Gallien Krueger

EyesOfAnguishbassist · Post by **EyesOfAnguishbassist** » Thursday Jul 24, 2008

So I'm looking into purchasing a new 8x10... I've come down to either an Ampeg 810 or a Gallien Krueger GLX Goldline 810. Does anybody have one of these and how does it sound, and are they durable? I know Ampeg is really awesome but would it be worth saving a few bucks to get the Gallien Krueger? I haven't read a bad review about them yet I don't think. I use a Mesa 400+ head btw. Any help bassists? Help me out please

JackANSI · Post by **JackANSI** » Friday Jul 25, 2008

I don't see how you could go wrong with any 8x10, unless you bought it thinking it was going to be easy to transport

I'd save the coin, they are both probably made in the same factory in china anyway...

CMOR · Post by **CMOR** » Friday Jul 25, 2008

I, personally, would go with the G-K. Paul from This Calling has one and it sounds great. I think it actually has more definition and punch than an Ampeg, so much nicer coming through FOH.
Transporting either is the problem unless you have a truck or trailer.
My $0.02

bassist_25 · Post by **bassist_25** » Friday Jul 25, 2008

I think this really comes down to whether you like the sound of aluminum drivers vs. paper drivers. Some cats really like aluminum drivers and other people hate them. As much as they get bashed by bass gear snobs nowadays, remember that Hartke was considered some pretty cutting edge stuff when it first came out.

The G-K rolls off around 40hz, which is pretty standard for many smaller cabs (e.g., 4x10s, 2x12s). I believe the Ampegs roll off somewhere around 60hz. So the G-K, at least in theory, is going to go deeper than the Ampeg. Many people like the higher roll off on the Ampeg 8x10s because they punch through a mix more, which is something that you may want to consider if you are dealing with super gained out guitar amps in loud situations. For me personally, I like cabs that roll off before my low B's fundamental, because I think the notes have more punch to them. In a real world situation, a lot of the super low end that many cabs boast isn't very usable.

And since I'm an Aguilar guy, I just have to put a plug in for the DB810. Here's a scratch and dent one one sale at MF. http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product?sku=601039X If you can find one on the used market, Aguilar use to make another 810 called the S810, which was a real-ported design.

MOONDOGGY · Post by **MOONDOGGY** » Friday Jul 25, 2008

As mentioned, I'd be prepared for VERY bright tones from the GK's aluminum cones. I played Paul's and it the thing you notice most is the highs cutting thru because of that brightness. If you just want obnoxiously loud thunder, then go for the Ampeg. I don't necessarily think one is better than the other, nor do I know exactly how one will sound with your Mesa, but I'd definitely find someway to try them out in person before purchasing, especially if buying new. I believe Rainbow in State College carries Ampeg, so it might be worth a phone call to them.

And I probably don't have to tell you this, but with a 810, you really have to take into account what kind of vehicle you're driving around in. The saying, "Bigger isn't always better" really applies to both cars and bass cabs!!! Make sure you have the room and the muscle for an 810.

Please keep us posted on what you decide to get.

JackANSI · Post by **JackANSI** » Friday Jul 25, 2008

I'd put the aguilar on the near top of my list if price wasn't an issue... I'm still a Genz-Benz freak every since I tested one. Just a bit too much on the markup like most boutiques...

Definitely see if you can find a place to hear them for yourself, with your gear driving them.

Any infinite-baffle 8x10 (to my knowledge all of the sealed ones are) is going to roll off sharply below 38 to 49hz. Which automatically cuts the deep mud out for you. But you still should have a good low-cut filter to get the most out of the speakers themselves and not waste power.

They are going to move more air, so they're going to also project better. You'll also find they don't take much more power to drive as common sense would tell you. I always figured, 4x10 = 1 so 8x10 = 2... I was wrong.. its more like 4x10 = 1 so 8x10 = 1.4~1.6...

I love aluminum cones for stuff that requires attack and presence (heavy, funk, tapping). I love paper cones for everything else. That being said, both will do a great job overall. Just might take a little extra time to dial in/out what you don't like if you find you made the wrong choice.

JackANSI · Post by **JackANSI** » Friday Jul 25, 2008

MOONDOGGY wrote:And I probably don't have to tell you this, but with a 810, you really have to take into account what kind of vehicle you're driving around in. The saying, "Bigger isn't always better" really applies to both cars and bass cabs!!! Make sure you have the room and the muscle for an 810.

Please keep us posted on what you decide to get.

Heavy-left-handed keyboardists beware...
Nothing says 'I'm the bassist' quite like an 8x10...

But if you don't have to deal with that, something smaller (or two something smallers) might be an option too..

I've dated women that would need a twin sister to balance a scale against an 8x10.

bassist_25 · Post by **bassist_25** » Friday Jul 25, 2008

JackANSI wrote:
They are going to move more air, so they're going to also project better. You'll also find they don't take much more power to drive as common sense would tell you. I always figured, 4x10 = 1 so 8x10 = 2... I was wrong.. its more like 4x10 = 1 so 8x10 = 1.4~1.6...

A lot of it has to do with the actual cabinet designs of two 4x10s vs. one 8x10. The Ampeg 8x10s traditionally have each set of two speakers enclosed in their own boxes; therefore, it's almost like a cabinet-within-a-cabinet. This, along with being a sealed design, is going to affect things like speaker efficiency. There are people with more engineering knowledge than me who could probably explain why it works this way.

