Genz Benz El Diablo 60C 112 Combo

I have no idea when it was made, but as far as I can tell, from 2004 to 2008, since discontinued. Features are mentioned ad nauseum in all the other reviews, it does have a plywood cabinet. Mine came with Ruby Tubes EL34s. What's with the name "El Diablo?" why not just call it "the Demon" or "Beelzebub" or "Satin"

Well, this is where I had problems. The EL34s sounded thin and dark. is that even possible? Very weak sounding in the clean channel. My Deluxe Reverb is twice as loud, rated only 22 watts vs 60 watts for this? The clean channel could not provide even a hint of breakup for a slightly overdriven bluesy tone, not possible even with gain dimed. So why is there a gain channel on the clean channel? Half the knobs on this amp do little or nothing. Yes, smart-*****, I read the manual and spent hours trying to dial in the tone, and yes I tried 6L6s too wise-*****. The gain channel is by far the best channel here, with the vintage/modern switch doing the exact same thing as the compressed/dyanamic switch. However, I belive this amps' overdrive circuit to be transistor and here's why. There are only 3 preamp tubes. We know this makes the reverb circuit digital, so rule out tube-driven reverb. One tube for the phase inverter, now we have digital reverb and only two preamp tubes left. One for the clean channel and one for the gain channel - that's it. Transistor distortion. I was floored when I dialed in the sound I liked, put my Rat in front of the clean channel, and almost fell over - they sounded identical. - transistor! So, a dark, weak, clean channel and a transistor-based distortion channel. Trust me - I wanted so bad to like this amp - but could not find a tone I couldn't get with a $50 pedal. The cabinet also boomed when using my Les Paul, and sounded harsh when cranked - just like a transistor amp, sounded like it was clipping, not breaking up like a tube amp should. The built in compressor is very nice, but I have a pedal for that too.

Built like a tank, and weighs as much as one. However, mine popped and squeled like a stuck pig upon shutdown. Hmm.. Power supply? I would explain a lot.. I probably just got a lemon.

I have heard nothing but good things, but I didn't like so the tone, so I didn't persue getting it checked out.

I used 3 strats - all American, both vintage and modern, two semi-hollow body PRS's, and my LP. Sorry, but I could not find a good tone that my other amps did not have using pedals. That could be my problem, my Marshall JTM 45 sounds so much brighter and crisper than is, like night and day, it has EL34's too and I love that amp. The distortion sounds great, but nothing unique or botique. Mine went back, and I know the next reviewer will say, "he didn't know how to use the tone controls." Bite Me. I know 12:00 is neutral and left is dialing out bass, treble, or mids, turning right (that would be clockwise) dials in +/- up to 15 db. I simply could get past the weakness of this amp. I know I am pissing a lot of people off right now, but get over it. Tone is very subjective, I just didn't find any "mojo" with this amp. I find it hard to beleive it is 60 watts, it is not loud enough to gig with as others here have stated.

2 channels with multiple tone options. Perfect amount of features and control. I'm not going to go knee deep into what it has available...This is an amp you should try before you buy. It operates very differently from most traditional amps but, doesn't go "over the top", in my opinion. If you just want volume and tone...? There's plenty of nice amps out there with minimum features. This ain't one of 'em! Lots to play with!

One feature I really like is the EL34/6L6 option. Plug 'em in, bias using the handy-dandy settings provided in the manual, and off you go! I don't think one type of tube is better sounding than another. To me, it's just an additional tone option. I believe the 6L6's reduce the power to around 50/25 watts output and have bit more of an edge to them. I love the EL34 clean sound but, I'm using NOS 6L6's right now. I could get bored and change them at any time. Just because...

This thing sounds absolutely amazing! I've had it for several years and had plenty of time to mess around with it's tone shaping possibilities. Although, setting every knob to 12:00 won't let you down, you might want to go easy on the master volume...It's a VERY LOUD amp!

