Genzler Amplification Club

[jibass]

I get it! It is a wonderful time (well, sort of) to be a bass player. So much good stuff available, from solid companies. But it absolutely gets overwhelming and we have to ultimately decide what works for each of us. I moved from "exotic" gear to Genzler, which gives me a perfect mid-ground between classic and modern; just the right blend of both. I play passive P and J basses (G&L), nothing fancy or virtuoso-wannabe silly chops. Our americana group has warmed up for John Prine and Joan Baez and while we had state-of-the-art FOH my Genzler gear just did exactly what i/we wanted it to, and FOH engineers were very happy. I just hope i get the opportunities to play out again. Whatever you choose from Jeff will work and don't hesitate to ask his advice privately.

Definitely, Jeff has given us so many good choices. I really could be happy if all I had was my 350 combo (but GAS lol). From what I read here about the MG12T-V I probably would've bought it first if that's what I demoed first. But in the short amount of time owning the BA combo, it answered tonal goals and needs I had and didn't realize were there!

 

[SteveC]

The tall 12 does seem easier to carry than the BA10-2. It’s so weird. I like both. Sometimes I wish I had another MG350 so I could just have the 2 combos ready to go without swapping the bracket and head.

 

[FeltTipPen]

I get it! It is a wonderful time (well, sort of) to be a bass player. So much good stuff available, from solid companies. But it absolutely gets overwhelming and we have to ultimately decide what works for each of us. I moved from "exotic" gear to Genzler, which gives me a perfect mid-ground between classic and modern; just the right blend of both. I play passive P and J basses (G&L), nothing fancy or virtuoso-wannabe silly chops. Our americana group has warmed up for John Prine and Joan Baez and while we had state-of-the-art FOH my Genzler gear just did exactly what i/we wanted it to, and FOH engineers were very happy. I just hope i get the opportunities to play out again. Whatever you choose from Jeff will work and don't hesitate to ask his advice privately.

Yes on all your points! I like how you described Genzler, the perfect mid-ground between classic and modern. I like to think of my goals as that too. I have a G&L too, a fretless L-2500 and run it passive (my other bass is a Stingray 5). What a great gig for your americana group. I would've loved to hear how great your gear sounded.

I've emailed Jeff and he has been nothing but helpful as he has been here!

And I just spent a little time with my combo and find I am probably leaning towards the 12-3 next (or the 15-3 if I choose to be dangerous and extravagant for my needs ).

Really enjoying the gear chat!

 

[Erik Turkman]

revroy, when you use both cabs do you generally use the 800? Just curious if you have also paired the two cabs with the 350 and what you observed.

Love my 350 combo but aiming to add either another 10-2 or the 12-3. Just can't decide

I’ve been using the 10-2 and 12-3 together for more than 3 years at this point, driven by the MG350. If you search this thread, you’ll find my various comments about the combination. In short, I’m a big fan.

 

[berman3313]

My 350/12TV has been all I need. Outside jazz quartet gig it kills. Inside it’s almost too much. I could probably use my BA10-2 and be fine.

I am envious of the sweet big rigs I see here, But reality/practicality says what I have is enough so...

@SteveC You know you want a 15-3. 5 strings say so.
So do I! (want a 15-3)

 

[FeltTipPen]

I’ve been using the 10-2 and 12-3 together for more than 3 years at this point, driven by the MG350. If you search this thread, you’ll find my various comments about the combination. In short, I’m a big fan.

I'll definitely do a search for your comments Erik, thanks!

 

[SteveC]

@SteveC You know you want a 15-3. 5 strings say so.
So do I! (want a 15-3)

I know. My Roscoe B string sounds good evening through the 10. The BA15-3 slant would be awesome with my 5’s, even with just the MG350.
I just wish I used my amp more. I’m like 95% DI/IEM.

 

[Loring]

I'm curious about this too. I've had my 2 BA12-3s/MG800 out on two outdoor gigs so far, they sound great to me during the pre-gig noodling/checking everything is working but then when the show starts I'm still trying to get the sound I'm looking for when in the mix. I fully expect it's me and I just need to get things dialed in but having come from using a 210 combo I'm wondering if that's just more what I'm expecting. I figured somebody had posted about the BA12-3(s) with a BA210 combination previously and was going to go through the search but since you started this thread if it's out there you'd probably know.

You just need to boost the mids a tiny bit I go for the frequency dial at about 830 o’clock and mid boost around 130-2 o’clock works wonders in the mix! A contour around 9-12 o’clock

 

[Djadja]

You just need to boost the mids a tiny bit I go for the frequency dial at about 830 o’clock and mid boost around 130-2 o’clock works wonders in the mix! A contour around 9-12 o’clock

I’ll try that tomorrow and see how it works both with the pair of the 112 and the 110 and maybe with each cab separately during rehearsal (we rehearse for an hour beforehand).

 

[Loring]

I’ll try that tomorrow and see how it works both with the pair of the 112 and the 110 and maybe with each cab separately during rehearsal (we rehearse for an hour beforehand).

