All Genz Benz products on "standby" by Fender ?? - Page 37

Bassist30 · #**721** 01-28-2013, 05:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tombowlus

Those are the shizz, for sure. I think that the 800 Pro and TB600/1200 are also very excellent heads which never got the love that they deserved.

But, like many of you, I'm hoping that Fender utilizes Jeff and Andy and continues to offer high quality lightweight heads/cabs, regardless of what brand they put on it at the end of the day.

If that is the case , it reminds me of the way Gibson took over Tobias basses. Genz products are popular as you see here on TB. Do you think Fender might completely take over leaving Genz Benz to start a new company.

staccatogrowl · #**722** 01-28-2013, 05:38 PM

I heard that Fender just purchased Talkbass. . . just to close this thread. . .

Bassist30 · #**723** 01-28-2013, 05:48 PM

Or maybe purchased it to keep it open. They like power.

SteveC · #**724** 01-28-2013, 06:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by staccatogrowl

I heard that Fender just purchased Talkbass. . . just to close this thread. . .

😄

60bass · #**725** 01-28-2013, 06:18 PM

FWIW I emailed Jeff a couple days ago with a question about service on one of my amps. He returned my message promptly and let me know where to take it for service.

So not a problem as far as I'm concerned and all is good on my end now.

**BFunk** · #**726** 01-28-2013, 06:41 PM

I think it is a mistake to assume that the popularity of GB on talkbass reflects the brand awareness in the real world. To my nephew, a budding bass player, they are another brand he never heard of until I mentioned it to him. Also, remember that Fender bought KMI, not Genz Benz. When they were looking to purchase, they probably looked at market share across a number brands in the KMI portfolio. They also looked at operations, distribution, manufacturing, etc. They crunched some numbers and came up with a number. The only value they considered is the value to the investors.

**svtb15** · #**727** 01-28-2013, 07:09 PM

I was going to get the Fender TBP-1 preamp to have in my studio a few years ago.....but figured ehhhhh what the heck, go for the whole thing and i got a TB1200.. That amp is a monster... And used it for a short while as a power amp that does 2 ohms with my SM9.2 as the preamp..,, That was pretty amazing and shook any fat thats on your body...
It appears that the discontinued the TB series....

Quote:

Originally Posted by tombowlus

Those are the shizz, for sure. I think that the 800 Pro and TB600/1200 are also very excellent heads which never got the love that they deserved.

But, like many of you, I'm hoping that Fender utilizes Jeff and Andy and continues to offer high quality lightweight heads/cabs, regardless of what brand they put on it at the end of the day.

60bass · #**728** 01-28-2013, 07:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by svtb15

I was going to get the Fender TBP-1 preamp to have in my studio a few years ago.....but figured ehhhhh what the heck, go for the whole thing and i got a TB1200.. That amp is a monster... And used it for a short while as a power amp that does 2 ohms with my SM9.2 as the preamp..,, That was pretty amazing and shook any fat thats on your body...
It appears that the discontinued the TB series....

I looked at the TB1200 too but ended up going for the GBE1200 instead. Just liked the GB tone and feature set better. If you pop the lid and look inside the layout of both amps is remarkably similar.

The GBE was a beast. I needed a huge big amp at that time and I ran it hard at 2 ohms never failed to deliver the goods. I sometimes regret selling it but at this point in time I just don't need a huge amp anymore.

I've got a contour 500 with the 15 now plus a focus 15 for underneath it when I need it. Its plenty loud enough and easy for my 61 year old back to move

**svtb15** · #**729** 01-28-2013, 07:57 PM

Yes.. I still have my GBE1200 too... Great amp... I would run it with 4 112s at 8 ohms each on hot outdoor summer stages. Never a hicup... Just a killer reliable amp....Its just that my streamliner or SM9.2 get all the work these days....

The contour is a great combo....... I had a 210 for a while to demo..... I wish i had a 115 contour combo now..... Something i need to think about...

mattbass6945 · #**730** 01-28-2013, 08:00 PM

i can't imagine how big the 1200 sounds. i have the gbe 600 and it kills! never had it past 11 o'clock!!!

60bass · #**731** 01-28-2013, 08:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mattbass6945

i can't imagine how big the 1200 sounds. i have the gbe 600 and it kills! never had it past 11 o'clock!!!

