BUMP. I'm about to pull the trigger on a Neo Pak myself, but is it true that these are being discontinued? Also, is it possible to find the carrying bag ANYWHERE? Thanks, everyone.
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Genz Benz Neo Pak 3.5
- Thread starter i_got_a_mohawk
- Start date
Hi, I just ordered one myself. They are already discontinued, so anything you find is old stock, hence the great prices!! Plenty of places seem to still have the gig bag. I paid $25 for mine..
Can you tell me where you found your bag at? I've wasted the last hour scouring google only to find 'out of stock' everywhere I looked.
Did I miss the post where someone from Genz Benz announced that the NeoPak was being discontinued? I didn't get the memo! 
I know that they are coming out with some new stuff soon but hadn't heard that the NeoPak was going by the wayside. I did see that MF was blowing them out but that isn't a definitive answer.
I know that they are coming out with some new stuff soon but hadn't heard that the NeoPak was going by the wayside. I did see that MF was blowing them out but that isn't a definitive answer.
Did I miss the post where someone from Genz Benz announced that the NeoPak was being discontinued? I didn't get the memo!
Yeah they are being discontinued. I bought mine for 400.00 blowout and it replaced the GB1200 for me. It's light, loud, and I absolutely love the tone. I don't find it as zingy as the 1200 was which is a plus. I was think I would get it and test it then sell it to get something else but it impressed the hell out of me and it is now my only amp. If you can find one on blowout do it. I am running it at 8 ohms and it's pretty darn loud. I bet at 2 ohms it will be plenty for me for pretty much anything I would do. Killer killer amp.
Dan
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=375569
Here you go, straight from Genz-Benz. Somewhere on page 127 or so of this thread is the info on the Shuttle series which are effectively replacing the Neo-Pak.
The Shuttles may very well be the next big thing,; certainly sound like they could.
But if anybody can still buy a Neo-Pak for $400.00 that is without a doubt one of the best deals around.
Here you go, straight from Genz-Benz. Somewhere on page 127 or so of this thread is the info on the Shuttle series which are effectively replacing the Neo-Pak.
The Shuttles may very well be the next big thing,; certainly sound like they could.
But if anybody can still buy a Neo-Pak for $400.00 that is without a doubt one of the best deals around.
I agree...I find the tone of the GBE1200 a bit on the brighter side as well, but what confuses me is that the NeoPak would sound different. Are the Neo and GBEs working on the same sort of preamp tone? Why would the 1200 be brighter, or just sound that much different from the rest?
I've heard Andy say that the pre's are different to some extent. To my ear, the difference is subtle. I do tend to back-off the highs a bit on the 1200. The Neo-pak does seem to be a touch warmer as well. But again it's very subtle to my ears. I don't think it's enough to make anyone like one but not the other. And I can make them sound practically identical be doing some very slight EQ adjustments.
Okay, that's what I thought...more similar than dis-similar as far as the preamps go.
The zingyness doesn't bother me though. It's nothing that a slight turn of the knob won't cure. I'd rather have too much zing than not bright enough.
- Feb 12, 2006
- 61,038
- 5
- 220,973
- Disclosures
- Development Engineer-Mesa Boogie, Development Engineer-Genzler (pedals), Product Support-Genz Benz
Given the advent of the Shuttle series, I think I'll hold off and take a look at those in order to gain more power. While I appreciate that the Neo 3.5 may be 'loud enough', 600 watts is much more to my liking and would help me cover outdoor gigs as well.
The basstasters clips sound like that to me, very bright. Are those clips a reasonable representation of the amp's tone?
It may be just be my opinion, but most of those Basstasters clips are pretty horibble, and a very poor representation of the gear. Listen to the Kern clip and it sounds like a cheap bass played through a wet dog.
hasbeen
Commercial User
- Sep 23, 2004
- 4,808
- 2,679
- Disclosures
- Executive Vice President, The Adam Hall Group
this is the danger of soundclips on internet video demos. I even didn't want to do them on our own site. ...but caved to the demand for them.
I don't understand what people think they learn from them. There are WAY too many variables; part of which is what soundcard they're being listened through.
Well, I was able to pick up a Neo-Pack on clearance for $350 (woo-hoo!) so I went for it and WOW is my first reaction. I've spent the last year fighting with an RBI/Amp setup trying to find the tone I liked best (something I never really accomplished). I was pleased with the tube grit but its effect on my bass tone felt unnatural to me, regardless of settings. I've since been using a Behringer V-Amp Pro emulating an SWR as a stand-in but have been less than impressed with the digital artifacts/noise the thing gives me (which was expected). I knew that I wouldn't use the Behringer for too long as I needed something analog - not to mention the Behringer had weird things happen to it on occasion which required me to reboot it in mid-practice. Yeesh. I knew I'd have to spend some $ to find what I wanted, which is why I went cheap for my interim gear.
