Genzler Amplification Crash Box 4

The Genzler Amplification Crash Box 4 is an all-analog distortion pedal for bass, the third effects pedal in the Genzler product line¹. Where the company's 4 On The Floor covers classic overdrive, the Crash Box 4, in the words of Genzler, "takes up where their original 4 ON THE FLOOR Classic Overdrive Pedal leaves off," serving up four levels of grittier and more aggressive distortion for bassists¹. A 4-position "Gear" selector switch moves between four distortion characters that Genzler says dynamically emulate tube and solid-state distortion circuit topologies, and a parallel clean signal path with a clean blend keeps your low end intact underneath the drive¹.

Bass Musician Magazine's reviewer Jake Wolf described the pedal's place plainly: "the Genzler Crash Box 4, Classic Distortion picks up where the 4 on the Floor leaves off, serving up four levels of gritty and aggressive distortion for bassists"².

The four gears

The core of the pedal is the 4-position distortion "Gear" selector switch. Each gear is a different clipping character, described by Genzler as follows¹:

In practical terms, the gears run from a tube amp's moderately driven channel at 1st Gear to the most aggressive, heavy distortion at 4th, with the harmonic balance shifting from even-order richness toward odd-order edge as you shift up. Because the descriptions come from Genzler's own product page, treat them as the maker's account of the sound rather than an independent one¹.

Clean blend and filter controls

Two features do most of the work of keeping a distorted bass sound usable¹²:

• Parallel clean signal path with clean blend. Your dry signal runs alongside the distortion engine, so you can dial in as much or as little of the untouched low end as the mix needs.
• HPF/LPF section. An input high-pass filter on the overdrive engine is adjustable from 30Hz to 200Hz, and an output low-pass filter is adjustable from 1kHz to 14kHz. As Bass Musician Magazine's Jake Wolf put it, "an HPF/LPF section allows you to reign in the top and bottom end of the overdrive character"²¹.

The high-pass filter thins the lows feeding the distortion engine, which keeps the driven signal from getting flubby, while the low-pass filter rolls off the harsh top end after the clipping stage. Wolf's overall verdict on this control set: "it really offers a myriad of control over precise distortion characteristics, allowing players to get it just right for their preferences, gain staging needs and touch sensitivity control depth"².

The pedal also carries a High/Low Sensitivity switch to accommodate higher or lower output basses, a feature it shares with the 4 On The Floor². Genzler's specifications list input sensitivity at -20dBu nominal on high sensitivity and -10dBu nominal on low sensitivity¹.

Power and headroom

The Crash Box 4 accepts power supplies from 9VDC to 18VDC of the low noise type, and it auto-detects either polarity, so you do not have to worry about center-positive versus center-negative supplies¹. Current draw is 40mA max¹.

Higher supply voltages buy headroom. Genzler's specifications show how the maximum input and output levels scale with the supply voltage, measured with DRIVE at 9:00¹:

For players with hot active basses or who want the clean blend to stay cleaner at high drive settings, the 18V figures mean more room before the front of the pedal itself clips¹.

Designer and place in the Genzler line

The Crash Box 4 continues the collaboration between the Genzler Amplification design team and Andy Field, a former Genz Benz engineer¹. In the Genzler pedal line it takes up where the original 4 On The Floor Classic Overdrive Pedal leaves off¹. Genzler positions it as "an excellent compliment with our other pedals and either of our MAGELLAN 350 or MAGELLAN 800 bass amps"¹.

The pedal is built in a black lightweight aluminum chassis with rugged stomp switches, at 1.1 lb (0.5kg) and 5" wide by 4.1" deep by 2.3" high, small enough for a crowded bass pedalboard¹.

What reviewers said

The Crash Box 4 has been reviewed by the German magazine Gitarre & Bass, whose test of the pedal is published at gitarrebass.de¹. Beyond that press coverage, the maker's own description of the pedal's two gears gives a picture of its intended character: 1st Gear is reminiscent of a tube amp's moderately driven channel, with natural harmonics and a bit of compression when driven hard, while 2nd Gear emulates a tube amp's more heavily overdriven tone, with more odd order harmonics and compression, depth and top-end¹.

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