The tone controls don't opperate in any Marshall/Fender type of way. These controls work in a sort of, parametric EQ fashion. Very interactive with large amounts of cut and boost available. Awesome reverb, too!

Example: You can cut the mids and crank the bass and treble on the dirt channel and get a "metal" sound. But, if you spend time with the shaping features, you would be able to optimize the sound better without automatically "dumping the mids". The manual indicates that getting "your" tone may require setting the controls much differently than on a typical amp. Very true.

I'm describing the El Diablo this way because it's not a cheap amp and some of the reviews sound as though they may come from people who didn't get what they expected. Or, didn't know what they were looking for. Or, don't have the patience to deal with its considerable mojo! No offense intended to anyone in those categories, but if you're going to spend this kind of money, you should know a thing or two about what you're buying. So if you have one or, are thinking of getting one, take some time.

That said, once you get there, look out! What a monster!

Here's my own, personal lowdown...I'm not famous and I'm pretty sure I never will be. I stopped being cute about the same time my hair started falling out. But, I've been playing for nearly 3 decades. From classic rock (before it was classic), to country and all points in between. Including really "icky" stuff I'd never play in a million years...but...A paying gig is a paying gig!

I have a lot of gear. 4 strats. A couple vingage and a couple modified road warriors. 2 Koa Carvins, one Carvin Bolt T with Seymour and Rio Grande pickups. Early 90's Gibson Les Paul, and a Gibson ES135. Godin LG90 with Seymour P-90's. There are other, disemboweled, guitars that surface once in a while, but these are my "players". For amps, '65 Ampeg Gemini 1, with original everything, including tubes! Early '60's Gibson RVT Falcon...mint. Kalamazoo Model 2. A Fender Super Reverb and a Hot Rod DeVille 2x12 combo. Carvin X60B head sitting on a Fender Bandmaster 2x12 cab with vintage 30's. Homemade 2 x 6V6 on a 1 x 10" cab with Jensen speaker. Also, homemade EL84, 5 watt Class A head. I also use a little, Tech 21 amp with a 10" speaker. I typically use a couple of delays (Boss and Digitech) through the effects loop, a tremolo pedal (Voodoo Labs), compressor (Boss), tuner (Korg), and Dunlop Wah into the front of the amp.

I can get virtually any tone I want with this amp. Usually somewhere between Keith Richards and David Gilmour (in my dreams, of course). The El Diablo wouldn't stay here if it didn't have "something" as I'm not very sentimental about gear (too many trips to the pawn shops when rent was due, over the years). For the last decade plus, I've played original, hardish rock with lots of "fill ins", "jams", and "just because" gigs thrown in. So, I need access to finger picking clean and monster distortion in the same set. Sometimes, in the same song! My rambling point is this: If I can't get it done with this amp, I should quit!

I'm sorry if I skip descriptives like "Fendery" or, "Marshally" or, "Boogie-ish". This amp has it's own thing going. For example, it does beautiful cleans, but I won't compare it to a Fender because, there's so much more going on with the Genz Benz that the comparison would be incomplete. Single coils, 'buckers, P-90's, all sound great. A little tweak here and there.

LOUD, LOUD, LOUD! Pentode or triode mode. 6L6 or EL34. This amp needs room!

BUILT LIKE A TANK! Weighs as much as one, too. It's been gigged, recorded, and rehearsed with. Put in cars, pickup beds, on hay wagons, stages...No problems, so far. I try to keep up on the tubes, etc., with all of my amps.

I don't gig without backup, any more. But I sure as hell used to, and I wish I'd have had this then!

5 year, transferable warranty. Good enough...I haven't had to use it.

I had several questions that were answered by Mr. Genzler, himself. Just a phone call. Try that with Fender or Gibson.

It hasn't needed repair, but I admit that it scared my curious, amp guru dude when he looked at it. He's more of a vintage guy. He was, however, astounded at the build quality and tone.

I blabbered about my gear, style and years of playing earlier.

