Genz Benz El Diablo

Re: Genz Benz El Diablo

I owned one for 4-5 years. Great, versatile amp. Not a copy of anything so if you have the Marshall or Mesa tone in your head it won't cut it.
You can use both 6L6s or El34s, which is very cool. The cleans are amazing and NEVER break-up, reverb is plentiful and great sounding.

The mids are very unique, which very few like (I did). Use them sparingly and it sounds amazing.
Great crunch and very good high-gain tones too. The active EQ is very sweet and touchy so zero-ing on a tone you love can take some time.
It's, IMHO, a very very cool amp and I miss it from time to time for its sheer versatility.

500$ is a very good deal, I bought mine for 470$ on eBay, which was a steal back then, I assume right now it's pretty much the same. They used to go for 2100$ new where I lived back then, just to give you an idea.
 
Re: Genz Benz El Diablo

I had one for 4-5 years. Surgeon 's description is close to how I would describe it as well.
 
Re: Genz Benz El Diablo

I thought they sucked the first time I played the El Diablo 60 head through their GFlex cab. The next time I went to that store and they sold the cab and had it plugged into a Marshall 1960 cab. That cab made all the difference in the world. The G-Flex cab sounded too dark. I even played a Mesa Boogie Roadster through a G-Flex and it sounded poor.

From what I remember, the El Diablo was a unique sounding amp. I would agree with Surgeon that they don't sound like anything else out there. I remember it having a dry, tight response. It had a switch which I think was for compression or something and that changed it to a more dynamic response. Another feature I remember was an attack knob or something like that but I didn't like it set too far left or right.

It has a lot of bass. The the mids sound hard, not round and spongy like a Marshall. The treble has a slightly harsh edge, but I wouldn't rule out stock tubes or speakers that weren't broken in.

I remember thinking it was kind of sterile overall until I found the right mix of that attack knob and the compression switch. The EQ has a weird interaction which reminds me of the Machete. It's the kind of EQ that is sensitive and a little adjustment goes a long way. It's very useful for getting a great scooped metal tone.

The clean channel is better than what you would expect from an amp called El Diablo. It's kind of dry and the mids are thick and hard. I don't think you can dial out the chunkiness of that amp. However, the compression thing also makes the cleans better.

The reverb was really good. It did not sound like the kind of reverb that makes your tone sound tinny or washed out. It even sounded good with high-gain.

It has a great high-gain sound. It does not get muddy. The distortion is not like a Marshall or Mesa Boogie. It reminds me of a Soldano Avenger in a way. I'm not saying it's that good, but a similar kind of distortion break up, except dryer, flatter and more focused.

That's all I can remember about it. Oh, except that they are built like Fort Knox. They look like they were built to last a lifetime.

If I were shopping for a Genz-Benz, I'd be looking at the Black Pearl. It doesn't do high-gain but it sounds better than the El Diablo. It has better cleans, better overdrive, but doesn't get enough overdrive for soloing. I think it kind of gets about as much as a Vox AC30. The Mesa Boogie Electra Dyne kind of reminds me of it.
 
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Re: Genz Benz El Diablo

I have the combo and the head.

That is a good price. I got mine new for $600.

The combo sounds better than the head.

Clean is a simple BMT tone stack with reverb and gain.
it sounds a bit "dry" at lower volumes. Dime the gain and channel volumes with the master above 3 and you get breakup that cleans up with your volume control.

Dirty? Surgeon and ubermetal said it all. I found it fuzzy and compressed at low volume in 60w mode, decent in 30w. When you bring up the master and channel volumes to 4 or better, you really see what this amp is about.
It is not a bedroom amp at all. I use mine at home mostly these days tho.
I deal when my family is home. I can say that i look forward to days off during the week to get that sound!

