Osiris

Here are my thoughts of the Genzler Magellan 800 bass amp after having gigged it for the past several months. I've deliberately left it a while to make sure that the honeymoon period was over so that any issues or quibbles that I may have with it have become apparent. For reference, I play in a 5 piece, female fronted, rock, pop and party band playing a mixture of pub and club gigs as well as some private work and functions. My cab is Tecamp M212 and I use a variety of basses, usually with a bias towards the neck pickup. I play finger style more or less exclusively and am pretty heavy handed too, I love to dig in when I'm playing! If you're not already familiar with the amps here's what Genzler themselves have to say about them, the Magellan 800 and the Magellan 350. When I originally bought the amp, I tried it against some of its peers. To see how I thought it stacked up at the time see the thread here. Overview The 800 amp has both a transparent clean channel (that can be coloured by the Contour control, more of that later) and a coloured Drive channel. That makes it extremely versatile and usable for pretty much any and every musical situation that you're ever likely to find yourself in from soft jazz to the lesser extremes of metal. Clean channel The clean channel with the eq set to noon and the Contour control dialled out sounds even across the frequency range, there are no peaks or troughs in the signal. This sound works great in the mix straight out of the box. The Genzler marketing talks about a “weighted feel to the notes” and this is absolutely correct, the low end is definitely forceful, punchy and powerful but without being overbearing. Those that claim that class D amps lack heft should take an objective, unbiased listen to the Genzler. Pre-amp The EQ frequencies that the Magellan uses are absolutely perfect for real world live use. The bass EQ is voiced at 75 Hz which is great for adding audible bass to the sound if you're in a room where the bass is sounding a bit thin, or for backing the low end off if things are booming on stage. In my experience this has proven to be a far more useable frequency for controlling your low end than 40 Hz that many other bass amps use. The semi-parametric mid covers a wide range from 150 Hz to 3 KHz. It sounds perfect with the mid eq control at noon, which keeps things flat but I personally like to give it a slight push in the upper mids to help the bass cut through a busy mix. But you have massive flexibility here to control those critical mid frequencies whatever you want to do with them. The treble is voiced at 6 KHz so is useful for adding some presence to the tone or brightening up dead strings. Or backing things off a touch for a great retro tone. The treble never gets harsh and the tone is never completely dulled when the top end is backed off. The simplicity of the tone stack and the choice of frequencies that they operate on cannot be praised enough. The Genzler just delivers everything you need and nothing you do not. To finish of the awesome eq section there is also the dual voiced Contour control. A button on the front panel allows you to choose between curves A and B; Curve A is a mid-scoop pre-shape. However, compared to similar controls on other amps, this one is more gentle and is more usable because of it, it is usable throughout most of its range. Its only when its cracked beyond about 3 o'clock that the bass sounds like it could potentially to disappear form the mix. Curve B bumps the low mids while rolling off the upper mids and the extremes of the frequency range to give a great retro vibe or to tame a bright sounding, scooped rig . As with Curve A, things are still kept subtle and musically usable with this control throughout its range. Drive channel The 800 model also sports a footswitchable drive channel that has its own gain and volume controls. Genzler have wisely allowed the use of any generic latching footswitch to be used rather than forcing you into using a proprietary one. Although the drive channel is completely valve-less, it is one of the most convincing, warm, valve-like sounds that I've heard. When engaging the drive channel a pre-set eq curve is applied that subtly rolls off the high and low ends and leaves you with a silky smooth, valve like drive that never gets fizzy. Even at full gain, the drive is always usable, it does not get into the realms of distortion. The slightly mid biased voice of the drive is more suited to Motown or classic rock than it is for anything extreme. If you want more gain, or a modern scooped distortion then you'll need a dedicated pedal. But for those of us who want that touch of hair or a light, usable drive that works in the mix, this is, as with everything about this amp, perfect. HPF There is no mention of any form of high pass filtering by Genzler, but I emailed them to ask about it and none other than Geoff Genzler himself responded to say that; Yes, we do utilize a High Pass filter with the MG-800. It is a very steep slope and set low around the 30 Hz range. This allows us to achieve a clean, solid and authoritative low end without potential flubbyness. This also helps with protection from over-excursion for speakers under high power situations. I hope this information is helpful. Best Regards, Jeff Genzler How's that for customer service??? Construction and finish The amp is a great looking design IMO and the quality of construction is flawless. Genzler describe it as; aircraft-grade, brushed aluminum (sic) chassis with a sleek custom extruded front panel. It certainly looks classy and feels substantial. Anyone concerns over quality because it was built in the far east are misplaced. And it has 4 ultra-important blue LED's on the front panel. Nice. Niggles As you have probably gathered by now, I'm struggling to find fault with the Genzler Magellan amps. However I do have a couple of very minor criticisms. It'd be great if the Contour voicings were footswitchable so you could switch between the different curve options on the fly. But this is just nit picking, and not something that I'm likely to ever do anyway. And then there's the name. No doubt there is a reason or story about why Magellan was chosen, but it just seems a bit of a daft name for a bass amp to me, It's more like a name you'd give to a dog! Summary Honestly, I can't fault the Magellan amps. Everything about it is just right. It delivers everything you need in the real world. I've played many gigs in many different venues with mine and I'm yet to get a bad sound out of it or have ever been in a situation where the sublime eq section wasn't able to eq the bass to a room with poor acoustics in a matter of seconds. In fact, I like it so much that I bought the baby 350 model as a rehearsal and back up amp. The 350 has the same great tone and features of its big brother but it does lack the jaw-droppingly brilliant drive channel. However is makes up for this by being smaller, lighter and cheaper. I've also gigged the 350 and don't let its nominally low power rating put you off, this thing has more volume than you're ever likely to need on a typical pub, club or function gig.

