Review: Genzler Amplification MAGELLAN-PRE/DI PEDAL

Review of the Genzler Amplification MAGELLAN-PRE/DI PEDAL…

Over the last few years, Genzler Amplification has planted itself in the pantheon of modern electric bass amps with their Magellan series amplifiers, and several series of incredible sounding bass cabinets including the Bass Array and Nu Classic series. Genzler fans love their great tone, smart feature set, and excellent design and build quality.  Those familiar with Genz Benz will no doubt remember decades’ worth of their forward-thinking, industry-leading bass amplification. More recently, Genzler has released their line of powerful and intelligently thought out bass pedals, several having been reviewed here by yours truly including the Crash Box 4 – Classic Distortion, 4 On The Floor Classic Overdrive, and re/Q Dual Function EQ Pedals.  The newest pedal from Genzler Amplification, the MG-PRE-PEDAL takes the preamp and EQ section of the great sounding and beloved Magellan amplifiers and puts it in a pedalboard-friendly layout, complete with extensive EQ, dual Contour Filters, and a Studio Quality XLR DI output, as an all in one, fully analog bass preamp/DI solution.

The MAGELLAN-PRE offers bassists a huge amount of sonic control, courtesy of a 3-band EQ with sweepable midrange, a variable High Pass Filter, and two Contour Circuits, toggled with a footswitch.   Input Gain and Master Volume controls ensure proper signal management in, through, and out of the pedal.  

Turning up Contour A boosts lows and highs while simultaneously cutting mids, while Contour B Provides a variable pre-shaped curve with attenuated high mids and highs, a low mid bump, and a slight roll-off of the lowest bass frequencies.  Dialing in these two controls gives the MG-PRE two completely different sonic signatures switchable via footswitch.

I snuck the MG-PRE onto my pedalboard for a gig recently and was more than satisfied with its performance. Like the Magellan Heads, the EQ is configured beautifully for bass guitar, and the semi-parametric midrange was just the trick for cutting awkward frequencies in the room or adding punch in just the right midrange frequency.   I am always happy to see a variable high pass filter, which works wonders for cleaning up the low end on a boomy stage by sharply cutting below the set frequency (25Hz-120Hz range) while leaving usable low end above the set point intact. The result is a thick, punchy bottom end without the mud or the undesired rumble. 

As with all of the Genzler products, the build quality is fantastic with robust jacks and knobs, smart color-coded LED status monitoring, and easy-to-read intuitive graphics and lettering.  

In addition to standard ¼” input and output jacks, the MG-PRE features a line-level aux input, and a headphone output, making it a mean practice tool.  A studio-quality XLR DI output (complete with pre/post EQ switch and ground lift) rounds out the feature set, making it perfect for an “end of the line” pedalboard preamp.  

Accepting 9-18 volts and only drawing 80mA with top-mounted jacks, it couldn’t be much more pedalboard friendly. 

The MG-PRE joins the ranks and contends strongly with other pedalboard pre’s on the market while delivering the impeccable tone that the Genzler Magellan amps are known for, all for a pretty competitive price point of $299.    If you’re considering a pedalboard preamp DI to increase your tone shaping and EQ options, this one should be on your shortlist.  For more info, visit Genzler’s website.