The dirty channel has the contour, attack, and treble influencing the high end in different ways. Finding the balance and understanding how the interact is key.
The high gain switch seems more voicing change than adding huge amounts of gain. It adds some but not THAT much.
the compression switch gives a similar boost in gain as the gain switch. This makes the amp a chunky metal monster. Leads become that much smoother.

IMO it also likes g1265 type speakers. The stock speaker is ok and i was able to get decent sounds with it, but the wgs et65 i put in makes finding what i like easier.
the combo cab has a stupid amount of low end.

I think these got a bad reputation from guys that ran it through gflex cabs at low volumes. I could be wrong. Probably am.

Mine isn't going anywhere.
 
Re: Genz Benz El Diablo

End of thread metal? Like you are an authority? I seem to remember you ordered a head and cancelled it before it shipped based on internet video demos, no? If you can't be helpful or have nothing but internet based experience to go on, do the op a favor and not post.

We get it, you prefer other amps/sounds.
i, for one don't like engls, rectos, or 5150s.
i do like mesa marks and most of their newer british sounding offerings.
i will own a mark one day.

The fact is it can sound mesa-ish, marshally, or 5150-ish depending on tube complement and how you set it up. It has a much better clean and is overall tighter than the "recto" sound. I haven't been able to dial in that fizzy topped, loose bottomed tone yet. At low volume it lacks a bit, but it isn't a bedroom amp. It was meant to be played loud.

An el diablo is guilty of being nothing more than an el diablo.
the designers built it with the lead player in mind. They also weren't going for another amp's sound. Hence nothing sounds quite like it

Let's see:
better cleans than a recto
Excels at mid gain sounds
Can do blues, jazz, rock, hard rock, classic metal, modern rock well
can't do death type metal on its own. With a pedal? You bet your ass!
oh it has a great reverb too.


Isn't it well documented that a recto and 5150 are poor men's soldanos?
Isn't also well documented that the recto needs a ts9 boost to tighten it up?
an eldiablo needs no such thing, it is tight enough.
 
Re: Genz Benz El Diablo

Juanhanglo said:
End of thread metal? Like you are an authority? I seem to remember you ordered a head and cancelled it before it shipped based on internet video demos, no? If you can't be helpful or have nothing but internet based experience to go on, do the op a favor and not post.

We get it, you prefer other amps/sounds.
i, for one don't like engls, rectos, or 5150s.
i do like mesa marks and most of their newer british sounding offerings.
i will own a mark one day.

The fact is it can sound mesa-ish, marshally, or 5150-ish depending on tube complement and how you set it up. It has a much better clean and is overall tighter than the "recto" sound. I haven't been able to dial in that fizzy topped, loose bottomed tone yet. At low volume it lacks a bit, but it isn't a bedroom amp. It was meant to be played loud.

An el diablo is guilty of being nothing more than an el diablo.
the designers built it with the lead player in mind. They also weren't going for another amp's sound. Hence nothing sounds quite like it

Let's see:
better cleans than a recto
Excels at mid gain sounds
Can do blues, jazz, rock, hard rock, classic metal, modern rock well
can't do death type metal on its own. With a pedal? You bet your ass!
oh it has a great reverb too.


Isn't it well documented that a recto and 5150 are poor men's soldanos?
Isn't also well documented that the recto needs a ts9 boost to tighten it up?
an eldiablo needs no such thing, it is tight enough.
Click to expand...

Don't get drawn into MetalManiac's thing. He likes to say some crazy stuff and it's better just to let him get it out. Even though I think Genz-Benz makes really good amps, I have to disagree about it being better than a rectifier. Mesa Boogies ALWAYS have great cleans. I haven't heard one yet that didn't have a great clean channel. Their reverb is ALWAYS good. I never heard anyone complain about Mesa reverb except Fender affectionados. Rectifiers are also quite good at playing blues and pretty much any mid-gain tone.

