EmmettC Posted January 18, 2023 Share Posted January 18, 2023 I just spotted this on Facebook, I don't see it listed in the UK yet, although I'm sure Bass Direct will have it soon. US price is $299 so I'm guessing around the same in £. I just ordered a Jad Freer Capo, but I might check this out too. I use a Magellan 800, so I probably don't NEED a preamp/di version, but when has that ever stopped me. https://www.genzleramplification.com/shop/magellan-mg-prepedal-preamp-di-pedal/ 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartinB Posted January 18, 2023 Share Posted January 18, 2023 Looks great! The ability to pre-set the contour on each channel independently seems useful, along with the adjustable HPF. It's nice to see top jacks, but it's odd that the input is at the top-left when you're facing it - that's not where you want it if there are other pedals in front. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmmettC Posted January 18, 2023 Author Share Posted January 18, 2023 I hadn't noticed the input, that is odd! Not a deal breaker, but I know I'd plug in to the wrong socket at some stage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyBass Posted January 19, 2023 Share Posted January 19, 2023 I'm very interested. I was tempted to treat my self to their r/eq pedal, mainly for the high pass filter but wished it had a DI out...and now Genzler have produced this. Yes, the input jack is in a weird place but never mind 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmmettC Posted January 19, 2023 Author Share Posted January 19, 2023 I got the REQ and it's the low pass filter I use most. The EQ is useful for changing between my two main basses, but I love synthy sounds and turning on the LPF is a really nice effect. The EQ is much more subtle than on the Genzler 800, but exactly what I need to swap between a passive and active bass. If I get the pre it will be for the di and switchable curves. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osiris Posted January 20, 2023 Share Posted January 20, 2023 The Magellan preamp is an excellent, extremely versatile but really simple to use and virtually impossible to get a bad sound from. I say that as someone who has been using the amp since 2017 and have gigged and rehearsed with it numerous times with 3 different bands, and it has never failed to deliver an excellent sound. And I can't see how this pedal won't deliver the same flexibility and sound quality. Unfortunately it lacks the fantastic drive channel of the Magellan 800 which would have been the icing on the cake for me, it's arguably the most convincing valve emulation out there rather than a typical pedal style overdrive or distortion, but Genzler currently offer two different drive pedals and they have added an adjustable HPF instead which is a more than generous trade off. Most of my gigs are using IEM's these days and while I'm happy with my current preamp pedal I'm still tempted to pick one of these up at some point. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuzzie Posted January 20, 2023 Share Posted January 20, 2023 1 hour ago, Osiris said: The Magellan preamp is an excellent, extremely versatile but really simple to use and virtually impossible to get a bad sound from. I say that as someone who has been using the amp since 2017 and have gigged and rehearsed with it numerous times with 3 different bands, and it has never failed to deliver an excellent sound. And I can't see how this pedal won't deliver the same flexibility and sound quality. Unfortunately it lacks the fantastic drive channel of the Magellan 800 which would have been the icing on the cake for me, it's arguably the most convincing valve emulation out there rather than a typical pedal style overdrive or distortion, but Genzler currently offer two different drive pedals and they have added an adjustable HPF instead which is a more than generous trade off. Most of my gigs are using IEM's these days and while I'm happy with my current preamp pedal I'm still tempted to pick one of these up at some point. the man speaks the truth here, if I wasn’t so wedded to Tech21 and the Ultrabass amp, DP3X and PSA 2.0 this would be what I would get, and I would consider the consequences of an affair and messy divorce. Great products 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartinB Posted January 20, 2023 Share Posted January 20, 2023 Bass Direct have it listed as a special offer at £249 (regular price £299) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmmettC Posted January 20, 2023 Author Share Posted January 20, 2023 1 hour ago, MartinB said: Bass Direct have it listed as a special offer at £249 (regular price £299) Ooooohhhh. I'm really tempted with that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agedhorse Posted January 22, 2023 Share Posted January 22, 2023 On 18/01/2023 at 08:06, MartinB said: Looks great! The ability to pre-set the contour on each channel independently seems useful, along with the adjustable HPF. It's nice to see top jacks, but it's odd that the input is at the top-left when you're facing