Genzler Kinetix 800

The one I’ve been waiting for

This is the Kinetix 800 from Genzler, and honestly, I’ve been waiting for this amp for a long time. Indeed, if you know Jeff Genzler, you also know he was the founder of Genz Benz. For me personally, the amps that stood out back then were the Class D amps with a tube preamp. Therefore the Kinetix 800 feels like the most natural amp Genzler could release.

In fact, I think most bass players would agree on one thing. The romantic sound ideal is an old school tube amp of some sort, right? However, those are big and heavy. Nevertheless, with this one you get really close to that ideal, in a box that weighs just 3.3 kg.

Three 12AX7s and a Class D power section

The preamp is all tube, with three 12AX7 tubes running at a full 300V plate voltage. As a result, you get the characteristics of real tubes: a warm, deep sound that glues everything together. Meanwhile, the power section is a Class D module with 800 watts.

Specifically, that’s 400 watts at 8 ohms and 800 watts at 4 and 2.67 ohms. In other words, it can drive up to three 8 ohm cabinets, so you have power for days. In addition, it measures just 8.26 x 28.58 x 28.89 cm.

Gain, volume and boost

First, on the front you have the input, and then a boost/mute switch with an 8 dB boost. Next, you have the gain and the volume for the first tube. In other words, the gain is basically how hard you drive the tubes.

For example, you can go from subtle to full overdrive if you want to. In the middle you get a nice, mellow tube compression, and for me that’s where it sounds fantastic. Finally, the volume sets how much goes into the EQ section.

Lean, Fat and Thick

Before the EQ there’s a toggle switch with Lean, Fat and Thick. Specifically, it’s three different high pass filter settings with different low end response curves. Basically, it’s Genzler’s way of letting the tubes react like they would with different cabinets.

For example, Lean is like an old school 60s cabinet with no ports. As a result, you get a dry and very controlled sound. Fat, on the other hand, gives you more bass, like a big cabinet. Finally, Thick goes even lower in the frequencies.

Tube driven 5-band EQ

Furthermore, the EQ runs on tubes 2 and 3, and it has five bands. You get bass ±13 dB at 70 Hz and lo mid ±10 dB at 250 Hz. In addition, there’s mid +6/-11 dB at 575 Hz and hi mid ±11 dB at 2.3 kHz. Likewise, the treble is ±13 dB at 5 kHz. Then you have the master volume.

However, when you switch it on, the standby LED tells you the tubes are warming up. That takes around 13 seconds. Consequently, you have to give it a moment before you play.

The back panel

On the back you have the voltage selector, and please be careful here. Because it must be set to the correct voltage, you should always check it before you plug in. Similarly, the impedance selector has to match the total speaker load.

Besides, you get two Speakon outputs, a serial effects loop for your pedals and a tuner output. In addition, there’s a headphone output and an aux input for music, so you can practise along with your tracks.

Above all, the DI is a balanced, tube driven XLR output. Moreover, it has ground lift, pre/post and line/mic level. Therefore it works for front of house, a mixer or your computer.

Back to the groove

In my opinion, this is the amp for the player who loves an old school tube amp. However, you don’t want to carry one, right? Above all, you get real tubes, 800 watts and a great DI in a 3.3 kg box. I really dig it. So, what’s not to like? Back to the groove.