Genz Benz Black Pearl 30 1x12 Combo

Feature-rich. Voicing switch that can go from Blackface Fender to AC30 to Badcat/Matchless to Marshall JTM45. "Top" knob which controls the ultra-high end (similar to a presence knob, but there's no negative feedback in this amp). Footswitchable 2nd gain stage (altho no high-gain out of this awesome amp, it's a low-to-medium gainer.) Half-power switch, Pentode-Triode switch, ohms switch, speaker cable has a jack end, so you can use the combo as a head or as a cab if you want. Jeff Genzler really thought this amp out well, and it has just about everything you could want in a tube amp.

There are so many options that it takes some "living with" this amp to figure out how everything interacts and to learn how to dial it in well. But just about any sound you want is in there. The touch-sensitivity is unbelievable, dynamics are great, clarity is unreal,... let me put it this way: I played this amp side-by-side with a Badcat Tone Cat ($4000), and the Black Pearl was 95% of what the Badcat was. (I went home with the Black Pearl, and my "Badcat GAS" is relieved). I call it the "Poor Man's Badcat." And I don't mean to say that this amp is a "copy" or "close but no cigar", this is an amazing amp that sounds so good I rarely use my pedalboard anymore. 3 dimensional cleans, smooth drives, a "morphing" capability that I've only seen in the Vox Valvetronix modeling stuff... but the BP sounds so much better than the Vox. I stop short of calling the Pearl a "tube modeler", but that's pretty much what it is. Quite incredible.

It's built very tough. Altho it is PCB. Actually, that's the only "plus" I could find with the Badcat: it's hand-wired. This doesn't make a difference in SOUND, but it could in reliability/repair issues. Haven't had mine long enough to comment on the reliabilty.

Great. Jeff Genzler has answered several of my emails, within 24 hours.

I've been playing for 22 years. Been through many amps. I have never owned a "boutique" amp (like a Badcat), but this Black Pearl IS a boutique amp in my book, I don't care if it is PCB. The SOUNDS from this thing are 100% "boutique". I'd buy another one in a second. Actually, I'd like to have TWO- 1 for cleans & 1 for drive. This amp isn't getting alot of hype- I'd say because Genz Benz ISN'T "boutique"- people LIKE overpaying for a big name. If you want boutique tone at working man's prices- and especially if you're into that whole Badcat/Matchless/AC30/EL84 thing, you have to check out a Black Pearl. You'll be sorry if you don't.

Check their website for details on the features, because there are too many unique and killer features to mention here. Basically, the features are what sold me on the amp--in addition to it's outstanding tone and build quality. Depending how you set it up--and there are infinite possibilities--it will shine for studio, live or practice applications. The footwitchable and adjustable boost feature is particularly useful, and it makes this amp as versatile as any channel switcher. This is because, depending on how you have the master volume set, it can serve as a GAIN boost, in addition to being a simple volume boost. Awesome feature. Also, the Red Fang alnico speaker sounds fantastic.

Well, here's the real test, right? I was in the market for an AC30-type amp, but I didn't like the Chinese Voxes. I love Bruno amps, but 2K is a bit steep for my needs, and they tend to be one-trick ponies. This amp just absolutely shits on anything in the price range. The clean sounds are complex and 3-dimensional, which is what you expect from a quartet of El84s, but it also delivers the goods in the overdrive department, both from the power tubes AND preamp tubes--or both. Rich, creamy, thick, ballsy overdrive that cleans up with no grainyness whatsoever with a quick flick of the pinky on the volume knob. And of course, like all 30 watt class A amps, it is loud as a muthafucka. Even without using the voicing feature, all pickup types sound great, but you can further enhance the strengths of each pickup type with this feature. The only downside to the tone of this amp is the reverb. It is perfectly servicable at lower settings, but it is average at best above 9 o'clock. Without the reverb, it's a 10.

I had a Crate Palomino, which I sold to buy this amp. Let's put it this way. The difference in build qualitiy between the two amps is like the difference between Fort Knox and the shed in my backyard. This thing is flipping SOLID. It is quite clear that the BP30 was designed for working, touring professionals. Products like this give me some fleeting faith in American manufacturing.

I haven't had to contact them for this amp, but I had an El Diablo a while ago that fell over and needed a new pot, and THEY SENT THE POT TO ME AT NO CHARGE. Also, Jeff Genzler personally answered all my emails. I feel sorry for his family, because he must spend an inordinate amount of his time answering emails. He should hire an assistant, but it speaks volumes about a company if the man in charge is as personally vested in the day-to-day operations, as Jeff obviously is.

