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Genzler Amplification Club
- Thread starter Discount Saint
- Start date
72 is what I was given, but no worries. New number is fine...
Ah, you would have been the last one I added before the new roster post. I swear sometimes these posts do not update when they are supposed to. Anyway, you're #72, and I have shuffled the new guys.
It seems something went awry back in November and a bunch of members got lost off of the roster. I have restored what I had before and added the new new people to the end of the list.
My apologies; since I stopped being able to update the front post on there, maintaining the list has become a bit of a nightmare. I really wish there was a better solution to this.
Roster is here: Genzler Amplification Club
My apologies; since I stopped being able to update the front post on there, maintaining the list has become a bit of a nightmare. I really wish there was a better solution to this.
Roster is here: Genzler Amplification Club
I also wanted to add my thanks to you for making the effort to do this.
It is appreciated.
svtb15
Inactive
- Mar 22, 2004
- 13,004
- 4,741
- Disclosures
- I play it all. Whatever works for the gig. Q+
I was in a hurry. Crummy photo. More this week on club gigs.. Sorry..
Using this all week with my P Bass Rounds and my Jazz bass w/ rounds . Its Slamin'
Using this all week with my P Bass Rounds and my Jazz bass w/ rounds . Its Slamin'
I have them both, and like them both. What are you looking for in an amp? I don’t think that one is necessarily “better” than the other.
I'm sure they are both great.
Looking for something clean but not sterile, simple EQ, I usually set for the room then tweak from my bass on the fly. Both of my main players have onboard 3 band preamps with sweepable mids. I was leaning towards the AG700 because I like the bass, low mid, high mid, treble setup as well as the front panel simplicity. Wasn't originally looking at the Genzler. I loved the GBE and Neopak Genz Benz amps I had but never really loved the Shuttle or Streamliner series. Assumed (mistakenly?) that the new amp followed in those tonal footsteps. I just keep seeing people that really like the Magellan and I know Jeff builds great stuff.
For reference I always seem to fall back on my GK RB700. Mainly driving a Bergantino HG310 or one, two or three of my Deltalite loaded 12's. With the Deltalites the GK sounds great with the Bergantino it can be kind of a bull in a china shop if that makes sense. Liked the Tone Hammer 500 clean at low volume and also really like the preamp on the standard Markbass amps. Played an AG500 several years ago and was impressed but that doesn't mean much.
Well I will start off by saying I am NOT familiar with Genz Benz stuff- this is my first experience with Jeff's gear. I have the MG800 and 3 12-3 Bass Array cabs (2 straight, one slant). I have the Aguilar AG700, and played it thru 2 SL112 cabs, which I sold with the intention of getting some other cabs, but haven't gotten around to it yet.
Between the 2 amps, IMHO the Genzler is cleaner and more hifi and modern sounding, but not sterile. It's also not "delicate" sounding- it can rumble. With the 2 channels, and 2 contours, you have a lot of options for tone and can cop a good vintage sound. But it sounds good flat as well- I hardly ever mess with the knobs, but I've only had it out of the house once (as the house rig at a blues jam), but that time I did get a lot of compliments on my sound, and the other guys sounded good through it as well. One guy even was asking me about it and looking at the Genzler site on his phone after playing through it.
Now that's not to knock the Aguilar. I do like the Aguilar tone, but it's not really something you can dial out. The AG700 has very good eq points and the deep and bright switches are very useful, but they are not drastic (not muddy or hissy when engaged). It is a good sounding amp, but once again IMHO, it's not as versatile in getting different sounds. I do think it sounds better with Aguilar cabs (not surprisingly), as Aguilar amps are voiced for that "vintage modern" tone of theirs, but it's usable with other stuff as well. I had a TH500 in the past, and I liked it a lot, (never owned a AG500) and there is definitely a family resemblance between the TH500 and the AG700- I think the AG700 is clearer sounding, but it doesn't get the "woolliness" that a TH500 (and presumably the TH700) can get. It DOES get loud (they both do)- I doubt the 100w difference is worth worrying about..
It has been awhile since I played through GK stuff (used to have a 1001RBII), but I would say the Genzler is the closer in tone between the two. If I had to choose, I would get the Genzler, as I think you could approximate a pretty good Aguilar-esque tone out of it if you wanted to. BUT if you like the Aguilar tone, the AG700 has it out of the box, and you wouldn't have to do any tweaking.
A 3rd option would be one the Bergantino amps. I have a B Amp, and it is very nice, and goes down to 2 ohms. Tonewise it is in the same ball park as the Genzler, not quite the same, but more on the hifi/modern sound side.
