Congrats. Those are very nice analog SS heads that will put out 350w into a 4 ohm load. It has an internal crossover for bi-amping it like the 400w Carvin head I played back in the late 80s and early 90s. I played with a 2x10 cab on top of a 2x15 cab.
Plenty of juice and lots of versatility in it’s EQ sections design. It even has an effects loop which you don’t see in less costly amps these days. Like my Carvin and my old US built Roland Blues Cube 60 those were pretty rugged amps. Probably among the best SS amps Ampeg ever produced and they can still be serviced if needed.
Glad you found something you liked. Now all you need is whatever cabs you like.
Thanks! I figure finding a solid cab is going to be an easier task. I was very impressed by this thing. I read several reviews that all seemed to rave about these and a general consensus that they are a hot item that people actively seek out.
I was reading the manual online and trying to understand this feature - what it’s for, and how to use it.
So this splits the signal from the preamp, and I can take it to two external amplifiers to run separate speakers off of? Am I getting that right? I can see that for a home hi-fi system or something, but I’m not sure I understand what the function of that would be on a bass amp.
Is it more for like separate effects channels or something? Run highs through one set of processing and lows through another, then bring them back together into the effects return circuit?
I also like the feature that it has a balanced line-out, and an unbalanced line out with a volume control separate from stage volume. I can definitely see the functionality of that.
A crossover directs certain frequencies to one speaker or series of speakers and other frequencies to a different speaker or speakers. From what I can tell by reading the manual it appears the amp has an internal fixed crossover that can send very low bass frequencies to a powered sub woofer.
This is different than the one that was on my Carvin head which I could set a frequency at which the highs/mid highs would be directed to the 2x10 cab leaving the lower frequencies as all the 2x15 cab saw. The amp had dual amplifiers. One to drive the highs and mid highs the other the lows and mid lows.
My Magellan 350 Combo uses a fixed crossover in the speaker that separates the highs/mid highs and directs them to the 4 speaker array mounted in front the main driver. It handles only the lows/mid lows. It’s a more efficient usage of the amp.
I wish that it has a switchable watt similar to Boss Katana. I’d love to have them on 3 stack in my shed. Stacking all 3 I can’t get volume low enough in my shed
I’m kinda curious as to how that’s done. Does the manufacturer use a power module that can be switched to lower wattage or is there another way of doing it? I don’t believe Jeff Genzler was too concerned about adding features that are more home friendly since his buyers are mostly performing musicians. How many home players will spend $1300 MSRP for a 350w 1x10 combo that requires another speaker to produce it’s full 300w? Then you’re into is for over $2000.
You opted for multiple 1x10 cabs vs mixing a 1x10 with a 1x12 or a 1x15 right? What made you decide to go that route? I plan to add a second cab and my initial inclination is to add a 1x12 but there’s a huge cost difference between the 10s and the 12s. There really nowhere to demo them either. Few dealers will stock the entire line of products.
This speaker size came to me slowly. My first real amp is a 1x15 and I thought it was great. Then I got 2x12 and I love it more something about the tone, then I tried 4X10 wow!! something about those tight punchy tone. The bigger the speaker the warmer deeper tone but the smaller ones are much punchier.
I love Genzler because of the neutral tone, what I hear is what my bass sounds like, that’s big when I have 50 basses.
Tomorrow, I’m about to put that theory into a real test as I just picked up one of the…how should I say it, most uniquely versatile bass ever. This one may break me as you know how I like mine Vanilla.
I love the idea of having two different speaker cabinets that you can use one or both of with your amp for versatility. I’ve seen a couple combinations in my limited experience that seem to work well.
A friend of mine has an Eden amp with a 2x10 cab and a 1x15 cab. He can use both for a huge sound, but he often just takes the 2x10 to gigs as it’s plenty, and then he doesn’t have to lug the 1x15 around. He could also just play on the 1x15 if he wanted too, but I don’t think I’ve seen him do that.
I saw in a Philip Conrad video that he’s a big fan of having two 1x12 cabs. He can often get away with just using one of them, but if he needs more, he can use both. The possible downside I see with this is you don’t have the difference in tone quality with two identical cabs as you do with two cabs with different configurations. But if you really like the 1x12 and 2x12 sound, then I guess it doesn’t matter.