I would most certainly replace this amp with another one like it. And, if someone steals it, I hope they have a good chiropractor.

I compared this amp with a number of "boutique" and blue collar amps. In my opinion, none of them sounded better...just different. Ok, some Bad Cat 30 watter killed me! But it cost a LOT more!

As for wishes, I have 2...I wish there was a way to control the volume a bit. I've noticed a number of amps have the ability to drive the tubes hard and reduce the overall volume. Not a deal breaker for me.

Number 2...It is heavy! Again, not a deal breaker, but...damn!

This amp has a lot of features. Independent EQ and reverb controls, tube contour for vintage or modern tone shaping, compression, attack/presence, master volume and master reverb, 30 & 60 watt modes, switchable between EL34 and 6L6 tubes.

This amp is built solid. Made in the U.S.A. Reliable as hell. There's so much to this amp that I'm probably forgeting something.

The sound quality is spectacular. I've read a couple of rather unfavorable reviews and I can tell you that these guys either didn't read the manual, don't know how to shape tone, or expected something totally different (which would lead to disappointment with any amp). Don't be misled by these ignorant reviews.

The clean channel can either be spanking clean or grungy, depending on what you want. It sounds so ******* good with pedals. I've used an OD9, SD9, and modded DS-1. It all sounds great and the effects loop works very well.

30w mode is very sweet, smooth and sustaining. 60w mode MUST be played loud. If you think it's harsh, it's a 99% probability that you are not playing it loud enough. The clean channel is better the louder it gets. As you open the volume, the headroom increases.

The sound is very thick. You can compensate for a thin sounding tele just by plugging into this amp. Amazingly somehow a Gibson Les Paul doesn't sound too thick at all. It's just right. All this can be managed by the EQ. Some have complained that the sound is TOO thick, but they usually have their EQs set pretty high.

The controls on this amp are VERY responsive. If you think it's too thick, turn the ******* EQ controls down a bit. Raising them will only ADD to the sound.

The reverb is world-class, and if you read the fucking manual you will learn that you can actually achieve different kinds of reverb by using the master reverb in conjunction with the independent reverb controls.

If you want to use it at low volumes, turn down the gain a bit, crank the channel volume, and lower the master. It's not fucking rocket science, but you DO have to know how to work a frickin amp.

If you can't get amazing tone from this amp then you don't know how to use an amp. This amp is world-class.

This amp can live through hell, hence the name "El Diablo." Built like a brick house and reliable as hell.

Excellent support. Genz-Benz really cares about their customers and their products.

Like any amp, you have to play it a lot and adjust it from time to time to get the right settings. This amp is so versatile, I think it's kind of a crutch to those who give it an unfavorable review because they can't seem to figure it out and write it off as a mediocre amp. **** all that, this amp rocks!

For the price you pay, it's going to be EXTREMELY hard to find such a great value. There's no compromising on anything here. Built extremely well, sounds awesome, and the service is great. Made in the U.S.A. You can't ask for more in this price range.

I had an '04 model, I think? This baby is jam packed with features and benefits!!! Active EQ, 60/30 Watt Switchable, Footswitch has 4 buttons:Channel - Clean/Dirty, Hi-Gain//Lo-Gain, Built in Compressor, & Global Attack (Which is a very noticable presence boost & has a knob to adjust to taste). You can swithch b/t EL34 or 6L6 Power Tubes. 3 Preamp Tubes. Accutronics Longtank Reverb which has level knobs on both channels and a master to tweek to taste. It also has a tube contour knob for an overall darker or brighter/tighter sound. Effects Loop. Unbalanced out. This amp will cover ANY reasonable size club, IT IS LOUD. The list goes on and on, like I said, this baby's loaded with features. It would be hard to find a tube amp to match in this regard.

