Good afternoon, Jeff.
Is the Magellan 800 being replaced by the 800+ or will the 800 be available for awhile. The MG-800 is a beautiful head and I love it how it is. Figuring trajectory if I should grab one of the ones in the classifieds or not.
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Genzler Amplification Club
- Thread starter Discount Saint
- Start date
Is the Magellan 800 being replaced by the 800+ or will the 800 be available for awhile. The MG-800 is a beautiful head and I love it how it is. Figuring trajectory if I should grab one of the ones in the classifieds or not.
Jeff Genzler
Commercial User
- Feb 9, 2007
- 1,819
- 11,893
- Disclosures
- Currently GENZLER AMPLIFICATION / Formerly GENZ BENZ
@kringle77 --- Going through and seeing what items I may have missed this week ----- here is some background on the new DRIVE circuit for the MG-800+ you asked about. We're using different components for a lower distortion threshold with a more compliant and dynamci clipping threshold (or knee). This allows for a smooth and consistent distortion over various signal levels while providing better touch sensitivity, with more dynamics. Additionally there is filtering in the lower frequencies that maintains that LF dynamics and feel, keeping the lower-end "still present", without overly squashing or compressing those notes. That provides a better balance and more musicial foundation with the distorted tones of the mids and highs. This is certainly dependent upon your gain settings, and bass output, etc.
In order to fit all the new features on the front panel, we felt that the DRIVE circuit was a place were we could condense the controls and offer a better experinece and variation with the Drive circuit. And depending upon settings, there is a slight level increase as you hit the Drive circuit.
Hope this helps.
Jeff Genzler
Commercial User
- Feb 9, 2007
- 1,819
- 11,893
- Disclosures
- Currently GENZLER AMPLIFICATION / Formerly GENZ BENZ
Yes we are still offering the MG-800 along with the new MG-800+. You'll see there is a lower price for the MG-800 over the past few months. That is still a very popular model and if you have one, it is still a strong piece of kit.
Thank you for that. I was hoping with the amount of variation between the two that this model would stick around.
It’s the 1st amp that I heard and immediately fell in love with. Took 5 minutes of playing and it truly ignited me.
Mulled it over for a year - and pulled the trigger - when I fall for an amp, I can’t be without a backup…. It’s how I ended up with so many GK RB II’s lol.
It’s taken over 20 years to dethrone the RB’s (I still love them but I’m no longer hoarding).
Truly felt the MG-800 just naturally sounded big, punchy, and accurate.
That sums my reaction. A few months ago I got a Kinetix 800 and was thrilled with the lush tube-like tone. This week I got a M800 and it only took a few minutes to knock me out with the huge clean punch -- exactly what I've been looking for in my new honky tonk/classic county projects. The first day I played it for hours, just couldn't stop being blown away by the big clean sound. It's especially useful with my Gretsch 6072 hollow body. I've got an Fdeck HPF 3 Pre coming shortly so I'll be "making do" for a while with the M800. Can't believe I didn't discover this one sooner!
I’ve been eyeing the kinetix as well but I think I’m going to give the Mesa 800D a try. Totally different but I’m enjoying this freedom form the RB’s and having flavors for the first time in a very long time. I do feel the MG-800 is a lover though.
I also played the 800D for a while. Here is what I wrote in another thread comparing the Kinetix and 800D:
So I've been playing both of these amps and both are terrific inventions. Lots of similarities and oodles of goodness for both. There are also some subtle differences and I am curious if anyone else has noticed something that's a big priority for me.
I am newly focused on classic country music and am in a new honky tonk trio so it's been an emersion in learning bass nuances for that style. One thing is keeping notes short and distinct with space between tones. Quick decay is a characteristic of double bass, which was prominent in this music. But I'll be playing a Fender jazz bass with La Bella 760FL flat wounds and there are two ways to approach this goal. The easy way is to use a foam mute on the strings. I created one with microfiber sponge based on the Nordy Mute design that sits on top of the strings instead of underneath, which reduces the "dead thud" and retains a touch of the harmonics that are especially delicious with a tube amp.
The other technique is a fairly complex coordination of lightly touching-to-fret and quickly letting the string rise slightly above the fretboard with the left hand and using a floating thumb to silence strings on the plucking side. It requires a ton of practice for consistency. Since I want to retain the tubey harmonics, I'm using this technique.
