Bass Player Magazine, High End Corner:
Glockenklang Amp System
Plugging in a Fender Jazz Bass and cranking up the Glockenklang system, we
were immediately impressed by its sound. Even with the EQ set flat, it's hard
to imagine a more detailed, hi-fi, deep, and overall pleasing bass tone. Notes
sound full, powerful and clean, and double-stops—even low-register fifths—resonate
with surprising warmth yet without a trace of mud. Part of the reason is the
power section's Class A circuitry: the oldest of the amp designs, Class A sacrifices
efficiency for warmth and clarity and is the preferred design of hi-fi-stereo
connoisseurs. (For information on other amp designs, see the November '97 power-amp
Shootout.)
lf the flat tone weren't good enough, consider the EQ—its five bands are
all exquisitely voiced and sound good no matter the setting. (Frequency centers:
60Hz, 130Hz, 750Hz, 4.2kHz and 12kHz.) We especially liked the low MID control;
while clean, hi-fi tone sounds great solo, it often gets eaten up by loud guitars
and drums, and the Glock's LOW MID circuit adds creamy warmth in just the right
frequency slot. At various EQ settings, the lows never got sloppy, the high-mids
never honked, and the highs didn't get harsh (although the TREBLE control did
accentuate hiss, of course).
Other features of the Heart-Core head include passive and active instrument
inputs, effects loop (activated via a front-panel switch or a footswitch), headphone
jack, tuner-out jack (the speaker-out jacks can be muted via a front-panel TUNE
switch or a footswitch), and XLR Dl-out jack. A power-amp protection circuit
kicks in momentarily if your signal exceeds a set threshold. The Quattro enclosure
features Volt drivers made exclusively for Glockenklang, one Fostex tweeter,
and two Neutrik Speakon input jacks.
At $2,895 list, the Bass Art head is a bit less powerful (300 watts) than the
Heart-Core, but it sounds just as good—perhaps even better. The Heart-Core
has a slightly ballsier, heavier tone, while the Bass Art excels at top-end
articulation. The Bass Art also has several additional features, including a
4-pole XLR LINE DRIVER IN jack (an alternate input for use with the optional
Glockenklang line driver) and two bands of semiparametric EQ along with BASS
and TREBLE controls.
ls a Glockenklang rig worthy of its over-$5,000 price tag? lf you're struggling to make ends meet, probably not. But if only the very best will satisfy your gear tones, check out a Glock—if for no other reason than to hear what near-perfect tone sounds like.
—Karl Coryat
Heart-Core Head
Made in: Germany
Power rating: 400 watts into 4 Ohm
Weight: 27 lbs, 9 oz
Quattro 4x10 Cabinet
Made in: Germany
Impedance: 4 Ohm (also available, in 5 Ohm)
Power rating: 800 watt
Weight: 75 lbs
Reprinted with permission from BASS PLAYER Magazine, February 1998
© 1998 MILLER FREEMAN INC. All Rights Reserved.