Odin
2003-09-25 23:19:57 UTC
First, let me commend Stu and Mike at Fat Sound Guitars (
http://www.fatsoundguitars.com/ ) for their excellent customer service.
They were friendly, helpful and prompt in every aspect of the sale. Their
prices are competitive (much lower than MSRP and comparable to anyone else
online) and their customer service exceeds most others from what I've seen.
The Germino arrived via UPS today. I immediately unpacked it and
inspected it. Being that it was shipped via UPS, I was looking for damage.
Being that it was shipped via UPS, I found damage. The amplifier chassis
mounts to the back panel with 4 bolts, and the back panel mounts to the
cabinet with 4 wood screws. The amp had been handled in a manner so as to
cause one of the screws holding the back panel (which supports the chassis)
to strip out of the wood where it mounts to the cabinet. This caused the
chassis to be sagging in one spot. I removed the back panel, checked
everything out and reinstalled it. Everything is fine now, although I
should probably add 2 more screws to the back panel to offer additional
support to the chassis. I would prefer to see the chassis supported through
the cabinet top (like a blackface Fender) but it's done like a Vox with the
tubes horizontal. There are arguments for mounting the tubes horizontal and
it's not a big deal, but I think I'll reinforce the chassis mounting.
The fit and finish of the cabinet is excellent. The chassis wiring is
excellent as well. The beauty of a single channel PTP amp like this is that
it is so simple and easy to work on in the unlikely event it ever needs
working on. The components all appear to be high quality and everything is
neatly and securely built.
The controls are basic "plexi" Marshall: Inputs 1 (Hi & LO), Inputs 2
(HI & LO), Normal Loudness, Hi Treble Loudness, Treble, Middle, Bass,
Presence, square "plexi style" red indicator lamp, Standby Switch and Mains
Switch. There is an impedance selector on the underside of the chassis
(4-8-16 Ohms) and 2 speaker inputs. This is obviously the same chassis as
used in the head. The single Celestion G12M (25 watt "greenback") speaker
has a high quality phone plug to connect to the amp. Greg Germino also
included a "jumper" cable made from George L cable with brass connectors to
bridge the channels of the amp. Electro Harmonix tubes.
I fired up the amp, let it get warm and tuned the PRS. Plugged in and
hit the standby switch. My initial impression was that this amp is LOUD.
However, and this is a good thing, all 4 inputs are usable. On a "real"
plexi Marshall the bright input is way too bright and the normal input is
way too muffled and muddy. The Germino is playable into any of the 4
inputs, each sounding a bit different from the others. I bridged the inputs
and plugged into the hi bright input. The amp is very "plexi Marshall"
sounding, which is surprising because it uses 6V6 power tubes. It breaks up
fairly early on the volume knob (around 4) and is very overdriven above 6.
Anything over 8 is too much, and I preferred the volumes on both channels
around 4-6. As with any plexi style amp the 2 volume controls are
interactive. All of the tone controls are also usable, something I can't
say for most "real" Marshall plexi amps. Marshalls controls tend to go from
0-10 with nothing in-between, especially the volume knobs. All controls are
very gradual and usable.
How does it sound? Like a plexi Marshall. Is that good? Yes. And no.
Yes, in that I want a "cranked plexi" sound, but something that I always
struggled with in the older Marshalls is also present here. That is the
"harshness" or brightness that a plexi tends to exhibit when it's cranked
up. I tend to dial in my amps a bit on the dark side and when I listen back
to gig recordings or go out in the audience with the wireless I realize that
I'm lacking some much needed bite in my sound. This amp has got "bite".
I'm not used to it, so I'll have to tweak the controls a bit at the gigs
this weekend to see what I can find. Also, you don't need to run much bass
on this amp because it tends to muddy the sound. It will go from
scream/grind to Marshall clean (not Fender clean) with the volume knob.
The Celestion G12M speaker isn't "broken in" and it shows. These
speakers always sound sweeter when they've been played a bit IMO and I
expect this one to settle in some after this weekend of playing.
