I like headroom > And i do play pretty loud Most of the time
I play P basses for some gigs and Jazz 4 or 5 at other times. I have played my MG800 thru a pair of uber 115s that are (going away) .. It really opens up on a 4 Ω cab,,,, I am currently gigging one new Magellan 212t cab 4Ω..
It moves air and has a beautiful clean sound for slap bass. The CONTOUR Makes it easy to go to slap tone in a simple turn of the knob..
I can also add another 8 ohm cab to my current 4 ohm cab for a total of 2.5 ohms when i really want shake my pants.
From what i remember I think the Magellan has a more OPEN sound than the WW head.. I didn't think the WW head that I played had much power for what it claimed it had. The 800 watts @ 4Ω seems like a real 800 watts to me. Or real close. It is NOT a shy amp at all..
I was at NAMM , and F bass had a Tonehammer 500 head on their Demo Rig.. Someone came by and tried their PUMA head with the same bass and same cab. The Puma was more clear than the TH500 better bottom and open top.. . It was like a blanket was taken off the cab after the tonehammer..
The Puma is a great head..
Personally ,I prefer the features of the MG 800.. The easy to dial in sound .. Maybe the easiest i have ever used . And if I needed help, I can get it from the owner of the company by posting HERE..
If you are able to try one out in store.. Give it a whirl..
I got mine online . Genzler offers a 10 day return policy which i didn't have to use.. I think they are paying a large portion of shipping too... I think it is reasonable too..
I found the EQ on the magellan to be very easy to use. Very active. It's almost impossible to get a bad sound. You would have to try very hard to make it not work for you. I play Rock/ pop/ RnB/ Blues/ some jazz standards gigs. church gigs. small and large gigs..
The Magellan does CLEAN very well. But it can do dirty too.. Not Fuzzy dirty.. But nice OD if one so wishes by using the Drive channel..
But to me the key features that i use most are Input gain, very little EQ, and some Contour.. Its does 2.6 Ω and has one of the finest DI Outs on any amp head that i have gigged.
I play lots of medium to large clubs and festivals with a funk band. I am always jumping back and forth between slap and fingers, thus I am constantly tweaking my EQ (from my bass) to accommodate. I am looking for an amp based foot-switchable solution. I am a big fan of micros and have been using a WW Blue Light (1200w into 4 ohms) for these gigs. The Magellan sounds like it may be a great solution, but I am concerned about the headroom. Any comments on the headroom from the Magellan? The Puma 900 was another option for me.
I've been using the WW for years now, and it is an amazing amp. I know it is probably a very different animal as compared to the Magellan, or probably most other micros on the market these days. Maybe in its essence it's not even the right amp for funk. Moreover, if you own a WW you have a lot of money sitting in an amp where, when Walter goes away you are stuck. He really hasnt brought in anyone to carry the torch, so to speak. So that's a whole other background consideration.
