H&K Grandmeister Deluxe 40 anyone have/try it ?
- Thread starter cujo
- Start date
bish0p34
Member
I use a lot of H&K stuff. I have a Triamp MKII, 2 Switchblades, a Grandmeister 36, Tubemeister 36, Tubemeister 18, and had a Duotone. I'm going to be getting the Grandmeister Deluxe 40 soon.
I love the GM 36, although I'm in a variety of cover bands. It doesn't sound as good as the Triamp or Duotone, although I never thought it would. EL84s just don't get that huge 4 EL34 sound. The fx range from ok (modulation), to really good (delay). The options a are amazing, and the GM36 sounds great without a cab onstage...and the 40 has more cabinet emulating options still. The midi implementation is amazing.
It does sound great. The GM40 definitely has less headroom on the clean, and a more scooped Ultra channel (there's a video where someone takes a 36 and 40, turns all the knobs to noon, and compares them. You can dial in a ton of tones, with different EQ settings and save them to 128 presets. There's obviously a similar property to all the channels, but the Crunch isn't as compressed as the Lead, which isn't as scooped as the Ultra. They're very articulate amps, like all H&K stuff.
There's plenty of bands around the valley using GM36 amps (Kingston native here), and Underworld would be the one most akin to what your band sounds like, but not nearly as heavy.
Most people on the boards I frequent don't talk about H&K at all. When I do see them mentioned, I usually see "sterile" mentioned. I don't get it. They're not sterile. I think they're very lively, respond to your dynamic, and really show your individual guitar's tones. They're also not aiming to be Vox, Marshall, or Mesa, which I suspect met be why. They have their own high-mid thing going on. They're very refined or hi-fi, and do nothing to cover up sloppy playing. When you play well, they reward you with great tones though. I've never had a problem getting them to cut through the mix.
Just opinion on them. I have a Red Bear MK60, Triple Rec, 6505+, and a Peavey Ultra that I don't use in favor of the H&K stuff. YMMV.
I love the GM 36, although I'm in a variety of cover bands. It doesn't sound as good as the Triamp or Duotone, although I never thought it would. EL84s just don't get that huge 4 EL34 sound. The fx range from ok (modulation), to really good (delay). The options a are amazing, and the GM36 sounds great without a cab onstage...and the 40 has more cabinet emulating options still. The midi implementation is amazing.
It does sound great. The GM40 definitely has less headroom on the clean, and a more scooped Ultra channel (there's a video where someone takes a 36 and 40, turns all the knobs to noon, and compares them. You can dial in a ton of tones, with different EQ settings and save them to 128 presets. There's obviously a similar property to all the channels, but the Crunch isn't as compressed as the Lead, which isn't as scooped as the Ultra. They're very articulate amps, like all H&K stuff.
There's plenty of bands around the valley using GM36 amps (Kingston native here), and Underworld would be the one most akin to what your band sounds like, but not nearly as heavy.
Most people on the boards I frequent don't talk about H&K at all. When I do see them mentioned, I usually see "sterile" mentioned. I don't get it. They're not sterile. I think they're very lively, respond to your dynamic, and really show your individual guitar's tones. They're also not aiming to be Vox, Marshall, or Mesa, which I suspect met be why. They have their own high-mid thing going on. They're very refined or hi-fi, and do nothing to cover up sloppy playing. When you play well, they reward you with great tones though. I've never had a problem getting them to cut through the mix.
Just opinion on them. I have a Red Bear MK60, Triple Rec, 6505+, and a Peavey Ultra that I don't use in favor of the H&K stuff. YMMV.
I've spent a lot of time with the Tubemeister 18, Grandmeister, and Deluxe. Overall they're great amps. There is nothing I have to criticize about them. The only thing is that the Triamp MKII (and now MKIII) is so good that playing those just makes me wish I had a Triamp. I had a few H&Ks, including the Duotone combo and one they don't make anymore that was a 25w EL34 head called the Puretone. Letting my Puretone go was a heartache some time after when I realized how great that amp was.
Anyway, other guys can get much more out of the Grandmeister than I can. I really only like the extra gain mode almost fully on, then it's a lot of fun to play with. Compared to the Peavey 6505 mini that I had, the Grandmeister direct out sounds sooooo much better for recording. I couldn't get the 6505 mini to sound decent with its DI even though some guys seem to get great sounds with it. However, I found the Grandmeister so much better with the DI. I'd be happy with just the Tubemeister 36 because all the IPad stuff is cool to play with for a while, but then I wouldn't use it. I just want a great amp tone.