I can see where one could easily use nothing but this amp and a guitar
to gig with, no effects, but I wanted to try my pedals through the amp.
Since the amp is already fairly overdriven at gig volumes the Fulldrive II
didn't make a huge difference in gain. The boost feature of the FD2 added
plenty of compression and gain, too much for anything but leads (which is
all I use the boost for). My Fat Boost is the early version designed for
single coils so I rarely use it with the PRS. The new Fat Boost has more
clean boost for humbuckers. The Dyna Comp really works well into this amp
creating endless feedback at will and smooth lead tones. The Germino seems
to take to pedals better than the Dr Z in that the pedals become a part of
the sound with the Germino. With the Dr Z the pedals always seem to color
the sound and seem like they're "on top" of the amp's sound. This might be
due to the fact that the Dr Z is a cleaner sounding amp with less gain. The
Fulldrive II sounds very good with the Germino Masonette, very transparent
and natural.
As a final test I plugged in the Dr Z Maz 38 Senior 2x10 next to the
Germino Masonette 1x12 and hooked them up to an A/B/Y switch. The tonal
difference between the Dr Z and the Germino are startling. The Maz 38 is
much smoother and cleaner while the Masonette is very aggressive and
crunchy. This amp makes me think the Dr Z is closer to a Vox than to a
Fender, although the Maz is not very Vox-like IMO. But the Germino is
definitely got the classic Marshall sound. I didn't care for both amps on
at the same time. I don't know that I want to lug both amps to gigs, so I'm
not certain what I'll do at this point. I really need to gig the Germino a
couple of times to get a feel for it (you can't tell much playing alone at
home). If I use the Germino live I may need an attenuator or an overdrive
pedal, because, yes it's that loud.
A review of the amp's performance with the band will follow after this
weekend's gigs.
Oh yeah, it smells like a Marshall or Vox. My Dr Z smells a little like
a Vox. Nothing smells like a Fender except a Fender. I don't know what it
is that causes certain tube amps to have a peculiar smell, but they each
have their own smell once you get the tubes cooking.
http://www.fatsoundguitars.com/ ) for their excellent customer service.
They were friendly, helpful and prompt in every aspect of the sale. Their
prices are competitive (much lower than MSRP and comparable to anyone else
online) and their customer service exceeds most others from what I've seen.
The Germino arrived via UPS today. I immediately unpacked it and
inspected it. Being that it was shipped via UPS, I was looking for damage.
Being that it was shipped via UPS, I found damage. The amplifier chassis
mounts to the back panel with 4 bolts, and the back panel mounts to the
cabinet with 4 wood screws. The amp had been handled in a manner so as to
cause one of the screws holding the back panel (which supports the chassis)
to strip out of the wood where it mounts to the cabinet. This caused the
chassis to be sagging in one spot. I removed the back panel, checked
everything out and reinstalled it. Everything is fine now, although I
should probably add 2 more screws to the back panel to offer additional
support to the chassis. I would prefer to see the chassis supported through
the cabinet top (like a blackface Fender) but it's done like a Vox with the
tubes horizontal. There are arguments for mounting the tubes horizontal and
it's not a big deal, but I think I'll reinforce the chassis mounting.
The fit and finish of the cabinet is excellent. The chassis wiring is
excellent as well. The beauty of a single channel PTP amp like this is that
it is so simple and easy to work on in the unlikely event it ever needs
working on. The components all appear to be high quality and everything is
neatly and securely built.
The controls are basic "plexi" Marshall: Inputs 1 (Hi & LO), Inputs 2
(HI & LO), Normal Loudness, Hi Treble Loudness, Treble, Middle, Bass,
Presence, square "plexi style" red indicator lamp, Standby Switch and Mains
Switch. There is an impedance selector on the underside of the chassis
(4-8-16 Ohms) and 2 speaker inputs. This is obviously the same chassis as
used in the head. The single Celestion G12M (25 watt "greenback") speaker
has a high quality phone plug to connect to the amp. Greg Germino also
included a "jumper" cable made from George L cable with brass connectors to
bridge the channels of the amp. Electro Harmonix tubes.
