GK is missing the boat.

I'm a bit discouraged that GK is mired where they are, ignoring guitarists like me BUT I am extremely excited to have discovered an American amplifier company that is positioned to fill the void.

Four Force is a small American company that makes guitar amplifiers and their flagship product, the EM-1 sounds amazing. So much so it won awards at NAMM, beating out the big boys like Marshall, Fender, Peavey and ALL THE REST! Certainly no small task and a testament to what the EM-1 sounds like.

With the recent craze of low wattage boutique amps that cost $500 plus, the EM-1 is extremely affordable, at just $120, it's less than 25% of the cost of most of them, but don't let the small price tag fool you and don't fall for the perceived value scheme (It's very expensive so it must be very good) That is blatantly false and proves nothing other than mega corporations need mega profits to keep their shareholders from bailing.

Four Force, and their EM-1 is decidedly different, not just in size, price point or the nontraditional design of their products, but in their whole business model. There is truly a method to their madness.

Take the EM-1 amp for example. It doesn't look like anything on the market. Why? Why not create yet another box? Simple, because this sounds better! Think about it. Are you a musician or a model? What matters to you? Looking like every other musician lugging around their big black box or sounding good?

Anyone with knowledge of speaker design can tell you, box like speaker cabinets are bad because the sound gets bounced around off of the parallel surfaces. The EM-1 avoids this by having NO parallel surfaces in it's cabinet design, which of course contributes to the unique and pretty dang cool look, but it's shaped the way it is because that is what makes it SOUND good. Everything about this amp is FUNCTION OVER FORM, but as it happens, the form is pretty sweet too.

Same goes for the circuitry. It uses a patented design that has a minimalist approach resulting in an extremely efficient yet affordable amp that behaves the way more expensive tube amps behave. Breaking up the way tube amps do, and sounding full and warm the way tube amps do.

Another pretty cool thing about the electronics is it's universal power requirements. Normally an amp designed to run on America's power standard of 110volts at 60hz would need a power adapter to use it in places like Japan, and yet another to use it in Europe. Not this bad boy. All you would need is a power cord that fits the outlet for the respective country. The power plug on the back of the amp is a standardized 3 prong, just like the one on the back of your desktop computer.. (people still use those right?)

Another major selling point is how well it powers external speaker cabinets should the need ever arise. Anyways, enough rambling from me. Take a look, and let me know what you think.



Four Force is a startup guitar amplifier company started by a former Hewlett Packard engineer and high tech executive Jim McGillivary. It¹s dedicated to bringing affordable, high quality sound to guitar players everywhere.

A new album ?

Besides ranting and raving about the lack of a good affordable, loud stereo guitar amplifier these days, I'm also a musician. Lately I put together a collection of tunes, all recorded and mastered using Linux. My first time mastering an album and I'm curious what other might think.

You can listen and read about it here
http://jacksstudio.blogspot.ca/2013/09/new-album-from-dewed.html

or just listen while you.. whatever
http://soundcloud.com/dewedl/sets/to-be-determined

Peace and rock on !

GK 250ML to RL conversion.

By now anyone that still uses a GK250ML has had to do something about the internal speakers. Obvious solutions would be to replace them, or re-cone them. If you feel you are up to reconing there are several DIY vids on Youtube, and the recone/refoam kits run around $10-$15. BUT! even if I did replace or recone the internal 6.5 inch speakers. they'd still sound like garbage compared to a matched pair of larger speakers cabinets, so for me the solution was to remove them, converting my GK250ML to a GK250RL.

After loosening the myriad of screws to dismantle the case I labeled the power related wires, switch fuse, transformer connections etc with 2 pieces of tape so when I cut the wire, it's obvious what connects to what.

I picked out the grille, the transformer, and the head itself of course. I pulled the plug with wires going to the internal speakers. My instinct tells me doing this turns my 16ohm speaker jacks into 8ohm speaker jacks, and it hasn't blown up yet, so I'm thinking my instincts are correct in the matter.

I bent the grill to a 90, about 7 inches from the bottom,

I used some tin snips to cut indents in the grill for the fuse holder and power switch about 1 & 2 inches from the bottom (I put mine on the right).


I attached the transformer to the grille so it hangs upside down over the "motherboard", Essentially using the grille to make the ground connection between the head frame and the transformer, I used steel wool on the grill to expose the metal where I wanted to ensure good conductivity,


I finished up the wiring of the fuse, switch etc.


I cut up some pine shelving to make a cabinet, and presto a GK250RL!

Incidentally, that speaker cab is one of those ported boomer cabinets you likely hear rattling your car windows and setting off car alarms. I originally got it used for $20 and was going to put it in a car, but on a whim I hooked it up to my new (well, new to me) GK250 RL and MAN IT SOUNDS FREAKIN AWESOME ! Way more bottom end, then needed, allowing me to not have the low frequency EQ continually cranked.

Even more, the guy that posted it on Craigslist called it a a 2x10 cab, it's actually a 2x8 2 way. The tweeters are on the top of the cab, near the bass ports. This setup sounds surprisingly good for my studio work, and I suspect will be fine for gigs. The speakers are rated for 125 watts, and just like my pair of 1x12 cabs, turning the volume up to about 3, maybe 4 is plenty to keep up with a drummer volume wise.

I am actually considering selling my other cabs.... we'll see.