All that being said, there is so much good gear out right now, it's hard to choose (or so I tell my wife
). Hope this was helpful.
Well I will start off by saying I am NOT familiar with Genz Benz stuff- this is my first experience with Jeff's gear. I have the MG800 and 3 12-3 Bass Array cabs (2 straight, one slant). I have the Aguilar AG700, and played it thru 2 SL112 cabs, which I sold with the intention of getting some other cabs, but haven't gotten around to it yet.
Between the 2 amps, IMHO the Genzler is cleaner and more hifi and modern sounding, but not sterile. It's also not "delicate" sounding- it can rumble. With the 2 channels, and 2 contours, you have a lot of options for tone and can cop a good vintage sound. But it sounds good flat as well- I hardly ever mess with the knobs, but I've only had it out of the house once (as the house rig at a blues jam), but that time I did get a lot of compliments on my sound, and the other guys sounded good through it as well. One guy even was asking me about it and looking at the Genzler site on his phone after playing through it.
Now that's not to knock the Aguilar. I do like the Aguilar tone, but it's not really something you can dial out. The AG700 has very good eq points and the deep and bright switches are very useful, but they are not drastic (not muddy or hissy when engaged). It is a good sounding amp, but once again IMHO, it's not as versatile in getting different sounds. I do think it sounds better with Aguilar cabs (not surprisingly), as Aguilar amps are voiced for that "vintage modern" tone of theirs, but it's usable with other stuff as well. I had a TH500 in the past, and I liked it a lot, (never owned a AG500) and there is definitely a family resemblance between the TH500 and the AG700- I think the AG700 is clearer sounding, but it doesn't get the "woolliness" that a TH500 (and presumably the TH700) can get. It DOES get loud (they both do)- I doubt the 100w difference is worth worrying about..
It has been awhile since I played through GK stuff (used to have a 1001RBII), but I would say the Genzler is the closer in tone between the two. If I had to choose, I would get the Genzler, as I think you could approximate a pretty good Aguilar-esque tone out of it if you wanted to. BUT if you like the Aguilar tone, the AG700 has it out of the box, and you wouldn't have to do any tweaking.
A 3rd option would be one the Bergantino amps. I have a B Amp, and it is very nice, and goes down to 2 ohms. Tonewise it is in the same ball park as the Genzler, not quite the same, but more on the hifi/modern sound side.
All that being said, there is so much good gear out right now, it's hard to choose (or so I tell my wife
That helps a lot. Thank you!
The new Berg stuff is really nice. If I a) played more gigs that required an amp and 2) had twice as much to spend I may have a Berg rig. I've used Bergantino cabs in the past and liked them very much. But...
I have zero complaints about my "inexpensive" and very portable (and light) little Genzler MG350 Combo. I have used it for outdoor jazz combo gigs and it has held up just fine. If I needed more I think I'd just get another 1x10 cab for it and have a killer little mini stack.
I have zero complaints about my "inexpensive" and very portable (and light) little Genzler MG350 Combo. I have used it for outdoor jazz combo gigs and it has held up just fine. If I needed more I think I'd just get another 1x10 cab for it and have a killer little mini stack.
Happy New Year Steve and All! Hey Steve, could I get a note from you for the wife 'splaining that the MG350 combo is both "inexpensive" and very portable. Thank you. I'm dreaming of using the 350 combo for practices and such...
For what you get it is very inexpensive. It's under $1,000 for a combo that can keep up with an acoustic (and intelligent) drummer, guitar with an amp (also intelligent) and a key/synth player (we try to get him to keep it simple and just use a mono amp but you know you have to have the stereo effect no matter the gig
) in jazz/funk gigs at a small to medium venue. I was also pleased at how well it did outside at a farers market with drums, guitar and vibes. It works for at home practice, small gigs. Sounds amazing. And at what, 25 pounds, you can carry it in one hand with ease. My bass on my back, iPad and cables in the pocket, my iPad and bass stands in the other hand and I'm ready to go.
I like to travel as compact as possible. The above is my load in for jazz/combo/pit type gigs.
For my DI/IEM/FOH gigs, it's a Pedaltrain Nano and my Korg MicroKorg in one hand, bass on my back, and keyboard and bass stands in the other.
I also found this review of the Genzler stuff from Bass Gear Magazine- they’re getting more of their older stuff on the website now. @tombowlus does a much better job describing the MG800 than I do...