That's just me though. If you find those features useful, then I'm sure they'll pay off. The price of those amps is incredible for what they offer, and they're very reliable. My only issue is that having owned the Triamp MKII and having played the new MKIII, I just can't downsize from there. If you have the money, the Triamp MK III is stunning and has all the features of the Grandmeister except I don't know about the software and effects stuff because I only played it in the store. They've sold relatively cheap, around $1700-2000 in new condition even though their retail price is around $3600. Well, the Grandmeister is probably the best bang for your buck. H&K cleans are really underappreciated. You can get some etremely nice cleans with any of their tube amps. The Grandmeister has the boost for the cleans, but I find that the 2nd channel without the boost can do pretty much all the in-between tones.
Anyway, other guys can get much more out of the Grandmeister than I can. I really only like the extra gain mode almost fully on, then it's a lot of fun to play with. Compared to the Peavey 6505 mini that I had, the Grandmeister direct out sounds sooooo much better for recording. I couldn't get the 6505 mini to sound decent with its DI even though some guys seem to get great sounds with it. However, I found the Grandmeister so much better with the DI. I'd be happy with just the Tubemeister 36 because all the IPad stuff is cool to play with for a while, but then I wouldn't use it. I just want a great amp tone.
That's just me though. If you find those features useful, then I'm sure they'll pay off. The price of those amps is incredible for what they offer, and they're very reliable. My only issue is that having owned the Triamp MKII and having played the new MKIII, I just can't downsize from there. If you have the money, the Triamp MK III is stunning and has all the features of the Grandmeister except I don't know about the software and effects stuff because I only played it in the store. They've sold relatively cheap, around $1700-2000 in new condition even though their retail price is around $3600. Well, the Grandmeister is probably the best bang for your buck. H&K cleans are really underappreciated. You can get some etremely nice cleans with any of their tube amps. The Grandmeister has the boost for the cleans, but I find that the 2nd channel without the boost can do pretty much all the in-between tones.
cujo":fpinnqi0 said:
I was seriously looking at this amp. It had some features I really liked.
Like the power output settings, FX loop, noise gate, TSC, 4 different tone settings,
and I really love the "look" of it. Alex Lifeson uses TriAmp and Coreblade, so yeah!
THEN... i researched it... and here come the dealbreakers.
First: It's $1,200. Ouch.
Second: Power soak is nice huh. Too bad you can fry an egg on top of the amp.
Third: Made in CHINA. ( For $1,200 ?!?!? ) No thanks!
Fourth: The high-gain tones did not impress me.
Fifth: The MiDi footswitch for it is another $200!
Alex Lifeson gets his gear for free. I don't!
bish0p34
Member
SavageRiffer":qchls5jw said:
As a Triamp owner, I feel this way as well. I play a lot of clubs, and weddings where they don't want you loud. At these volumes, the GM sounds better to me. Any gig where I can crank it...I'm bringing the Triamp.
A few thoughts...
oldmtlhed":qchls5jw said:cujo":qchls5jw said:
THEN... i researched it... and here come the dealbreakers.
First: It's $1,200. Ouch. It may seem like a lot, but for what you actually get...it's not that much at all.
Second: Power soak is nice huh. Too bad you can fry an egg on top of the amp. I agree. it gets hot. It's also made to. That's the heatsink. I've played a lot of gigs in 90+ degree sunlight with them. No issues.
Third: Made in CHINA. ( For $1,200 ?!?!? ) No thanks! There's actually amps for more $$$ coming out of China than these. People spend 1k on EVH amps made in Vietnam without batting an eye. All your electronics are made there too. If given a quality standard to build it to, anyone can make a good product.
Fourth: The high-gain tones did not impress me. That's cool. There's so many good amps out there, and you can't like them all
Fifth: The MiDi footswitch for it is another $200!
Alex Lifeson gets his gear for free. I don't!
bish0p34":be8zpgkj said:
I get what you are saying.
But for me, I am going with a Boss Katana head and footswitch.
For a grand total of $440... all i'm giving up is the little glass bottles and the excessive HEAT.
$1,400 for the GM 40 which has less total power.
( Not that I need more power, but why pay more to get less. )
Yeah, the H&K looks really trick. But i'm not buying an amp for the "looks" of it.
I love tubes. Everyone loves tubes. But I have to be realistic about my wants and needs.
It's all good. You do your thing, I gotta do my thing.
bish0p34
Member
oldmtlhed":2c62q6nq said:bish0p34":2c62q6nq said:
I get what you are saying.
But for me, I am going with a Boss Katana head and footswitch.
For a grand total of $440... all i'm giving up is the little glass bottles and the excessive HEAT.
$1,400 for the GM 40 which has less total power.
( Not that I need more power, but why pay more to get less. )
Yeah, the H&K looks really trick. But i'm not buying an amp for the "looks" of it.
I love tubes. Everyone loves tubes. But I have to be realistic about my wants and needs.
It's all good. You do your thing, I gotta do my thing.
Very important words right here. Possibly the most important.
I'd like to try a Katana. There's very little said about them that is anything other than praise. The important thing being, that we all find an amp to play through...and actually play our guitars!