Enter the Neo-Pak. I wanted something I could easily carry with me to either of my current rehearsal spaces but which would also give me the pure, unmolested sound I was craving. I looked at the other players in this marketspace (GC had a Markbass, a friend of mine has an Eden and a local mom/pop shop had an EA) but all of the amps I tried sounded sterile to me. The Eden was close but not quite the sound I wanted. Based on the discussions in this thread, I decided to roll the dice and pick up the Neo-Pak without having heard it first, figuring I could resell it pretty easily without much of a loss.
I've just spent the last 30 minutes playing my ATK300 through the Neo-Pak into a Madison 210 (I love me my Madison cabs) and I must say that I am VERY impressed. At first I was getting a pretty big farting noise on several notes which I quickly discovered was due to the bass knob on the ATK being cranked and overloading the input on the Neo-Pak. Switching to 'Active' mode on the amp simply made the farting noise quieter but did nothing to remedy the issue. No problem, I made sure the EQ on the bass was flat and tried again - fixed. After putting the gain and volume of the preamp both at 12:00 as a starting point and leaving the amp EQ flat as well, I was pleased with the overall sound and began the tweaking process. After a few minutes of playing around with the knobs, I found it: the tone I had been wanting for the longest time. Gain at 10:00, preamp volume at 12, Low Boost and H.F. Attack enabled with Mid at 1:00, Mid Freq. at 11:00. I was greeted by rich, deep bass which had no mud (more bass than I realized this little cab could handle) and sparkling yet subdued highs which were pristine but not harsh. Mids were nicely present as well. Most importantly, the tube in the preamp gave me just enough of the grit I wanted to warm the tone up to the level I love so much from the 'classic' amps which weigh ten times more.
I ran through several of our band's original tunes, ranging from laid-back blues to some uptempo straight ahead rock to dirty funk and found that I could use the ATK's pickup switch (finally) to grab the perfect tone for each tune. Thus far, I'm an extremely happy guy.
Logistically, the amp is great as well - it fits perfectly into the rear pocket of my padded backpack yet is large enough to appear imposing when my 115 cabinet is added. As for power, the 210 cab I tested is 8ohms, yet placing the Master control at around 12:00 was quite loud and will likely allow me to cut through our Bonham-style drummer at rehearsal. I suspect cutting the resistance in half will give me everything I need (and more) at our bar gigs and at church plus I'll have PA support for our outdoor shows over the summer so no worries.
Thanks, Genz Benz!
Enter the Neo-Pak. I wanted something I could easily carry with me to either of my current rehearsal spaces but which would also give me the pure, unmolested sound I was craving. I looked at the other players in this marketspace (GC had a Markbass, a friend of mine has an Eden and a local mom/pop shop had an EA) but all of the amps I tried sounded sterile to me. The Eden was close but not quite the sound I wanted. Based on the discussions in this thread, I decided to roll the dice and pick up the Neo-Pak without having heard it first, figuring I could resell it pretty easily without much of a loss.
I've just spent the last 30 minutes playing my ATK300 through the Neo-Pak into a Madison 210 (I love me my Madison cabs) and I must say that I am VERY impressed. At first I was getting a pretty big farting noise on several notes which I quickly discovered was due to the bass knob on the ATK being cranked and overloading the input on the Neo-Pak. Switching to 'Active' mode on the amp simply made the farting noise quieter but did nothing to remedy the issue. No problem, I made sure the EQ on the bass was flat and tried again - fixed. After putting the gain and volume of the preamp both at 12:00 as a starting point and leaving the amp EQ flat as well, I was pleased with the overall sound and began the tweaking process. After a few minutes of playing around with the knobs, I found it: the tone I had been wanting for the longest time. Gain at 10:00, preamp volume at 12, Low Boost and H.F. Attack enabled with Mid at 1:00, Mid Freq. at 11:00. I was greeted by rich, deep bass which had no mud (more bass than I realized this little cab could handle) and sparkling yet subdued highs which were pristine but not harsh. Mids were nicely present as well. Most importantly, the tube in the preamp gave me just enough of the grit I wanted to warm the tone up to the level I love so much from the 'classic' amps which weigh ten times more.
I ran through several of our band's original tunes, ranging from laid-back blues to some uptempo straight ahead rock to dirty funk and found that I could use the ATK's pickup switch (finally) to grab the perfect tone for each tune. Thus far, I'm an extremely happy guy.
Logistically, the amp is great as well - it fits perfectly into the rear pocket of my padded backpack yet is large enough to appear imposing when my 115 cabinet is added. As for power, the 210 cab I tested is 8ohms, yet placing the Master control at around 12:00 was quite loud and will likely allow me to cut through our Bonham-style drummer at rehearsal. I suspect cutting the resistance in half will give me everything I need (and more) at our bar gigs and at church plus I'll have PA support for our outdoor shows over the summer so no worries.
Thanks, Genz Benz!
