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G.Benz Tube Works

P

Pickinator

Dec 28, 2011
93
34
Eagle River WI
#1
I found a used bass head.
The claim is: 300 watt tube/Mos Valve Bass
- tube and solid state pre-amp hybrid
- tube power amp
- hand wired

The amp is pretty big and tall and looks like it could be a real tube power amp. Is it a real valve power amp and is this a good amp or have I just stumbled upon some wishfull thinking.

Any recommendations on what this Tube Works head is worth?:eyebrow:
 
#3
Looks like this?
1CF492F8-orig.jpg



It has a tube and an SS pre and SS power. Mine sounds great. They're really nice amps. Typical 2 rackspace unit and pretty light. Inside is rather sparse on components....easy to work on.
 
#5
-False Alarm-

I just spoke with the owner and he says it is a hybrid tube preamp and MOSFET power amp; not a tube power amp. Sounds like a nice guy and for $250 it might not be a bad amp? 300watts may not be enough juice to push two 2X10 cabs with justice.

Sorry if I got anyone else salivating. The box sure looks like it could be real tubes though. hey?:crying:
 
#7
The point of the MOSFETs is that they are used in a way similar to tubes, in terms of compressing and getting dirty when you crank them up; so actually that amp is designed to get very, very loud for the wattage, as long as you are not keen on super-clean tone.
 
#8
I have one and love it! No problems at all for the 12 years or so I've owned it, except for the occasional dirty/noisy pots which a spray of deoxit works wonders. It does only have one tube in the preamp...the power FETS are fairly rare (I found a set a few years back and bought them, just in case) but so far, I haven't needed them. Also, I think it's a three space unit, not two.

The Craigslist ad says this is a hand wired amp...it isn't (or isn't what we usually think of a hand wired amp, like an older Fender).

$250 is a bit steep. I have seen them go for around $200 (mostly 'cause no one knows what these amps are).
 
#9
Looks like the same or similair amp as mine installed in a bigger, more "tubey looking" headcase.

I paid $200 for mine but it wasn't in top shape. An 89cent resistor and a good cleaning and it's great. I'd think $250 is a fair price for one that's working 100%. May be able to talk him down a little from there. They're very good sounding amp with a very effective set of EQ controls. The bass knob is set higher and the treble knob lower than most amps. Lots of control over the little intracacies of your sound.
 
#11
huh. when was bk butler a genz benz concern? i never knew there was a connection. (i do see under "manuals" a listing of all the tubeworks manuals.)
 
#13
The manual for mine says "Tubeworks, a division of Genz Benz Enclosures, Scottsdale, AZ.

I'm uncertain what year mine is but regardless, I really like that amp. The tube pre is clean/articulate. The tube side a little warmer with a bit of musical sounding grit when you crank it up. They're 2ohm stable amps rated 180 watts @ 8ohm and 260 watts @ 4ohms and sound pretty strong. A little beefier than the numbers may seem.
 
#14
Beware that for the BK Butler (pre Genz Benz) versions, some parts are no longer available and support is very limited. The output MOS-FETS have been discontinued for many years and finding them could exceed the value ofthe entire amp. Genz Benz does not support these products as we have no paperwork, schematics, parts, etc.
 
#15
I own one of those RT-3300 heads, and it is an excellent workhorse, with plenty of headroom, good EQ, and is designed to power down to 2 ohm loads. $250 might be a little steep, but you are getting a nice original enclosure with it. It's not light, take that into account. I tote mine in an SKB case.

A search for "RT-3300" indicates that this amp gets respect and love.

agedhorse,
A few years back, Genz Benz sent me a copy of the schematics to my amp, and there is a Tubeworks forum with a collection of schematics. Why the wet towel?
 
#17
hrgiger said:
bought TW from him and then killed it, you mean. :hmm:

I wish Peavey had bought it instead. IMO, there definitely was and still is a place for B.K. Butler's products, even if the stand-alone company making everything under the sun was doomed.
Click to expand...

+1

I've run across a couple of their guitar amps as well over the years, pretty impressive stuff, better sounding than you'd think for a SS guitar amp.

Unless something's changed, Genz does have schematics of this stuff, whether or not they'll come off 'em is a different question. A few parts indeed may not be produced new anymore but a tech who knows what tbey're doing can make them work with suitable parts that are in production.
 
#18
abarson said:
agedhorse,
A few years back, Genz Benz sent me a copy of the schematics to my amp, and there is a Tubeworks forum with a collection of schematics. Why the wet towel?
Click to expand...

It's not a wet towel, it's called being accurate and honest. I think it would be a pretty crappy thing not to make a potental buyer of this amp aware of the lack of support and parts. I never said not to buy it, but just to be aware of the lack of parts support and let the OP make up his own mind regarding the risk. To buy any amp and not know about this risk would IMO be very uncool.

We have very little in the way of pre-GB paperwork and the paperwork that's out there on the web may be very inaccurate too. There are different versions of these amps and I know the paperwork that I have seen does not reflect all the amps out there.

I did hear of somebody that contacted BK through his website and got some support but I don't know if this was a special case or a one time deal. Worth a try I suppose.
 
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#19
agedhorse said:
It's not a wet towel, it's called being accurate and honest. I think it would be a pretty crappy thing not to make a potental buyer of this amp aware of the lack of support and parts. I never said not to buy it, but just to be aware of the lack of parts support and let the OP make up his own mind regarding the risk. To buy any amp and not know about this risk would IMO be very uncool.
Click to expand...


Since we are "being accurate and honest" I think it would be a pretty crappy thing to be a potental buyer of this amp company Tube Works, aware of the intent to lack future support and parts.

To buy an amp company like B.K. Butler's Tube Works without any intent to provide support and parts, past and present, would IMO be very uncool. Especially when obfuscated to appear that the opposite were actually true.

Now this part just has me speechless:

agedhorse said:
I think it would be a pretty crappy thing not to make a potental buyer of this amp aware of the lack of support and parts. I never said not to buy it, but just to be aware of the lack of parts support and let the OP make up his own mind regarding the risk. To buy any amp and not know about this risk would IMO be very uncool.
Click to expand...

This is the kind of thing you say about a competitor's product isn't it? But your OWN?

It wasn't enough to abscond with Tube Works, now it seems that the GB techs are saying to any prospective buyer of Tube Works stuff "you'd be dumb to do that, I wouldn't if I were you." Instead of "hey I'll tell you what man, since GB was the last man in charge of Tube Works, if you need it looked at we will see what we can do for you."

I would imagine if GB heard their techs talking that way about Genz Benz amps they would get a good working over. NEWSFLASH Tube Works ARE Genz Benz amps! You wouldn't act that way to a customer with a long out of warranty GB amp, it should be no different. Good customer service isn't doing what obviously should be done, but going above and beyond for your patrons.

Instead it is recommend to go begging to B.K. Butler for help. Class Act.

This blows my previously held high regard for GB customer service.
 
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#20
No support for Tubeworks?...nice.:scowl: What are they trying to do, hope they all find their way to the landfill? Good news is, they're so low on the parts count inside, except for the transformer, you could probably replace every component yourself for around $200.
 

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