A day of hard bargaining with my man in China... - Page 2

Matt Ides · #21 02-10-2013, 10:46 AM

That you tube video is a poor example. I added a spring loaded handle to the bottom of mine to angle it up. As DM has said the head is removable so very easy to use with a bigger rig. If The place has a good sound system I use the direct out to FOH. I have yet to max out the combo and run out of head room.

My one and only experience with the Roland Cube makes me believe you'll want more power/volume and you'll hit the peak of the amp pretty fast. Use a per-amp for sure.

Spanky123 · #22 02-10-2013, 01:30 PM

Thanks for that, Matt. Can I ask what Cube you tried? They range from 10 to 120 watts. I have a 10-watt guitar cube that fits in my back pocket, and for what it is, it can't be beat. The other reason I like the cube is because there is a lot of variety in amp models and effects, all of which I am sure sound decent, if for no other reason than to make practice sessions a bit more inspiring. (I am probably not going to use the flange and distortion much in jazz gigs, but when spending 45 minutes on scales, I find it helps to flip the dials just to stave off boredom).

I am still thinking about the Genz Benz. If you happen to know of any other videos I would greatly appreciate a link. I also might just wait for a ten inch to come around on Ebay. (I'm down under. Shipping is a factor for everything).

DoubleMIDI · #23 02-10-2013, 09:03 PM

A bass collegue I met about 25 years ago had a Roland Cube 80 or 100 at that time and said it sounded good but has a bit too less power.
And have a look if the amp has its full power with the internal speaker or only with an additional extension speaker.
My Polytone amp is rated 120W but delivers only 80W with the internal speaker only. For 120W I would need an externsion speaker.
I'm sure you don't want to carry an extension speaker around and your combo and it gets more expensive to get an extension speaker too.

Spanky123 · #24 02-16-2013, 04:31 AM

I Bought the Genz Benz with the 8 inch speaker. Sounds sublime at low volume but when I turn it up I get a bad mid-rangey vibration sound. I can't figure out what's going on. Nothing is loose. It is not the amp -- I plugged the speaker into another amp as an extension speaker and it still hummed. $600 bummer. Any ideas what to do?

Everything is tightly screwed in. I checked everything obvious. My guitar sounds fine through it. It appears to be a low frequency phenomenon. Is this just a case of an 8 inch speaker not being able to handle it? I tried neutralizing the EQ section. Still the same problem if I turn it up.

DoubleMIDI · #25 02-16-2013, 07:32 AM

First ask the company you bought it from or Genz Benz direcly how to open the box to find out if anything is loose that can be tightened by the user. Tell them you are located in Australia and you might get better help than send it back for repair. Maybe they send you a replacement speaker or can give you an adress in Australia.
The Australian Genz Benz distributor is www.billyhydemusic.com.au

Beyond checking if the is something got inside the speaker (through the holes at the back or something fallen off the inside of the box) which is rattling (which I think you already did):

If something rattles inside and cold move freely, try to get it out of the rear openings. If you cannot, remove the front grill, then remove the arge speaker and have a look inside. Use a small mirror if needed and some kind of a small lamp to see the inside. If something is loose, you might be able to fix it through the speaker opening.

I would ask for your problem in one of the older Genz Benz Shuttle 3.0 amp threads here on talkbass rather than here. You can reach much more Genz Benz users that way.

I never tried to open my 10T-box, but if I need to do that, I would do it like I described it before. I have my amp only for about 6 weeks, but I'm very happy with it.

Matt Ides · #26 02-16-2013, 01:41 PM

Swanky, are you getting real vibrations or just a loud hum? I know earlier models of the 3.0 are noisy at loud volumes, especially bad when the low boost is engaged. Also, have you tried it in another room? I thought I had something loose in the ext. cab I have only to realize something was rattling in another room.

I have cranked mine pretty loud with no issues, FYI.

DoubleMIDI · #27 02-16-2013, 02:24 PM

When I boost the lows and go loud I will hear the airflow at the rear openings, not so good.
But if it rattles INSIDE the cab (and not in the room or the next room through an open door) either something is a bit loose or completely free to move inside.

If you cannot decide it for yourself, make a recording and put it in here.
Also tell us your dialing of the amp, it may help.

