Genzler Amplification Club

[Joeykun]

May you tell us about Shuttle/Magellan comparison?

Sure! Once upon a time.......

What I liked about the ShuttleMAX was being able to blend the 2 channels. I set the FET channel clean with bottom end and the Tube channel with highs and some tube breakup. The 3 Low/Mid/High contours were great for tweaking rooms and overall tone. Running two 4ohm cabs was killer too! But, it had a lot of knobs and a lot going on.

The Magellan felt at home right away. Clean channel with everything at noon and a twist of the A contour and you were there. Simple and sounds great. The Drive channel has a lot going on and can get anywhere from a clean to mild breakup to distorted sound depending what you like. The B contour offers a different flavor but still amazing. I like my Drive channel with a 10:00/2:00 setting with the A contour around 10:00.

I don’t miss the blending of the 2 channels which the Magellan doesn’t do. But a nice Drive pedal or preamp with distortion will give you a rocking sound and the BA cabs will disperse that perfectly. I also feel the Magellan has more punch than the ShuttleMAX. I have played some big theaters and opened up the amp just to see what it can do and boy was that something!!!

So, overall I like both. But, I will go with the “that was then, this is now” routine and say the Magellan is my favorite between the two. I’ll say the same for the Ubers vs Bass Array cabs too. Both killer but these BA cabs especially the SLTs are unlike anything I have heard before. Truly a modern masterpiece!!

 

[Basehead]

I went full Genzler in 2019 after I realized I was finally hearing my ultimate bass tone....

 

[SadowskySteve]

Yes, Steve, very heavy duty cover available and in stock.

Thanks Jeff, Ryan from the Guitar Shop in Mississauga is placing the order today. BA15-3 and cover is my 2021 birthday gift. Hopefully when gigs open back up later this year; my monster rig for bigger rooms will be the BA15-3 with the a BA12=3STR and BA12-3SLT on top.

@Loring You are more than welcome to come down to the new pad to have some fun when it arrives. My band room is big enough to be covid compliant.

 

[Jeff Genzler]

Thanks Jeff, Ryan from the Guitar Shop in Mississauga is placing the order today. BA15-3 and cover is my 2021 birthday gift. Hopefully when gigs open back up later this year; my monster rig for bigger rooms will be the BA15-3 with the a BA12=3STR and BA12-3SLT on top.

@Loring You are more than welcome to come down to the new pad to have some fun when it arrives. My band room is big enough to be covid compliant.

Thanks Steve, everything is in process. Looking forward to your comments on the 15" once you get it. Let's push on towards "Gigs for 21" !!!

 

[Loring]

Thanks Jeff, Ryan from the Guitar Shop in Mississauga is placing the order today. BA15-3 and cover is my 2021 birthday gift. Hopefully when gigs open back up later this year; my monster rig for bigger rooms will be the BA15-3 with the a BA12=3STR and BA12-3SLT on top.

@Loring You are more than welcome to come down to the new pad to have some fun when it arrives. My band room is big enough to be covid compliant.

I e we I’ll bring the empress down - it is so very sweet with the genzler - the old empress was great - long live the empress

 

[RColie]

OK, the BA10-2 is here! I did a very unscientific comparison between the BA10-2 and the MG12T-V. I put the cabinets side by side with the 10 elevated a bit. The 10 was driven by an MG350 and the 12 was driven by an MG800 (using the clean channel). I think the general consensus is that the two amps sound very similar with EQ flat and the MG800 on the clean channel. I used a passive Fender Jazz Bass (both pickups full on, tone about 50%) through an A-B switch so I could change amps instantly. Please note that this is all at bedroom volume and I'm sure the dynamics would change some at higher levels.

There weren't too many surprises here.

The 10 is a bit clearer and yes, the array does have better horizontal dispersion, although the 12 is no slouch. The 10 has a more prominent, vocal midrange and a tighter bass response.

The 12 is a bit warmer but still clear, and as expected the lows were stronger that the 10.

I wanted to see how close I could get the two cabinets to sounds alike. My ears said that the most prominent mid frequency in the 10 cabinet was between 10 and 11 o'clock on the amp's mid-frequency knob. On the 10 I boosted the bass to around 2 o'clock and left everything else flat. On the 12 I boosted the mids to about 2 o'clock with the frequency set between 10 and 11 o'clock and left everything else flat (hopefully that all makes sense). So I boosted the bass a bit on the 10 and boosted the mids a bit on the 12.

Perhaps surprisingly the two cabs sounded very similar. The 10's mids were still a little smoother and clearer but the 12 was close. And the lows on the 10 matched the 12 quite well.

Again, all bets are off at gig volume.

I also tried the 10 on top of the 12 (with the 12's tweeter turned off per Jeff's suggestion). Of course it sounded fuller than the 10 alone, and as I went up and down the neck the response seemed pretty even with no obvious dips or overly pronounced frequencies. I'd have to try the pair with a band to see if the two cabinets worked well together for my ears, but what I heard here was fine. I put a Baby Gramma pad on top of the 12 and put the 10 on that, which made a very stable stack.

After all that I'm really no closer to deciding which cab to keep; for the foreseeable future I'll just keep them both and enjoy the variety!

Thanks,

Bob

 

[Basselink]

Thanks for the comparison - sounds like you're in a no-lose situation!

