A Very Special UNBOXING

[@ChrisRojas78]

Congrats! very nice amp! hope to see your best takes on it

[@jsj297]

Awesome good for you! Absolutely love to see you (hear) you jam out once you tweak the setup! Also, as a former drummer and not a keen ear to what’s so “special” about it, would you play in comparison with a similar amp so we can hear the difference? Thanks! Awesome channel my Man!! 😃

[@gerryiannuzzi5122]

Nico I’m going to Iron Maiden tonight in NJ with my son, daughter and brother. 63 years old and still loving the maiden shows. You make it look so easy!

[@charlesfarrugia7898]

I'm 62. Still love maiden

[@LicksOfTheBeast]

I hope it was a great show and that you all had the best time!! 😃🙌

[@gerryiannuzzi5122]

@@LicksOfTheBeast yes we had a great time! My daughter bought me a retro 1986 somewhere in time shirt and surprised me with the trooper flag right after hell on earth so we got to wave that around. My birthday was the 4th so it was a kind of belated birthday celebration! I still can’t believe they bring it every night with that quality show. You get your monies worth with these guys. My brother and I saw them in 81 so we had a chance to reminisce.

[@michaeldouglas6008]

Somewhere around 84-85 my friends and I were all fans of metal and Maiden and played in various amateur bands. One friend was gifted this amp and it was on a stand, so it was at chest height. It cut through the mix with a drummer and bass player and sounded so darned good! The price was sky high back then and I've only seen one other in Austin, TX about 18 years ago. Cant wait to hear it dialed in Nico!

[@a.kguitars930]

Kinda strange how I looked at the thumbnail and thought, "Hey maybe Nico finally got a 250ML" lol. Congrats dude!

[@mister_syre]

Look back at that picture of Adrian and Dave at 2:35 😂

[@CRP2426]

Wow! So cool that you got one. I've been wanting one for ages. No one better to have it.

[@mattdylan664]

Those aren't easy to come by in 2024 , i can't believe you went an entire day without opening it , I would have had it out of the box within minutes. I've never owned one but had a couple friends who did and i have to say it sounds as glorious as i remember it sounding 40 years ago, look forward to seeing it in future videos

[@linnane666]

Have one..speakers are a waste of time they are so bad but a mooer radar in the loop sorts that out ...this amp comes to life in a 2x12 tho...absolutely glorious

[@jeffallen3382]

I've never heard of this amp before... And I've been playing for 44 years!

[@michaeldean7220]

It's Maiden thing as Nicko explains. It was a major step change for them back then moving from Marshall

[@boki3161]

I KNEW IT WAS GONNA BE A GALLIEN KRUEGER, SO COOL!🤘

[@mikeseadorf4952]

I used to have one of these amps . It had a stand with it also it sat on kinda like a mic stand...

[@GeoffreyAnderson2112]

I bought one of those circa 1986, and just recently I gifted it to a talented young lady I work with who is also an 80's metalhead.

[@bubbasanches4591]

no

[@igormpmartins]

Congratz, that's really great Nico! This is such historical gear and a key element for those incredible albums. For sure, I would love to see a dedicated video about this amp.

[@MarcoWandura]

This is IT! I play in an Iron Maiden Tribute band (Iron Made In Germany) and I just LOVE the 250 ML sound. I have one myself. Even better when using an external 2x12 or 4x12 (that´s what Dave and Adrian did back then as far as I know). I even check out, who else used that amp back then (Fates Warning on No exit, Nuno used it for solos on III sides to every story). But I actually have a Kemper profile I downloaded from a very cool guy who had a YT video with the SIT and SSOASS sounds. I tweaked it slightly and it sounds better than the original to me. Might be the old speakers or some other issues which are due to the amps age. I also use the profile for other music I play, whether it´s Rainbow, Dream Theater, Ozzy etc. That sound is just MY sound. And it´s extremely versatile. With my coil split Dave Murray DiMarzios in my ESP Strat (Dave Murray style) I can get more or less any sound I need. This GK sound is pure magic to me. And when playing with my GK Kemper profile through any PA, the sound guys are kind of surprised I´m not using 5150, JPM-1 or Mesa profiles. It just sounds so good. And the real amp is still a great amp to play at home. GK 250ML is the real deal 😃

[@IronMaiden7851]

What a coincidence, I got mine only 2 weeks ago, and in pretty good shape for a 37 years old amp ! Have fun with it, I'd love hearing you play Walking on glass on it ! 🤘

[@ws90ninety]

Everybody likes the Somewhere In Time guitar tone!

