• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Genzler Amplification ! New Genz Benz ?

#1,021
Hotblack said:
So... I got to try out the Magellan 800 today. Short review: I haven't been this impressed since I tried out a Shuttlemax for the first time.

<snip>

Sound: A little background. My personal favorite amp is the Shuttlemax 6.0. I almost exclusively use the FET channel. I play mostly fingerstyle.
When I demoed the Magellan 800, I used the Genzler 12x3 array almost exclusively.
The Magellan knocks it out of the park. It's the clean channel of the Max with a little more “beef”. The sound is uncolored when set flat, but everything seems to have a little more “gravitas”.
Click to expand...

Can you say a bit about how you separated out what the head was doing and what the cab was doing?
 
#1,022
Djadja said:
Can you say a bit about how you separated out what the head was doing and what the cab was doing?
Click to expand...
Little hard to say. There were definitely some differences when I plugged into some other cabs. My main takeaway was the wide range of sounds I got from the 800. It responded very well to changes in my attack and use of the blend knob on my bass. I was able to go from burpy to growl pretty easily.
 
  • Like
Reactions: iceboxbass and revroy
#1,023
MichaelOz said:
I've written about the decision between one Magellan 212T and 2 BA12-3 quite extensively on the OzBassForum - happy to provide a link.

IMG_2078_zpspozb4wzq.gif
Click to expand...

Yes, link please
 
  • Like
Reactions: iceboxbass
#1,024
smogg said:
Yes, link please
Click to expand...

Sure:
Invalid Link Removed

It's a longish thread with plenty of input from other parties - we did a mini-shoot-out as well with a couple of 212s and a Glockenklang 112 which was most interesting. There's also an attempt at describing actual gig/stage experience.
Had a (somewhat too loud) rehearsal last night, and playing the setup in the above pic kept up with more than enough SPL in reserve, and all while giving this amazingly defined and round bottom end.

Happy to answer any questions.

As I said above, I'm sure that the amp and the cabs were designed to work together really well so I'd think that my experience to date (which I would call more than convincing) wold be even better with the M800.

Regards,
Michael
 
  • Like
Reactions: smogg
#1,028
Djadja said:
Can you say a bit about how you separated out what the head was doing and what the cab was doing?
Click to expand...

Good question revroy. Seems abit of the magic in this combo will be the BA-123 cab(s).

Any new amp I get will have to be used with the cabs I already own. GB NeoX-112T, GB NX2-212T, TB153-4ohm, 2xTCE-RS210's and most recently, Ampeg 2x112AV's and a 212AV cab. And I actually rotate all these cabs depending on what the gig calls for and what I feel like hauling. I often use a 8ohm-112+ 4ohm-212 for my gigs, so glad the new Genzler and Mesa amps will let me continue such a use.

Just don't see myself buying any new cabs for awhile, so any new amp's gotta run with what I brung cab-wise. Peace, e. OH AND, I read all of that large thread of MikeOz in that other Forum....very good read.
 
Last edited:
#1,030
MichaelOz said:
As already shown on p.43 (hard to keep up with all this) I've been running this rig for a few weeks now:

IMG_2078_zpspozb4wzq.gif


As already stated I couldn't be happier. One BA12-3 is great, two are magical. Amazing gear, and I've written about the decision between one Magellan 212T and 2 BA12-3 quite extensively on the OzBassForum - happy to provide a link.

Now to run a Magellan 800 with these two I'd love to do ... .

Regards,
Michael
Click to expand...
Great looking bass rig Michael! I'd be interested in that link please. Thank you.
I've been hearing the same thing about running two Array cabs together rom a couple other sources. I'm soooo looking forward to playing thru my 2 BAs and Magellan 800 next week! Gorgeous bass BTW:thumbsup:
 
#1,031
Hotblack said:
So... I got to try out the Magellan 800 today. Short review: I haven't been this impressed since I tried out a Shuttlemax for the first time.

Size: The footprint is about the same as the TC RH series heads. For me, that's the perfect sweet spot in terms of size. It is light and small, but I don't have to worry about accidentally pulling it off the amp when I walk away. At around six pounds, it's has enough heft to stay still, but is so easy to carry around in a bag.

Inputs and Knobs: The same quality you would expect from Genz/Genzler products.

Sound: A little background. My personal favorite amp is the Shuttlemax 6.0. I almost exclusively use the FET channel. I play mostly fingerstyle.
When I demoed the Magellan 800, I used the Genzler 12x3 array almost exclusively.
The Magellan knocks it out of the park. It's the clean channel of the Max with a little more “beef”. The sound is uncolored when set flat, but everything seems to have a little more “gravitas”.
The Contour knob and button is a delight to use. Very musical. Someone else could give you the technical terminology, but using this control almost exclusively, I was able to go from sealed cab, old-school thump to hi-fi fusion clarity.
The Drive channel is really musical. It doesn't have the big tubey sound of an SVT, but you can dial in a nice bit of wooliness without thinning out your low end.
Switching between Clean and Drive is smooth and seamless.

I used a couple different basses. One was a mahogany fretless strung with flats, which I consider to be a very classical sounding bass. Changing sounds with the Contour and my blend knob gave me a huge range of sounds. The next bass was a bubinga body with a wenge neck strung with rounds. This is generally a very bright and aggressive bass that I sometimes have a hard time mellowing out. The Magellan allowed me tame some of the brightness while maintaining the overall character of the instrument. The final one was my Morphine bass, a two-string played with pick and glass slide. This was a real curve as I usually need a plethora of pedals to get the right sound running though an uncolored rig. The Magellan Drive channel added just the right amount of dirt while keeping the clarity and character of the slide intact. I also played a fretted jazz and the Magellan was a champ again.

Overall: Huge thumbs up. It's really hard to go wrong with this amp. I would have a hard time finding a gig where this amp wouldn't be great. Unless you really need the signature sound of (insert brand name), I think many would be hard-pressed not to like what the Magellan 800 has to offer.
Click to expand...
That's great review and feedback:thumbsup: I'm visualizing AND feeling what you're expressing!:cool: I'm now in "super stoked mode" to walk the Magellan 800 and 2 Array cabs next week with my Spector NS-2 and then the following week when I get home running the 800 thru a different cab(Maybe in conjunction) my Ampeg B-15T, plus another Spector bass with passive pups my Legend 4 Custom which has a 3 band EQ onboard. I'm going to try every possible combo that I have available. Ill give a thorough review on here for everyone.:bassist: Thanks for your review!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Mattsochistic
#1,034
iceboxbass said:
Great looking bass rig Michael! I'd be interested in that link please. Thank you.
I've been hearing the same thing about running two Array cabs together rom a couple other sources. I'm soooo looking forward to playing thru my 2 BAs and Magellan 800 next week! Gorgeous bass BTW:thumbsup:
Click to expand...

You won't be disappointed :)

Link is in post #1026, hope there is some useful info. Feedback on the conclusions would be great.

And thank you, that Z2 has been a revelation and is really complemented by the rig. All works beautifully together but it seems that the next step will be inevitable: M800 ... . Looking forward to your impressions.

Regards,
Michael
 
  • Like
Reactions: iceboxbass
#1,036
If there was a BA 15-3 coming out, that would push me off the fence from the Subway D-800 w/ matching 12 & 15 cabs and straight into the arms of a Magellan 800 w/ matching BA 12-3 & 15-3 cabs.

Mixing heads and cabs seems like putting a Mitsubishi engine into a Dodge Charger.
 
  • Like
Reactions: iceboxbass

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back