Genzler Magellan 800 Bass Head and BA12-3 Bass Cab | Bass Gear Magazine
And just because, here’s the review of the 12-3 SLT 
Genzler BA12-3 SLT Bass Cab | Bass Gear Magazine
Genzler BA12-3 SLT Bass Cab | Bass Gear Magazine
My MG 350 Combo journey so far....
I tend to set my amps “flat” and adjust bass to the room. Prior to the 350 combo I was mostly using an SWR baby blue, all small gigs that the amp could handle. The 350 is handling those same small gigs with ease, got asked to turn down last time I played at a small club with acoustic/electric guitar players (2). Club had two large rooms, about 200 people total. I’ll be playing a gig again there next week with two guitars, drummer and singer and feel the amp will handle things just fine (a jazz band with respectful volumes).
What’s been fun is hearing the sounds of my bass guitars on the new amp and its causing me to grab different axes based on the different sounds coming out of the new rig.
- 79 MM Stingray: Always sounds good no matter what rig I use. I tend to not use it all that often. This bass I tend to play with the eq. a lot to get desired sound for the tune being played.
- Tobias Growler 5 str: Set the eq flat and just hit the toggles to get particular sounds needed. This was my most used guitar. I dig the sound much less with the MG350 and am playing it a lot less on the 350.
- Warwick Corvette $$ 4 str. (basic ash model): Set the eq flat and hit the toggles to get particular sounds. This bass I use a lot and am totally digging the sound with the 350. I was contmplating parting with this bass when playing it with the SWR, just wasnt doing it for me, but am going to hang on to it for a while, totally digging how it sounds on the 350.
- Fender Boner P-Bass. This was my first bass. I first liked the lace sensors but have grown to not prefer them at all these days. Long term plan was to replace the pickups as the bass is beautifully constructed and overall I like the feel and playability of it. I just strung this one up with flatwounds and am totally digging the sound on the 350. Got a lot of compliments at rehearsal last night. Granted the new strings has major impact on the sounds so gotta plug it into the SWR to really compare the two amps. This one is coming out of the retirement bin big-time. Still might swap out the lace sensors someday....
So anyway the new amp really caused me hear my basses differently, got a whole new outlook on them and that's been fun.
I tend to set my amps “flat” and adjust bass to the room. Prior to the 350 combo I was mostly using an SWR baby blue, all small gigs that the amp could handle. The 350 is handling those same small gigs with ease, got asked to turn down last time I played at a small club with acoustic/electric guitar players (2). Club had two large rooms, about 200 people total. I’ll be playing a gig again there next week with two guitars, drummer and singer and feel the amp will handle things just fine (a jazz band with respectful volumes).
What’s been fun is hearing the sounds of my bass guitars on the new amp and its causing me to grab different axes based on the different sounds coming out of the new rig.
- 79 MM Stingray: Always sounds good no matter what rig I use. I tend to not use it all that often. This bass I tend to play with the eq. a lot to get desired sound for the tune being played.
- Tobias Growler 5 str: Set the eq flat and just hit the toggles to get particular sounds needed. This was my most used guitar. I dig the sound much less with the MG350 and am playing it a lot less on the 350.
- Warwick Corvette $$ 4 str. (basic ash model): Set the eq flat and hit the toggles to get particular sounds. This bass I use a lot and am totally digging the sound with the 350. I was contmplating parting with this bass when playing it with the SWR, just wasnt doing it for me, but am going to hang on to it for a while, totally digging how it sounds on the 350.
- Fender Boner P-Bass. This was my first bass. I first liked the lace sensors but have grown to not prefer them at all these days. Long term plan was to replace the pickups as the bass is beautifully constructed and overall I like the feel and playability of it. I just strung this one up with flatwounds and am totally digging the sound on the 350. Got a lot of compliments at rehearsal last night. Granted the new strings has major impact on the sounds so gotta plug it into the SWR to really compare the two amps. This one is coming out of the retirement bin big-time. Still might swap out the lace sensors someday....
So anyway the new amp really caused me hear my basses differently, got a whole new outlook on them and that's been fun.
I've posted about my new Genzler amp and cabs but haven't had a chance to post pics of them. So from my man cave, here's some Genzler goodness (and '70 P goodness, too) to brighten everyone's day.
Unfortunately I've only spent a few precious hours enjoying them (damn holidays!) but band rehearsal is tomorrow... oh yeah!!!
-Mike
Unfortunately I've only spent a few precious hours enjoying them (damn holidays!) but band rehearsal is tomorrow... oh yeah!!!
-Mike
That's my exact rig except I prefer a black milk crate.....
Funny, I use this blue one at home, but have a black one at the drummer's house for rehearsals.