A lot of people say that even two 4x10s are going to sound differently than one 8x10 from the same company and series of cabs. I honestly don't know, as I've never A/Bed two 4x10s vs. a single 8x10. I do, however, know that the SVT 8x10 is a very unique cabinet sound that you're probably not going to replicate with a modern ported design. I'm not a big Ampeg guy, but if I found a used SVT 8x10 for the right price, I'd find it hard to pass up. Also, a sealed cab is going to make micing a speaker much less of a hassle. And if one's lugging around an all-tube bass head like a 400+, it just seems like a waste to use a DI.

For what it's worth, many people say that the Bergantino NV610 sounds very identical to a classic SVT 8x10 in a much smaller and more portable package. I've never played through one, so I can't comment. They're not cheap, though.

http://www.bassgeardirect.com.au/nv610.htm

JackANSI · Post by **JackANSI** » Friday Jul 25, 2008

bassist_25 wrote:I'm not a big Ampeg guy, but if I found a used SVT 8x10 for the right price, I'd find it hard to pass up.

Me too.. the resale value is always going to be good on pre-china ampeg stuff..

I'm pretty versed in cabinet design, and for some reason the SVT 810 just ALWAYS seems to defy what common sense tells me

EyesOfAnguishbassist · Post by **EyesOfAnguishbassist** » Friday Aug 15, 2008

Well, I just got an Ampeg 810 last night.. my friend found one at the guitar center in Monroeville so I gave him the money and he picked it up for me, it was 800$ but in near perfect condition. He said the guy there also told him it was one of the last made in America cuz they now make them in Korea so that will boost the value of it in a few years. Does anyone know anything about this?? Is that true?

lonewolf · Post by **lonewolf** » Friday Aug 15, 2008

JackANSI wrote:They are going to move more air, so they're going to also project better. You'll also find they don't take much more power to drive as common sense would tell you. I always figured, 4x10 = 1 so 8x10 = 2... I was wrong.. its more like 4x10 = 1 so 8x10 = 1.4~1.6...

Regarding SPLs, if the cabs are identical, sitting next to each other and receiving the same signal and power, the law of acoustic coupling states that below 500hz:

if a 4x10=1 then (2)4x10s = 4

I would expect that a well designed 8x10 cab should perform close to a pair of 4x10s, at least SPL wise.

How the human ear perceives it is another story. It may not sound that much louder in the bass region, but think of all the extra bone rattling!

bassist_25 · Post by **bassist_25** » Friday Aug 15, 2008

EyesOfAnguishbassist wrote:He said the guy there also told him it was one of the last made in America cuz they now make them in Korea so that will boost the value of it in a few years. Does anyone know anything about this?? Is that true?

Ampeg did move its production to cheap Third World labor markets. I'm not sure when that happened, but I think it was about two years ago. Will it affect quality? I haven't A/Bed, but my intuition tells me that it will. I'm always skeptical when people say things like "Pre-Fender SWRs are superior to Fender-owned SWRs," because I have to wonder if a lot of that is in their heads (and if I'm not mistaken, Fender kept SWR's original design team when they bought the company); however, a company moving production to the Third World usually means that the quality is going to go down. Will the American Ampegs raise in value? I honestly can't say. The heads very well may. The cabinets may or may not, depending on the difference in quality between the American vs. imports.

Regardless, with a Mesa 400+ and an Ampeg 8x10, you have a serious rock 'n roll tone machine that should easily feel any room around here with out FOH support. Congrats!

JackANSI · Post by **JackANSI** » Friday Aug 15, 2008

lonewolf wrote:
JackANSI wrote:They are going to move more air, so they're going to also project better. You'll also find they don't take much more power to drive as common sense would tell you. I always figured, 4x10 = 1 so 8x10 = 2... I was wrong.. its more like 4x10 = 1 so 8x10 = 1.4~1.6...
Regarding SPLs, if the cabs are identical, sitting next to each other and receiving the same signal and power, the law of acoustic coupling states that below 500hz:

if a 4x10=1 then (2)4x10s = 4

I would expect that a well designed 8x10 cab should perform close to a pair of 4x10s, at least SPL wise.

How the human ear perceives it is another story. It may not sound that much louder in the bass region, but think of all the extra bone rattling!

I was mostly talking about the power to drive them to the same perceived volume in my ratios. I've always found 8x10's to be surprisingly efficient, except when moving them.

orangekick · Post by **orangekick** » Friday Aug 15, 2008

I thought that Ampeg only moved the production of their amps over seas. I was under the impression that the cabs were still made here.

bassist_25 · Post by **bassist_25** » Saturday Aug 16, 2008

orangekick wrote:I thought that Ampeg only moved the production of their amps over seas. I was under the impression that the cabs were still made here.

You could be correct.

JackANSI · Post by **JackANSI** » Monday Aug 18, 2008

no everything moved overseas

The factory is mothballed and up for sale

To be honest I doubt there will be any change in quality. I was glad to see the prices of new cabs drop to reasonable price for a few months. Recently they've gone back up to near old prices.

You can build a copy using birch 18mm plywood with neo 10s for the same price as ampeg is selling their current 8x10. I believe any cab made after 1999 was built from MDF earlier was real plywood. IMO MDF sucks.

Never buy any ampeg stuff newer than the 80s as an 'investment'