I fired up the amp, let it get warm and tuned the PRS. Plugged in and
hit the standby switch. My initial impression was that this amp is LOUD.
However, and this is a good thing, all 4 inputs are usable. On a "real"
plexi Marshall the bright input is way too bright and the normal input is
way too muffled and muddy. The Germino is playable into any of the 4
inputs, each sounding a bit different from the others. I bridged the inputs
and plugged into the hi bright input. The amp is very "plexi Marshall"
sounding, which is surprising because it uses 6V6 power tubes. It breaks up
fairly early on the volume knob (around 4) and is very overdriven above 6.
Anything over 8 is too much, and I preferred the volumes on both channels
around 4-6. As with any plexi style amp the 2 volume controls are
interactive. All of the tone controls are also usable, something I can't
say for most "real" Marshall plexi amps. Marshalls controls tend to go from
0-10 with nothing in-between, especially the volume knobs. All controls are
very gradual and usable.
How does it sound? Like a plexi Marshall. Is that good? Yes. And no.
Yes, in that I want a "cranked plexi" sound, but something that I always
struggled with in the older Marshalls is also present here. That is the
"harshness" or brightness that a plexi tends to exhibit when it's cranked
up. I tend to dial in my amps a bit on the dark side and when I listen back
to gig recordings or go out in the audience with the wireless I realize that
I'm lacking some much needed bite in my sound. This amp has got "bite".
I'm not used to it, so I'll have to tweak the controls a bit at the gigs
this weekend to see what I can find. Also, you don't need to run much bass
on this amp because it tends to muddy the sound. It will go from
scream/grind to Marshall clean (not Fender clean) with the volume knob.
The Celestion G12M speaker isn't "broken in" and it shows. These
speakers always sound sweeter when they've been played a bit IMO and I
expect this one to settle in some after this weekend of playing.
I can see where one could easily use nothing but this amp and a guitar
to gig with, no effects, but I wanted to try my pedals through the amp.
Since the amp is already fairly overdriven at gig volumes the Fulldrive II
didn't make a huge difference in gain. The boost feature of the FD2 added
plenty of compression and gain, too much for anything but leads (which is
all I use the boost for). My Fat Boost is the early version designed for
single coils so I rarely use it with the PRS. The new Fat Boost has more
clean boost for humbuckers. The Dyna Comp really works well into this amp
creating endless feedback at will and smooth lead tones. The Germino seems
to take to pedals better than the Dr Z in that the pedals become a part of
the sound with the Germino. With the Dr Z the pedals always seem to color
the sound and seem like they're "on top" of the amp's sound. This might be
due to the fact that the Dr Z is a cleaner sounding amp with less gain. The
Fulldrive II sounds very good with the Germino Masonette, very transparent
and natural.
As a final test I plugged in the Dr Z Maz 38 Senior 2x10 next to the
Germino Masonette 1x12 and hooked them up to an A/B/Y switch. The tonal
difference between the Dr Z and the Germino are startling. The Maz 38 is
much smoother and cleaner while the Masonette is very aggressive and
crunchy. This amp makes me think the Dr Z is closer to a Vox than to a
Fender, although the Maz is not very Vox-like IMO. But the Germino is
definitely got the classic Marshall sound. I didn't care for both amps on
at the same time. I don't know that I want to lug both amps to gigs, so I'm
not certain what I'll do at this point. I really need to gig the Germino a
couple of times to get a feel for it (you can't tell much playing alone at
home). If I use the Germino live I may need an attenuator or an overdrive
pedal, because, yes it's that loud.
A review of the amp's performance with the band will follow after this
weekend's gigs.
Oh yeah, it smells like a Marshall or Vox. My Dr Z smells a little like
a Vox. Nothing smells like a Fender except a Fender. I don't know what it
is that causes certain tube amps to have a peculiar smell, but they each
have their own smell once you get the tubes cooking.
