Gallien Krueger
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Gallien-Krueger, also referred to as 'GK' (as in their
logo A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name it represents as in a wo ...
), is a manufacturer of bass amplifiers and speaker cabinets . The company is based in Stockton, California, and was founded in 1968.


History

Robert Gallien started his company, then named GMT, from his garage in 1968 in
San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popu ...
, while working as an engineer for Hewlett-Packard. His first amps were the GMT 226A and 226B (named after their power output) and were unconventional in their design because they were built around transistors instead of tubes. Carlos Santana was one of the first to buy a GMT 226A (serial #6) and it can be clearly seen in the Woodstock movie. In the early 1970s Bob Gallien teamed up with fellow HP engineer Rich Krueger and the company was renamed from GMT (Gallien-Martin-Taylor) to Gallien-Krueger. Although Rich Krueger is no longer involved in the company it has retained his name. In 1983 Gallien-Krueger launched the bass amplifier that would define the future of the company, the 800RB. The GK sound is defined by a dry "growl" and a quick reaction from the class H power amplifier. GK engineered the MB200, which was the smallest and lightest 200W bass amp available when it launched, and the 250BL, the first channel-switching bass amp. The company stopped producing electric
guitar amplifiers A guitar amplifier (or amp) is an electronic device or system that strengthens the electrical signal from a pickup on an electric guitar, bass guitar, or acoustic guitar so that it can produce sound through one or more loudspeakers, which ar ...
in the early 1990s but continues to make bass amplifiers and bass cabinets. In November, 2013, the company paid a fine to the
FCC The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdictio ...
for producing non-compliant digital radio products. Artists using GK equipment include
Flea Flea, the common name for the order Siphonaptera, includes 2,500 species of small flightless insects that live as external parasites of mammals and birds. Fleas live by ingesting the blood of their hosts. Adult fleas grow to about long, a ...
of the
Red Hot Chili Peppers Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983, comprising vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea, drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist John Frusciante. Their music incorporates elements of alternative rock, funk ...
,
Velvet Revolver Velvet Revolver was an American hard rock supergroup consisting of Guns N' Roses members Slash (lead guitar), Duff McKagan (bass, backing vocals) and Matt Sorum (drums, backing vocals), alongside Dave Kushner (rhythm guitar) formerly of pun ...
's
Duff McKagan Michael Andrew "Duff" McKagan (born February 5, 1964), sometimes credited as Duff "Rose" McKagan, is an American musician. He played bass for twelve years in the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he achieved worldwide success in the late ...
, Tom Hamilton of Aerosmith, and Ted Dwane of
Mumford & Sons Mumford & Sons is a British folk rock band formed in London in 2007. The band currently consists of Marcus Mumford (lead vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, drums), Ted Dwane (vocals, bass guitar, double bass), and Ben Lovett (vocals, k ...
.


References

{{reflist


External links


Official Site

About Gallien-KruegerBob Gallien Interview - NAMM Oral History Library (2007)
American musical instrument makers Instrument amplifiers