Don't think the GM40 will be for me.

As per my other thread,i've been trying to find a GM40 to Demo,but to no avail.
Well i know it's not exactly the same thing & probably not quite as good the GM40,but i played through a GM36,today & i couldn't get the "thickness"/"depth of sound"/"tone"(i hate trying to describe tone),i look for in an Amp.
Very,very good Amp,incredibly versatile & easy to suss out,but the whole eq balance of the Amp is just to "bright"/"forward"/"in your face"(once again struggling for descriptive words),a GM40,would have to have a whole different tonal balance/emphasis for me,this is of course only my opinion,but i am buying an Amp for me.

Well,it dosen't look like there's much interest whether i buy one or not
But i keep thinking about the versatility & functionality of the Amp & i've had a couple of thoughts.
First thought is,how different(tonally) is a GM36(which i played)to a GM40,which i haven't played?
Secondly,i've remembered(that takes a bit of doing nowadays)how running an Ibanez 7 band graphic,into my old AC30's,transformed them from ok to wow,& made them far more usable with modern rock(as opposed to early 60's).
Anyone run a Graphic into the GM40(or 36),i just think it might be worth a try(for me).

Remember, these scribbles are representing only my own views on this topic.  And also bear in mind we are only an unofficial site here.  We owe nothing to H&K other than gratitude for their great amps which we love.  We really aren't interested whether you buy a new GM40 or not, only in offering what help we can in assisting you to making a good decision.  (We're really kind and compassionate like that.   )  

Difference in tone between the GM36 and GM40?  That's a very good question.  Most of us who are long term GM36 users have a different opinion to those who came direct to the GM40 by the recent route.  Personally, I have always really wanted the GM series to sound as I need it to sound as I love the concept and the implementation, (they are very well designed and made beasts and don't let anyone tell you any different).  But it doesn't!  It is a high gain/metal amp in the first class.  It does cleans superbly so can suit country well.  The GM36 undeniably has a top emphasis which can be shrill and strident with the wrong speakers and which cannot be removed totally, it's in the nature of the amp's basic design.  That prevents me from finding anything suitable for my classic rock, (REAL classic rock from the late 60s early 70s, not what passes for it in the 80s and 90s).  It's always a bit too thin, a bit too harsh, a bit bass light.  There are other amps out there which sound much better for a lot less money in my circumstances.

And I'll be honest, the GM40 is not a beast I have ever played through.  I followed the roll out with interest as a fan of H&K, listening to almost everything on YouTube I could find since the first.  It was always the same.  There would be a few licks of sparkling ultra clean with chorus and delay to show the alternative "intellectual, soulful, emotional" sound that metal guys have to have, then the rest was high gain chugging, tapping and shredding on a weird shaped guitar with angles and corners everywhere with associated pinch harmonics and overdrive screams with a sprinkling of whammy bar bombing thrown in.  Ok, I exaggerate a bit, but not much.  To date I have not found one review which shows the GM40 in use playing classic rock sounds even though younger players have pointed me towards what they think is that.  There have been posts here with the latest suggestions as to good reviews but none of them touches on the Zep/Free/Bad Company/Stones/Pie/Lizzy type of sound.  People swear that the GM40 is radically different in its voicing to the GM36.  I just don't hear it.  If it is radically different then none of the reviews out there, great though they are, do it anything close to justice.

Now it sounds as though your musical taste is later than mine as you mention modern rock rather than the 60s.  I would have though the GM36 alone should suit that with the right speaker choices which are crucial, (forget valves, they are only the cherry on the icing on the cake).  I also would have thought that, if it follows in the family tradition which it seems to do, the GM40 would be a good candidate for later rock.  I would advise you to think it out this way.  Rather than saying "why would I want to buy a GM40?", think "why would I want to get rid of my GM36?"  Don't look for reasons to talk yourself into spending money just to get a new toy, look for reasons why what you already have is not doing the job and can't be made to. Is there something that the GM36 is not doing or is it that what you are reading is just making you itchy to try something new as a case of FOMO, (if you don't know that one Google it. )?  If there is no real reason why the GM36 is letting you down do the sensible thing, forget the GM40 until you actually see something with your own ears ( ) which makes you feel it is definitely a much better choice.  If the GM36 is definitely not doing the job then and only then think of auditioning the GM40.

But....  Keep in mind, all you are going to get from ANY of us on this matter is "SO YEAH DOOD LIKE S AWESUM GODDA GED 1" from the modern younger guys who love it for its modern sounds, or "Heavens no old chap, it really isn't what one would want if one is determined to achieve a more classic sound" from the old guard like myself. No one can listen with your ears so the opinion they give is never going to be guaranteed to match your own. It would be a very expensive mistake to just accept someone else's opinion as a reason to talk yourself into buying.

