Anyone know about Gallien Kruger 250MLs?

Evil_Pun

Evil_Pun

New member
I have an early Gallien Kruger 250ML that my uncle gave me 3 or 4 years ago because it was just taking up space in his closet. I've used it off an on for a while, mainly because it was my only amp for a while.

I don't really know much about the amp but it's speaker foam is pretty much all gone, I can see into the guts of the amp next to the speakers, and wanted to know if it would be worth having those repaired or just use it as a head and ignore the built in speakers.
 
Re: Anyone know about Gallien Kruger 250MLs?

They were very popular for a while with a lot of top players using them although offhand the only person I remember as a regular user was Alex Lifeson. I also remember seeing Dave Gilmour playing with Kate Bush and he had the little combo on a chair miked up. A friend of mine had the head version and it sounded good, Quite valve like. Not sure why they fell out of favour. I'd say it would be worth repairing.
 
Re: Anyone know about Gallien Kruger 250MLs?

Depends on what those little 6" speakers cost. I have one that I bought back in 1985 and it served me well.

A couple years ago, I tried running my AxeFx through it as was surprised at how little low end it has. Sounds monstrous using its direct out through a PA. I guess in that light, I'd probably be more inclined to use it as a head. Those little speakers are handy in a tiny combo but don't sound that wonderful.
 
I loved mine, sadly I shorted mine out trying to mod it as a teenager. It was great back in 89 when I had mine, these days I'd prefer the Roland Cube series
 
Re: Anyone know about Gallien Kruger 250MLs?

aleclee said:
Sounds monstrous using its direct out through a PA. I guess in that light, I'd probably be more inclined to use it as a head. Those little speakers are handy in a tiny combo but don't sound that wonderful.
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Exactly! The beauty of this unit was it's small footprint to power ratio. You could view the speakers as an added option for practice or perhaps a small gig. There might be some replcement speakers out there that would provide more oomph that repairing the stock ones

But...the real beauty of this unit was it's size to power ratio and running it direct as aleclee said. I remember hearing several of them (back in the day!) ran through PA's and indeed, the tones were huge and studio like with the stereo effects of the day, chorus and delay.

All in all, a very cool unit that was ahead of it's time.
 
Re: Anyone know about Gallien Kruger 250MLs?

I modded mine to be able to run external speakers (which turned off the internal ones when the cabs were plugged in), and i used a single 12" cab for each side of the stereo. Back then I had a Tom Scholtz Rockman (still have it) and I considered the GK to be a 50 watt per channel version of the Rockman, the sounds were very similar.

The two internal speakers worked well at low volume for home use, but it needed the bigger speakers for jamming, reheasing and gigging.

To replace the internal speakers, you'd need to find some that have good power handling at the right impedance. The idea of using it as a head is good, but you have to remember they're stereo amps so each channel must have a speaker connected before the power is switched on.
 
Re: Anyone know about Gallien Kruger 250MLs?

Heh, I had a head only version of it and the combo. Cool little amp, I'd hella take one again. I'm pretty sure I remember mine disabling the internal speakers when connected to an external cab, maybe a feature they added later? My buddy still has it actually, maybe I'll have to check that out.
 
^^^^

Yes, there are mini pots on the inside, one lets you tweak the gain level, I think the other tweaks the compression level.

Unfortunately I was tweaking mine with the power on, my screwdriver slipped and shorted out a lot. So don't tweak it with the power on!
 
Re: Anyone know about Gallien Kruger 250MLs?

jmh151 said:
^^^^

Yes, there are mini pots on the inside, one lets you tweak the gain level, I think the other tweaks the compression level.

Unfortunately I was tweaking mine with the power on, my screwdriver slipped and shorted out a lot. So don't tweak it with the power on!
Click to expand...

Get a plastic or nylon screwdriver like some of the alignment tools used by tv techs. Or file down a plastic knitting needle to make your own adjusting tool.
 
Re: Anyone know about Gallien Kruger 250MLs?

I would fix it but truth be told, the people who made these popular were either using external cabs, line out or where micing them.
 
Re: Anyone know about Gallien Kruger 250MLs?

I PURCHASED a new one when they came out, was pretty cool , but traded it back for a marshall, wouldn't mind having another one..
 
Re: Anyone know about Gallien Kruger 250MLs?

richard parker said:
They were very popular for a while with a lot of top players using them although offhand the only person I remember as a regular user was Alex Lifeson. I also remember seeing Dave Gilmour playing with Kate Bush and he had the little combo on a chair miked up. A friend of mine had the head version and it sounded good, Quite valve like. Not sure why they fell out of favour. I'd say it would be worth repairing.
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You just managed to name three of my favorite artists in the first half of your post! :notworthy

And yes... I remember the "good ole days" when Lifeson used to use/endorse the GK amps (as well as his Dean Markley amp playing days). Never did try a Markely amp though.
 
Re: Anyone know about Gallien Kruger 250MLs?

Ha, I had a DM amp, a 30w 1x12 SS combo, it was actually a pretty good amp. I remember thinking it sounded a lot like my buddy's Marshall Mosfet.
 
Re: Anyone know about Gallien Kruger 250MLs?

Evil_Pun said:
I have an early Gallien Kruger 250ML that my uncle gave me 3 or 4 years ago because it was just taking up space in his closet. I've used it off an on for a while, mainly because it was my only amp for a while.

I don't really know much about the amp but it's speaker foam is pretty much all gone, I can see into the guts of the amp next to the speakers, and wanted to know if it would be worth having those repaired or just use it as a head and ignore the built in speakers.
Click to expand...
dang it , now you just caused me to buy one off of E/B, oh well i'll see how it sounds when it gets here...
 
Re: Anyone know about Gallien Kruger 250MLs?

i tried one in a store when they were new .. i seem to recall that it was powering an external 4x?" cabinet and sounded pretty good (as defined in the mid 80's) .. no idea what size the speakers were in that cab ... in my mind, they were smaller than 10" speakers, but i cant be sure

t4d
 
Re: Anyone know about Gallien Kruger 250MLs?

Ah, thanks for the info. I think when I can get the money I'll bring it in to an amp tech to give it a look over and ether get a cabinet to pair with it or sell it to a better home where it will be loved and not in my closet 24/7.
 
Re: Anyone know about Gallien Kruger 250MLs?

Iron Maiden and Death have been known to use them even with those little speakers and the big marshall stacks just for show.
 
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