 

[berman3313]

Thought this would be the place to post this memory:

Shortly after taking up the bass after years of playing drums/guitar, I bought my first P Bass from a guy who had a ton of Mesa/Boogie gear. I was fascinated by the coolness and breadth of the sounds he got.
A month or two later, looking for another bass guitar, because I thought, maybe a Jazz bass would be good to try, I wandered into Jerry’s Music in Bethesda, MD. A few minutes in there, I heard these syrupy bass tones coming from another room.

It was one of the employees noodling on a P Bass but playing it through a Gene-Benz Shuttle 3.0/8 combo. To quote the Connells, I was standing there “Slackjawed”. I had to try this amp! Man! I didn’t need another bass, I needed this AMP! So, I tried a number of basses through the little combo and paid them for the Combo. Who needed another bass.

Jerry’s is no longer there, sadly, as has befallen many independent music stores. But, Chuck Levin’s in Wheaton carried the full line of G-B and now Genzler gear. I’ve had several cabs, heads and incredibly, have never had the urge to really consider another amp/speaker combo. The gear and company is so reliable - if you’re considering Genzler - you don’t need to look elsewhere.

Now, basses and pedals do move in and out of the line up - just ordered an Acinonyx and added a DG Clean Harmonic boost (though with the Magellan, I’m not sure I really need it). But the Genzler rig, 350, 10-2 and 12-3, it’s all right there. Maybe a 12T-V down the road, but I am set!

The moral of the story is; I don’t know from day to day how my playing will be, but I know my amp/speakers is the most reliable sounding part of the set up - always!

 

[RColie]

Thought this would be the place to post this memory:

Shortly after taking up the bass after years of playing drums/guitar, I bought my first P Bass from a guy who had a ton of Mesa/Boogie gear. I was fascinated by the coolness and breadth of the sounds he got.
A month or two later, looking for another bass guitar, because I thought, maybe a Jazz bass would be good to try, I wandered into Jerry’s Music in Bethesda, MD. A few minutes in there, I heard these syrupy bass tones coming from another room.

It was one of the employees noodling on a P Bass but playing it through a Gene-Benz Shuttle 3.0/8 combo. To quote the Connells, I was standing there “Slackjawed”. I had to try this amp! Man! I didn’t need another bass, I needed this AMP! So, I tried a number of basses through the little combo and paid them for the Combo. Who needed another bass.

Jerry’s is no longer there, sadly, as has befallen many independent music stores. But, Chuck Levin’s in Wheaton carried the full line of G-B and now Genzler gear. I’ve had several cabs, heads and incredibly, have never had the urge to really consider another amp/speaker combo. The gear and company is so reliable - if you’re considering Genzler - you don’t need to look elsewhere.

Now, basses and pedals do move in and out of the line up - just ordered an Acinonyx and added a DG Clean Harmonic boost (though with the Magellan, I’m not sure I really need it). But the Genzler rig, 350, 10-2 and 12-3, it’s all right there. Maybe a 12T-V down the road, but I am set!

The moral of the story is; I don’t know from day to day how my playing will be, but I know my amp/speakers is the most reliable sounding part of the set up - always!

Well that brings back memories. First, I practically lived at Chuck's for a while in the 70s. Barry Rick Associates booked the bands I was in and his office was in Chuck's. I bought all my gear in the early days from there.

And the Genz Benz gear! I was at a bass GTG at Fazio's Frets and Friends near St. Louis, MO years ago. Above all this racket a new refreshing sound rose above the din. It was a Shuttle 6.0 through a Shuttle 210 cabinet. Everyone thought it was a 212 and couldn't believe it was a 210 and were amazed at the clarity. That experience started my long use of Genz Benz products...the original Shuttle series, the updated Shuttle series, and the ultimate...a ShuttleMax 12.2 into various combinations of GB cabinets.

As good as they were, I can now say that the Genzler products are definitely the next step. I think I'm set for life...which I hope is a while longer.

Bob

 

[PraiseBassing]

Anybody that is looking to sell a Magellan 800, let me know!

 

[Loring]

Anybody that is looking to sell a Magellan 800, let me know!

try Jeff genzler - he has a few

 

[SteveC]

This has always been one of my favorites...

 

[EncoremMP]

Finally got my Magellan350. Unfortunately I sold off my cabs and it'll be a few more weeks before I order a new one. Sounds great through my headphones though.

 

[EncoremMP]

This has always been one of my favorites...
View attachment 4125058

I am still on the lookout for a NeoPak (2ohm modded)! Loved this amp so much.

 

[Holdsg]

the 350 IS a magnificent practice/headphone amp
says me, who uses one for that express purpose

 

[Jeff Genzler]

This has always been one of my favorites...
View attachment 4125058

Damn....I forget how "ahead of it's time" this amp was. Even in todays world it would be something special.
I also forget sometimes how fond of LED's we were.
There are 12 on the front of this little amp. Some players told us it can light up like a Christmas tree!!

 

[Holdsg]

you did a lot of cool things with LEDs over the years.
I still like the blue glow that came out of the Streamliner

 

[ahc]

you did a lot of cool things with LEDs over the years.
I still like the blue glow that came out of the Streamliner

Like this?

 

[RNG1]

the 350 IS a magnificent practice/headphone amp
says me, who uses one for that express purpose

Since lack of gigs I agree. Otherwise simply a great amp.

 

[Zoffy]

Since lack of gigs I agree. Otherwise simply a great amp.

I have a Magellan 350 and it is an excellent amp. I've gigged with it several times and have nothing but good things to say about it. It's well-built and sounds great over a very wide range of music styles.