The clean is really CLEAN; you can't hardly make it dirty. Even with the master 7nd, you can roll off your volume a slight amount and have a really clean sound. I use a Fender Tele and a Frankenstein Strat with Seymour Duncan's and both guitars can stay clean in the bridge position.
The distortion channell had variety: anything from country to metal. The active EQ is pretty efficient @ shaping it's tone. Wasn't a noisy amp @ all in my opinion. The 30 watt mode had a better type of distortion in my opinion, as the 60 watt mode tended to be a little on the harsh side.
Having said the good, I did give it a 6, and here's why: Low volume, this amp had a good sound. You can get a very nice distortion, HOWEVER, we all know that any tube amp sounds better around 4-5 than it does on 1. Despite the sounds you can get from the amp, I found them to be very UN-focused with the master @ 4 & up. It's hard to describe, but even with the mids scooped, the amp just responded sloppy in my opinion. It's like the sounds were close to great, but only went so far. It also did not accompany pedals well either. My delay sounded like it was on low battery with the master above 2.5, and chorus wasn't very pronounced. Due to these facts, I have to give this amp a 6.

2 of the footswtich buttons worked only part of the time. It was like this when I bought it off ebay from a guy who had won it off of music123.com. The 3 year warranty is transferrable, and the seller shipped me the sales (prize?) reciept which told me the amp was only 2 months old when I bought it. I called genz benz and they said I could ship the footswithch in and they'ed repair it, but I never did; I wasn't going to pay the shipping.... Other than that, this amp really is built to last. It's a freekin 1x12 that weighed like 70 lbs. Beast. I gigged with it without worry, but I never counted to those footswithches to work in a live setting. It's a shame to have those cool buttons and not be able to use em'.

They told me they would fix the footswhitch, but didn't offer to pay for the shipping charges for something that was obviously a manufactures defect, or they just used cheap components in their footswitches. Warranty is 3 years and transferrabe, so it really is a pretty good warranty if something really bad went wrong with the amp.

I've been playing guitar for 7 years. I run a home-made strat with Seymour Duncan JB's strait to my amp. Through my loop I have an Guyatone SV2 -> Boss TU-2 -> Boss PS-5 -> CE-5 -> DD-3 -> amp. I now play a budda superdrive II 30 watt 1x12 combo. I sold this amp and bought the budda and was completely blown away by the Buddas sound quality. If my El Diablo was stolen before I sold it, I would have bought something different. I liked all the features, and the masses of different sounds that could be produced, but hated the "so-so" quality of those sounds. I bought it for it's features, which blew away the competetion, but wish I would have bought something else. My Budda has literally no features, but has GOOD SOUND.

Further to my previous review, I thought I'd add some information about switching power tubes. I was already impressed with this amp in stock form. The Ruby EL-34 tubes gave it bucketloads of gobsmacking tone.

Today I finally got around to re-tubing with JJ/Tesla 6L6GC power tubes and now my El-Diablo sounds absolutely devastating!

Thanks to the rear panel bias pot, changing power tubes was a breeze. I've never had any experience tinkering with tube amps before, but after reading the instructions in the manual, I went out and purchased an el-cheapo Multimeter and changed the tubes myself. I was done and playing again in minutes.

In 60 watt mode, my El-Diablo is a metal monster. I plugged in my detuned Ibanez with the Dimarzio Evo2 pickup and was floored. Sounded something like Petrucci's "AS I AM" tone. Very dark and crunchy. The chunk that's coming out of the speaker is unbelievable. The JJ/Tesla 6L6GC power tubes have tightened up the bottom-end and given the El-Diablo a much more brutal tone. However, you can still back off the gain and play around with the tube contour & tone controls for a multitude of different sounds.

In 30 watt mode, the El-Diablo is a sweetly-voiced lead player's amp. Very articulate and creamy sounding. Nice for instrumentals.

The El-Diablo still has tonnes of versatility. The only trade-off is that the chimey sounding clean channel is now a bit thicker. But it still sounds great!

I have emailed Jeff Genzler many times with queries about accessories, different tube combinations, etc, and he responds every time without fail. His customer service is second-to-none.

This amp is a fantastic piece of gear.
I couldn't be happier with my El-Diablo 60 Combo.

