Help me spend money on bass amp

[ellundei]

After some thought I've narrowed my choices down to Genzler Magellan 800 or Alpha Omega 900. You might ask yourself "WHAT?" as they're not really in the same category but the 'driven' tones I'd like to get out of AO900 would mostly be with the drive knob under 10-11 o'clock.

I've already ordered Genzler Bass Array 12-3 and that's why I'm giving more and more thought about buying the Magellan 800 to match it.
I can try the AO900 locally but the cab is gonna be here in a week or two, and I would have to buy Magellan without trying it out.

The pros I see about using AO900 is that it already has the Alpha Omega pedal built in and has a compressor, plus a pre and post DI outs and has a multi band EQ which feels like it would give me more versatility. Alpha Omega 900 would give me an option to mostly run just the head and cab and not fiddle with pedalboards. The cons are 'not matching the brands' if it can be called a con, and the fact that I just keep seeing people complaining about Darkglass reliability, for both pedals and amps and I'd like to be playing and not fiddling around with firmware bugs.

The pros I see about Magellan is that it matches the cab brand so I feel it would possibly be a lot better match sound wise, more simplistic approach to EQ. Another pro I see is that it would possibly allow me to dial in the baseline clean tone and then just add a Alpha Omega pedal in front which would have it's own EQ section so I can precisely dial in the drive as I want it.

I'm not looking for a crazy djent tones, or sharp pick attack stuff, I very much dislike that brittle icepicky fret buzz distortion, which is majority of what the Darkglass demos are, but I do like the drive character that AO has and I've seen demos of it being used in a very nice and musical way.
I'm playing fingerstyle, multiple genres and the bass I'm using is Ibanez EHB1505MS.

These are the tone references I'd like to be able to match, the Karnivool one is what I'd like to match with Alpha Omega, but the rest I guess can be done with either of them.

 

[ellundei]

It would also help if you leave a comment with your opinion why when you vote. Thanks!

 

[hasbeen]

All those clips sound fantastic. I haven't played the Darkglass but yeah, they sound great. I have played all the Genzler models and they are wonderful too.

 

[Goatrope]

I'd go with the Magellan/ AO pedal solution. This covers all of what you want, with fewer fiddly features.

 

[ellundei]

By the votes 7 to 0, seems like the Magellan 800 is the clear winner and I feel like it might be the best way to go given my personal investigation and you guys' opinion. I'll be ordering one tonight!

 

[DrThumpenstein]

Let me preface by saying I voted based on my knowledge of the Magellan and your excellent description of goals and considerations. I have never played or heard the Alpha Omega so my comments are based solely on the Magellan.

The Magellan is really versatile, which is a feature I consider indispensable in an amp. I have no interest in having five different heads for different tonal goals. I was considering getting one until I tried out a Walkabout. I was having an internal debate, deciding between an older, out of production amp versus the Magellan. (Then the WD 800 came out while I was trying to make up my mind, and I found my home.) Similar to the WD, the Magellan can do loud and clean or with drive. The WD is a little more of the flavor I like, as it's inspired by the Walkabout. For an all solid state head, I thought the Magellan had really good tube emulation. What ultimately resulted in me holding off on the Walkabout was the lack of modern features, especially an aux input and headphone output. The Magellan, of course, has both of these features, and is also switchable down to 2.67 ohms.

I liked the tone shaping controls on the Magellan and you can get really different sounds from it. I played it through a 410 at a local music store, can't recall what brand, but it was a good cab. Played my Aerodyne PJ, which can put out a good range of tones. It was really good at old-school and reggae tones, and with some adjustments, you could get very nice, mid-forward, clean tones that sounded really sweet and modern.

As long as the power handling requirements are well matched, I wouldn't make too big of a deal about mixing brands. That can work out really well sometimes. But I have found, with my Mesa equipment, that it plays especially well together compared to an excellent GK 212 cab I initially drove with the WD 800. Ultimately, I think it's just the innate voicing of the cabinets, but I get more of what I want with the Mesa cabs than with the GK cab, which also sounded really good.

One of the reasons I suggest the Magellan is the excellent design and support that is typical of Genzler products. I recently picked up a Genzler 4 on the Floor overdrive pedal and it shares some drive shaping strategies with the Magellan. I love the way it works and it reminds me quite a bit of the Magellan. Genzler's reliability and support are widely known as being excellent.

 

[ellundei]

Money has been spent, I'll receive Magellan 800 + Bass Array 12-3. Will inform you guys how it sounds when I pick it up. Thanks for helping me out with this!

 

[PaulS]

Don't forget to join the Genzler club when you get it. Many users there with helpful tips and Jeff Genzler will help out if you have any issues. Had personal contact with him when I bought my Magellan. Stellar service.
Genzler Amplification Club

 

[bherman]

Good choice - very versatile amp, best quality and top notch service if you ever need it (which is very rarely).