Genz Benz Shuttle and overdrive

[hydrofluoric]

(Not sure if this was an amp topic or effects topic, so I thought I'd try both.)

I'm thinking of making a substitute for a heavy, tube overdriven amp with a good amount of power (about 600W) for live practice and the capability for quiet practice inside my dorm. So far I am looking at the Genz Benz Shuttle 6.0.

So I have a few questions:

I noticed that many Shuttle owners mostly use the amp in a jazz or blues rock context. I've rarely heard of anyone using the amp in a punk or metal setting. Having tried the Shuttle and feeling unimpressed with the gain, I'm thinking of buying a good tube overdrive pedal for both slight grit and full-on raging overdrive. Has anyone used the Shuttle with a Mesa Boogie Bottle Rocket or a EHX English Muff'n?

Back home I played through a friend's Big Block 750 and I was impressed with the tube overdrive section and the cranked tube gain. I've been told that the BB750 and Titan have overdrive sections modeled on the Bottle Rocket. Would the sound of the Bottle Rocket into the Shuttle be close to that of either of the Mesa amps?

And a slightly unrelated question:

I'm also curious about the blended ss/tube channels and tube gain overdrives of both the Mesa M-2000 and the Genz GBE 750/1200. What would cranking the tube gain and mixing the channels sound like? Would this be similar to an overdriven SVT, or similar to the Bottle Rocket, or something thick and entirely different? Audio samples would be great.

Any thoughts?

[Ampeg SVT]

Interesting you ask, I have a Bottle Rocket and if a BB750 or Titan has the same overdrive features as the BR then id be surprised, the BR sounds a lot like running a bass through a guitar amp with no low end loss unless you keep the gain real low then you get some grit.

I use a LMII so its not the same at all but I thought the Mesa's Simul state power amp had something to do with its tone.

IF you want to hear some overdriven GBE 1200 go on youtube and look up bassguitarmag with Ed Friedland, he demonstrates that in some vids and also some dirt from a Shuttle 6.0.

Ive never used a BB750 so I cant say if the OD is the same as the BR since no one around here carries mesa anymore.

[MichaelVee]

The Shuttle might be more distorted if you hit the input with more gain. A regular passive or active 9v bass is not going to make the Shuttle really grind.

Do what Bass Player did, and hit the input of the Shuttle with the output of a Sansamp VT Bass.

[hydrofluoric]

I haven't found a place nearby where I can try out the VT Bass. Would sure love to hear some boosted midrange grit on lower gain settings as well as high gain settings, though.

I finally found a clip of the BB750 overdrive. How close is the Bottle Rocket overdrive to the first clip in this thread?

http://acapella.harmony-central.com/....php?t=2097239

[Ampeg SVT]

It sounds very very similar, however the V-1 gets grittier a lot faster.

I think that can be tamed with lower gain tubes.