it - that's not where you want it if there are other pedals in front. Since this came up on the TB forum also, let me provide the answer that I provided there. On the Pre-DI, there's a LOT more going on internally so the left to right signal flow matching the left to right feature architecture which makes more sense, otherwise every signal would have to cross over at least once and in some cases twice. This applies to both the jacks and the controls working together with the signal path rather than against it. As the gain increases (there's over 40dB of available gain), and as the number of amplification stages increases, the opportunities for noise and cross talk multiply exponentially. This is why ALL consoles and channel strips follow this format... the jacks in the same order as the controls and the controls in the same order as the signal flow for performance. This is a very quiet pedal compared with the average pedal. In another life, I designed pro audio consoles, and Genz Benz (Jeff's earlier company) started out as a pro audio company, and the designer of this product (Scott) is also a pro audio guy as well as an accomplished bass player. I was only responsible for most of the mechanical and PCB layout on this pedal. Since these are top mount jacks, it doesn't really matter from a wiring perspective as it does with side mount jacks (which I do not care for, especially) when there are more than 2 jacks). 5 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Downunderwonder Posted January 22, 2023 Share Posted January 22, 2023 I am guessing all of the above means aux out and aux in are not a line loop? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agedhorse Posted January 22, 2023 Share Posted January 22, 2023 1 hour ago, Downunderwonder said: I am guessing all of the above means aux out and aux in are not a line loop? There is a line level aux in, no effects loop. The owner’s manual with block diagram is available on the website. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost_Bass Posted December 5, 2023 Share Posted December 5, 2023 On 22/01/2023 at 02:44, agedhorse said: (...) This is a very quiet pedal compared with the average pedal. (...) Ressurecting an old thread. I've got one, it's lovely and all that i need (the stereo Aux in would have been great so i could use it to amp my inears mixed with clean signal for live use but i can live without it). Very useable and versatile sounds and i can vouch that you would find it very hard to get a bad sound from it. I've got a question for @agedhorse though. My pedal is noisy. If i have gain past 9 o'clock i get a high freq hiss. I have the same issue regardless if i have a bass plugged in or not so it's not the bass. I'm feeding it with a 1Spot CS6, isolated, 18V if i'm not mistaken but it hisses with 9v too. The noise goes through the master out and DI out. Tested it with dedicated PSU from my zoom B3, nothing plugged in or out, just phones on aux out, and it still hisses with gain set past that point. All my EQ is at noon (flat). If i reduce highs or notch the mids in the upper setting it removes a lot of the hiss but i loose those higs in my sound. The question. Is this a known issue/fault that can be addressed or is there something i should do regarding the PSU (use a dedicated PSU, change polarity, different voltage, etc.) or any other thing? I bought it new a couple months ago so i don't think its humidity or dirt, it makes the noise from day one. I would love to get this sorted, the sound is awesome and perfect for what i play. Comming from a Shuttle 9.2 / Barefaced rig it's the most transparent preamp pedal i could find and well worth the penny. Cheers from Portugal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agedhorse Posted December 8, 2023 Share Posted December 8, 2023 I haven't seen any noise complaints form these pedals. That said, power supply noise can be an issue with pedals in general, because most of them use switchmode power supplies plus switching regulators, so under some conditions there could be noise generated from the interaction of 2 or more switching frequencies. Also, if there are pedals in front of the preamp, this can also introduce noise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimonK Posted April 1 Share Posted April 1 Sorry for the thread resurrect (but showed I did search before creating my own!). I'm after a preamp to go on the top left of my pedal board (picture below). Many years ago I bought the Hartke Bass Attack, but only because it was all I could afford at the time. It has the requisite DI out, but the tone shaping options - both the pre-shape and the valve emulator - are not really to my taste in that I can't find a way of making them useful. Given the increasing likelihood of IEM becoming omnipresent in the not too distant future, I'm thinking of getting a decent preamp that will ensure I always send a good sound to the desk. Given the Genz-Benz Shuttle 3 is my all time favourite amp (although sadly it has died on me and I can't get it fixed on this side of the Atlantic!), would the Genzler