing open and found the problem. One of the capacitors on the power supply circuit board (there's three separaet circuit boards in this thing) had fried and looked like it took the two componants next to it with it. The problem was that the componants were so badly damaged that there was no way of determining what they were.

I decided to call G-K to see if they had any spare parts, which of course they didn't, but the nice lady in the service department sent me the schematics at no charge so I found the parts I needed, soldered them in place, and now everything works great again.

Although this amp fried on me, I'm going to give it a higher reliability rating. The person I bought it from had obviously not taken the best of care with this (there was a ton of dust in the amp, and the sheat metal covers showed signs of moisture damage), but it still seems to have held up for 10 years. Also, the circuit boards are laid out extremely well, there's a huge metal heat sink for the power transistors, and even with me sticking my grubby little fingers all over the innards the amp still works.

For my reasons for rating customer support highly, read the section on reliability.

Lailany was extremely helpful and even went as far as to make follow up calls to make sure I got everything I needed. This is definately a company I'd like to continue doing business with. It's really too bad they stopped making guitar products. Maybe I'll have to take up the bass, or buy a Diesel Dawg for my guitar rig.

I've been playing guitar for over 20 years and have had a few diferent amps and guitars over the years. I play out at bars, parties, weddings, etc. about 12 times per year. My main rig consists of a Carvin Quad-X preamp, Carvin T-100 tube amp, and a Marshall JTMC410 4x10 cabinet. Since tubes can be tempermental I like to have a back-up at gigs. The Gallien-Krueger is the perfect backup. I can throw it in the back seat with other spare parts and if the tube amp setup decides it doesn't want to play I know I have a spare amp in the truck.

While the G-K can't compare tonally with the Carvins it can certainly hold its own volume-wise. Also, with the XLR direct outs and its small size, this amp is certainly the perfect backup.

Two channels, 120 watts (60 per side) into 4 ohms, reverb, chorus, compression (on clean channel), contour knob (on lead channel), effects loop, direct outs, etc. Everything is footswitchable. Download the manual from GK's homepage if you need more detail.

This a basically a head version of the famous 250ML lunchbox combo that was all the rage back in the 80's, but with a few more bells and whistles (reverb, tweakable chorus, contour, and a gain knob instead of just the high and low gain modes that the 250ML has). The EQ is awesome, not only do you get four bands instead of three, but the knobs are VERY responsive. None of the crap you get with a Marshall where there is no difference between 2 and 8 on any given knob. If you breath on a knob, the tone changes. The clean sound on this amp is to die for; it's warm and round, but it still gets that high end chime that many amps lack. If you are a tube purist, you might prefer a blackface Fender, but the tonal versatility absolutely slays any tube amp I have ever played through. The Lead channel is really a matter of choice. If you are into Rush type lead tones, you will love the Lead channel. If you are into a huge, end of the world lead tone, you will need to look elseware. While there is plenty of gain, it isn't the thick, warm distortion you would expect from a tube amp, it sounds very solid state. Very tinny and buzzy. Some people like that, but I'll stick to my 5150 for high gain applications.

I have played GK gear (various guitar and bass amps and cabs)for 15 years and I have never had a problem with any of them. I've never even had to replace a fuse!

If you contact them in reference to an amp they still make, you are made in the shade. If you contact them in reference to one of the amps they no longer make, chances are the customer service rep won't even know that they ever made the amp in question. It seems like the discontinued amps are "out of sight, out of mind", with the exception of some manuals on their homepage.

I've been playing for 15 years and have owned various Fender, Mesa, Line 6, and GK amps. I am currently using this amp for my clean sound and a 5150 for my distortion tones, with a Morley ABY to jump between the two. When it comes to bass amps, I swear by GK. When it comes to guitar amps, I swear by GK's clean tones, but for lead tones I prefer a good tube amp. There are better amps for clean sounds also, but they will cost you big $$ and this amp can be had pretty cheap on Ebay. For recording, the direct line out on the amp right into the mixing board is awesome, no need to mike a cabinet. Great amp for the money.

80's solid state Micro Lead series amp, 120 watts into 4 ohms. Amazingly loud for it's size. Tiny little thing, fit's in most gig bags! 2 channels, reverb, distortion, compressor, 4 band EQ, tone contour, killer chorus (Lifeson!), FX loop, headphone out, stereo aux in. It's amazing what GK has crammed into this tiny head. I wish they would update this amp using todays digital modeling technology which sounds awesome. Very cool as is though.

Sounds great with Strats as is, I suggest a good distortion pedal for Les Paul type guitars as the built in distorion is kind of harsh but extremely brutal. I use a Marshall Shred Master with it and it sounds great! My other amp is a Boogie .50 Caliber half stack and this head, while not nearly as complex, is definitely in the ball park and has it's own thing going on. Great solid state clean tone, that no tube amp can duplicate. LOUD! Great for recording alongside tube amps for tonal variation and tracks that jump out of the mix. I give it a 7 in this category as the built in distortion leaves much to be desired. I have a GK 4x8 aluminum rack mount cab which sounds killer with this head. Try to find one for a unique great sounding portable rig.

Very dependable. They're so small that it's easier to carry two of these to a gig than any single head I know of. No probs yet and it's almost 20 years old.

GK has decent customer support for current products but they don't really support the discontinued stuff.

Been playing for 28 years, owned everything at one point or another, would buy it again if lost, it's just too cool. Updated to current modeling standards would be awesome. If you find a used one, buy it!