I wouldn't get caught up in the whole Mesa vs the world thing. The OP needs good info and why crap up someone's request with nonsense? I'd like to see Genz-Benz (Fender) step up and make some new models. In fact, I have to wonder whether the Machete was inspired by someone on the Genz-Benz (now Fender) team. Not that it sounds anything like a Genz-Benz because it's all Fender flavor, but some things about the tone shaping is eerily similar.
 
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Re: Genz Benz El Diablo

I never said a genz was better than a recto. It is just another flavor to sample. Equally good but different at the same time.

I try to give pertinent helpful info in areas and on things that i have such to give.

Metal jumps into most threads and does crap like that. Gets annoying after awhile.

Out of all the mesa's, the recto has the weakest clean. IMO of course.

I respect what a recto does, for others. I don't gel with them. again IMO

Sadly, Genz Benz is no longer making guitar amps. Just bass amps and speaker enclosures for guitar and bass. A shame as they had some unique ideas and approaches to amp building.
 
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Re: Genz Benz El Diablo

Juanhanglo said:
I never said a genz was better than a recto. It is just another flavor to sample. Equally good but different at the same time.

I try to give pertinent helpful info in areas and on things that i have such to give.

Metal jumps into most threads and does crap like that. Gets annoying after awhile.

Out of all the mesa's, the recto has the weakest clean. IMO of course.

I respect what a recto does, for others. I don't gel with them. again IMO

Sadly, Genz Benz is no longer making guitar amps. Just bass amps and speaker enclosures for guitar and bass. A shame as they had some unique ideas and approaches to amp building.
Click to expand...

I was wondering about that. However, there is a dealer here who says they still order Genz-Benz amps from the factory.
 
Re: Genz Benz El Diablo

Uber, the machete is pretty badass! i wouldn't kick it outta bed.

you are right on about the "tune" knob. it is very much like the genz's contour feature, just reverse rotation.
both are similar to blackstar's isf feature come to think of it.

good to see fender getting into the game. i forgot about fender acquiring genz benz. It seems logical that fender would rather them not make guitar amps. what was the last good fender bass amp? the bassman? lol
Genz kicks major ass in bass gear.
 
Re: Genz Benz El Diablo

According to genz themselves, they stopped production a while back.

they where thinking of building another batch but decided not to.

they still have stock left on el diablos in head and combo form. the 100w combo is gone forever.

their amps are some of the most misunderstood in the business.

the black pearl is also a highly underrated amp with some cool features.
take an ac30 , add a voicing switch, fxloop(?), on board boost, and power selection. nice!


out of the ordinary amps for out of the ordinary people i guess.
 
Re: Genz Benz El Diablo

The other thing to keep in mine with the El Diablo is that the tone knobs are active EQ not passive like most other amps. It amkes a big difference when you decide to tweak a knob.

If it were not so heavy I would still have my 60C. They weighed a ton.
 
Re: Genz Benz El Diablo

Geez! What a bunch of lightweights!

Boo hoo. It's too heavy. Waaaaaaa!
Lol
just kidding. The combo only weighs like 65 lbs, but it feels like a hundred sometimes.
I blame the handle. The gflex and the el d 100w have the corner handles. They make moving much easier. More amps should use them.
 
Re: Genz Benz El Diablo

I used one for a few months during a "battle of the bands" thing and thought it was pretty nice. I didnt use the GFlex cab though. The Tribal with the Private Jacks sounded better to me. High gain had a really neat grind and the cleans and reverb were really nice. But....its been cleared up above.
 
Re: Genz Benz El Diablo

Vasshu the humanoid typhoon said:
Love the Blackpearl amp....
Tried a few of their bassamps as well.
Had a customer who needed a light and powerful combo, the Genz Benz did so in spades.
Click to expand...
The Black Pearl/ is/was a REAL nice amp.
A BP Head, into a 2 x 12, with your favorite pair (or mix) of Eminence Speakers is a joy to hear/play.
Would be interesting to hear from GB why (apart from the obvious) they stopped making guitar amps.
 
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