OK. I just spent about 2 hours with this amp at the guitar shop. I had always wondered how these amps sounded. I recently just switched from a metal band to a country/southern-rock band and knew that my Peavey Triple XXX wasn't going to cut it in the new musical setting. When I discovered that my local dealer was blowing these out at $799, I took off work early and drove down to check them out. It was a toss up between this amp and a Marshall TSL 601 (which he also had in stock). This amp has 2 channels with an active eq on each channel, an effects loop, accuntronics long pan reverb, switchable to 30 watt and 60 watt, EL34 or 6l6 power tube capacity, and included 4 button footswitch.

Prett good feature list, but points off because the footswitch has two fairly useless buttons (attack and compression). Reverb or effects loop........... or a lead boost would have been much more useful here instead.

This amp has a nice clean channel. It's almost a compressed sound though. Doesn't really breath the way I expected it to, and lacked the lows that the TSL had.

OK, on to the distortion channel. I was worried that the hot channel wouldn't have enough gain for my taste. I was wrong. Plenty of gain here, but it was a little too harsh sounding to my ear. In fairness I really didn't notice it until I ab'd it to the Marshall. But once I did, the harshness was clearly evident. The hot channel let's you switch between a milder more classic drive, and a hot lead tone. Both tones were more dry and less spongey than the Marshall 601. There was plenty of gain.....but it just didn't inspire me. It wasn't scooped sounding like the ultra channel on my triple XXX.....nor was it smooth like the Marshall. It had it's own thing going.

OK, here's the real problem with this amp. The gain boost on the hot channel was set arbitrarily by Genz Benz. What I was looking for was to set up the gain boost so that it was ultra hot, and then have the regular hot channel set with just a touch of drive, but this was impossible to do. Set the gain boost real hot, and the regular hot channel had too much drive. Set the hot channel with the drive down real low, and the gain boost wasn't hot enough. Geeez. Makes the feature pretty useless.

Also some reviews state that you can use the attack section as a volume boost for solo's. Don't believe it. There was about a 4db difference in volume with the attack section maxed out in volume. Definitely not enough of a volume boost for most situations.

I've heard nothing but good things about Genz Benz. I have the G-Flex 2X12 cab and it's a friggin tank. It looked very well built, and it was quite heavy (about 60 pounds) for an amp its size.

I wrote Genz Benz with a question about my cab and the owner of the company responded. Nice guy! How's that for service!!

I really wanted to like this amp. I was fortunate enough to have the luxury of A/B'ing the amp to the Marshall TSL 601 (which is right about at the same price point). Even though I went to the store to buy the Genz Benz, I went home with the Marshall (which had a better clean sound (more bottom end, less compressed sounding), a smoother gain channel, and it is a three channel amp). The Genz Benz definitely looked and felt like it was built better.....but in the end, it's all about the sound.

My advice: Definitely try this one out before buying it.

This has to be one of the most versatile tube amps in its price range. Mine was made in 2006. The features have been listed numerous times already, but I will quickly outline my favourites...

* Active EQs for each channel.
* Seperate reverb for each channel.
* Tube-contour control.
* Four button footswitch included.
* Footswitchable Compression and Attack.
* The option to run EL34 or 6L6 power tubes.
* 60/30 watt mode toggle switch.
* Effects loop.
* Rear panel bias pot located on the exterior for easy access.
* Quality knurled-aluminium knobs with indents for accurate tweaking.

I try to play rock, metal, blues, worship, Satriani, Vai, Petrucci, Opeth, Metallica, Pantera, basically any type of guitar orientated music. I play through an Ibanez JS1200 (with Dimarzio Fred & PAF Joe pickups) and an RG1570 (with Dimarzio Evo2, Fast Track 1 and PAF Pro pickups).