[@TheCyberMantis]

Highly compressed with chorus.

[@turuntashtheboo7681]

YEEEAAHHH that's all I can say ! That's the sound I like ! All the albums of I.M.are great, but Somewhere and Seven Son...for me are the greatest! That sound,production,and songs are there on top ! And this amplifier is the best !

[@metalmauce]

Indeed, just by the size of the box and knowing what Nico likes I knew instantly it would be a GK 250

[@philfrank5601]

A full video on this amp would be fantastic, but you know what else? A SUPER HUGE VIDEO covering this era of metal guitar synths, and how it was done: Somewhere in Time, but also Judas Priest's Turbo (those sounds are so tough to replicate!) Good luck, and I hope it can happen one day. This is the only channel I think that could do such a thing justice!

[@slemmens]

That's an amazing story. Interesting how the amp is relatively small, yet so powerful and of good quality that it ended up in these iconic records! Oh, and nice to hear the Stranger Lick 😅😉

[@MetalGildarts]

Wow!! What an amp! Happy for you Nico. Also thanks for this channel. I discovered it in 2021 right after Senjutsu came out, can’t believe it’s been 3 years already.

[@tillyvick14]

Wow this is amazing! Definitely can’t wait to see more about this once you have some time with it. Thank you for sharing this with us!

[@paulwells6131]

That’s excellent Nico! Very cool. Def make a dedicated video on this! Glad someone from England has done you a good service.

[@metalinsights9664]

This amp, and the 2000CPL, has the best sound I have ever heard. Adrian said in a magazine interview that their sound is "an illusion." I love them for their liquid, even, compressed tone that has beautiful sustain (think the intro of "The Prophecy"). To me, the 2000CPL is everything a guitar amplifier should be. I wish G&K would bring these back, as they are very sought after but also very expensive on the used market. I periodically write to the company's customer service, encouraging them to reissue these two amps. If you are as passionate about this little beast as I am and would like to see it reissued, please head over to G&K and send them your feedback.

[@markbird-d9u]

You can take the top off and adjust the gain and other fx settings with some mini pots on the board. Take pics first tho ! And it'll sound better through a 4x12 :)

[@LicksOfTheBeast]

Yeah I did that today and the gain sounds fuller now! It'll take me a while before I get good enough at recording from a live cab... But when I get there, I'll definitely post updates 😊

[@ianfurqueron5850]

Good that you got one from a good seller. A few years ago Pete Thorn was doing one of his Sunday Lives and the conversation went to the 250ML... During the stream he went on Reverb... found one... and impulse-bought it. However, it turned out to be inoperable when it arrived to him. I think it's been at Friedman's shop ever since waiting for someone to have time to dig into it.

[@Hoxle-87]

I remember the GK. Never owned one as they were beyond a paperboys budget

[@MatteoAn93]

There it is!!!!!

[@thefenian32]

Fantastic!! Looking forward to seeing it on the channel!! Congrats, Nico!

[@MercilessGuitar151]

Wow! Congrats! I would love to see a video on this amp. Even that little bit took me back to the 80s. I can't wait to hear it once you've had some time with it.

[@LicksOfTheBeast]

Thanks, man! Once I've had time to play with it and learn how to mic it up and record it properly AI will definitely make a dedicated video 😊

[@jesswilson8687]

Thats been on my list a long time, but hard to save up for... always wanted 1...

[@rinkydinky-ob9pe]

Congrats , i had one in 89, fantastic amp !

[@CC-qb9sm]

Congrats Nico 🤘

[@charlesfarrugia7898]

My guitar player had one. The problem with the big is that you have to know how to fix the wiring because it can blow A fuse. Great sound.

[@EricMartinez-y7r]

Congratulations 🎊 🎉 Think the tone is stereo mic left & right

[@Pier88ita]

Daje Nicooooo🎉 Pazzesco! É un ampli che vorrei tantissimo anche io!

