Shuttle amps and small rigs

AlembicBob · #1 04-26-2011, 01:41 PM

I have been looking at these as a guy in a band that is getting more bookings and wants to carry less stuff. My concern/question is why there are so many of these offered in the For Sale section? I wouldn't want to ask that on anyone's sale thread, but what's the deal here? If these things are so great, why are there so many people selling them?

I also saw the thread that suggests that the TC450 is more powerful than some other amps with higher wattage ratings. Are the Shuttle amps optimistically rated?

FYI, I'm coming from a rig of a tupe pre into one side of a PLX 2402 into a single 4 ohm cab. I really enjoy the headroom, and want to stick with an "overpowered" solution if I can.

Thanks-

harleyboy · #2 04-26-2011, 01:43 PM

I wonder why too? Subscribed!

scowboy · #3 04-26-2011, 01:43 PM

Shuttle 9.0 seems realistically rated. I had one and ended up selling it. I'm going to get another one though based largely on it's power output.

bucephylus · #4 04-26-2011, 02:46 PM

IMO, there is a lot of flipping at the moment for two reasons: 1) GB just brought out the Streamliner, which is a different thing, and some cats are going that direction; 2) there are a bunch of other micro amps, GK, TC, MB etc etc, and a lot of cats are flipping through them trying to find what they like best.

For the moment, I am using a S9 to drive a Berg NV610. In that case, the S9 seems to have PLENTY of headroom to spare. My experience with the Shuttles at least is that their output seems to be somewhat reactive with the cab being used. To me, they tend to choke up on some of the smaller cabs. Give them a bigger, fairly efficient cab, and they will run clear. This is just my player perception; rightly or wrongly. GL

boing · #5 04-26-2011, 02:46 PM

Certain amps/brands get a lot of traffic on TB. Lots of members jump on them early to try them out, have their fun, and move on to the next toy. Flipping gear is just part of the TB culture, especially given that pretty much anything that's cutting edge in bass gear gets talked about here first.

It doesn't help that a company like Genz keeps upping their game with new product releases.

**cheezewiz** · #6 04-26-2011, 02:52 PM

The Shuttle amps are a bit optomistically rated, at least my 600 was. Don't let this deter you though. They are great sounding, extremely light, wonderful amps.

Floridabwoy · #7 04-26-2011, 02:55 PM

Great amp...

everyone wants a streamliner

/thread

noahw1 · #8 04-26-2011, 02:57 PM

At some point I probably will be selling my Shuttle 6.0 because I want to buy a Streamliner. I'm currently running my 6.0 with two Avatar neo b210 cabs and they are pretty ineffecient cabs forcing me to push the 6.0 pretty hard. Once I get the SL900 I will probably look into getting new cabs, specifically a pair of GB Neox 112s.

I was at the Genz Benz clinic with Jeff Genzler and Doug Johns and while there they ran a 6.0 with the 10" cab which sounded pretty great and then without changing anything they plugged the amp into a GB UBer410 cab and it was HUGE! Amazing really.

It's already been mentioned but I think the key with the Shuttles are to have good effecient cabs. That being said when I play my regular gig I never have to push the amp and have plenty of headroom.

NWB · #9 04-26-2011, 03:30 PM

I've never run out of steam with my Shuttle 6.0. It seems to handle nearly any playing situation just fine.

Also, you may want to consider the lack of "My Genz amp broke down" threads here. They seem to have an excellent record of reliability.

gregbackstrom · #10 04-26-2011, 03:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlembicBob

I have been looking at these as a guy in a band that is getting more bookings and wants to carry less stuff. My concern/question is why there are so many of these offered in the For Sale section? I wouldn't want to ask that on anyone's sale thread, but what's the deal here? If these things are so great, why are there so many people selling them?

I also saw the thread that suggests that the TC450 is more powerful than some other amps with higher wattage ratings. Are the Shuttle amps optimistically rated?

FYI, I'm coming from a rig of a tupe pre into one side of a PLX 2402 into a single 4 ohm cab. I really enjoy the headroom, and want to stick with an "overpowered" solution if I can.

Thanks-

I can't speak for other sellers, but I sold mine because I prefer my new Streamliner 900! The Shuttle is a great amp though ...

It's cool to have a choice of SO MANY powerful, small, light weight bass amps -- especially when SEVERAL of them come from Genz Benz!

-Greg

bassplayerbob · #11 04-26-2011, 03:39 PM

I bought the 3.0 combo and love it. Yes it does sound fuller when i hook up my Hydrive 410 to it though, but that little 1x10 holds it own pretty good.

Brian_L · #12 04-26-2011, 03:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by noahw1

I was at the Genz Benz clinic with Jeff Genzler and Doug Johns and while there they ran a 6.0 with the 10" cab which sounded pretty great and then without changing anything they plugged the amp into a GB UBer410 cab and it was HUGE! Amazing really.

I was at the clinic they did in Albuquerque last Saturday. They did the same demo with a Shuttle 3/10, then they plugged in to a 12/8/8/t and the UB15.

