Genz-Benz Shuttle 6.0-12T in live situations?

[Brelic]

Hello everyone,

This is my first post

What a great site full of information!!

Anyway, I've been playing bass for about 20 years, and have just recently returned to live gigs. For a long stretch, I did nothing but studio work.

So, I didn't have any gig worthy amps kicking around, and have been renting for the past 2 months while I was 'testing' out my new band Seems we're all good, so...

Did lots of research and trying out, and kind of narrowed it down to the Genz-Benz 6.0-12T. I'm not interested in spending $2000+ for an amp/cab at this point. We do small-ish gigs (my arena-rock days are mostly over, but man, they were sooo fun!) in bars, clubs, etc, and will typically have between 50-150 people or so, but probably closer to 75 on a regular basis (small town, small bars).

My question is: will this amp (running at 375W@8ohms in the combo config) be sufficient for live work? I will probably run direct out. Stages are nice and cozy and there are 5 people in the band (drums, bass, 2x guitar, vocals).

Will I be fighting just to hear myself, or should 375W (with the possibility to move up to 600W@4ohms in the future) be sufficient??

Any insight would be greatly appreciated!

[RickenBoogie]

It *might* be, but if you were to add an additional 12" ext cab, it would almost certainly be enough. It's more to do with having more than one spkr, than anything else.

[fettbass]

Hi Brelic, welcome to TB!

I think a shuttle 6 12t can be a gigworthy combo on its own, If you play with musicians that are mindful of their dynamics. If you play with a heavy handed drummer,or an overly loud guitarist though, it might become problematic. For my jazz gigs and smaller funk fusion gigs, I run a shuttle 6 through a TC electronics RS112, and I never have to crank it. Again, that's probably because I'm blessed to play with a good drummer who keeps his volume in check.

In my experience, watts aren't always indicative of volume. I run a shuttle 6 through a 4 ohm 4x10, and a friend of mine runs a markbass sa450 (300 watts @ 8 ohms, 500 @ 4 ohms) through an 8 ohm 4x10, and there is very little actual volume difference. The shuttle 6 is fantastic, and if you add another 8 ohm 1x12 you should be able to play most any stage, with some PA support.

[Brelic]

Awesome, thanks for the quick replies!

We play mainly rock-based stuff (from classic rock to modern hard rock) and it can get quite loud. The rental I have is a 200W Traynor Dynabass amp... not bad, and there has only been one gig so far where I was unable to hear myself properly (and I still had a little headroom left)...

So, I'm hoping this amp will do the trick. I guess if I start playing a few large venue gigs, there's no harm in renting a few 4ohm cabs to get'er done!

[fettbass]

Just be careful about the minimum ohm load for your amp. 2 4 ohm cabs will put your amp at a 2 ohm load, which is bad, and might put the amp into protection mode. if you get 2 8 ohm cabs, you'll be at 4 ohms, which is safe. For example, 2 8 ohm 1x12s will give you the shuttle's full 600 watts at 4 ohms.

[kander]

I've used the Shuttle 6.0 with an Ampeg 410HLF on many gigs: medium-sized bars to clubs/venues in Philly and it has not disappointed. It is a great amp.

[alexofc69]

I had the Shuttle 6.0 -210. It is the same 375w into the cab. It was ok for small bar gigs, but you will be finding yourself wanting more. I added a Genz Benz NEOX 112 and it was a whole new beast. all 600w available and was good for mid-large venues and with PA support I would say you could do even extra large to small arenas. I sold off the Shuttle 6 and 2x10 and got the Streamliiner 600 and another 112. So the STL600 and two 112s is another ball game.

[babebambi]

tell us what you've been renting
seems like those worked for your gigs

maybe we can make more realistic recommendation based on those

[chuck norriss]

i agree w everyone
while lovely on its own add extension & you'll bulldoze
i play the 3.0+8 w/ a 610. loud.

[Brelic]

Originally Posted by fettbass

Just be careful about the minimum ohm load for your amp. 2 4 ohm cabs will put your amp at a 2 ohm load, which is bad, and might put the amp into protection mode. if you get 2 8 ohm cabs, you'll be at 4 ohms, which is safe. For example, 2 8 ohm 1x12s will give you the shuttle's full 600 watts at 4 ohms.

Ahh, thanks for the clarification. An impedance specialist, I am not!

So, two 8ohm cabs will put the load at 4 ohms. One 4 ohm cabinet will put the load at 4 ohms. And I'm assuming you can't mix impedance levels?

[Brelic]

Originally Posted by babebambi

tell us what you've been renting
seems like those worked for your gigs

maybe we can make more realistic recommendation based on those

I have the Traynor Dynabass 200W combo amp (Traynor Amps: Bass Combos) . It's not too bad, and has been able to serve as a decent monitor on stage except for one time where I couldn't hear myself very well.

[philter25]

Its my current gig rig.

The answer depends on the size and your volume and who you compete with.

For small venues and practices, I use just the Shuttle 6.0-12T combo and its just enough for stage volume and to fill the small venues. I also run through the PA for support if needed so mainly I just need stage volume.

For bigger gigs with more people, get the matching extension cabinet. Its perfect. Ive been using it for 75% of my live gigs and I dont need PA support until we reach medium sized venues.

[fettbass]

Originally Posted by Brelic

Ahh, thanks for the clarification. An impedance specialist, I am not!

So, two 8ohm cabs will put the load at 4 ohms. One 4 ohm cabinet will put the load at 4 ohms. And I'm assuming you can't mix impedance levels?

You can mix impedance levels. I'll explain the formula to calculate ohms, let me know if I'm being unclear.

If you have two 4 ohm cabs, wired in parallel, the full way to find the final resistance is as follows.

1/(1/ohm rating of first cab + 1/ohm rating of second cab)

for two 4 ohm cabs, that would be
1/(1/4 +1/4) =
1/(2/4)=
1/(.5)= 2ohms

Let's say you wanted to mix a 4 and 8 ohm cab

That'd be

1/(1/4+1/8)=
1/(2/8+1/8)=
1/(3/8)=
1/(.375)= 2.666667 ohms

So it wouldn't be safe to run an 8 ohm and 4 ohm cab together on the shuttle 6, as you'd be at 2.67 ohms, which is below the minimum rating.

[modulusman]

Brelic, One of the bands I play with is a classic rock band playing the same sized venues you described. I use just the shuttle6.0-12t with no extra cab and it works fine. I do run a line out to the PA on some of the bigger gigs. The nice thing about the shuttle rig is it has the kickstand on the bottom so you can aim the amp at your ears if need be.