[@LicksOfTheBeast]

🙌🙌🙌

[@FortressofShred]

I don't remember the last time I saw a Gallien-Kruger amp 🤘🏼

[@booshting3520]

I guessed it correctly. I've wanted one of those for a while. 😮

[@carbofos9979]

Amazingly, while SSOASS is considered to have the softest overall sound, the guitar tones on the album are actually the most hi-gain for the entire recording history of Maiden. Or I'd better say - the source guitar tones are the most hi-gain, as they are mixed the way that one need a trained ear to notice that. My guess is that while envisioning the overall sound with the guitars having only that much space/level in the mix, the guys decided to compensate that by gain. So the guitars would have enough flesh to cut and would not be thinned out to the bare bones :)

[@fidem15893]

Great sound! Beautiful!

[@SeaOfMadness]

What’s funny is that the guitar shop I worked in back in the early 90s had a few of these and we couldn’t give them away…

[@carzz185]

now it's time to get that tone right and record all the songs from SIT and 7th son! even the b-sides! and those transformers movies songs too!!!!!! you look so happy with it! enjoy and make great music with it! up the irons!

[@giovannipossamaidutra474]

Very cool! I always wanted to see one to see how it works! Please try to ajust the sound to get close to SIT e SSOSS timbre

[@secularmonknz]

Super cool Nico!

[@kili1985]

Very nice Nico, finally you have a 250ML... I got a second one, in case my first might fail. It's not that easy or even impossible to dial in the exact SIT tone. But still it comes pretty close to the album. Please do a review on the amp, more people need to know how good it sounds.

[@eddiefender100]

Nico! Congrats! I have a 250RL, the head version of the 250ML. Do yourself a favor and get that thing into a 4x12. Amazing amps!

[@user-ql1pc7pi9x]

I knew it was a GK 250ml from the size of the box. I bought one last year for the same obvious reason 😂. Also used on Rush's Power Windows album?

[@LicksOfTheBeast]

Yup! Alex even had a really cool looking advertisement with this amp 😊

[@martymartin2894]

I knew it wasn't putting out the synth sound, hopefully it will sound really good once u figure it out.

[@misteradrian87]

Noooooo Nicoooo... it's one of my wishes from a lifetime and, here in Italy, I can't find it! It's amazing! Great! I was waiting this video from a lot of time...how ever, I'm waiting, before or then, a video with the white Adrian's midi Jackson with 6 knobs

[@LicksOfTheBeast]

I'd have to have one custom made with the Roland synth's controls built-in. I don't think I'm gonna ever do that 😅

[@kili1985]

One more comment about better tone, more similar to SIT: You have miced the amp directly for this video. Once you hook it up to a cabinet the amp really shines. I have my 250ML going into a Marshall 1936 2x12 cab in stereo. If you mic up this, it's much better. Also the 250ML takes pedals very well. You can even put a tube's screamer in front for extra drive during solos.

[@torahwarrior2442]

Next unboxing a jmp1 pre amp...

[@LordNerevar1]

Imagine double tracking with GK and JMP1 🤩

[@LicksOfTheBeast]

​@@LordNerevar1 Let's just say I'm much more comfortable using plugins 😅

[@jjadr]

I didn't know gear with pedigree was a thing 😅... Yeah, sounds like you got yourself a piece of history right there. Of course we want to see a video featuring the amp!

[@lovecraftmusic8717]

There is a video where it's said Iron Maiden tweaked the internal trimmers to get more gain... Maybe even an additional mod.

[@pekkatorronen9201]

Need one

[@TheCyberMantis]

You can get the same exact sounds with a Boss Katana.

[@marcocereda762]

Daaamn! So jealous 😂🤟

[@UltraPvnk]

Lemme guess before u unbox: Tone King!!!! 😅 Love it! You scored.

[@WhoDaF0ok1sThatGuy]

Wow, that’s crazy! I thought Dave used a Marshall and Adrian used a Blackstar in that album! That’s seriously impressive though Nico!

[@MercilessGuitar151]

Blackstar wouldn't exist for another 20 something years. They came out in 2007, so they definitely were not used.

[@WhoDaF0ok1sThatGuy]

@ ohhh, I do know Adrian used a Blackstar for a little bit later on, I wasn’t sure when he started using them though, nor when they came out.