It is devastatingly loud

. I ran it with an Ampeg 410 HLF and an Avatar 410 Neo @ 2ohms up against 2 100 watt Marshall full stacks with a loud drummer and I still had headroom. Just really a great amp. Yeah we played loud LOL! Eventually went to the UBER 212 in a different group and it was a great setup. The 212 is a real nice cab.

Now I jam with some guys with smaller amps and good dynamics doing blues and classic rock stuff so that's why I moved to the Contour combo. Easy to move and kicks like a Genz should!

rapidfirerob · #**732** 01-28-2013, 09:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 60bass

FWIW I emailed Jeff a couple days ago with a question about service on one of my amps. He returned my message promptly and let me know where to take it for service.

So not a problem as far as I'm concerned and all is good on my end now.

Can you post his email address here please? I emailed on the GB site and got a Fender rep. It would just be nice to have Jeff's email address. Thanks a lot.

guy n. cognito · #**733** 01-29-2013, 03:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by staccatogrowl

I heard that Fender just purchased Talkbass. . . just to close this thread. . .

Given all the hysterics in this thread, this actually made me LOL!!!

guy n. cognito · #**734** 01-29-2013, 03:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by two fingers

If Jeff is there, he will get it as right as the boss will let him within a certain cost/budget range. There's a difference. He's not in control of every decision. He can DESIGN the great amp. And then the bean counters can say "Make something that looks exactly like that but costs $75 less per unit to build." Not that they would, but they can. Just pointing out that even if Jeff is the bass amp super hero you claim he is, he doesn't control every aspect of a bass amp from the first sketch to the final product that lands on the shelves of your favorite or least favorite store. He works within SOMEONE ELSE'S parameters. That may or may not equal a bad amp, but it's at least part of the whole equation.

Jeff hasn't been the boss since 2003. It's amazing what people don't panic about when they don't know about it............

Bassist30 · #**735** 01-29-2013, 05:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by guy n. cognito

It's amazing what people don't panic about when they don't know about it............

Great line. Outside of that, I don't think he would ever not make amps and cabinets no matter which road he chooses. So there will always be Genz Benz.

bassman2 · #**736** 01-29-2013, 05:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rpsands

Let's figure out what they should call the new line.

Fenz Benzder?

Fender Benzer

mattbass6945 · #**737** 01-29-2013, 05:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by guy n. cognito

It's amazing what people don't panic about when they don't know about it............

classic sig line! this made me lose my coffee!

BuffaloBob4343 · #**738** 01-29-2013, 11:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by guy n. cognito

Jeff hasn't been the boss since 2003. It's amazing what people don't panic about when they don't know about it............

This is not entirely true. While he may not have been the owner since 2003, he was allowed to run the company as if he was still the boss under Kaman. So he may not have been "the boss" de jure, but he was still certainly the de facto boss. He continued to develop products and run the business free of any meaningful interference.

This is really not very much different from going public. For a publicly traded company, you are no longer "the boss" in an ownership sense either. It is the shareholders as a group who are the owner and you still have to answer to them or possibly lose your job. Nevertheless, you are afforded the position of running the company as you see fit, at least as long as the Board of Directors, as representative of the shareholders, permits you.

So why would anyone panic? He and we had the best of both worlds. He was able to cash in his chips, and he now had the kind of cash behind him that could fund the development of some really nice products of his and Andy's own creation. He saw to the day-to-day of the business pretty much as he had before the sale to Kamen.

Apparently, this was the case until quite recently. So why the panic now? Because apparently the new boss ain't the same as the old boss.

Many of us who followed Genz from the beginning knew they were bought out and took comfort that they were allowed to run themselves. For those who came along later, they knew the Genz Benz that was allowed to operate as they have for the past 8-9 years, pretty much independently of "ownership.".

So I think it is quite understandable while some are torqued a bit by this change, given the history of the company to this point.

Limeman · #**739** 01-29-2013, 04:12 PM

+1.

I can't say I've seen any panic going on here, merely talk and discussion (and a lot of sarcasm and joking... all good!) about what may/may not happen. All we can do is wait and see what transpires - hopefully it will be even better designs from Jeff and Andy in the near future. Time will tell.

Bassist30 · #**740** 01-29-2013, 05:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Limeman

+1.

I can't say I've seen any panic going on here, merely talk and discussion (and a lot of sarcasm and joking... all good!) about what may/may not happen. All we can do is wait and see what transpires - hopefully it will be even better designs from Jeff and Andy in the near future. Time will tell.

Exactly