Time for a new amp

So I got all set up to practice for a bit this afternoon and about fifteen minutes into it, my Metro died on me. Just going along not even playing loud or doing anything weird and this extremely loud POP fills the air and then silence. I can't say that the amp itself is a bad piece of equipment since it's nearly six years old and has quite a few miles on it - guess it just reached the end of its road in this life. Actually, right before it blew, it sounded about as good as it ever has... that's irony I suppose :roll: .
Anyway, the rest of my day has been spent looking at different amps out there and I've kept coming back to the Genz Benz GBE 750 or 1200. Anybody have experience with these? Good, bad, or ugly? Pro's, con's, or other suggestions? Thanx in advance! ~M~

 

they're sleek looking. sadly enough, that's all i can say!

 

I've read a few horror stories about Metros in the past but cant you get it repaired as it could only be a minor problem?

 

It could be repairable but I was looking at an upgrade anyway so I may put it on the backburner for now in favour of a rack unit type arrangement. ~M~

 

And why not! . That means you can get a cool rack tuner as well!

 

GBE1200 is a sweet amp, in fact I plan on buying one as well by the end of the year. I have played both the 750 and the twelve hundred, its got the best of both worlds. Solid state channel is off the chain clear and fast, The tube channel has that creamy tube goodness. the best part is you can combine the two channels and have a little dash of tube in yout solid state (or vica versa). A very sharp and usable EQ cut/boost plus a bad ass foot pedal and it goes to 2 ohms (still sounds good), you can beat it IMHO.

Go for it.

 

+5 for good tuners!

I recently got a nice Strobe tuner, and I could really hear the difference in what I played....can't even imagine how I tolerated cheapo tuners before!

 

Thanx Brian! Basically I'm keeping the 210XST and probably adding a 212XLT and want a 2ohm stable amp with good features built in (to avoid the rack full of processors that kill natural tone) and enough cojones to drive the cabs properly, without breaking the bank. I liked the choice of a tube and solid state preamp section from the Eden so I wanted to keep that if I could and the GB can blend (big plus). The GB seems to do it, though if anybody knows of some others, I'm always open to options :wink: . The more the merrier! ~M~

ps- The SVT6 is also on the list...

 

Warwick make some cool amps. :wink:

 

I'm a Gallien-Krueger man meself. I love my 400RB, pity they haven't made it for a while, the only thing close they have now is the 800 RB. I cooked the voice coil of a Black Widow loaded Peewee with the G-K despite the BW's 'claimed' 500 watt capacity.

After a few years of gigging I now favor the minimalist approach. When I can afford a slave, er I mean road crew person, I'll think about a monster rig.

I also have a couple of SWR combos I got on clearance for ridiculous prices, the LA 10 and the Workingman's 10. From my experience with these little guys SWR make some very good stuff. The Workingman's 10 will literally blow most 150 watt 15" combos straight to hell. And you're lugging around a small 85 watt 10" combo that's half the weight.

 

Hmmmm,

aren't amps supposed to be more durable than that ?? Aren't they like basses and cabinets (speakers) that they're supposed to last much longer than say televisions or mobile phones ?? Isn't it just a fuse that died ?? I've never heard of amps going poof because you've been using it six years intensively............ :roll:

 

There it is,a blown fuse.Another successful diagnosis doc.

 

Let's hope so..........

 

8)

Sounds like the GBE is for you. Its a very versitile amp, plus the ratio of dollars spent over quailtiy is preetty high. The GBE1200 is built like a freaking tank, only thing bad that I noticed about is it weighs almost as much as my UL410, with my rack case, tuner and power conditioner it will wiegh alot more than my speaker cab... :?

I have never been a fan of Ampeg stuff... I had a B4R for about a year and it dumped on me twice the tone left a lot to be desired (IHMO, of couse), the tube heads hit in the same ball park for me as the B4R.

I would say give the GBE1200 a try, but I know for a fact that Basscentral does not have any in stock (not even the 750). I was asking about one about a week ago and Scott (grasshopper) said they didnt have either ATM.

 

I just recently bought a SWR WorkingPro 2x10 combo and I must say that so far I am very pleased. It's 260w and 400w with an added cab. I've played this at 2 practices with a really loud guitarist and drummer and once with a medium volume acoustic guitarist. During all 3 sessions the amp handled very nicely and sounded great. I ran my EBS Microbass into it and it REALLY sounded great! I'm actually thinking about selling my Microbass now so I can buy a Tech21 RBI which will fit very nicely in the rackspace provided in the amp. This amp is a little heavy but with two 10's, 260w, an additional rackspace and casters what do you expect. It's built like a tank and sounds like an angel. I'm keeping this baby for the long haul.

 

I have to agree, SWR is some nice stuff as well. I really like how with the Aural inhancer you can make the tone so fat and smooth at the same time. I think that SWR would deffinetly pair up well with a Warwick.

 

They do. I started out with the SWR Workingman's 15 combo when I had my first Thumb BO5 several years back. For a combo amp at a reasonable price, it was a great rig. I'm pretty sure I've decided on the GBE 750 though for the new amp... Now for the saving money part til I can order it ~M~