Any love for the Gallien Kreuger 250ML?

ghosty999

Anyone had or have one of these wee things? I love mine, recently put new speakers in (5 months delivery from California) and repainted the metal casing. Very unique solid state box and VERY VERY loud. 

David Gilmours one he used for his lead tone:


And Rush

BGG

Yip, loved mine in the 80's and gigged it often, great sound.

Gary Moore was a user too around the Run For Cover album, he used it on The Whistle Test too.
Can't seem to find the videos anywhere ? must have been pulled or blocked he performed Run For Cover and reach For The Sky.

bingefeller

Michael Schenker used them on the McAuley Schenker album Perfect Timing...not sure about Save Yourself....maybe he used them on that one too. 

RobDavies

I think Chuck Schuldiner used one on Death's Human tour...

xSkarloey

Wow that Alex Lifeson ad! 

The amp has aged well. 

The mullet, espadrilles without socks and the suit jacket with rolled up sleeves look has aged badly. 

richardhomer

Skarloey said:

The mullet, espadrilles without socks and the suit jacket with rolled up sleeves look has aged badly. 

I've always thought Alex Lifeson and Jeff Healey looked very similar.

Had JH sported that look, he could've been forgiven for it - and blamed it on a stylist. Lifeson has no excuse whatsoever.

Shocking....

FelineGuitars

I've had a couple Nice but a bit boxy sounding 
Hadn't realised Schenker used them too 
I notice that Gilmour has a Schaffer Vega Diversity wireless like Angus Young liked to use. (number 7 in the pic)
I used to have a Conn Tuner like his ones as well

Danny1969

Didn't gilmour use one for Sorrow ?

i used one in the eighties into 4 x 12 very processed sound but that's what we wanted then 

ghosty999

Definitely has a processed and compressed tone, but sounds great if you want to dive into mid-late 80s Iron Maiden/Rush.

Anyone ever pull the top off and play with the trim pots? Can easily hit death metal territory haha

Tuscan777

I recall every hair metal dude back in the 80s using one in the studio, along with an ADA processor, if the ads were to be believed.

I'd like to get one, if only to relive my US mag reading days...

tbm

Played one at a gig in the early 90's. It belonged to a guitarist in another band. He had it on a PA stand pointed at his head. He asked that I not touch the amps settings or alter its position. I was playing a Charvel with an active pickup and the sound was terrible and PAINFULLY loud. 

ghosty999

The clean channel with the compander, chorus and reverb sounds great on a strat. 

Ironically I own an ADA MP-1 too haha @Tuscan777 ;

therose789

I remember back in the late 90's, i was in my first band and the practice room had one of these in it, i plugged it in and thought it sounded like a bag of mince! It didn't sound like limp bizkit so I didn't want to know about it. 

I much preferred my Peavey stereo chorus 2x12 with a Marshall shred master which as it turns out, now sounds like a bag of mince. 

Tuscan777

...and spandex, dayglo guitars and make-up too I hope @ghosty999 ?

ghosty999

Oh indeed, sports jacket, pastel trousers, loafers with no socks! 

I was born in 1991 so people can't tell if Im a parody or not on stage haha

ghosty999

My ADA

My GK250

Reverend

FelineGuitars said:

I've had a couple Nice but a bit boxy sounding 
Hadn't realised Schenker used them too 
I notice that Gilmour has a Schaffer Vega Diversity wireless like Angus Young liked to use. (number 7 in the pic)
I used to have a Conn Tuner like his ones as well

Van Halen had that wireless too. There's a company that has made a pedal that supposedly has the same sound. Costs a fortune. 

bingefeller

RobDavies said:

I think Chuck Schuldiner used one on Death's Human tour...

I read that Chuck had a wall of Marshalls on some shows but his guitar tone was actually coming from a Gallien Kreuger amp, is that true?  

ICBM

Not for me… I really wanted to like them at the time because they were The Future, but I could never get a sound I even vaguely liked out of one.

I also had the bass version, which sounded less awful but was completely useless in a band situation - it seemed really loud by itself at home, but on stage the sound came out about 6 inches and then disappeared.

I much prefer the Peavey and Marshall solid-state amps of the same era.

ghosty999

bingefeller said:

RobDavies said:

I think Chuck Schuldiner used one on Death's Human tour...

I read that Chuck had a wall of Marshalls on some shows but his guitar tone was actually coming from a Gallien Kreuger amp, is that true?  

That was true for Iron Maiden on their Somewhere in Time tour. My friend who was there said behind the set you could see 250MLs literally sitting on stools mic'd up haha

ghosty999

ICBM said:

Not for me… I really wanted to like them at the time because they were The Future, but I could never get a sound I even vaguely liked out of one.

I also had the bass version, which sounded less awful but was completely useless in a band situation - it seemed really loud by itself at home, but on stage the sound came out about 6 inches and then disappeared.

I much prefer the Peavey and Marshall solid-state amps of the same era.

I can totally understand why people don't like them. They do one thing very well and nothing else. If you ever get the chance to open up the top, roll back the trim pots and you can get some great compressed clean tones out of it. Less of that "bee in a can" style compressed over drive. Chorus is also quite unique sounding but the verb is.... meh