Gollihur Series Bass Acoustic Array Pro Amplification (Exclusive)

This new "Gollihur Series" Acoustic Array Pro, made specifically for bassists, has truly transparent sound, with the same "width" of stage coverage as the regular Bass Array cabinets. And that's as expected, since that's basically what it's packing under the hood - a BA10-2 Bass Array cabinet, being driven by the brains and power of Genzler's fantastic new acoustic instrument amp.

Jeff Genzler is a fairly regular visitor to the Gollihur Music HQ, and he recently brought one of his fabulous new Acoustic Array Pro amps (for guitar) for us to check out.

We loved it (Christopher, also a talented guitarist, put it through its paces), and we even tried it with upright bass. It was a little bit too "shy" down low, in my opinion, due to using a more guitar-friendly woofer, but it still sounded quite good. Jeff was interested to see if it might work for double bassists, and I thought that it had potential; the features built into this amp are the kind that are on almost any bassist's wish list - high-impedance inputs, XLR (mic) inputs with phantom power, multi-band EQ, high quality DIs...

I couldn't help thinking: "Wouldn't it be great if we could use the killer head in this thing, and pair it with the guts of the Bass Array 1x10, for upright bassists?"

Jeff thought that was a pretty nifty idea, too. So we put our heads together and made it happen! This amp is the result of that partnership.

The dual-channel front end provides for either multiple instruments or dual-source options -- do you want to blend a mic and a pickup? Two mics? Go for it, dude!) One of our bass friends, self-professed "gear junkie" Rick Wolff, also suggests that using a simple A-B footswitch, you can optimize one channel's volume and tone for arco and the other channel for pizz, and switch between them with a simple foot tap.

The instrument inputs, with a 5 megohm input impedance, allow you to use a fully passive piezo pickup without any need for fiddling with any external preamps. A 3-band EQ and contour control - on each channel - allow for precise tone-shaping, and a phase switch can help with feedback troubles. For clear and tight bass response, a (fixed) High-Pass Filter is built into the amp, which is set just under 40 Hz. This filter (aka a "low-cut filter") provides better clarity in the low end, and removes some of the low frequency flutter and extended lows that can rob the amp of power.

The amp can also very convincingly amplify electric bass guitar, with a punchy sound and plenty of "in-your-face-ness" if needed; so for you doubling players out there, you can plug your upright into one channel, and your slab into the other - while there's no channel switching, there are separate volume knobs for each channel, so you can go back and forth pretty quickly with a simple knob turn (or use the volume knob on your electric bass and a docking station on your upright.) And you can still send separate feeds to the house with the assortment of DIs on the back panel.

The combo's power section delivers a hefty 150 watts to its internal speaker array, meaning - it's rated at 150w but has plenty of headroom to really make the cabinet "shout" if necessary. And if you add the additional matching extension cabinet (or another speaker of your choice), you'll be pushing 300 watts through the pair. It's a formidiable, yet very compact, combo; excellent sound, really nice depth, and enough volume for almost any gig (if it's not loud enough to carry the room, you're probably playing through the house PA already anyway). Its smart design with the "angled-up" front panel really puts the sound up where you can hear it, even if it's on the floor - and you can even pole mount this amp -- a pole mount socket is built into the bottom!

And it has clever built-in DI options - for use in large gigs where you need to send your signal to the house and use your amp for onstage monitoring. There's a master (post-EQ) DI output, as well as a pair of pre-EQ DIs (one for each channel) if you want the soundman to mix and process your source blend.