There are probably other good combinations too.
More and more I’m finding I really like the 10 inch sound, so I wonder how it would work to have two 2x10 cabs that you can use singly or together. Again, wouldn’t have the option of two different single cab configurations, but that only matters if I want the sound I can get from 12 or 15 inch speakers.
The Sire P8 plays great (purchased from Sweetwater). That said I paired it with a Katana so I’m mostly playing around in passive and not messing with the on-board EQ. The bass showed up a few days before the amp and so on day one I was using a 10W practice amp that I had bought in 2001. I was initially having a ton of problems with fret buzz on the A and E string, but it turned out to be from the amp - the second I plugged into the 210 everything was fine.
The Katana 210 combo is certainly a toy box. Tone wise it is very versatile, but with a ton of possible options there is certainly a learning curve.
I grabbed a GC-FX-EX foot controller, however came to find out that for the bass amps. there are no “EX” features - so it functions just as a GC-FX. The controls take a while to get used to, but there are stickers that make it make sense (I had to go back in the garage to find them buried at the bottom of the Katana box).
The Katana APP will require you to update the firmware on the amp before it works properly. That procedure is convoluted but it ended up working. It requires downloading files onto a laptop and doing some dragging and dropping, you can’t just do it straight from the app with a simple “update” button.
I expect I will add a 2x10 later. But I wasn’t totally thrilled with any of the options they had on hand at the moment, and I’m sure more will come up later. I was tempted by this Mega Bougie 210, but $350 is a lot for a used cab.
This 1x15 was also lighter than any of the decent sounding 2x10’s on hand. It’s lighter than the amp. I can carry it one-handed.
I had a really good one but he left. My current rep is ok kinda hit and miss for the most part. My GC rep is awesome. He’s the only reason I still buy from GC. Even have my name on it,
Hey @Tommydogg I know you’ll like this. I just picked this up.
I currently have a Rumble 40 and an older SWR working man’s 12 100w.
Last night my bandmate heard me complaining about my rumble 40 and says, Trade you your 40 and $200 for my 500… I think that’s just his way of saying “you’ll be using my 500 any time we play so let’s just keep it at your house and you hang on to it”.
I really hate the rumble controls in the back but that won’t really change for the 500. It would be nice to have something with power for shows and maybe use my 100w for practice at home.
If you have one, I’d suggest taking your 40 into a Music Go Round (or something like it) and seeing what they can do to trade you up to something better. I did that with a pair of low end beginner basses I wasn’t playing and walked out with an Ampeg RB-210 (500w) for $175. I was debating between that and a PA system for the same out of pocket.
I think you’re gonna love that Genz-Benz Cab too. That was Jeff Genzler’s company before Fender bought it from him and shut it down after they adopted some of his technology and designs. Now he’s just Genzler Amplification.
I’d take that in a heartbeat. A Rumble 500 was definitely in my short list, but there weren’t any around at decent prices. That’s a good price, especially on a bit of kit that you know the condition of.
It’s going to weigh basically the same as the 2x10 you’d be schlepping to every gig anyway, and if you ever need or want more oomph, you can just add an extension cab.
For price comparison, let’s say that 40 could be sold for ~$150. So you’re looking at $350 equivalent.
I was mostly shopping Music-Go-Round, because CLM prices were honestly higher, and I’d have to drive all over and not be able to comparison test options against each other.
Decent heads were ~$200, and decent cabs started at $150. Then you have to add tax. I spent about $450 on that pair I listed.
Yeah. I tested at least a half dozen cabs while I was there. This one probably sounded the best, or at least as good as anything else that was no heavier and/or more expensive.
Tough call between 1x15 or 2x10, but I figure no one listening is going to really notice the tone difference, and I liked the feel of power standing in front of a 1x15.
Band rehearsal confirmed how fun the big speaker is.
If I’m using a single speaker cab in band setting I’d opt for a 15" every time. And I have. I’ve played several rigs with a single 15" before. You lose some of the punch you get from 10"s but that big round bottom end sounds so good.
There are some very nice 2x12" cabs out there and ones with a 12" combined with a smaller mid range speaker in the 6" to 8" range. Genzler produced some of those as well before hitting on the Bass Array concept.