I've owned and played absolute craploads of gear over the past 25 years. This amp really is a gem. It's incredibly well concieved, sounds great, and built to last. My sense is that this amp will be a springboard to huge things from Genz Benz. Get one while the prices are still very reasonable. Oh, one last thing. I need to weigh in on the subject of printed circuit boards, or PCBs. There is a common misperception that point-to-point wired amps sound best, and this is absolute nonsense. Good ptp amps sound better than bad pcb amps, but that has nothing to do with pcb's per se. Read this article:

http://www.bogneramplification.com/Pcboard.htm

or this one:

http://www.mesaboogie.com/US/Smith/point-to-point.html

for further elaboration.

This is a new model introduced in 2006, it is very versatile and fits my style of play which is blues and classic rock.
??? Class A, EL 84 Power Tubes
??? All-Tube Signal Path
??? Flexible Power Selections-Pentode/Triode Selector
30 Watts/15 Watts/8 Watts
??? Tube Boost Preamp Stage
(Footswitchable)
??? Passive 3-Band EQ
??? Five-Position Voicing Circuitry
??? Tube-Driven Reverb
??? Tube Rectifier
??? Accutronics??? Long Pan Reverb
??? 12" Alnico Red Fang??? Speakers by Eminence
??? Solid 13-ply Baltic Birch Plywood Cabinet
??? Classic Styling

The sounds are amazing! I got ths amp mostly as a bedroom amp, I have 67 Fender Super Reverb and a 57 Twin RI that I use when I play out. In my search for something smaller I found this amp, it gave me my first EL84 driven amps. While the clean it's not pure Fender it is vintage EL84, much better that the new Vox Custom Classics, I know I A/B'd them. It has a three dimensional quality similar to vintage amps. The boost channel along with the volume and voicing controls give you an array of distorted tones perfect for blues and classic rock. Ever since I got this amp I have been playing every day, I play Fender Strats, Telecasters and Gibson Les Pauls, and all sound great, the voicing control helps a lot when playing different guitars. Even though the amp ships with Ruby tubes (not my favorites) it still sound awesome, I will eventually mess around with the pre-amp tubes to see what the improvements are, I will most likely try the Tung Sols, Groove Tube Mullards & NOS Telefunkens.

Amp looks very well built, bigger that what I thought

I emailed the company regarding the follwing: "Inside there are beautifully crafted black Military Spec PCB???s with robust, precision routed Direct-to-Point Gold-flashed signal traces, neatly dressed wiring and custom tube sockets and retainers" Since I only play point to point I was very weary once I saw PCB, here is the response I got from Jeff Genzler (The owner took the time to answer my question)

"Hello Tony,



Thanks for your interest in our Black Pearl.



The Military Spec references the quality of the PCB material. There are many types of PCB material used in amps and those built to Military Specifications are the best available.

The traces we use are designed on to the PCB just as if they were wires laying on the PCB---like a hand wired amp. In many amp designs signal traces go back and for the across the PCB to connect the components. Our layout replicates how a hand-wired amps is designed using very thick traces and they are gold flashed which is a better material for signal connectivity. Direct-to-Point references how are traces are run on the PCB just like a ???point-to-point??? amp is designed.



One very important thing about using PCB???s and the way are designed is layed out on the PCB is---many hand wired amps can sound different from each others depending upon the change in the wiring length in an amp or the exact component placement---next to another sensitive component.

In our PCB design the consistency from one amp chassis to the next is impeccable.



I do not have an immediate picture of the inside of the chassis but I know that the Guitar Player review had internal images. That was in the Jan 07 issue.



I hope all of this is helpful.



Regards,



Jeff

I have been playing for over 20 years, I have several custom shop Fender Stratocasters, a 52 Tele RI with a Antiquity neck P/U, a 1974 Telecaster Thinline and a VOS 58 Gibson Les Paul. My amps are 67 Fender Super Reverb a 2004 Custom Shop Fender 57 Twin and now the Black Pearl. I compared this amp with the Vox AC30 and the Mesa Boogie Lonestar Special and found this amp to be a better overall value in terms of tone and built. If the amp was ever lost or stolen I would replace it, no doubt!

