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Future of Genz Benz?

#2
Interesting. I've been out of the game for several years. When were they acquired by FMIC?

<edit>
Wow.. according to Wikipedia they were acquired by Kaman (part of FMIC) in 2003.

Honestly it's surprising they've been able to go 10 years without the parent company meddling and screwing things up. Here's hoping FMIC management figures out how to retain what people like about Genz Benz
</edit>
 
#8
OkieDownLow said:
Got to reading those other threads. Sounds like some distributor said something vague that touched off a bunch of random speculation. Sounds like a red herring to me.
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Stop being reasonable while on the internet....that sort of behaviour is no fun.




:D




I thought people were waiting for an "official announcement" or some such thing. Or maybe they all realized they didn't need one to get their smoke blown....


:D


Not a slight towards the Genz folks there in any way. In my personal experience, they go so far above and beyond I don't know how they have time to make all that stuff they make.



If you really want to know what's going on with Genz, all you have to do is pretend it's the "old days" and call them on the phone....see who answers.


(likely somebody wearing one of those annoying headsets that sound like crap to the person on the other end of the phone (imagine that for a music company) sitting in a cubicle in a FMIC call center somewhere....probably also wearing kakhi's, a polo shirt, and penny loafers.))
 
#10
SteveC said:
The Genz Benz dealer here said there will be no more Genz Benz stuff. That is sad. Used their stuff for years.
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Genz Benz were some of the best designed, best sounding amps made by some really great people. I tried to buy a Shuttle 3.0-10T a few weeks ago and the store wouldn't take my deposit.

So thanks a whole big bunch to the marketing geniuses at Fender for buying and killing yet another good company. I'm 53, have a great paying day job and can afford all the gear that I couldn't when I was a full time musician. I'm the typical guy who keeps companies like you in business and I'm pretty sure that unless it's at your going out of business sale for 10 cents on the dollar I'll never buy another new Fender product.
 
#14
fdeck said:
Dealers tend to make up stories of impending doom about any brand that they don't sell or are moving out of.
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I'm long time friends with the guy I was trying to order the 3.0 from. If that retailer were getting out of the GB line or had been cut off he would have said that straight up so I could look elsewhere. I used to work there so he's not going to pull any punches when I know the score. What he told me is that they'd like to have them in stock but that they had become unavailable and the rumour was Fender was discontinuing. Believe want you want about that but I have no reason to lie or to collude with others who's experience is similar to mine.

Doesn't it seem odd that while you're starting to hear tales of unavailability you aren't hearing anyone talking about seeing Genz products freshly in stock or having a store bring anything in on a special order in the last month? Don't you think the silence from the up to now very present Genz Benz guys and the ever lurking local reps and Fender sales people speaks volumes? If this were pure BS don't you think someone would have called BS by now?
 
#16
I have no idea what's going on either, but I agree with what's been said about some dealers being unnecessarily negative out some manufacturer's futures. If they used to sell a product, but don't any more, odds are they'll say no one else sells that product any more either to prevent you from walking away. Classic salesman bull****. That way, you look for something they DO have instead, so they still get a sale.

I find it interesting that no one has chimed in on this thread with any real information, considering one of the GB guys usually to regularly peruse the website providing top-notch answers to people queries here. I've got a Shuttle 9.0 and it's the best amp I've ever had by miles, so I'd be disappointed if GB really did disappear.
 
#18
backin82 said:
Does this mean I should avoid picking up a Shuttle 9.0? I was looking to upgrade my Hartke 3500 with one of these. Between this and the Markbass customer service issues....where do I turn for a quality amp for a good price?
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Jeff and Andy (agedhorse on TB) are fully employed and designing. Andy just announced here in another thread he has set up a repair station in his R&D lab for out of warranty service. I think personally picking up a GB is still a very good option. Or wait for the new Fender units Jeff and Andy are probably designing for the Fender line?
 

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