[quote name='gs_triumph' timestamp='1508654778' post='3393510'] Thanks guys. Sounds like this one may be faulty [/quote] Unfortunately so. Are you able to contact the guy who you bought it from to see what he says? If that doesn't get you anywhere, maybe start a thread in the repairs section to see if anyone there can help you out? For example, if it turns out to be a dodgy switch you might be able to replace it yourself.

I've had no experience of the mini spark but I did have the full sized Spark Booster, and I still own a couple of other TCE pedals too, and the switches have all have dead silent when switching them on and off. It sounds like something is not quite right with the one you have bought, unfortunately. However, I'm no expert on electronics so I can't offer any insight as to what might be causing the issue.

Looks interesting. I've always loved the B[i]x[/i]K sound when I've heard it, even though I can't make it work for me when I've tried any of their gear out. I've always put that down to the mid scoop, but being able to boost mids on the B3K and select the frequencies on the B7K may well change all that. Assuming they're sensibly priced of course. Just thought I'd lob that grenade in as we all know someone will mention it sooner or later

[quote name='dannybuoy' timestamp='1507801280' post='3388006'] It doesn't matter at the end of the day - you can get the mA rating from the manual, and test manually in a daisy chain to see if it creates noise when sharing power with other pedals. Those are the only two things that are important! [/quote] Amen to that brother

I've been using a TU2 for about 15 years now, but unfortunately I have no idea whether it is analogue or digital. However, I've never had any issues (noise, interference etc) when powering it using either a battery, dedicated power supply or my Fuel Tank Junior. In fact, a battery seems to last forever in there so maybe it's analogue after all?

[quote name='Al Krow' timestamp='1507470321' post='3385643'] Thanks to you, Cuzzie and Cameron (and despite the best efforts of Osiris who would have me just use a Zoom B3n and nothing else!) I've now got a pretty good effects board, which I'm having a lot of fun getting to grips with. [/quote] To be fair, Al, my point has always been you not throwing money away on something that you don't actually need as the B3n already has it covered. For example, at least one of your pedals (that costs more then the B3n new) [i]significantly [/i]under performs in comparison to some of the equivalent models on the B3n. You know the one to which I'm referring .