Magellan pre get pretty close in a preamp pedal? Also what's the onboard DI like - the Shuttle 3's DI was excellent and my go to recording DI as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnR Posted April 1 Share Posted April 1 I have one. I also have a Keeley compressor pro in front of it. I can't compare it to the Genz-Benz but can say that it is identical to the preamp on the Magellan amplifiers. The DI out is excellent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agedhorse Posted April 2 Share Posted April 2 It’s very similar in architecture to the Shuttle line. If you come to the states, or have family/friends traveling, there’s no problem getting your Shuttle fixed up. Stan Lawrence at Surrey Amps in the UK can also work on them with factory support. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimonK Posted April 2 Share Posted April 2 Thanks @JohnR - good to hear that the DI is still good, and thanks @agedhorse for confirming the architecture. RE my Shuttle 3, @agedhorse may recall that I contacted him on TalkBass about sending it to him when I come to the States in June. However, as I am only there for two weeks I am a bit nervous about getting it to you, and then back again, before I fly home. While it can sit with a relative I really do not know when I will be in the States again and the postage back to the UK is not worth thinking about. So Surrey Amps sounds like an alternative - would you recommend me contacting Stan Lawrence as an alternative to trying to get it to you this summer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agedhorse Posted April 2 Share Posted April 2 It’s another option, though the turnaround time in the factory service program is usually only a day or two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimonK Posted April 4 Share Posted April 4 Just pulled the trigger on the pre-amp pedal from bass direct when I realised it also has an HPF on it - don't tell the wife... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimonK Posted April 5 Share Posted April 5 That arrived quickly - initial play and I quite like contour A. I'm also running the pedal at 18v although not sure what difference that makes. It does, however, seem quite powerful so I had to keep the master volume at 1/4 to avoid overloading my amp. I get to try it in anger next week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnR Posted April 5 Share Posted April 5 I bypass the preamp in my amp and connect the Magellan Pre to the amp fx return socket. This allows me to use the amp as a poweramp and control volume from the pedal. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agedhorse Posted April 6 Share Posted April 6 3 hours ago, JohnR said: I bypass the preamp in my amp and connect the Magellan Pre to the amp fx return socket. This allows me to use the amp as a poweramp and control volume from the pedal. This is generally the way it was designed to be used, to drive a power amp. Stacking one preamp on top of another may result in voicing conflicts which generally don’t sound all that great. It can be done, there are just more things to think about. If using it into the instrument input of a bass amp, the bass amp should be set for an active bass or low gain input. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimonK Posted April 6 Share Posted April 6 Yes - too many preamps and not enough switching! Slight shame the Magellan pre has on/mute rather on/off - being able to choose between the two would be a lovely feature (perhaps using a button) for next time the pedal get an update! RE the HPF - I liked the video above showing how it works with the spectrum - I'm guessing if I set it any higher than 40Hz I lose some of the fundamental E string frequencies, and for a five string no higher than 30Hz? Or because it is a roll off does it not cut quite so savagely so in fact it is OK to set it a bit higher - maybe 100Hz or so just to protect the PA a bit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimonK Posted April 14 Share Posted April 14 So used it in anger both Saturday and Sunday this week. I think I liked the existential reassurance of knowing I had the HPF set around 30ish, but of course couldn't hear it! Fiddled a bit with the two contours and found that with them both at about 3 o'clock the contour A gave a fairly warm and deep sound, and contour B a much more distinct funk type sound that also worked well for slap. Having the two options was quite neat along with a bit of chorus with the contour A. Still a bit miffed it has a mute rather than off/bypass switch, but then again appreciate it was designed to replace a pre-amp rather than be an additional eq box. Also it's a real pain all the connectors are on the back as it means it has to be on the second row of my pedal board which makes it harder to hit the contour footswitch. But first world problems - on the whole it is a definite positive on my pedalboard. Am playing again the next two weekends so will keep fiddling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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