This review is for the Black Pearl 2x12 30W combo:
For a 30W EL 84 amp, the BP30 could probably be considered very feature rich. When you consider the five position voicing switch (deep, thick, dark, rich etc.,) footswitchable boost, 3 band eq, accutronics reverb and, most importantly, the pentode / triode selector - you can spend a lot of time noodling the different features for what adds up to a whole lot of different tones. I don't know how useable you'll find all of the tones to be - but if it exists in your mind or your memory, you can probably find it somewhere in this amp. Personally, I find the best tones with the eq running flat to 7, very little to no reverb and the voicing switch set to natural or all the way up to... thick, I think.

It took a day or two of making adjustments / breaking in the tubes before the BP really started to open up and show it's stuff. My former amp was a JTM 45 Bluesbreaker w/ 6L6's, so I had some pretty high expectations. I spent the first day demo'ing different guitars and the BP30 let the unique characterisitics of each guitar come through nicely - The list of guitars included an LP Supreme, PRS CE24, Taylor T5 and G&L S-500. I really liked what this amp could do for the Taylor and the G&L - both guitars sounded great under all of the different voicings. All of the tones seemed useable and some were downright keepers. As could be expected, the PRS and the LP were a little less versatile when twisting the selector knobs but when dialed in to the right place sounded exactly as you would expect. I noticed a lot more string seperation and annunciation with the two humbucker guitars - especially so on the PRS.

I was able to achieve some great overdriven tones by playing with the tube selectors and also when altering the master vol/ preamp vol. As for clean - as in country clean or fender clean - I've never been a huge fan of EL84 clean, preferring 6L6 for duties like strumming and chicken pickin - but I have been able to get some very nice clean tones especially when adding a little bit of outboard delay.

I was originally interested in this amp only because I have used the Shenandoah 200 acoustic amp for a few years now and have been very impressed with the build and durability of the Shen - it's a beast. The same quality of build - maybe even better - is evident in the Black Pearl. I expect years of maintenance free service - other than the occasional tube swap.

I have never had occasion to call but have heard good things.

I have had the amp for about 2 months now and have been using it regularly. I really like the sounds I'm getting out of this amp. I paid $900 for it new through an online charity auction. Honestly, I can't believe how much amp this is for around a grand. Even the list of $1599 seems reasonable when you consider the quality and features. If it were stolen, I would strongly consider getting another but realistically, boutique amps are like beautiful women. Most the joy is in the discovery. Although, this amp has all the attributes of a keeper.

This is the newly designed Black Pearl 30 1x12. This amp is definitely
versatile enough for anything except metal. Single channel with a simple yet 100% FUNCTIONAL EQ. with a variable output of 30w/15w/8w. At 30 watts this thing can "shake walls," 15 watts is still "has the power" but is completely manageable for home or gig use, at 8 watts it is pure heaven, great for home use, low volume levels THAT STILL RETAIN THE CHIME & SPARKLE that makes this amp shine.

What ever power level or voicing you choose there are just a few simple words to describe the tone of this amp. CHIMEY, GLASSY, SPARKLE and DIMENSION.

I have a Les Paul '58 Reissue. I thought this guitar had a great tone running through a Mesa Lonestar until I plugged it into the BP30. OH MY GOD! I was in awe! This is what I've been looking for. (I sold the Lonestar, it would just be collecting dust from this point on) Next I ran a G&L Legacy through it, changed the EQ a little and got the same tonal bliss. The "chime" of the single coils was just amazing. Then I plugged in my Taylor T-5. Just tweaked the EQ a little and there we go again! I gotta tell you, it is SO EASY to find your sound with this amp. You also have a switch that can give you 5 different voicings so you can really get that "special sound" you were looking for. If you play rock, blues, country or jazz this amp will absolutely satisfy your "tonal appetite." I was also surprized how quiet this amp is .............. just real nice!

The amp is built like a tank. You can see the qulity that Jeff Genzler has put into this this. Though it's a new amp all the signs point to a "long & healthy life." I think it's built for the "long haul." Time will tell.

When ever I get something new, I ALWAYS have questions. (you might say I'm a bit of a pain in the ass) So of course I emailed GenzBenz some questions about the design & components. I got back a great email with full & complete "understandable" answers to my questions all within a couple of hours. I got the feeling that they are very proud of this amp and enjoyed talking and explaining things about it.
They didn't blow me off or try to make me feel foolish for contacting them. That's some EXCELLENT customer service, just TOP NOTCH!