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1507721418' post='3387420'] +1 ... I had no idea they were German. [/quote] Me neither but it does answer the question of why when I ordered a pedal from them a few years ago it came with a European mains adaptor and not a UK one (although they had included a European to UK adaptor in the package). Other than that my experience was fine, but having had issues with online purchases before from other retailers you have my sympathy, for what it's worth

I'm also contemplating the same thing, a pair of one 10's or a single two 10. So any thoughts on this would be welcomed by me too.

[quote name='Jus Lukin' timestamp='1507070031' post='3383206'] I have some great comps, FEA Dual Band and Rothwell Love Squeeze being particularly good ones, but limited to one? I think it might have to be the Boss LMB-3. (Yeah, I clocked the pun, just going to ignore it though!) It's good at super subtle levelling, peak limiting, and a mighty squish without too many weird artifacts. The 'enhance' function isn't much cop, and I actually think that replacing it with the attack control from the CS-3 would make for something very useful indeed. For the record, I've only used clones, and those cheaper than the Boss, too. [/quote] I've also got a Boss LMB-3 and agree that it is a very good compressor despite being labelled a limiter - although it does do limiting brilliantly as you say. And yes, the enhance control is best left at minimal settings, or even off altogether. Haven't really touched it since getting the Spectracomp though!

[quote name='CameronJ' timestamp='1507039643' post='3382937'] I have an A/B input box that lets me switch between either using a cable or my Smooth Hound Wireless. So my chain is bass>cable>A/B box>Spectra OR bass>wireless>A/B box>Spectra. Either way the hiss is present on certain presets. I only really notice it through headphones via a Phil Jones BigHead though. When playing through speakers it's much less noticeable, though still present. Having read up about the TonePrint settings on the Spectracomp, it sounds like a setting called "Auto Makeup again" could be the culprit. [/quote] I only ever use mine with my gig rig and have never heard any noticeable noise added from the Spectracomp using the MuscleComp TonePrint which is my preference when gigging. I usually have it set at about (or just before) 10 o'clock which is perfect for me to add punch, keep everything even but still allow enough dynamic control by adjusting my playing style. I use the TonePrint as is, no further editing. I use a separate compressor (or 2, via a Zoom B3) for rehearsing through my bedroom amp and headphones and they add a small amount of noise, but nothing significant or distracting. As I understand things most compressors add a little noise to the signal due to their nature, but some are worse than others. Stick with it, it works brilliantly with my gear

[quote name='CameronJ' timestamp='1507028166' post='3382793'] I have a Spectracomp myself and for a very long time used the MuscleComp TonePrint...but it always annoyed me that when engaged it noticeably amplified any hiss/noise. [/quote] Everything is quiet as a church mouse with my set up (bass - Boss tuner - Spectracomp - amp) using the MuscleComp TonePrint. Have you got anything else in your signal chain that might be causing the noise, or causing the SpectraComp to amplify the noise?

TC Electronic Spectracomp gets my shout. Relatively cheap and infinitely versatile. I stick to the free TonePrints from TC's site which are quick and easy to beam to the pedal and are a great way to try out loads of different flavours of compression. And if you don't like the current TonePrint, you just load up the next one (it literally takes 2 seconds) and move on. My favourite TP's are MuscleComp for punch and presence that makes the bass slice through a busy mix, Captain East for subtle parallel compression and Fed Comp for ultra transparent compression. MuscleComp sounds like it might well be what you're looking for to use with your BB, but if not you can always use it as a starting point and fine tune it using the free TonePrint editor app. Although I have a reasonable understanding of compression and can usually get a sound that I'm happy with from most single band compressors, the TonePrint editor app for the Spectracomp offers up something like 40+ individual parameters that can be configured to craft your own sound, if you're that way inclined. But for my needs there's loads of mileage to be had from the TonePrints alone. [quote name='Al Krow' timestamp='1507022939' post='3382728'] One of my BC colleagues found it "bland" 'cos it was very transparent [/quote] That would be me then Yes, the TLC is very transparent, to the point of sterility, IMO. Arguably the least exciting compressor I have ever tried. If that's what you're looking for then go for it, but if you want punch or some of that tonal magic than only a compressor can add then look elsewhere. IMO, of course.