We miss you Gallien Krueger

Howdy and thanks for dropping by. This blog is all about persuading Gallien Krueger to make a re issue of the GK 250ML If enough of us rant about it, who knows maybe they will listen.

I will also try to consolidate the myriad of info scattered across the internet regarding the GK 250ML, things like adjusting the internal pots for the overdrive channel, speaker replacement and re-coning and of course my experiences using and customizing that darling little amp with the signature sound.

In case you don't know, the GK 250ML is a two channel stereo guitar amp, originally released around 1985 (possibly earlier) In it's day it was very popular and used by some major artists, such as Alex Lifeson of Rush, David Gilmour formerly of Pink Floyd and countless others.

If you have never heard one.. well you have truly missed one of life's special experiences. Granted the internal 6.5 inch speakers are a bit on the bright side, but when hooked up to larger external speakers.. words can not describe how good it sounds.

Factory set, kicking in the built in stereo chorus and echo onto the overdrive channel will transform a bland sounding guitar into a soaring rock/metal monster.

If you know a few Rush tunes from the Moving Pictures or Permanent Waves albums, you will be able to create that sound perfectly (the fingering is up to you of course) since Alex used the GK 250ML extensively for both recording and live performances.

And yes I admit it. I am a major Rush fan and the GK 250ML has earned a nick name of "Rush in a box" within some communities. But don't think that the 250ML is a one trick pony. With the 4 band EQ, the crystal clean clean channel which features built in compression, and a subtle overdrive you can get a wide range of sounds, from pristine clean Nashville picking to Stevie Ray Vaughn wailing blues all the way to the metal crunch thrash sound. It is a very versatile amp to say the least.

I run mine in the studio mainly on the clean channel with the chorus and echo on and use an external multi-FX pedel in the effects loop to further tailor the sound, but in a pinch I can just grab the amp and the external cabinets to do a gig no problem, and until I can hire a roadie, that is what I am most likely to do.

If it's just an impromptu low volume jam session I could even live without the external speaker cabinets. (Although by now those speakers need re-coning)

So anyways, enough about that. Next I'll be posting about how I have modified my GK 250ML to expand it's flexibility even more.

OH and if you would also like to see a reissue of the GK 250ML LET US KNOW by signing the gk 250ml revival petition..
Until then ROCK ON

Solid state amps aint all that bad

I'm continually running into guitarists that snub their noses at solid state amps, and when I ask them have they ever actually played through this or that particular solid state amp, the answer is always "no". Clearly this gives rise to the adage, don't knock it till you try it, but just like tube amps, solid state amps have their own tonal personalities. Speaker cabinet design is a big factor in the sound, so in a case like the GK 250ML, if you haven't heard one hooked up to a decent pair of matched speaker cabinets, you really have not heard it at all, because the internals simply do not do it justice. Add to that, anyone running through the original internal speakers these days has a pair that need reconing badly and they have no bottom end whatsoever (they did have a bit when they were new)

The whole reason for this site is my love of the GK 250ML guitar amplifier, and my hopes of a re-issue.. but I can not help but wonder how the GK 250ML might be improved, using today's technologies. What might the feature list look like? And of course the biggest dilemma, what's the new model number? So for your bemusement, my hopes for the next generation of GK 250ML 2x8 amps.

Speakers

2x8 inch speakers, each in an isolated cabinet, with an internal volume of roughly 1 cubic foot each, ported cabinets for better bass response, possibly a tweeter on each depending on the range of the speakers used. What would be really cool, is if the cabinets could be designed so their taller than they are wide, and attach to each other, riding a single hinge in the center. For portability, these clam shell speaker cabinets can be closed. When in use the clam shell cabinets can be opened, or completely separated, To maintain the tank like structural integrity of all things GK, the speaker cabinets could be carbon fibered aluminum mesh. Having ran through a pair of ported 8 inch cabinets I can say with 100% certainty, it doesn't suck.

EQ

The original 4 band EQ on the 250ML is beyond adequate at shaping the tone, so how could it be improved upon? My answer, ...
Give each of the 4 EQ knobs a dual knob, and a switch on the amp that lets you toggle between the 2 EQ settings, and of course a foot switch that does the same.

Chorus/Echo

One of the complaints I hear most often from guitarist regarding the GK 250ML is the lack of control over the chorus and echo (and overdrive until I point out it can be adjusted,, just not conveniently) Perhaps a simple blend knob for each, to adjust the dry to wet ratio of the signal. Speed and depth on the chorus would be very welcomed too.

Overdrive

The overdrive channel, and the chorus are, in my mind the defining characteristics of the GK 250ML sound. Still, I think the versatility of the amp could be greatly increased by.. adding a 2 or 3 position switch to the overdrive channel which allows you select from different levels or types of overdrive/distortion, something like "classic", for the original, and perhaps a bright and/or crunch option, and of course a simple level knob, which could actually be another blend knob, mixing dry to wet signals like I proposed for the chorus and echo.

Foot switch

Back in the day, the standard 2 button foot switch box was not quite adequate. While I appreciate the pedal used a standard stereo cable, it did so by sacrificing a lot of functionality. The next generation must not repeat that mistake, so a proprietary cable (I rarely recommend such things) providing switching capability to everything, as much as feasibly possible. Channel select, chorus/echo on off, toggle between the 2 EQ presets (as mentioned above), toggle between overdrive types and a volume pedal would just put it over the top

So there you have it.. I hope a certain someone is listening !