The clean channel is bliss and doesn't break-up unless you want it to. The responsive EQ enables you to go from round and warm to chimey and crystal clear without breaking a sweat. There is a Gain Control included for this channel which enables you to add some tube grit to the sound, an independant Reverb Control to dial in some splash and the Global Attack Switch to provide more punch and cut.

The distorted channel is a beast. It begins where the clean channel ends and goes all the way up to solid, chunky rhythm chugging and soaring solos. Again, the super-responsive EQ can cover loads of territory. Combine this with the footswitchable options of Classic or High Gain, Dynamic or Compressed Texture and Global Attack, and you have a huge tonal palette to work with. There's even a tube contour control that changes the sound characteristics to a darker or lighter shade. And again, you have a Reverb Control enabling you to set an amount of reverb independant to your clean channel's reverb setting.

Can't really comment on reliability as the amp is brand new, but if its appearance is anything to go by, it should not disappoint. Extremely rugged construction built from quality materials. And it looks the part, too.

I have emailed Genz Benz a few times, and as stated repeatedly in other reviews, the company founder Jeff Genzler replied to my queries personally. He responds promptly and is all class.

My story goes like this...
I've been playing guitar for over 15 years and have never been completely satisfied with my tone for the following reasons:

1. My ear is very hard to satisfy.
2. My quest always got cut short by limited funds.
3. It always seemed you had to compromise between either good
hi-gain or good cleans (or get two different amps).
4. The only exception to rule 3 seemed to be the ridiculously
expensive amps.

Recently I decided to take up my quest again, and so I started sourcing different options. I stumbled across some promising magazine/user reviews of the El Diablo 60C. But after hearing some sample clips on the Genz Benz and other websites, I wasn't impressed.

I tested quite a few amplifiers, tube and solid-state (I'm not going to drop names but there were some big ones) and after much frustration and despair, I thought back to the El Diablo 60C reviews and decided to give it a try.

I tracked down a dealer with an El Diablo 60C in stock and plugged in a Jem with Dimarzio Evo's. I must have played only a couple of phrases when the salesperson hit the sweetspot with the controls and BAM! The sweetest sounding notes I've heard from an amplifier alone in a long time.

Taking into consideration the glowing reviews I had read from both guitar magazines and users, I took a gamble and decided to buy the amplifier there and then. I took it to work with me where I could crank it and I fell in love. Crystal to spanky cleans, solid crunchy rhythm chugging, and singing leads.

The sample clips I had heard did not do justice to the actual tone the El Diablo creates.

I wanted an amp with a bit of everything, but most importantly, I wanted explosive chunk and soaring solos. And I didn't want to break the bank. It's an added bonus that this amp also happens to have a terrific clean channel. The footswitch is included at no extra cost. So many features and great sounds in this amp, and I haven't even tried the 6L6's yet. Stock tubes only thus far.

I highly recommend this amplifier to anybody looking for a versatile combo at a fantastic price.

This amp does everything I need right now. I traded a Hot Rod Deluxe in and bought this last February. I was looking to get away from the 6L6's, and this one just fits the bill perfectly. I haven't used it in a real gig yet, that will be in 72 hours where it gets the real test but I have not been let down yet with 6-8 hour rehearsals, etc.

Enough options to give you plenty of tone tweakin' power, without the superfluous unnecessary bells and whistles.

My favorite options - 25' cord on the foot pedal! ; self bias pots to switch between 6L6's and EL34's; different power modes - 30 watt and 60 watt... so take the options you would have with the cleans, crunch, high gain, etc. and DOUBLE that for a whole new palette of sound; and heavy duty construction.

Tone for days.

Clean cleans, crank up the gain on the clean channel and get some real nice, tight 'gimme 3 steps' crunch. Delicious!

I love the cleans, I'm not a real tech. guy when it comes to guitar gear but I know what I like v.s don't like. This is an amp I LOVE! I do like how there's a gain knob for the clean channel, allowing you to add some true tube crunch to it. At the same time, when you really want to get down and dirty... just click the pedal switch and you're in. The compressor channel is great for cutting through the mix.