Just the little baby 3/10 was jaw dropping in how it filled the room with sound. Of course, Doug's chops had something to do with that, but when they went to the stack, it was even more impressive.

Brian

Medford Bassman · #13 04-26-2011, 08:54 PM

i use the Shuttle 6.0 and a NEOX 212 cab. pretty massive sound when I need it. IMO

Russell L · #14 04-26-2011, 09:28 PM

My Markbass 121H combo is amazing in how much quality sound I get from it. As some of you know, I'm debating on whether to add another 121H cab to it or start over with something else. I might just add the 121H and be done, though, since it's so easy to do. Then, I can debate about something else later.

I agree with the statement that with so many new things on the market that everyone is trying stuff out, selling it, and trying something else out. It's not that the stuff is bad (although some bad stuff exists), but more that there is a huge curiosity in what's available nowadays.

AlembicBob · #15 04-26-2011, 09:54 PM

Well, I'm trying to buy a 900 right now. Hope it works out, and I'm looking forward to dropping 45 pounds or so off the weight of my gig rig...

Thanks for the thoughts - I figured that it was the latest greatest fad amp that everyone wanted and that some of those people would be flippers. I don't need a lot of color from my amp, so it doesn't take much to keep me satisfied on that front.

philter25 · #16 04-27-2011, 06:38 AM

^ Sounds like youd be happy with the S9 then. I have the 6.0 with a 2-112 setup and Im very very very happy with it. With the 2-112 cabs pulling the full 600 watts at 4 ohms, I have plenty of headroom for medium sized gigs. Lightweight, loud, and its so small that it can fit in my 2 door coupe.

And +1 to what the other guys said about flipping. On TB, you have a lot of guys who jump on the "next big thing" fad and flip amps. And then there are some guys who are just gear junkies who want to try everything out.

The shuttles are fantastic little amps, I just think that when the streamliner came out a few months ago, a lot of people picked it up and flipped their shuttles for one.

It really just depends on your tone preferences. All these little micro's are very slightly different.

Im willing to bet there are guys on here who have owned over a dozen cabs or heads in the past year. I havent even owned a dozen of cabs and amps total in my lifetime!

Reading threads on new amps makes you want to try them out, and unfortunately most local music stores dont keep everything in stock. My local GC carries the GK MB series, usually a bunch of ampegs, the cheaper ampeg combos, the cheaper Fender rumble combos, Mesa Walkabout, maybe a Mesa Carbine, the acoustic B200 and combos, and a random selection of MarkBass stuff.

Its the same thing with cabinets. For some people, the only way to play a Shuttle, Streamliner, Little Marks, Orange, or a Bergantino, Aguilar, Genz Benz, or any other product is to buy it on here and give it a try.

Downunderwonder · #17 04-27-2011, 06:48 AM

Setting a record for GAS resistance there Bob.

AlembicBob · #18 04-27-2011, 09:57 AM

I have very light GAS, but not really for something "different", just different configurations of what I already use. I have a couple Schroeder cabs (1212R, 21012L), but I want a 1212L or 1210L to lighten up a few pounds and fit small stages more easily. I'd love to pick up a Zon VB5 to gig with instead of the Sonus 5 I've been using, and then I'd have what I would consider the ultimate easy moving gig rig. I almost jumped on a TC450 a few weeks ago,

I am actually considering mounting my new shuttle on my pedal board. Anybody do this with these smallish light heads? I'm using a heavy 10' speaker cable anyway, no need to also use a 10' cable between the last effect and the amp, right?

As far as real GAS goes, I have suppressed my love of the tone of a Mesa 400 into a 2x15 cab for almost 30 years now. While maybe not the most versatile or appropriate to my gig, that would be the core of "my tone" if I were at a level where someone else was maintaining and carrying my gear. I'm sure most of us have rigs we would play if there were no other restrictions imposed.

-bob

sricks3 · #19 04-27-2011, 09:58 AM

I LOVE my Shuttle 6.0. I'm part of the minority that's not actually super excited about the Streamliner (maybe I'll be converted one day). I run my Shuttle 6.0 through an Avatar SB112 (rig's only running at 8ohms for now), and I'm planning on keeping both for quite some time. I'm very pleased with this setup.

bucephylus · #20 04-27-2011, 10:09 AM

I'll just add that the cab thing is real head scratcher for me, way more so than the various micro head options. I spent considerable resources on a fairly elaborate rig with a SM12 and 2 Schroeder 1212BMF cabs, in an attempt to modularize my "big" capability; with the intent to sell the NV610. Interesting, if expensive lesson. Taken alone, a single 1212BMF sounds pretty good after a little eq'ing for what its size is. But, stacking two of them just gives louder of the same and never gets to the girthy feel that, say a good 4x10 or preferably the NV610 gives. So, the NV stays. GB has some nice cabs; but, when one gets into this micro thing, the tendency is to try to extend the approach to the cabs. So far, I'm not too impressed with any of the smaller modular approaches. Micro heads like the Shuttles - thumbs up; cabs...exercise caution, IMO.