Thanks,bordonbert.Let me clear up a few of my comments & my situation.
I don't own a GM36,i've only had the opportunity to play one locally,in somebodys house,he advertised it for sale & then as he was dem'ing the amp for me he started to change his mind about selling it & he has since withdrawn it from sale.
I played it through his 1x12",horrific eq,it would cut your ears off & i'm old & deaf.through my little converted Roland amp speaker(1 x 12")the overall eq was much better,but still way to bright for my taste.
What worried me about the eq was that the pots didn't appear to have wide enough adjustment range,so the overall brightness remained there,even with bass full up & treble/mid backed off it didn't appear to thicken up,once again this is only my opinion & i'm very capable of being wrong
But the versatility & range of options available,keep me interested.
After the event i realised i would have liked the opportunity to try a 7 band graphic in front or in the loop.but the chance has now gone.
Yes you are correct that i use a bit more gain than was around in the 60's/earley 70's,even though i still play old fashioned out of date stuff
I also think i should say that i do realise this is a general user forum & my only interest in posting is basically
chewing the fat(americanism?)with forum members,for no other purpose than just for the sake of it,i'm old have been playing(gigging)since the '50's,i will always make up my own mind,but i do like asking forum users experience & views with whatever product,to get a feel for a product(ala GM40)
I'm not sure where i go from here but i will try & get an extended demo,to give me a better feel for what the amp(GM36) can do,or if 1 comes up at the right price i may buy it & go from there.
Once again thanks for replying.
Cheers,Graham.

Great to chat Graham. Like you I do feel that sometimes it's nice to just swap ideas about things with people, (and "chewing the fat" is understood over here too).

Your observations on the tone and lack of breadth of some of the controls are all absolutely on the button for a lot of us here. Not so for some others, but there are some musical genres which thrive on that sharp piercing flavour to the sound, (the Germans who designed it are a metal nation after all). Your description could fit my own thoughts exactly and, even though I spent a lot of time improving things with careful speaker choices and some other modding, I eventually had to give up on the GM36 as a gigging amp for my own music in favour of a Marshall JVM205 which fell into my lap. The tone of the GM is great for some noodling at home but the tone of the Marshall is far better for classic work in a gigging situation. And I still hang onto my old Vox Valvetronix AD120VT which is an awesome modeller in my experience, streets ahead of anything else I have heard then and since. It is my fallback amp when all else fails and has never let me down.

I think the idea of getting a demo is still a good one if you can swing it, it will force you to make a mental decision one way or the other. It would be nice to see another H&K GM user but you would have to make sure the sound is absolutely there for you to live with it in the long term.

Any other guys want to put the other side to me here? How about some of you who love the GM40 and reckon it IS very different, I would dearly love to be proven wrong in my view and shown the GM40 is a genuine step forward.

Hi,bordonbert.i waited a bit to see if anyone who had owned/used both the 36 & 40,might make a comment,maybe a direct question/thread might give someone a nudge.
I don't suppose by any chance you own a Graphic pedal to give it a whirl,when i had the AC30's,by the late 60's i was looking for more gain/bite,to bring them up to being capable of some of the overdriven sounds of the time that where starting to be used,it enabled me to use them without any drive/distortion pedals,into the early '90's,till they got too knackered.
Maybe a Graphic in front of(or in the Loop of)the GM36,might just calm it down/fatten it enough to get those "classic" 70's 80's rock tones,i just think it might,or maybe just wishfull thinking
Oh & i am in the UK,if you consider,being near Liverpool still in the UK

I actually do this Graham.  I learned to do it with the Vox Valvetronix I use.  If I put a cheap Behringer EQ700 in the loop it gives me the ability to tweak the sound and someohw makes it a little more dynamic, even at lower overall volumes. It was a noted tip for all Valvetronix users at the time and it worked.

I tried it in the GM36 but with less spectacular results though the ability to alter the tone to bring in a little more bass was welcome.  I could also remove a bit of the glassy top end with it but it was easy to go too far.  One thing that was of value was the ability it gave me to drive the power amp section harder for lower preamp distortion which meant more output stage distortion in the overall sound.  I have to say it still didn't really give me the sound I wanted.  It's bveen my experience that the GM36s have a very "modern rock and later" sound to them that it is impossible to completely dial out any way I could find.  And it doesn't look to me as though any "noted users" out there are doing so.  (And no, much as I like him I don't class Midge Ure as "classic rock", he's a bit more modern than that despite his year or so in Thin Lizzy. )





EDIT: I guess our American members would be lost with the (affectionate) use of "dey do do dat don't dey!" And I'm an expat Geordie (a REAL one from Tyneside!) living down near Portsmouth so it would be even worse for them with my vocal eccentricities.