I play a lot of slide guitar, both standard tuning and open tunings and the tone(s) I can elicit from this amp are simply divine. Not an overstatement, just my opinion. I can't ask for anything more from an amp company.

I primarily play my '04 Jimmy Vaughan MIM Strat w/ a DLR guitars 'bucker in the bridge and usually Slinky 11's. Great match up. This is the same guitar/set up I used when I test drove it. When I compared it to the Fenders, Vox's, etc. and my pricerange v.s. options... hands down this was it. I could have paid a little more and got a JCM head w/ no cabs but really... I think that's a little overkill unless you're playing a stadium gig or have roadies. I'm a meat and potatoes guy, with just a wah between my git and amp so this is the full package.

Never had a problem yet. The tubes are glowing a little blue which I've heard means they're going, but I knew up front that this was the floor model. It's still been a good 7 months without a single issue.

Playing my first gig with the new band since I got this, this Saturday the 12th. The only reason I'm bringing my 5 Watt Crate Palomino w/ 10" Celestion is to have one 'just in case'. Preperation and planning prevent poor performance. That, and in case someone shows up who wants to jam!

I'll have to reserve opinion for after this gig and a few more. Just to be fair.

Never had to deal with them, from all indicators here and on their site, Jeff takes his work very seriously. Since he's also a player, it's nice to know that he's in the same trenches as working musicians and knows what's needed/expected.

Still, since I've never had to deal with them I can't fairly give them a 10, however I have faith that I would be dealt with appropriately.

I've only been playing 6 years or so seriously. I started with the determination to do something with music, I don't really care what as long as I stay true to myself and the music. This is definitely a life long investment, in that I don't expect I'll really need anything else that comes along. This has it all and then some.

Lost or stolen, the only reason I'd shy away from getting another is the price. Of course, at this price it's very cheap for what you get. It's worth every single dime and more as far as I'm concerned, I'm just a little cheap like that and when it comes to tone you shouldn't skimp. But for a life time, buy it once and replace the tubes as you go.... that's what I was looking for in an amp, and I'm fairly certain it's what I've got.

Has all the features I was looking for. Seperate clean / gain channels that are footswitchable, seperate EQ, and direct out.

I use mainly a PRS McCarty. I had this amp for 28 days - and returned it beofre the 30 day gurantee for full refuund was up. I was told (and read it here) that it would take awhile to dial in the sound, since it has versatile dynamic eq, 30 / 60 W, etc. I found the gain channel harsh, and did not like the way the tubes brake up. Clean channel is great, but again found the gain channel to be wanting - actully i felt very little ability to color the tone. If you are going to buy one of these pay attention to the gain channel break-up. It sounded worse with my Start.

Built like a rock. Only had it 28 days - so can't say more than that.

AS I said, this amp didn;t work for me. I play a large mix of music - with exception of VH Metal. Gain chaneel works for only certin rock type songs (unless you add other effects). I eneded up replacing it with a VOX AC30 with Blues. More expesnive - but like the creamer gain, and Gain channel definetily more felxible.

2005 (purchased new) for $ 800 USD at my local guitar store, on a Closeout special

Incredibly versatile 2-channel amp, that really has 3-4 pseudo channels. Main channel switching is between Channel one (Warm) and Channel two (Hot). However, Channel two (Hot) has two distinct modes, which are selectable on amp as well as on footswitch. These are "Classic" and "High gain". Classic provides excellent crunch rhythm, and the gain range brings the amp from clean to just breaking up crunch. The High Gain takes it from crunch all the way to fully saturated high gain thermonuclear meltdown.

Add to this...the selectable "Dynamic" or "Compression" toggle switch ( compression adds killer sustain for soloing) as well as the unique "Contour" toggle with Contour level control, and you have a myriad of tonal variations and options.

In addition, if that wasn't enough tone possibilities, there is a Global Attack Switch and global attack level control. When this is engaged, this dramatically enhances pick attack and bite, and is extremely effective as a Lead boost to cut through any mix. Again, this really is a great feature that truly alters the responsiveness to playing dynamics (e.g. Palm mutes, pick attacks and harmonics).