Now regarding the Mesa Boogie 800-D and Genzler Kinetics 800. With the latter finger-muting technique, I noticed immediately with the Kinetics 800 that it was easier and almost automatic to create the quick decay effect I'm after with short dead silence between notes. With the Mesa 800D, I hear a bit less decay and sometimes a trace of run-on harmonics when playing two feel or walking bass. With this discovery, I've been switching back and forth between amps and trying various settings, and the phenomenon I described remains consistent between the amps.
Any reactions or ideas what's happening to cause this result?
@agedhorse immediately replied:
"It may be in part due to the lower damping factor of the Bass 800D. You may find the D-800+ works better for you in this application."
It fits sideways in the 12-inch Gator mixer bag, which is the same one that I use for my Magellan 800.
Kim
I suggest to still keep the MG800. There are a lot of customers (including me) who don't need/want to hassle with two parametric bands live on stage and rather prefers to have a switchable drive input instead. Instead of a 2nd parametric band I'd prefer a full parametric mid with sweepable "Q" and a contour enable/disable footswitch - but that's just me.
I’m definitely hanging onto my
Magellan 800. The thing that I instantly liked about it was how easy I could dial in usable tones. For me too many options complicates things. I needlessly(?) and endlessly tweak but not so with the Magellan 800.
I had the shuttlemax 9.2 and was back and forth between the fet and tube channel and then using both and the eq section! Oy vey. Too much for this small brain. Great amp but not for me.
The Magellan I’ve gone with different settings with different basses. A and b contour minimal eq bam! Killer tone.
The kinetix though… we shall see.
Thanks, Jeff, for the awesome gear.
Magellan 800. The thing that I instantly liked about it was how easy I could dial in usable tones. For me too many options complicates things. I needlessly(?) and endlessly tweak but not so with the Magellan 800.
I had the shuttlemax 9.2 and was back and forth between the fet and tube channel and then using both and the eq section! Oy vey. Too much for this small brain. Great amp but not for me.
The Magellan I’ve gone with different settings with different basses. A and b contour minimal eq bam! Killer tone.
The kinetix though… we shall see.
Thanks, Jeff, for the awesome gear.
I have the Magellan 800 and the Kinetix and both are very easy to dial in. Kinetix has some extra "sauce" in the tone but both are killer amps.
I’m not listening. Fingers in ears “la la la la”.
Hahahah.
Still working on getting my 10-2 array stack before possibly venturing into kinetix territory.
Dont you talk ugly about the SM 9.2!
...but yes the Magellan takes the cake for simplicity. Dont tell the Shuttlemax I said that.
No talking bad about it, it was great but too much for me.Dont you talk ugly about the SM 9.2!
View attachment 7466640
...but yes the Magellan takes the cake for simplicity. Dont tell the Shuttlemax I said that.
Another night using the small but mighty Magellan 350 combo! Gain at 2 o’clock master at noon. Had to turn down twice. While I love having the opportunity to use my larger rigs, this little guy continues to surprise me as well as anyone who is curious enough to figure out what is providing the room filling bass. It’s so much more competent than I had ever imagined when I got it to replace my loved Shuttle 3.0-10T after being blown away by Jeff’s Magellan 800. Every time I had wavered about bringing it or a larger rig on a medium size gig, it has never left me wanting. I have used it outdoors in an intimate setting with no problem as well as outdoors combined with its extension cabinet with a full band at moderate volume and it held its own with room to spare.
I have recently found myself coming up with excuses to justify bringing one of my larger rigs ( okay…just because I want to
), when I know that the MG350 combo would work just fine. While my Magellan 800 is every thing that I expected it to be, I have to admit that the MG350 combo has been a major surprise!Kim
I’ve just sold my SM9.2 and bought a Magellan 800 because I like the simpler EQ design and the two-way contour preset.
I was a bit surprised, though, that the Magellan 800 weighs more than the larger SM9.2. Not that it matters much, but I’m just wondering where that extra weight comes from.
I was a bit surprised, though, that the Magellan 800 weighs more than the larger SM9.2. Not that it matters much, but I’m just wondering where that extra weight comes from.
Those Shuttle Amps were super light weight.
So yesterday I played my Magellan 800 for the first time in a band setting. It's a brand new honky tonk project -- guitar, bass, drums. I played a 4-string Fender Professional Jazz bass with La Bella 760FL Deep Talkin' flats and Fralin pickups. The amp was set completely flat and recorded from the DI. Super happy with this tone! For those of you wondering what this amp sounds like, here's a take of Truck Drivin' Man.
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