[quote name='cheddatom' timestamp='1506767416' post='3380959'] Last night I got to the gig and I was really in the mood to play, and I played much better than I usually do, and really enjoyed it. I'm hoping others are like this and have developed a technique for getting into the mood to play? [/quote] Likewise, I occasionally turn up at the gig not being in the right frame of mind despite usually looking forward to it for days before hand. Those are the gigs where I feel like I'm playing with oven gloves on too [size=4] [/size] [size=4]There's no real sagely advise that I can offer unfortunately. What I do find that helps to varying degrees is to have an hour or so playing along to some of the set before the gig, focusing on the more complex stuff or the tracks that I get more of a buzz from playing. And take an afternoon nap too if you can squeeze one in, I have an under active thyroid gland so my energy levels can be a bit erratic and I find that resting up beforehand really helps me get through the night. But sometimes life gets in the way, job, family etc so you just have to turn up and soldier on even when you're not in the mood. [/size]

[quote name='dannybuoy' timestamp='1506838057' post='3381369'] I know what you mean, but if I just wanted to blend clean bass in, the VT500 / VTDI have a blend knob already. But it sounds much better putting the 'clean' side through this Effectrode unit - it's an unusual compressor in that as well as having a tube in to fatten things up, at low compression levels it adds low end, so perfect for using as a 'deep' channel! [/quote] Give it a go and see what happens [size=4] [/size] [size=4]I've not come across the Effectrode PC-2A before, it looks very interesting. [/size]

[quote name='dannybuoy' timestamp='1506727598' post='3380794'] Anyone ever try this or use it as their core sound? I'm a big fan of the VT Bass sound but always felt it overcompressed the low end and took away the thump of the note at medium drive levels. [/quote] Likewise, I love the VT bass sound(s) but I found them to be way too compressed out of the box (and I like a healthy dose of compression), certainly too squashed to use in a band situation. Are you sure adding in more compression is the right thing to do???

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/302205-if-you-could-only-choose-one-octave-pedal/"]Take a look here[/url], it might help [size=4] [/size]

[quote name='fretmeister' timestamp='1506676269' post='3380300'] The amp (M900) is excellent and despite the assumed use for metal, it does a fantastic B15 sound and is very versatile. I use mine doing Big Band work with the drive circuit on low. [/quote] Yep, I totally agree with that, the clean channel on the Microtubes 900 is incredibly versatile. The switchable frequencies on the two mid controls are absolutely spot on for real world use. It is one of the best bass pre-amps out there in my opinion. However, I do think that this aspect of the amp is overlooked due to DG's reputation for only catering for the modern metal crowd. [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/303884-amp-test-drive%3B-aguilar-darkglass-genzler-and-mesa-boogie/page__fromsearch__1"]More of my thoughts on it here[/url].

[quote name='Al Krow' timestamp='1506635594' post='3380151'] [b]Over priced, over hyped and last year's sound.[/b] Pointless speakers? Well actually once the short lived buzz about the transient metal sound has fizzled out, IMHO [b]A pointless product range[/b]. There I've said it... [/quote] Reading between the lines, am I right in thinking you're not too keen on Darkglass?

Can't really add anything new to the mountain of praise that has rightly been heaped on this chap. Just received a couple of patch cables from Mark and everything was a breeze, he was patient when I wasn't able to pay straight away (due to my online banking being down) and kept me informed every step of the way. Cheers Mark.

There have been comments on other threads that the design of the Darkglass amps appears to have been inspired by some of Apple's products. Looks like DG have also been influenced by their pricing structure Do I hear the POP of the Darkglass bubble bursting

To be fair, I've had no experience of the phat funk, but the Mojo does the low gain/touch of hair thing brilliantly, IMO, of course!