The serial FX loop works just as it should, and my Rocktron Xpression sounds fantastic. Although the El Diablo 60C has an excellent long pan Accutronics reverb...I prefer the digital reverb in my Xpression...so I turn the amps reverb controls down to zero.

Finally, the El Diablo has two other big features that I like, which the Supersonic didn't have.

1) Pentode/Triode mode: This selector switch changes output power from 60 Watts (pentode) to 30 Watts (Triode). I will be using the 30 watt setting, mostly. This pushes the power tubes a bit more, and gives a more vintage, fuller and fatter tone with more dynamic response. Hopefully, this will prolong the life of the Power tubes, as well.

2) Ability to select/switch from EL-34 to 6L6 power tubes, with bias test points and bias adjust trim pot. I was disappointed that the Fender Supersonic did not have any external, easy way to re-bias the amp.

There is a definite sonic difference between the 30 watt triode mode and the 60 watt pentode mode (duh !!).

At first, I did not like the 60 watt mode at all, because it had a definite buzz / fizz on the high gain settings. However, this completely went away on the 30 watt setting. It was like night and day.

What I have discovered, is that it the buzz/fizz on the 60 watt setting was directly due to the low volume levels I was playing it on. As I mentioned previously, the OD / distortion is as smooth as can be on the 30 watt setting. I didn't change the volume settings when switching between the 30 watt and 60 watt mode.

That was the problem. I previously didn't have an opportunity to open up on the 60 watt mode, and I believe the buzzy / fizzyness was due to the very low volume levels. Today, I had a chance to crank it on the 60 watt setting, and lo' and behold, the buzz and fizz went completely away. Since I am playing at home, and don't need a lot of volume, the 30 watt mode is perfect for me. The reduced headroom and lower volume power tube saturation on the 30 watt mode gives the smooth and sonorous high gain.

I thought I would remark on this phenomena, as some of you have, or will have the opportunity to demo (the) El Diablo at a music store. If it is the 100 watt head, make sure you have it set for the 50 watt, 1/2 power mode. There is no way you are going to be able to crank it loud enough at the store to do any justice to the 100 watt mode. Likewise with (the) El Diablo 60 / 60-C. I recommend anyone first try it on the 30 watt setting.

(The) El Diablo 60C has incredibly musical high gain overdrive and distortion. It is voiced with a clear mid-range, which definitely harkens back to the virtuoistic guitar playing of the late '70s and the early to mid '80s. This is definitely a lead players amp. With that said, one is able to dial in a "BREWTAL" chunky ryhthm.

This amp is built like an Abrams Tank. Incredibly rugged and well designed. It comes with:
Preamp tubes:
1 ea. 12AX7CZ (Tesla/JJ) - Input Buffer and Hot Channel Gain
2 ea. 12AX7AC4 (Ruby Tubes?) - Warm and Hot Channel Preamp Tubes
Power Tubes
2 x Ruby Tubes EL 34 power tubes: Pentode 60 watts / Triode 30 watts

All tubes have special retainers to ensure tubes are fully seated, and to minimize possibility of vibration and microphonics.

The main and Output Transformer are HUGE. Furthermore, the stock GBE 1240-V75 loudspeaker is the same model used Genz Benz popular GFLEX cabinets...and does the job just fine.

Haven't had to use it..but in reading all other reports here on the Reviews dataabase, Genz Benz gets top marks for responsiveness and product support...so, this gets a 10

I traded a new Fender Supersonic (which I had for a week) in for the Genz Benz El Diablo 60C. While the Supersonic was a great amp, with lovely high gain (for a Fender), the El Diablo has so much more tweakability and range of tones, especially with the active EQ tone shaping, the dynamic/compressed switch, the Contour control, and the Global Attack. It is like you are getting 10 amps in one...seriously.