COMBO FEATURES:

• Two Identical Preamp Channels w/Mic and Instrument Inputs
• Phantom Power for Condenser Mics (12v for small electret style condensers)
  • NOTE: This phantom power may not be suitable for a full-size condenser mic, like a large-diaphragm mic that requires 48v power - however, it has been confirmed to work well with the DPA 4099 mic.
• Signal Phase Reverse Switch
• Contour Circuit for Quick Tonal Adjustments (great for dialing in a quick electric bass sound)
• Active EQ w/Sweepable Mids
• Adjustable Digital Effects (Reverb and Chorus) on Each Channel
• Innovative Bass Array™ Speaker System Design
• 10" Woofer w/4 x 2.5" Cone-driver Line Array
• Slanted Cabinet Design for Improved Projection
• Ultra-lightweight 27 lb Compact Cabinet Design
• Power Output: 150 W (combo); 300 W with Extension Cab
• 3 XLR Direct Outputs
• Effects Loop
• Auxiliary Input
• Standard Pole mount socket on bottom of cabinet for putting the combo up in the air!

COMBO SPECIFICATIONS:

• Power Output: 150 Watts / 8 ohms; 300 Watts / 4 ohms (with extension cabinet)
  • The Acoustic Array™ PRO uses a state of the art, Class D power amplifier design and a high frequency auto-sensing universal switch-mode power supply (SMPS) to achieve unprecedented high performance in a lightweight package. For global use, there are no Voltage Switches to change or jumpers to move. This SMPS senses the line voltage from 100-240 Volts and automatically configures itself.

• Speaker System Frequency Response: 55 - 20K Hz
• Operating Power condition: 100 - 240V, 50/60 Hz
• Dimensions: 16.75"H X 15.75"W X 13.75"D (42.54cm H x 40.0cm W x 34.92cm D)
• Weight: 27 LBS (12.24 Kg)

COMBO PREAMP --- Identical dual channels with Mic and Instrument inputs on each.

• INPUT -- 5Meg ohm input impedance on instrument input, mic impedance on XLR. XLR has 12v phantom power.
• MIC AND INSTRUMENT INPUTS --- on each channel. These inputs can also be used simultaneously together on each channel.
• CHANNEL VOLUME – Voiced to provide natural, pristine, transparent reproduction of the instrument.
• INPUT PHASE SWITCH – reverses the polarity of the instrument input to help control potential feedback.
• CONTOUR -- continuously variable control of a pre-shaped curve that boosts lows and highs while simultaneously cutting Mids. The slope is fairly gentle which keeps the tone shaping very musical. This curve covers a wide range of EQ and offers a quick and simple starting point for EQ adjustments.
• ACTIVE EQUALIZATION – The AA-PRO contains an active 3 band equalizer with a sweepable parametric mid-range frequency control.
• Bass +/- 15dB boost/cut shelving curve with a corner frequency of 75Hz
• Mid +/- 15dB boost/cut of the variable mid frequency selected
• Freq. Variable mid frequency from 200Hz- 5kHz
• Treble +/- 15dB boost/cut shelving curve with a corner frequency of 7.5kHz
• Digital Effect --- Each channel has its own set of REVERB and CHORUS level controls that provide the user with the most flexibility in having either or both effects on each channel. The parameters of each effect are variable at the Master Section with the Reverb Time and Chorus Rate controls.

COMBO REAR PANEL

• XLR Direct Output – 3 Outputs
• Channel 1 – Pre-EQ
• Channel 2 – Pre-EQ
• Global: Ch1 and 2 -- Post EQ
• Ground Lift Switch
• Effects Loop
• Aux Input
• Head Phones
• Foot Switch – EFFECTS CANCEL (Foot switch not included)
• Dual 1/4" Outputs

EXTENSION SPEAKER SPECIFICATIONS:

• Power Rating: 150 Watts @ 8 ohms (perfectly matched to the combo)
  • Speaker System Frequency Response: 55 - 20K Hz
  • Operating Power condition: 100 - 240V, 50/60 Hz
  • Dimensions: 13"H X 15.75"W X 13.75"D (33.02cm H x 40.0cm W x 34.92cm D)
  • Weight: 22.2 LBS
  • Standard Pole mount socket on bottom of cabinet for putting the cabinet up in the air!
  The speaker has matching aesthetic design to the combo, and for stability there are 4 raised screw heads provided on the top corners of the extension cab so that they lock into the rubber feet of the combo when stacked.