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Double Bass wizzy 12/wizzy 10 comparison

#21
jgbass said:
Any thoughts on the wisdom of having two Wizzy 10s? The Wizzy 10 is fine for small jazz gigs, but I am thinking it would be wise to have another 10 for a larger gig. Is this working well for anyone else? Better options in the interest of space saving and lightness in weight?

I am getting rid of a cab that is too large and heavy and thinking of replacing this with another Wizzy 10. I might want to use electric bass occasionally with this as well. I would be running either a GK MB150 head or the GK700 head with the two Wizzy's.
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The only problem is that the Wizzy is 4 ohms and two make 2 ohms. The GK heads cannot do 2 ohm. Now 2 MB500's would be cool. :)
 
#22
Freddels, Chris, Ad, thanks for your input.

Completely forgot about the ohm aspect. So,that's not going to work with GK because the Wizzys are 4 ohms. Maybe its time to sell my GK-RB700 and look into some other head that could handle this, like the EA products.

Thanks! Saved me a lot of grief.
 
#23
Well GK has a tone that I like and if you like it then you could always just pick up a lightweight power amp that would do 2 ohms and run the GK preamp into it and out from there. I'm looking forward to hearing the new GK micro amps (MB5002​) when it comes out.
 
#24
I really like GK. Looking forward to their new micro amp.

For now, though, I think I will stick with the GK700 head and my lightweight GK Neo12 cab if there's a need for a somewhat larger rig. The Neo12 is a great cab. Can't go wrong with the GK700 either, works fine for DB and electric bass.

My bass teacher, who is a busy pro, uses the Neo all the time with the GKMb150 head and says it works fine for all DB jazz gigs, sometimes with the additional of the house system.
 
#25
jgbass said:
Freddels, Chris, Ad, thanks for your input.

Completely forgot about the ohm aspect. So,that's not going to work with GK because the Wizzys are 4 ohms. Maybe its time to sell my GK-RB700 and look into some other head that could handle this, like the EA products.

Thanks! Saved me a lot of grief.
Click to expand...

I think if I'm not mistaken the Wizzy 12 and the Wizzy M-Line 12 come in 8 ohm versions. If so you could stack 2 of those w/ heads that can't go lower than a 4 ohm load. But IMHO there are better sounding heads than GK that weigh less AND can handle 2ohm loads. The EA and Acoustic Image stuff both come to mind.

BG
 
#26
Freddels said:
The only problem is that the Wizzy is 4 ohms and two make 2 ohms. The GK heads cannot do 2 ohm. Now 2 MB500's would be cool.
Click to expand...

bribass said:
I think if I'm not mistaken the Wizzy 12 and the Wizzy M-Line 12 come in 8 ohm versions. If so you could stack 2 of those w/ heads that can't go lower than a 4 ohm load. But IMHO there are better sounding heads than GK that weigh less AND can handle 2ohm loads.
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Another answer is the now-discontinued Genz-Benz Neo-Pak 3.5 head, 2 ohm version. Terrific sounding head, with 500 watts at 2 ohms. The Neo-Pak is still readily available on the used or NOS market for $400-$450.

There have been rumors throughout most of 2008 that EA would be making 8 ohm Wizzy cabs. There may have been a few customs or prototypes out there, but all production Wizzy cabs are 4 ohms only.
 
#28
Thanks for your suggestions.

I think one of the new, 2 ohm, very lightweigt heads is in my future. I want to see what GK comes out with with their micro head, and I really like the EA products so far as well.
 
#29
Freddels said:
Well GK has a tone that I like and if you like it then you could always just pick up a lightweight power amp that would do 2 ohms and run the GK preamp into it and out from there. I'm looking forward to hearing the new GK micro amps (MB5002​) when it comes out.
Click to expand...

Freddels,
I didn't realize that GK was upping the ante on the MB. The only head that I've heard about is the Fusion 550. That's a hybrid with tubes in the pre amp isn't it.

Ric
 
#30
Ric Vice said:
Freddels,
I didn't realize that GK was upping the ante on the MB. The only head that I've heard about is the Fusion 550. That's a hybrid with tubes in the pre amp isn't it.

Ric
Click to expand...

Not sure what you mean by upping the ante on the MB. It'll be 500 watts at 4 ohms. Do a quick search on the EB side and there will be some info and pics of it. They have it with a combo too (much like the Mesa Scout) with an easily detachable head.
 
#32
It seems to me that the woman who was playing bass during the preliminary rounds of American Idol in LA used two Wizzy 12's with an EA iAmp 500. I tried to do a search for her name but I ran out of time....have a meeting to go to. She is a TB'er and might have valuable info on the Wizzy 12's.
 
#35
Freddels said:
Not sure what you mean by upping the ante on the MB. It'll be 500 watts at 4 ohms. Do a quick search on the EB side and there will be some info and pics of it. They have it with a combo too (much like the Mesa Scout) with an easily detachable head.
Click to expand...


Freddels,

Thanks, found the pictures, it's been a long time since Gallien Krueger did a redesign of the Micro Bass amps. Since the MBS and MBE are only what 150 watts in to 4 ohms that's a pretty significant jump in power for the GK micro bass line. This is what I was referring to. With all the other amps they build I never considered that they would build a new MB. Could be that the MBS and MBE aren't selling as well now that there are so many different small amps on the market with more watts for your money.

Ric
 
#37
From Lynns post:
Hi folks,
I'm complimented by all your comments and interested in your queries so I am happy to reply to your questions.

My name is Lynn Keller. I played for the Hollywood Week auditions for American Idol. I used two custom MTD basses - they're protype models built for me. 32" scale so they're not specifically 535 or 435's. Also, neither bass is chambered. They sound completely different. I used the green one for the week on the show. I'm also not using an Avalon U5 for the show as I use that in the studio. For the show I was using the iAmp800 and the EA NM 410. The Hollywood Week auditions are usually done with solo piano. This year Nigel wanted to bring in bass. I played for 80 kids on Monday which included a 4 hour rehearsal in the a.m., then an 8 hour day on camera in front of the judges. I did the same thing on Tuesday which was a 4 hour rehearsal of the next 80 kids followed by 9 1/2 hours on camera. The third day we rehearsed for 19 hours straight as the contestants were allowed to chose any song they wanted. To do 80 arrangements took from 9 a.m. till 4 a.m. Yes, how observant. A GK RB800 and a Hartke 4 x 10. This was my touring road rig for years. The 800 literally died at 4 a.m. upon completion of the rehearsal. Good timing! The final day was camera time for about 6 hours. Was I sick of playing those tunes? A few of them for sure.

I thought the bass sounded great on tv and am thrilled that both EA and MTD got some airtime!

Thanks for all the cool comments.

Lynn
 
#40
bribass said:
Come to think of it I'm running the EQ flatter lately compared to when I first bought the cab. I think I was pushing the lows more when it was brand new.
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I found the same as Brian when I used it for a few months. It was a little 'tight' sounding when it was new. I'm probably at a year now and it just gets better and better. The sound just seems to get warmer and fuller. Have other people found this?
 

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