[@bikerjon8934]

🤘

[@DiegoDeschain]

Definitely do the dedicated video once you figure it out :)

[@CM-eo1rp]

Been on the lookout for one in the UK (at a reasonable price) for a while… No joy

[@nightfire540]

That’s so cool 🎉

[@Ste2023]

Could U do a video with that Gk box .... sea of madness. ( riffs solos infinite Dreams (riffs , solo. Clairvoyant ( solo riffs

[@shubhampoudel2011]

Great ❤

[@Sebastian_Mroczek]

These unboxing videos are dangerous. Make me wanna spend more money😱😂

[@LicksOfTheBeast]

😂😂 I hear ya

[@IronDemon89]

I never would have guessed this, but am so happy for your find, Nico! Are you planning on using it live at all or just for videos? Whats your current live amp, if I may ask?

[@20_Quid]

PLEASE tell me where you got that t shirt!!

[@metalinsights9664]

According to an interview I have here from an old guitar magazine, Dave stated that he keeps the "graphics" on the 2000CPL "flat out" and whacks up volume "to number six." Now, whether "flat out" means "everything at noon" or "everything on ten," I don't know. But with parametric EQ, everything on 10 should sound the same as everything on 5, right, or am I wrong? If "flat out" is how he dialed in the 2000CPL, then perhaps similar settings would work on the 250ML. Date also stated in that same interview that Martin [Birch] "keeps it flat in the beginning" because "The sound is actually there. The foundation is there. He adds everything else in the mix. If you get that good sound in the beginning that's what makes it."

[@NBTKDA]

Wowwwwww!!!

[@LordNerevar1]

I'm so jealous!!! Very nice. But, didn't Iron Maiden used Marshall cabs with greenback speakers on Somewhere in Time?

[@LicksOfTheBeast]

Yes they did, although I think they also tracked with the amp's built-in speakers - they have a very distinct sound!

[@gower1973]

Never even heard of this amp manufacturer, is it solid state, it sounds like it to me, kinda looks and sounds like those Randall amplifiers.

[@LicksOfTheBeast]

Gallien Krueger? They make some great amps! This one is solid state so yeah in that sense it is a bit like a Rockman or a Randall

[@l.a.covers8400]

Im pretty sure Death also used the ML on the Symbolic album?

[@TheCyberMantis]

I don't think so. Pretty sure they only used Marshall.

[@carbofos9979]

Chuck used Marshall Valvestate hybrid amps.

[@mikecottondrums]

Greasy

[@waynegram8907]

NICO, why not make a bunch of Uli Roth lick lessons because he uses arpeggios and scalar patterns that everyone can learn from.

[@timp.9582]

I dunno, there's probably a good reason these didn't take off to be big selling amps. maybe use an external 12" speaker cabinet instead of the small ones. Good luck with the tone questing from the GK

[@froorocks100]

Surprised you haven't done a video on the passing of Paul Dianno. Not even a mention.

[@saturnskull1242]

Cant say the sound is good at all... It worked for Maiden though...

[@LordNerevar1]

I came across an information that they used this amp, but not it's speakers. Instead of them, they used Greenback speakers in a Marshall cabs. It's uncorfirmed tho, but I would like find out.

[@xboxonegameplay9842]

Just sounds like any other amp, cannot hear the distinctive somewhere in time sound

[@jeffallen3382]

I hear it. Just listen to the Somewhere In Time album and you'll hear it.

[@xboxonegameplay9842]

@jeffallen3382 I've listened to the album thousands of times ever since I bought it in 1986. I came across a recording a while ago by The Entire Population of Hackney recorded in 1985 and you can hear the somewhere in time sound easily. Can't hear it on this video though.

[@dertotti83]

@@xboxonegameplay9842 Same. On the studio recording there are quite a few a few effects and eq added. This video doesn’t have the distinctive SIT sound.

[@jeffallen3382]

@@xboxonegameplay9842 SIT was my first concert I ever went too when I was 16. I hear this tone in this video clearly.

[@xboxonegameplay9842]

My first ever concert was Frankie Goes To Hollywood in 1984. I listed again to the video, still can't hear the Somewhere in time sound, it's lacking the chorus effect