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Genzler Amplification Club

#15,461
Moondog said:
Could you share your impressions of the tonal differences between the Genzler and the Fuchs? Also how does the drive/distortion compare?
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Sorry I didn't take much time making sure the audio was great for the sake of time, but here are two videos showing different stages of drive with the two amps (cab signal only) and I think after watching both you'll find the 2 amps are using much different philosophies of tube drive, The Fuchs boosted all the way will get you just past the gritty break point and the Genzler will go to full distortion. headphones encouraged.



 
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#15,462
Holdsg said:
I can tell you a bit from my experience. I hope I'm not too boring. Since it's me, not you we're talking about. But maybe you can learn from my story.
I'm an early adopter and advocate for Jeff and his products, back to Genz-Benz days.
I was an early adopter of the Streamliner, and had Uber cabs with that.
When Jeff started Genzler Amp, I had to have the Mag800 when it first came out, at first paired with a single 12-3 (there were only straight at the time).
I've always been of the mind that you need at least 2 cabs for the best sound. 1 is OK for my upright rig, but with electric, I always seem to want at least 2 of something.
Then, I found a local guy on TB that was selling two 12-3 cabs, so I ended up with 3.
I didn't really need 3, but I did play that stack at one outdoor gig, and it was fantastic sounding.
If you consistently have room in your vehicle of choice, 3 cabs is a pretty cool thing (2.67 ohms).
Fast forward to my joining a Zeppelin tribute band, and I though I'd better get something a bit more RNR looking and sounding, so I opted to sell 2 of my 12-3s, and get the 410-3. Putting the single 12-3 on top of that for my big rig/outdoor rig.
Along the way, I experimented with a single 15-3 for country (more round bottom to my P bass), which it is great for, but that band did not survive Covid, so since 2023 I've had the 2 cabs in my life. 12-3 and 410-3, and I'm very content for the band situations I get involved in.

I don't know what music you are playing. that would make a difference (to me) on what to recommend.
having 2 10s is a nice small stack, perfect for small rooms. If I was playing a lot of outdoor gigs, I'd want more speaker surface area, regardless of which head is pushing it. That's the advantage (IMO and IME) of 12s over 10s. having said that, Jeff's 4-10 is a great cab. Again, surface area and bang-for-buck, being the key thing there.

Hope that helps narrow down your choices, but as many have said many times on here, it's hard to go wrong as long as it has the Genzler name on it.
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We've had this discussion before, but I agree that there is something really special when you go from 2 to 3 of the BA112-3's, and even more so, IME/IMHO, when at least one of those is an SLT. :thumbsup:
 
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#15,463
Great demo, very helpful thanks. I noticed Jeff didn't include a clipping light on the Kinetix as on the MG 800 and MG 350 unless I missed it. I guess he felt it wasn't really that useful. When the power light starts dimming or your speaker cabs start complaining, you're probably clipping it :eek:. I played my Aguilar TH-350 and Mesa D-350 pretty hard a few times and never got so much as a flicker of the clipping light on either to the point were I questioned if they even worked.
 
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#15,465
Old Blastard said:
I'm saving my fancy coffee and pastry money until I have a latte dough, then I will buy a Magellan 350 combo and a Kinetix 800. One amp for small gigs and one for bigger gigs. For really big gigs, I'dprobably have to buy another bass array to be named later. In the meantime, it's Maxwell House and rice cakes and a Contour 500.
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That is what I’m kinda doing. Practice and small gigs with 350 10-3 and for big gigs I have a Streamliner 600 (as much power as I need) and an “oldie” BA12-3 straight cab. Thats a pretty big shift in gear, I get em both to work for me. I would buy a 600 watt version if it came in that flave, but yeah, I think 800 is so close to 600, so why bother. I don’t need anything bigger than just the one twelve. But if I did the choices are immense and so much info in this thread to figure it out, simply mind-boggling the pairings.
 
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#15,466
David A. Davis said:
I decided on the Kinetix and 2x BA10-2-S2. A sub 50lbs rig that’s modular and easy to handle. A third cab does sound appealing though.
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I've been doing some tracking this week with the KINETIX 800 and a pair of the 112 bass array cabs. I finally decided that trying to get sounds while the rig is in the same room as my recording rig was a fool's errand, so I decided to move the cabs to a back room and run the requisite wires that would let me keep the head at arms length near my DAW. I bent over to pick up the first 112 cabinet to move it, and I could not believe how light it is. This is after 2 days of hearing the thunder that those cabs produce. The tone had convinced me that the cab was a heavyweight. But the proof is in the lifting! Hahaha
 
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#15,467
RocketMusic said:
I've been doing some tracking this week with the KINETIX 800 and a pair of the 112 bass array cabs. I finally decided that trying to get sounds while the rig is in the same room as my recording rig was a fool's errand, so I decided to move the cabs to a back room and run the requisite wires that would let me keep the head at arms length near my DAW. I bent over to pick up the first 112 cabinet to move it, and I could not believe how light it is. This is after 2 days of hearing the thunder that those cabs produce. The tone had convinced me that the cab was a heavyweight. But the proof is in the lifting! Hahaha
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31lbs! It’s a great time to be a bass player.
 
