Gallien-Krueger
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Gallien-Krueger is a musical instrument amplifier manufacturer. Based in San Jose, California, it is generally considered the premier maker of 100% solid-state amplifiers for bass guitar[citation needed] . Unlike many other solid-state designs, Gallien-Krueger amplifiers' equalization section is wired in series, creating a much "warmer" and more "natural" sound than that achievable by other firms' solid-state preamplifiers[citation needed] . The company's 800RB model was the first relatively affordable bass amp with built-in biamplification capability[citation needed] . Famous 800RB users include Duff McKagan (Guns N' Roses, Velvet Revolver), Tony Kanal (No Doubt), Colin Greenwood (Radiohead)[citation needed], Justin Chancellor of Tool, Tom Hamilton and Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers); it remains highly popular today.
During the 1980s and early 1990s, Gallien-Krueger also produced a line of electric guitar amplifiers. The 200 series was made in 1982 and was one of the first to be rack mountable. Ronnie Montrose was used in print advertising for the 200 series and the amp was used on a Gamma album. The 200RG and 200RB looked similar but the RG was for guitar and the RB was for bass. The 200RG amp was also built into a combo unit with 1 12" speaker. The RG series amplifier was loud but very clean amp (low noise level)[citation needed] and was a great addition to a guitarist's rack of effects since it fit nicely in to a rolling 19" rack mount case. It was dual channel with a great eq section and and a great sounding overdrive circuit[citation needed] that was switchable to the clean channel by a remote foot switch. The beefy sound of the 200RG was not carried over to the 250 series and was probably why this amp series fell out of favor with guitarists.[citation needed]
The 200RG was followed up with the 250-series stereophonic "combos" that resembled boomboxes of the day. With a pristine sound[citation needed] and built-in chorus and compression, the G-K line was state-of-the-art for its time. The amplifiers garnered numerous celebrity endorsements, most notably Alex Lifeson of Rush. However, G-K guitar amps' onboard overdrive circuits were generally of a low quality, producing a sound relatively light on ear-pleasing even-order harmonics[citation needed]. This amp was very thin sounding[citation needed] and did not have the same sound as the 200RG series. At the time the RockMan was a popular guitar accessory and this unit tried to fit in with that product by also offering built-in chorus and reverb effects. As the 1990s wore on and rock music trends swung back toward a 1970s hard rock aesthetic, the G-K line fell out of favor among rock guitarists, and it was completely discontinued by 1998.
