Ok - I drove up to Bananas At Large in San Rafael yesterday and spent about 90 minutes putting the Magellan 800 through it's paces. I played it with both my mid-80's E series P/J with D'Addario steels and my Pawn Shop Mustang with really dead D'Addario chomes. I ran it through the 12-3 array, then the Magellan 112, then a David Eden D210MBX - the Eden is most similar to what I'm currently playing through. At the moment I'm shopping for an amp only, so I wanted to get some perspective and see how the 800 responded to different cabs.
Overall, I really LOVE this amp. I think I like the versatility it has - especially with the EQ. The mid range sweep is HUGE. The downside of that is that it takes finesse to get just the right frequency, but conversely it can get you exactly what you want if you're a bit patient. The amount of power gives it a ton of headroom, which is such a huge advantage over the GK 800RB I played with for years. I like that the highs aren't brittle, and the bottom can bring out the sub-frequencies. The drive is a bit meatier than I expected - I thought it would have more bite to it, but I think the meatiness is probably a bit more useable. It just adds some "hair" to the note, rather than being over the top. And I figured out that I can use the mid-range control to bring out the clanky-ness and grit of the drive should I so choose.
The contours are both awesome as well - so nice to have the choice of both the standard mid-scoop AND the vintage low mid bump. I found that when I dialed in Contour B with just the bridge pickup, I could get more of a Bernard Edwards-y tone, which was great. I typically don't play just the bridge pickup as I find it too thin, but this punched up the low mids in just the right way to make it burpy and barky. I could also throw in Contour B and add more low mids with the EQ. Add some drive and man - the burp out of the amp was awesome.
So yeah - I'm 100% sold on the amp and will be ordering one as soon as the tax returns come back. As far as the cabs go - the Bass Array sounded... well, boxy is the only word I could use to describe it. Partly this was because I had it at the floor pointing at my feet (deliberately to both couple to the floor for more bass and as this is most likely how I'd have it live) but I also think it was because I had only one. I sat on the floor in front of it for awhile as well as sat on a short stool to get some different perspectives. I also recorded it with my Zoom H4n recorder and listening back, throaty is the best word. This isn't to say that the boxy/throaty-ness bothered me - in fact I got used to it once I played for a few minutes, but that was the impression that stuck with me. What it did bring out was that low mid burp, which was a blast to play around with - not what I typically go for but I could get used to this!
The Magellan cab was stacked on top of the array (easiest way for the dude at the store to set it up) and it overall sounded more "traditional" than the array. The sound was definitely less bassy (again, most likely due to it being stacked and not on the floor) but it had more of an openness than the array. Where the array sounded throaty, the Magellan cab sounded more bright and clear. What really blew me away, though, was the Eden cab. This thing sounded MASSIVE. It was a bit more of a traditionally mid-scooped sound, and truthfully it didn't do the bridge pickup burp thing at all well, but wide open with either the P or both pickups on it was just gigantic. Part of this I'm sure is that it's just a physically larger cab (two 10's as opposed to a single 12 in the other cabs) but it was a noticeable difference. I'm not sure this is the one I would choose, as the Eden sound was a bit more of what I usually go for and I'm kinda looking for something new. But what was revealing was the the Magellan 800 amp was SO clear and clean that it really showed off the difference in the speaker cabs and THAT is what I want. I can always shop cabs later, but for now I'm completely sold on this amp. I could gush a bunch more, but I'll save that for when I really get mess with it on the gig.
Thanks again Jeff - this thing is great. I'll place my order in the next few weeks once I get my returns. Then there'll be a NAD for me!
