Genz Benz. Unknown to me until now, although years ago I did try the famous Tube Works distortion pedals, which apparently turn out to be the same brand. Specifically, the model I have just played is the IVAC65-112. It is a hybrid that uses tubes in the distortion channel, with 65 real watts and a punch that feels like 100 watts.
Clean
The clean channel is very transparent, with no distortion at all regardless of how hard you play. The interesting thing is that you can blend in the sound of the distortion channel in parallel, which gives very wide possibilities for those clean-channel sounds with a touch of overdrive. Mixing these two channels is very interesting and really caught my attention.
Overdriven
The sound of the distortion channel reminded me of the Tube Works pedals I mentioned at the beginning. Interestingly, it uses the 12AX7 tube, which is the one I used for years in the various Mesa Boogie preamps I have worked with. I think it is a very good choice. The distortion amount control lets you go from a warm overdrive sound full of natural harmonics to a fairly powerful distortion rich in sustain.
Tube texture
I came across a section called the Tube Texture Section. It consists of three controls for shaping the distortion channel: attack, presence and body. The attack control obviously adds "attack" to the note, and also sustain, which makes it a very useful function when playing legato. The body knob acts as an EQ that boosts frequencies around 125 Hz and makes the sound thicker, though no less clear. The presence control boosts the midrange frequencies around 3 kHz, although personally I preferred to keep this control at its midpoint at all times.
EQ and effects
The EQ is very good and quite accurate in targeting frequencies. It has bass, low mids, high mids and treble. I found the mid parameters especially decisive in dialing in a tone.
The reverb is perhaps what I liked most. It is a spring type, very warm, wide and rich. The decay is smooth and natural, and it blends perfectly with the direct sound. Really beautiful, and it is very pleasant to play with the clean channel and a little reverb.
In addition, it has a gain control, the "boost switch," which gives the distortion channel a very powerful punch, ideal for rock contexts.
Speakers
It uses a 12" Celestion speaker.
Finally, just as technical information, it has two speaker outputs, a headphone output, an XLR direct out and an effects send and return.
Conclusions
In my opinion it is a good and very versatile amplifier. I think it can adapt to the most diverse styles, and it also seems very tough in terms of construction. As always when David sends me an amplifier for my opinion, my recommendation is that the ideal thing is to test it thoroughly with your usual instrument and see what happens.