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#15,468
I’ll admit that I was hoping the new amp would have had the same eq topology as the magellan. I LOOOOOVE the magellans semi-parametric mid and used to enjoy the multi semi parametric mids on my old genzler shuttle 12.0. But, the eq points on the kinetic are well chosen. And, from the clips I’ve heard, it does have a nice sound and Bounce, compression. It does sound more forgiving than the Magellan, kind of like how the Ampeg svp-cl performs, only cleaner and less compressed. If I was playing in a band I’d have one on order right now. I will be getting one in the near’ish future for sure though. I’ve got a custom built acoustic to pay for first. I’m boring and responsible like that!!!
 
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#15,471
spufman said:
Jeff and his gang are the coolest. If my Streamliner didn't still 100% satisfy with its girthy wallop, bulletproof design and beautiful aesthetic, the Kinetix would all but certainly be coming home. All things Genz just go on and on and on...
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Jeff has an incredible talent for industrial design.
 
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#15,472
Moonskunk said:
I'm having a terrible time deciding between the new Kinetix 800 or just getting an MG 350 along with another 10" array (which would give me 3 10" array cabs) since they'd be the same price getting a discount by buying the combo. Something tells me the MG 350/ Array option is the smarter and more cost effective move but something about the tubes and more power in the Kinetix intrigue me and not sure I really want to deal with 3 cabs. I'm kinda in limbo land waiting for more feedback and comparisons as more people acquire the new amp before making a commitment, but would also like to hear some of your opinions. Option 1 or Option 2; or even Option 3 MG800.
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IMHO, going for as many watts as a bassist can is a positive step. The improved headroom and response (dynamics) is a huge deal for me personally. Just as an FYI, I routinely run a 1200 watt head with a single 600 watt cab without issue.
 
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#15,475
hasbeen said:
IMHO, going for as many watts as a bassist can is a positive step. The improved headroom and response (dynamics) is a huge deal for me personally. Just as an FYI, I routinely run a 1200 watt head with a single 600 watt cab without issue.
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And I totally agree, but not watts just for the sake of watts. I learned this from back in my stereo days. I had a 15 watt receiver that sounded more satisfying to me than a 200 watt power amp with pre. You've got to love what your getting or why add more of a bad thing? Luckily, this is not the case here with Genzler and this is the direction I'm leaning. I figure I can always add a 3rd cab sometime in the future, another array be it a matching 10" series 2 or even 12 /15 if I were so inclined. If I just get the MG 350 with another 10" now, I'll always be wondering what my rig could have been with more headroom. In the long run I think I'd be more content and save money not wanting to eventually upgrade the head. These series 2 10's really do have a nice bottom end. I've never heard the previous original version with different speaker, but I'm not really finding I'm wanting for a lower/deeper low end. Three of these 10's (always loved 10's) along with the Kinetix would be heaven, for me anyway.
 
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#15,477
Moonskunk said:
And I totally agree, but not watts just for the sake of watts. I learned this from back in my stereo days. I had a 15 watt receiver that sounded more satisfying to me than a 200 watt power amp with pre. You've got to love what your getting or why add more of a bad thing? Luckily, this is not the case here with Genzler and this is the direction I'm leaning. I figure I can always add a 3rd cab sometime in the future, another array be it a matching 10" series 2 or even 12 /15 if I were so inclined. If I just get the MG 350 with another 10" now, I'll always be wondering what my rig could have been with more headroom. In the long run I think I'd be more content and save money not wanting to eventually upgrade the head. These series 2 10's really do have a nice bottom end. I've never heard the previous original version with different speaker, but I'm not really finding I'm wanting for a lower/deeper low end. Three of these 10's (always loved 10's) along with the Kinetix would be heaven, for me anyway.
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Yup....I'm saying "all else being equal". So, if both amps sound great (the same), I'm going for more watts. I don't know what it is about my playing style, but I can "hit the back-end" of an amp very easily. Even when the input and master are set low, my very "abrupt" and percussive right hand, played WAY back by the bridge can get the amp to "cack". Agedhorse used to even comment on it when we were working together.
 
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#15,479
IMG_0364.jpeg
Here it is! The Genzler mini rig of doom!
 
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