THE GENZ BENZ Black Pearl 30® DESIGN
The Black Pearl 30® is based on the classic Class A, EL84, 30 watt platform.
In the development of this guitar amplifier we referenced the most sought after vintage and “boutique” amps
available for our performance and tone standard. We then added a design feature set and GENZ BENZ build
quality that makes the Black Pearl 30® a versatile and “tour-tough” tone source for the most discriminating
professional musician.
CLASS A:
The Black Pearl 30® operates in cathode biased, Class A mode. This method of power tube
operation eliminates harsh, zero-crossing distortion and generates warm, lush, musical output tube breakup.
Another hallmark of Class A operation is it’s exemplary dynamics. The Black Pearl 30® is highly touch-
sensitive; every subtlety and nuance of the player’s technique are reproduced making the amplifier an
extension of the guitar and the player’s hands.
NO FEEDBACK / OPEN-ENDED:
In order to stabilize the tone of an amplifier, most designs include a
significant amount of global feedback in their power amplifier signal path. It is an easier way to design a power
amplifier, but unfortunately it dampens dynamics and desirable harmonics resulting in a lifeless tone and feel.
With the Black Pearl 30® we’ve taken painstaking time in creating a carefully executed design and layout that
remains stable without the use of global feedback. Incredibly rich harmonics, musical output tube breakup and
a wonderful feel is the result. Just the right amount of sag and soft, tube compression is present to let your
notes respond and sing.
EMINENCE® RED FANG™ ALNICO SPEAKERS:
Alnico speakers contributed greatly to the wonderful
tones produced by vintage, Class A designs. Their sensitivity was partly responsible for these amps dynamic
response as well. Due to Alnico’s expense, speakers using this magnet material fell out of wide use in the
1970’s and they are now only found in premium speakers such as the Eminence® Red Fang™.
We conducted blindfold tests in a room full of speakers made with different magnetic and cone materials from
several respected manufacturers and we chose the Red Fangs™. They bring a perfect combination of warmth,
bite and thickness with a very musical midrange to the Black Pearl 30®. They are also highly touch-sensitive.
The BP30-112 and BP30-212 models use the 12” Eminence® Alnico Red Fang™ loudspeakers and
the BP30-310 utilizes a newly developed 10” version of this premium speaker. We worked closely with
Eminence® in developing this 10” Red Fang
™
, assuring its tonal match to the Black Pearl 30® amplifier.
The Red Fang™ 10” reproduces wonderful punch and chime along with a stellar focused midrange vocal quality.
The tight triangular configuration of the speakers in the BP30-310 enhances the big tonal foot print of this design.
FRONT PANEL OVERVIEW:
INPUT JACK
– The ¼” input is unbalanced and high impedance to allow for the correct matching of the
instrument’s pick-ups with the amplifiers tube buffered input circuitry.
VOLUME CONTROL –
This control sets the preamp volume/gain of the input stage. Use this control in
conjunction with the Master Volume control. The Volume control also interacts with the Boost level settings.
