Do GK amps have reliability issues?

#102
IMO - yes they do - I've owned half a dozen over the last 20 years & they all had issues requiring service so I'm down to one 200MB that lives in the trunk of my car - back up amp only - it would be a drag if I needed it sometime & it didn't work! I'm on to others now - new Genzler, Carvin, Aguilar etc.
 
#106
my GK stuff always works, and my gigging amps never sit in a climate controlled environment until it ENTERS a venue. It's either sitting in my car or in a band trailer. So it's baking in scorching Texas heat in summers. No problems ever.
 
#107
I personally had a small 100 watt (or was it 150 watt?) combo from them that had problems... but I seem to be the exception, and that was a number of years ago. I shy away for that reason, but the have a great sound!
 
#108
I consider the U.S.-made GK stuff to be just as reliable as the U.S.-made Peavey stuff: Almost bulletproof. And in the rare instance when I've had to contact GK customer service, they've been nothing less than outstanding. As others have noted, the weak link in this chain may indeed be GC.
 
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#110
Greetings All,

Snake23, my observation is worth exactly what you paid for it......

Have noticed bass players run speaker loads much lower than guitarists, knew someone running a 2 Ohm load. Lower the number the more unstable, hence the reason GK has protection mode, like someone else mentioned it might be fine. GK makes good stuff and stands behind it. Verify your speaker loads as its really easy to kill an amp if the load is wrong.
 
#111
lz4005 said:
I've had two GK amps that had a problem out of the box. One had a broken pot, the other a malfunctioning switch. Both were repaired or replaced under warranty and then worked flawlessly on hundreds of gigs.
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Same here. Buy new, with a warranty. That should cover your butt for the most part. GK is as good if not better than any other brand on a Guitar Center floor. If you want a really solid piece of gear, get a Mesa D800.
 
#113
I used GK for several years and only had one issue with a 1001RB-II. I contacted GK customer service and they had my local GC swap it even though it was out of warranty.
 
#114
I had the same problem with my backline 2 10 it is a heat issue when the amp heats up there is a thermo switch that is supposed turn on the cooling fan here lies the problem that is why the yellow protection light comes on. it is a defect in the design. when I contacted GK they said that they had discontinued that series and in order to get the amp working again it would cost a $150.00 for the replacement part that would fail in time. needles to say I scraped the amp kept the cab.
 
#116
snake23 said:
I might go back today and see if they will order me 1001rb.
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From personal experience I would bet that you would be more happy with a 700rb II. The signature GK sound comes from pushing the amp, the 1001rb has so much clean headroom you have to get ridiculously loud before you achieve that signature GK sound.
 
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#117
Bang for the buck?
Buy a used GK that works perfectly with no issues, priced at about half of new and just be done with it.
What bass amp other than possibly Peavey has been so reliable with so little maintenance.
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Exactly!
 
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#118
I bought a used 700RBII about 5 years ago. It was my gigging amp for about 2 1/2 years. Since then it has been my amp that has lived in our bands practice room. In those 5 years it has never given me a single problem. Ever.

I have friends that use MB800s for gigging and never had any issues. GK''s stuff in my experience is about as rock solid as it can be.
 
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#120
I spent too many years moonlighting/subbing called in to clear backlogs in M.I. repair shops. I was a cork-sniffing tube snob, but it was the build and design quality of G-K's that led to my first purchase. The G-K was the least seen unit for failures and when they did come in it was the 100 watt amp on the 800RB being blown by a 4 ohm load 85 to 90% of the time (these loses went down after they removed one output jack from the "High" 100 watt amp).
 
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