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Mesa D350, or Genzler Magellan 350?

Timothy Brosnan

Timothy Brosnan

Supporting Member
Feb 8, 2020
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Cape Cod
#1
I’m considering one of these amps, and I’m not sure which one would be right for me.

I play passive basses-Fender Player Jazz with Ernie Ball stainless steel, and Squier Jaguar H, with Ernie Ball medium scale Slinky’s, finger style mainly. I love all kinds of music, but play mainly 60’s thru 80’s music, not doing loud bands anymore.

Both amps have a great reputation, with great people behind them. What do you guys think? Anyone tried both?

Thanks for your input.
 
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#2
You'll (probably) be incredibly happy with either. They are not a million miles apart in terms of how they sound, so it's really just a question of which feature set seems to do it better for you.

I assume, if you took a poll of players here, you'd see more Mesa than Genzler. But they are both highly regarded by the bass community, and there really is no wrong answer. I personally have the D-350, but that's in no small part because they are much easier to come by up here than Genzler products.

This feels like the anti-Sophie's Choice lol
 
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#3
Timothy Brosnan said:
I’m considering one of these amps, and I’m not sure which one would be right for me.

I play passive basses-Fender Player Jazz with Ernie Ball stainless steel, and Squier Jaguar H, with Ernie Ball medium scale Slinky’s, finger style mainly. I love all kinds of music, but play mainly 60’s thru 80’s music, not doing loud bands anymore.

Both amps have a great reputation, with great people behind them. What do you guys think? Anyone tried both?

Thanks for your input.
Click to expand...
I've owned both, still own the D-350. Tough choice here. As has been said, "Sophie's Choice". I slightly prefer the Mesa 4 band EQ w/ Voicing filter over the variable mids on the Genzler, but that's just personal preference. The Bright switch takes the Mesa where the Genzler can't go, IMHO. The Genzler does have the modern/vintage switch which is very usable.
Made in USA for the Mesa vs Taiwan for the Genzler may be an issue although I see no discernable difference in quality of build.
Warranty is longer and gig bag included with the Mesa but it's more expensive.
Honestly, I'd buy both online and send back the one you like less, but you may end up keeping both. Good luck!
 
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#6
dave_p said:
I’m sure you really can’t go wrong either way. I went Genzler. Great unit, well made. Very versatile tone wise. The contour switch is where the magic is for unlocking many different characters. Personally I use mine dead flat and it has a growly full range sound. No lack of low end.
Click to expand...
My experience as well. Absolutely AWESOME amp in every single way!
 
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#9
Timothy Brosnan said:
I’m considering one of these amps, and I’m not sure which one would be right for me.

I play passive basses-Fender Player Jazz with Ernie Ball stainless steel, and Squier Jaguar H, with Ernie Ball medium scale Slinky’s, finger style mainly. I love all kinds of music, but play mainly 60’s thru 80’s music, not doing loud bands anymore.

Both amps have a great reputation, with great people behind them. What do you guys think? Anyone tried both?

Thanks for your input.
Click to expand...
Genzler. No question.
 
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#10
They have a lot of similarities, and I was strongly considering both as well. I ultimately went with the Genzler, for 2 reasons:

1) 2-mode Contour control-- mid-scoop, or low-mid bump. This is the one and only feature that I consider a genuine advantage over the Mesa unit, but your mileage may vary.

2) I already had an amp with 2-knob fixed-frequency midrange controls. I wanted something with a sweep-able midrange, which the Genzler delivers. I don't consider this a real advantage or disadvantage, just a personal preference of mine.

So, my choice was the Genzler.

But keep in mind, there are advantages to the Mesa unit that other folks may prefer:

1) Every vendor I see sells the Mesa D-350 with the padded bag included. The bag is about $60 extra for the Genzler-- if you can even find it (fortunately, for me, Mark Gollihur had one in stock). If you account for this, the retail price advantage the Genzler enjoys over the Mesa gets almost completely negated.

2) The Mesa head includes a USB-C charging port.

You can't really go wrong with either, and it was not an easy decision for myself, but the Genzler happened to fit my preferences ever-so-slightly closer, so I went with it and am very happy with it!
 
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#12
My take is based on having owned an MG-800 and a WD-800, and trying a D-350 in store a couple of times. I'm presuming the MG-800 and MG-350 share similar contour characteristics.

I liked the Genzler for bright, neutral, tones. The D-350 however had a delicious coloring in its contour, coupled with its bright switch.

Forgive me... If the MG-350 is a quart of Neapolitan, then the D-350 is a pint of Chocolate Fudge Ripple. A WD-800 is a trip to the creamery.
 
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#16
I am sure that you can not go wrong with either one of them. What cab(s) are you using? My 130/200 watt elf amp into the right cabinets gets plenty loud for any gig. My point with that is regardless of whether you are playing loud gigs or not, the amp has what it takes to get you a volume level above/beyond your needs.
The preferred amp head out of the two you are choosing? That’s not for anyone besides you to decide. I have been alternately using a WD800 and a GM800 and they have both been flawless. Like at least a couple of someone’s earlier said, it depends on the feature set you prefer.

Do you prefer BMW or Audi? They are both great!
 
#17
Tough one to answer definitively. I own the Magellan 350 and, while I don’t own a D-350, I did own a D-800 and currently own a D-800+. I’d say they’re both outstanding amps and go for the features you prefer.

On the Genzler, I like the low mid bump contour (I have no use for the mid scoop contour) and the adjustable mid frequency. I don’t use the capability, but it can also run with a 2.67 Ohm load, so you could connect three 8 Ohm cabs to it.

The Mesa has a 4-band EQ, which I found to be very well implemented in the D-800. It also has a variable voicing filter which I believe is more sophisticated than just a mid scoop, low and high boost (?), but I never really used it on either of my Mesa heads. I do like the Deep filter on the Mesa and have used that on both of the Mesas I’ve owned.

If I had to pick between those two, I think I find the variable mid frequency on the Genzler to be slightly more useful than the fixed 4-band EQ on the Mesa (and the adjustable low mid and high mid on the D-800+ to be even better, which is why that one is my main gigging amp).

But, you have a good problem to have because there is no wrong answer.
 
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#18
marchone said:
Didn’t Andy Fields @agedhorse design both of them?
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I designed the Subway D-350, Scott designed the Magellan 350. While there are obvious similarities because we worked together for a long time, they are very different amps developed independently.
 
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#19
As far as sound goes, both great little amps. You'll be happy with either.

In terms of reliability I can only speak for Mesa - my D800 has travelled all over Europe countless times for countless shows from big festival stages to, uh, 'questionable' venues and is a tank, simple as that.

If the 350 is anything like that (I can't see why it wouldn't be) then you'll have an amp for life.
 
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#20
agedhorse said:
I designed the Subway D-350, Scott designed the Magellan 350. While there are obvious similarities because we worked together for a long time, they are very different amps developed independently.
Click to expand...

I noticed you guys rate your output power relative to input power similarly as well.

I appreciate that-- you and I have had the power ratings discussion before, but a "red flag" still goes up in my mind when I see an amp with a "1000W" marketing sticker, and then read "maximum power consumption: 150W" at the mains. While technically not a lie, I still detest that level of marketing hype.
 

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