I'm 54 years old, have played on & off for over 40 years. This amp sounds SOOOOOOOOO good that I have never enjoyed playing this much.
That in turn is going to make me a better player. I think that aside from the circuit's voicing a real contributor to this amps great tone is the Eminence Red Fang Alnico Speaker. It's just a perfect match for this amp. Kudos to GenzBenz for their chice of speakers!

This amp is a fully featured modern amp. It is extremely flexible with it's variable power settings, variable voicings, and volume and tone layout. I'm sort of an old school guy that's used to just a volume and tone and some glowing glass but these features don't detract from its oustanding sonic qualities.

I spent about four hours with this amp over a week and got to really go over the manual and it's suggested settings. I was really impressed...one minute it's blackface Deluxe Reverb and with a twist of a few knobs, your off to Vox AC-30 range, and another tweak and it's a screaming Marshall 18 watt. All the tones were outstanding...I've got about 15 or so high quality classic tube amps so I know the sonics I'm comparing this to. Great tone...no kidding.

Because I spent one week with it, I don't really have an opinion but it sured seemed very solid. Genz Benz has a reputation for being solid so I wouldn't be too concerned.

The folks at Kaman are behind Genz Benz and they do a nice job. Kaman has a great reputation with the local stores around here.

I really digged this amp. Great cosmetics and outstanding tone. My only modest beef would be the weight. I'm in my mid forties and usually grab amps for gigs that are a lot lighter! If I was in a band that did a ton of covers and needed lots of flexibility...this would be the amp I would have.

This is a New Amp, Class A 2/4 tube amp. No bells and whistles, just a few tone controls, one channel and and reverb. I bought the amp because I am always searching for that tone and timbre that is characteristic of the Guitar your playing. This is it! It has a foot pedal for the 5 tone variations, a super quiet cooling fan and is not to big that the wife will say when did you get that! The amp is in a small music room and if I ever get good enough, I will gig with it.

Pure, warm, soft, uneffected, clear. Great for Jazz, Major 7ths Oh lord! Super quiet even on full blast!

Brand new!

NA

I have only been palying for 5 years. I started at 48 years old, have been listening to guitar players since 1969. Since I don't have a ton of skill it's all about sound to me. Used to A/B pickering and shure v15s late into the night. I play a Malmsteen strat, American Deluxe Tele, and a Gib ES 335 dot. I play a Taylor 410CE with round wounds on My AER compact 60 acoustic amp that is Stellar. I have a Les paul supreme in Rootbeer on order and a Johnny A (336)

This is the finest amp I've ever played. I paid $900.00 for a new one and have had the amp for about a month. It is a single channel amp with a footswitchable boost. It also has a tube driven reverb and effects loop. The amp is a 30 watt Class A amp with power switch-down to 15 and 8 watts. At 30 watts, this amp is loud enough to blow out your ears and keep up with a full band in a small to medium venue. At 8 watts it's still really loud but much more controllable for low volume needs. The best price I found online was $1099.00 but I found a music store on Ebay that accepted a best offer. I offered $900.00 and actually won the auction! Now I have to sell a bunch of stuff to pay myself back.

I play mostly blues and classic rock styled original music and this amp covers these styles with ease. It is truly touch sensitive and responds extremely well to playing technique. If you play hard it plays hard and if you soften up on the pick it cleans up beautifully. This amp doesn't really need any distortion effects unless you want to play metal. Otherwise, it covers a great Fender-like tone as well as a great Vox AC30 tone and several other fabulous tones in between. It has a five position voicing switch that gets just about any tone you need. You can easily adapt the amp to any guitar by using this switch. I get a great Bassman-like sound with my Strat. With humbuckers you can just switch to a brighter voicing and the amp screams. It is so versatile I haven't figured it all out yet. It has an Emminence Red Fang 12" Alnico speaker that is awesome. Of course, the amp sounds best when it cranked...just like most tube amp but switching it to 15 or 8 watts allows a great cranked tone at lower volumes. This is truly a boutique amp. It's not cheap but it's worth every penny.

Just bought it but so far so good.

Amp is still new and haven't had a need for support.

Been playing for over 40 years. I also own a Carvin Bel Air 2X12 combo which is also awesome but a little too heavy for me. The Pearl weighs 10 lbs less so it's a little easier to carry around for an old fart like me. If this amp was stolen, I couldn't afford another one but I'm not gigging anymore so if it gets stolen from my home, insurance will cover it. I love everything about this amp. It sounds incredible through my Marshall 4x12 cabinet too. The recording tones are also very nice using an SM57 mic.