Gallien Krueger Bass Amplifiers

I bought the Gallien Krueger 400RB-III bass head at Guitar Center (Houston, TX) for $400. I bought this unit because I needed more power at both rehearsals and gigs. Previously, I had played out of a Peavey 60-watt combo amp. Our guitarist had just gotten his Marshall half-stack, and I needed something more powerful to keep up with both him and the drummer. There are so many things I like about the Gallien-Krueger head. First is its compact size. The 400RB-III unit resembles a VCR more than it does a bass head. Weighing in at a mere 15-20 lbs., lugging around the GK head is no problem. It even has a handle on the side of the unit to facilitate transport! What is also great about this unit is the many features it has. There is a tuning mute and a tuner input on the 400RB-III, which lets the bassist hook his/her tuner into the head. Whenever there is a need to tune during a set, one can simply turn on the mute, turn on the tuner, and tune the instrument without having to turn off the amp and unplug the bass. Another useful feature of the GK 400RB is its cooling fan. There is an open vent on the top of the unit, which effectively and rapidly circulates air in and out. Even during summer outdoor gigs in Texas, I have never had to worry about the bass head overheating and burning out. There is also a four band equalizer, which lets me adjust hi's and low's as necessary. In addition to the volume controls, there are also contour and presence adjustments, and even a bass boost option for bassists playing with 5-string instruments. Finally, one feature that I really appreciate about the GK 400RB-III is its PA direct out jack. I like how I can have the bass head directly linked into the sound system without having to run a mic to the speaker cabinets. This saves me lots of space on stage. There's really not anything I don't like about this bass head. In addition to all the features I mentioned previously (some of which the higher-end models lack), it puts out an ample 240 watts at 4ohms. If there was one thing more I could want out of a bass head, it would be that it was 8 ohms, bi-ampabble. With the 400RB-III, I can only run it through a single cabinet at 4 ohms. Solid state; no need to replace burned out tubes. One of my best purchases EVER. In my opinion, Gallien-Krueger makes the best line of bass amps top to bottom. It is no wonder that many of the world's top professional and amateur bassists have chosen Gallien-Krueger to express their musical ideas. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com