Did you look for the limit LED on the input gain?
It should not light up (or only a very little bit for the loudest sections of your playing).

Spanky123 · #28 02-16-2013, 04:38 PM

Thanks, DM,

Yes the input signal does sometimes light when I get this sound. I lowered the preamp section so I do not get a red light, and turned up the master volume to compensate. Same effect, leading me to think it is not an electronic problem. I am getting nowhere near the volume I should with this thing. I made an MP3 but it cannot be heard well in the recording I made, and I will make another one. It is definitely not a rattle. It is a steady, buzzing hum in the midrange There is definitely not something loose in the cabinet. My diagnostics were pretty thorough. The speaker appears fine, no tears.

The only thing I can think of is, before I noticed this, I plugged in a guitar stompbox into it (Zoom G2, popular model, nothing unusual) and strummed. The input was a little hot and the limiter turned blue and there was an odd electrical sound. Not high in volume, though. I tried again and it played just fine. In fact I can turn the volume much higher with no problems with a guitar as opposed to bass.

I am still unsure if this thing is defective or not. I contacted Genz Benz by email. They sent back an auto response requesting that I call them. Will try on Monday.

delta7fred · #29 02-16-2013, 05:04 PM

You could try a PM to agedhorse, a Genz Benz development engineer and TB member who regularly advises on GB problems over on the BG side.

Spanky123 · #30 02-16-2013, 06:23 PM

Thanks, Fred.

DoubleMIDI · #31 02-17-2013, 08:42 AM

Hi Spanky123,

I'm sure the limiting is no problem. I got the limiter lighting once too (checking out for maximum volume).

I usually cut down the bass eq a bit when it gets louder.
The speaker cannot handle the low note 1st harmonic, so it makes sense to cut them down to avoid overloading the speaker.

If the speaker is overloaded, you might get better results when using a FDeck HPFpre and cut down the lows with it. The HPFpre has variable frequency and fixed steepness, the amp pre's have fixed frequency and variable steepness. So it acts differently and could be adjusted to keep as much as possible but not more. The HPFpre might be hard to get if you don't have someone to forward it from the US. A HPFpre version 1 or 2 should be fine.

Did you try another speaker with the Genz Benz amp? (Just to be completely sure the amp is OK.)

Did you check the rear openings for heavy air flow during playing? This might be the reason for some noise if it gets a bit louder.
Does the noise come more from the speaker membrane side or the rear?

I think you shpuld find out as much as possible first and then ask Genz Benz or a developer like delta7fred suggested for advice.

Perhaps read the Genz Benz Shuttle 3.0-8T threads (use the search function for 8T or 3.0-8T) again.
You might get a better impression from other users reports weather this is normal or not and what to expect from an 8T.

Spanky123 · #32 02-17-2013, 11:52 PM

I will call Genz Benz on Monday. Tried all EQ settings. Now, I get the same sound at all volumes. I found this thread that suggests the possibility that the cabinet is not broken in yet.

Is Genz Benz Neox-112T mismatched with Shuttle 6.0?

Along with the possibility that it is blown. I will see what Genz says.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DoubleMIDI

Hi Spanky123,

I'm sure the limiting is no problem. I got the limiter lighting once too (checking out for maximum volume).

I usually cut down the bass eq a bit when it gets louder.
The speaker cannot handle the low note 1st harmonic, so it makes sense to cut them down to avoid overloading the speaker.

If the speaker is overloaded, you might get better results when using a FDeck HPFpre and cut down the lows with it. The HPFpre has variable frequency and fixed steepness, the amp pre's have fixed frequency and variable steepness. So it acts differently and could be adjusted to keep as much as possible but not more. The HPFpre might be hard to get if you don't have someone to forward it from the US. A HPFpre version 1 or 2 should be fine.

Did you try another speaker with the Genz Benz amp? (Just to be completely sure the amp is OK.)

Did you check the rear openings for heavy air flow during playing? This might be the reason for some noise if it gets a bit louder.
Does the noise come more from the speaker membrane side or the rear?

I think you shpuld find out as much as possible first and then ask Genz Benz or a developer like delta7fred suggested for advice.

Perhaps read the Genz Benz Shuttle 3.0-8T threads (use the search function for 8T or 3.0-8T) again.
You might get a better impression from other users reports weather this is normal or not and what to expect from an 8T.