[quote name='KingPrawn' timestamp='1506373033' post='3378345'] Is there a Holy Grail of band harmony? [/quote] Yes there is, but like the legendary grail it seems to elude most that seek it. It sounds like most of us commenting on this thread have been around the block a few times and are just looking to make some music and have a good time doing it. I've been playing and gigging with bands for more than 30 years now and have played with all manner of assorted idiots, egotists etc. in that time. Some of them talented, some not, most usually deluded in some way. But I have at last struck gold with the band I'm with now, and have been for the past 6 or 7 years (about 5 years with the current line up). We're all of a similar temperament, all have full time jobs, 4 of the 5 of us have kids and most importantly, we all want to have a good time making music. So we're all in a similar position and have similar demands on our lives. Yes, we all have an off day now and again but they are few and far between and we have all leaned how to deal with each other and the situations when they do occur. Musically, I don't care for some of the stuff we play, I probably wouldn't go home and listen to some of it, other than learning and practising the tracks. But - and this is the deal breaker for me - the others in the band are a real pleasure to play with and we all enjoy what we do and respect one another. And to me that far out ways the urge to play songs of my choosing. So yes, it does exist, but is a vary rare animal indeed. Sounds like it might be worth sticking with the other guys and trying to get another guitarist in. Good luck whatever decision you make.

[quote name='dannybuoy' timestamp='1506417598' post='3378507'] These can all achieve a similar grit to the Phat Phuk: TC Spark (full size version, the mini one is clean with no gain control) Cheapest and most readily available option is the TC, it can hang with the rest tonally, a bit of a bargain really! [/quote] I briefly had the full sized spark boost and wasn't keen on the tone of the drive. Can't really put my finger on exactly what it was about it that I didn't like but it just didn't grab me. But that's not to say that it won't be exactly what you are looking for. However, I got much better results (for my tastes) with the TC Electronic MojoMojo which is fantastic at low gain for adding a hint of warmth/fur/hair/whatever you want to call it. The Mojo has a deep low end and loads of mids present too. I use if for dirty, vintage Geezler Butler style sounds . It doesn't really do the Tech 21/Darkglass scooped sound, it's pretty much the opposite to those tonally, but that suits my needs better. And best of all, you can pick one up new for under £50.

[quote name='dmccombe7' timestamp='1506349774' post='3378096'] Not sure i've picked up your reasons for changing but is the weight of the Mesa too heavy. You mention you are looking for a 1x12 one handed lift at 300W. I wouldn't have thought a 1x12 that heavy but i'm used to larger cabs. I've used the Berg AE112 cabs which are NEO speakers. Very lightweight and nice tone. I've also got the Markbass rig which is lightweight but i only use it on occassions where there are a lot of stairs to climb or long distances from car. The only thing i would say and its down to personal taste is that the lightweight speakers don't seem to have the same depth of tone for me. Its difficult to pinpoint exactly why that is and i've tried them with various different amps. They just seem to lack something. Maybe its down to them being too clean in comparison to my heavier cabs. Dialling the tweeter or horns down altogether does help tho. Its never been an issue out front and audience always seem to like the Markbass tone so maybe its just where i stand on stage that i don't hear. Think you should def try before you buy tho. Dave [/quote] My initial thoughts were that a 4 ohm cab would be louder than my current 8 ohm one as it'd be pulling more power from the amp. But reading through the earlier comments in the thread it seems that's not necessarily a correct assumption. Having pondered what those people with far more knowledge on the subject than I have are saying, my reasons have shifted slightly in favour of going for something lighter. I don't know the official figure for the weight of the Mesa, but my guess is somewhere in the region of 15 Kg. It's surprisingly heavy for it's size. My big cab that I use on pretty much every gig is a Tecamp M212 and that only weights about 19Kg, but it actually feels lighter than the Mesa. But whether that is because I am underestimating the weight of the Mesa or the 212 only appears to be lighter because it's twice the size (and therefore it's all in my head!) I really don't know The Tecamp has Neodymium speakers and I'm assuming that the Mesa has a traditional heavy speaker. Tonally, the Tecamp doesn't lack anything when it comes to depth of tone. I much prefer the sound of it to the Mesa which has a strong mid bias that I'm assuming has to do with it being a relatively small cab in comparison to the bigger one? I'm happy to be proved wrong on that assumption though Yes, I'll definitely try before I buy! [quote name='Steve Browning' timestamp='1506344414' post='3378048'] Keep the Boogie!!!! [/quote] What are your reasons for saying that?