H&K Grandmeister 36 opinions?

wordywordy Frets: 67

Just wondered if anyone has any experiences with this amp?

Does anyone have one.... and if so, how are you getting on with it?

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Comments

  • KebabkidKebabkid Frets: 3301
    edited March 2014
    A few of us here have the Tubemeister 36 and that forms the basis of this amp except it has an extra channel, fx and more functionality. They're good sounding amps, as is the range, and packing all that into a lightweight, loud-enough-to-gig head is such a boon, but even though the Grandmeister's a helluva lot of amp, I'm still not sure about the price i.e. seems a bit high. 
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  • StefBStefB Frets: 2331

    I bought a B-stock example from Thomann at the end of last year and fiddled with it quite intensively for a few weeks, before ultimately returning it under their generous 28 day refund policy.

    I've long been a huge fan of H&K gear, and got this one for sub-£800 at the time.  It sounded good in most respects and is incredibly well spec'd and versatile.  In fact I couldn't think of a single additional feature I'd want adding.  But something just wasn't 'right' with it for me for some reason, and it could just have been what was still a fairly high price for essentially an impulse purchase on my part.

    Terrific though they are, be prepared for a lot of time spent programming and endlessly tweaking in pursuit of the perfect tone.  You know, the patch that sounded great last night but shit the next time you turn the amp on!  I was aware of this before I took the plunge, having owned a Switchblade previously, but, with the benefit of hindsight now, hadn't realised how far I'd moved away from all that and prefer the ease of a simple rig nowadays.

    A big part of me also feels that despite their all singing, all dancing nature, they won't be as successful as the other amps in the 'meister range, for that very reason, and that an amp I paid £800 for (without the MIDI pedal) could be worth less than £500 on the used market in twelve months' time...

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  • wordywordy Frets: 67

    it is quite a bit of money.... especially when you sometimes see boutique-y type amps going for not much more second hand.

    The functionality is both good and bad I suppose - on one hand the amp can more or less do everything, on the other you might find yourself spending far too much time tweaking, and not enough playing.

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  • ragingbenragingben Frets: 106
    I've rum a Tubemeister 36 for a while now, good amps but the eq is awfully unintuitive. Looking at some of the gm patches Hughes and kettner had on their Facebook page it appears this is the same with gm. For example, the lead patches generally had bass and mids maxed and tremble low
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  • MonkeyboneMonkeybone Frets: 261
    I'm very tempted by a GrandMeister, trouble is there is only one H&K dealer nearby, and all they have in stock are TubeMeisters. I like the fact they're compact and have effects built in (my band complain about the size of my pedalboard), the versatility of it is key for me.

    My band - Crimson on Silver  For sale - Blackstar HT-5S

    Gear - Guitars, amps, effects and shizz. Edited for Phil_aka_Pip, who is allergic to big long lists.

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  • wordywordy Frets: 67

    yeah it does seem to be a step up from the Tubemeisters.

    It has plenty of tonal options, but maybe not so much as to be overwhelming.  You'd still hopefully spend more time playing than setting the thing up.

    The ipad app seems quite cool too - though its a shame its not bluetooth enabled.

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  • MonkeyboneMonkeybone Frets: 261
    It's also a shame I don't have an iPad, think it'll run on an iPod Touch? :P

    My band - Crimson on Silver  For sale - Blackstar HT-5S

    Gear - Guitars, amps, effects and shizz. Edited for Phil_aka_Pip, who is allergic to big long lists.

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  • wordywordy Frets: 67
    come to think of it.... I dont have one either :D
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  • ModernistModernist Frets: 38
    Hi

    Just got one last week, tried it out a rehearsals last nite really impressed with how versatile it is, trying to match it up a cab at the moment.
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  • Modernist;225382" said:
    Hi



    Just got one last week, tried it out a rehearsals last nite really impressed with how versatile it is, trying to match it up a cab at the moment.

    Glad to read this as I was going to pull the trigger on one tomorrow.

    Do you have the dedicated foot switch for it. Is it easy to programme your own settings or a faff going through sub menus in the knobs etc?

    Thanks
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  • And does it cut through and sit well in a band mix ?
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  • MonkeyboneMonkeybone Frets: 261
    Fingers crossed, next week I'll be able to tell you how I get on with mine, finally got around to ordering one. (No more potentially up-in-flamesness with the Marshall Mode Four...)

    My band - Crimson on Silver  For sale - Blackstar HT-5S

    Gear - Guitars, amps, effects and shizz. Edited for Phil_aka_Pip, who is allergic to big long lists.

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