Every bass is a little different - I usually play both pickups but you may prefer neck for instance or be playing a "P" style bass. I would give the mids a bit of boost and then turn the frequency dial until the magic happens - a little goes a long way so maybe 3 o'clock on the boost till you find your frequency and then season to taste.

 

[Djadja]

Every bass is a little different - I usually play both pickups but you may prefer neck for instance or be playing a "P" style bass. I would give the mids a bit of boost and then turn the frequency dial until the magic happens - a little goes a long way so maybe 3 o'clock on the boost till you find your frequency and then season to taste.

For the church band I usually play a JP - an Ibanez Mezzo with the stock P and a Dimarzio Ultra J in the bridge. Indoors, usually about 70% J and 30% P. Outdoors, the opposite of that seems to work better for most of the tunes we play.

 

[Loring]

key thing is adjust while you are playing with the band or...
What I did was feed a recording (of the band) through the aux and then dial it in.

 

[Basselink]

You just need to boost the mids a tiny bit I go for the frequency dial at about 830 o’clock and mid boost around 130-2 o’clock works wonders in the mix! A contour around 9-12 o’clock

Thanks - fortunately I've got one more outdoor/in the park gig coming up this week to try it out before the calendar goes blank.

 

[dwellers]

So, my current rig is the MG800 with a pair of BA12-3 SLTs. I play heavy alternative rock with a lot of dirt and fuzz effects, and thinking that having a bit more clarity and punch in the upper end of things might be nice. I've been contemplating getting a third bass array, but wondering how the 210 would pair up with my 12s.

Before I got into Genzler I had always used a 210 + 115 rig, and now that those options are actually available with Genzler I have contemplated trading up to something like that again, but if the 210 would pair up nicely with my 12's, maybe I can just add that instead.

I feel like I lived through your situation. I had a Markbass 15 + 210 that I traded for one and then two BA12-3s (not slant). I also bought a 350 head that I upgraded to an 800 fairly soon as I joined a loud alt rock band. The Genzler gear blew away my old rig but I found myself wanting a little more extension both on the top and bottom. Well, along came Jeff's 210 and 15-3 and, well, the rest was history. I too contemplated adding a third 12-3 but I'm glad I didn't. I also like the look of a neat stack (I know it's silly) but the slant and top and bottom extension of the 15 + 210 is exactly what I wanted (notice I didn't say needed).

I now have three different rigs that I can haul around covering everything I can imagine doing for a long time. The 410 would be a great addition if I ever get called up to the big leagues. But for now I only want it a little and I certainly do NOT need it.

I advise getting what you want. You'll never regret that.

 

[MaxSpinrun]

You are sooooo covered! I am thinking about adding thr BA 210-3 SLT to my 15-3. Love my 15-3 SLT, can only imagine the improvement of adding the 210 SLT!

 

[Joeykun]

The BA210-3/BA15-3 SLTs together is so awesome. Although I only heard it at home. I’m 12 days away from firing up this rig loud for my 3 live shows!!

If you can do it. I highly recommend it!!!

 

[MaxSpinrun]

C

The BA210-3/BA15-3 SLTs together is so awesome. Although I only heard it at home. I’m 12 days away from firing up this rig loud for my 3 live shows!!

If you can do it. I highly recommend it!!!

Cant weight to hear your feedback on that rig when you really get to let it rip!

 

[Djadja]

C

Cant weight to hear your feedback on that rig when you really get to let it rip!

and the difference between the 410 and 15 vs the 210 & 15

 

[Joeykun]

If time allows, I hope to get some video of this rig before we start.
I’ll do my best to make this happen either Friday or Saturday next week!

 

[Modulus 96]

So I went down to the basement and fired up the Mesa rig. I have a Powerhouse 1000 cabinet consisting of 4x10's, a 15 and a tweeter. The amp is an Impulse 600.

I jammed on the Genzler 12-3 stack (2 str, 1 slt) with the MG 800 for a bit. Then plugged the MG 800 into the Powerhouse cabinet (flipping the ohm selector back to 4/8 ohms). There was a big difference in sound, not the beefy full sound that the 12-3 stack afforded, something thinner, which is not what I expected.

I could probably dial in the cabinet with the Genzler head but I didn't want to mess with my settings, which are fairly flat. I have b contour at maybe 4 o'clock with a little mids taken out. Bass controls are set flat, PU balance at center. TC Electronic Spectra Drive EQ is flat, compression at about noon.

Next I connected the Impulse head to the Mesa cab with the bass straight in skipping the TC Spectra as the Impulse has onboard compression.

I've always had to fiddle with the eq fairly hard on that head. This time around I tried to get something close to the 12-3's warmth and wasn't successful. FWIW I find the Impulse to be boomy (I believe I'm not alone in that estimation) so I have to cut some low end to try to tighten things up which never really turns out the way I would like. But to be fair I just might be EQ challenged with it.

Another ding for the Impulse is that I don't care for it's compression.

Well, so I could plug the Impulse into a couple of 12-3's to see what happens but I'm now wondering if I need the Mesas as I've grown to like the Genzler stuff more.