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GB Rip off?

#41
Spaldo said:
Tired of great tone? Need to get rid off all that sweet bottom end and lower mid-range puch that all bassists desire?

Need an amp that clips out at gig volumes on every single transient?

We have the answer.

It's the GBE750. By Genz Benz.

It's the best way to make your '77 Jazz sound like a drumstick hitting a wet cardboard box in the dunny.

Best of all, it weighs a ton and can buckle rack ears in a thrice!

What more could you want?

Buy one and change your vibe.
Click to expand...

Spaldo said:
Hey

Thanks for all your comments / advice. I didn't expect this many.

I am a little miffed that seem to have I bought an amp which doesn't appear to do what the pre-amble in the manual specified. Perhaps I have bought a damaged one?

I don't mean to offend anyone with this post (esp. Mr. Genzler - I take back that 'rip off' suggestion) and if I have, my deepest apologies. I'm a committed and busy bassist and I'm not here to start fights. I just thought I'd present a post a little out of the ordinary, and as I produce advertisements as a day gig, the style I presented it in reflects that. I actually would have written the same thing if any other brand of amp had presented me with the same problems I'm experiencing...which in my 27 years of playing, none have.

I'll post details of the many tests which I've done to this date, and there have been several....but I will say at this stage all my loads have been correct (the cabs I've used are a Trace 410, Genz XB 610, Ampeg 610 and a Markbass 410 - none in combination as they're all 4 ohm boxes), I've looked at the mounting and condition of the electronics, and I have used no eq, save rolling off the top end. Cables are all good, tube is new, input gain is correct, power flex is set to 4-8 ohm, effects loop is clean, in fact the amp is in perfect working order.

It sounds great in my studio, I just don't have the confidence to gig with it.

But I should have explained my issue, in less facetious terms, to the manufacturer. Not an on-line community.

Cheers

*note - no alcohol was involved*
Click to expand...


OK, your first post is saying the polar opposite of the above bold and underlined text.

So, does it sound great or does it sound like a drumstick hitting a wet cardboard box???

I suggest maybe since you apologized for your first post and said it wasn't appropriate way to discuss this, you go and edit it accordingly.
Or don't and let it stay there just for shock value and make you appear that you're talking out of two different orifices located at opposite ends of your body.

If you just don't like the amp. Well, fine. Others do. And that's what's awesome about all this gear we have these days. There is something that works for everybody.

Hardly GB "ripping" someone off.
 
#42
I don't see anything wrong with his first post, it's kinda funny, we've all been disappointed with gear at some point and lots of people here have been very discriptive in summing up their frustration with a peice of gear, there's even a thread devoted to it, this is no different.
 
#44
I've had two GB heads and loved them both. I currently run a ShuttleMAX 12 as my main electric head, and wouldn't trade it for anything in the world (save a SVT every once in a while). If your statement about studio vs. live is tone related, I may be able to add something.

I have noticed, especially with the SM 12 (perhaps because I've used it so much compared to the other model I had), that I have needed to change my settings consistently differently depending on the combination of gear I'm using and the setting I'm in; that means bass, cab, music style, and venue. I haven't really noticed the same thing much with other heads in the past (I've always been a set it and forget kind of guy), but with the Genz it's been different. Most of the heads in the past had WAY less knobs though. Not really an issue for me now, as I've got all my combos of settings written down, laminated, and I keep them with the head.

That said, I've been able to get any tone out of the SM12 that I could possibly need. It just took some time and patience to learn the interface and how all the knobs work with each other. Not long after I had the head and worked out some tones I liked (via cabs), I tried doing some recording with it via the DI. OMG IT SOUNDED LIKE A**! It took me a while to realize two things; my EQ settings needed to change drastically, and there was a night and day difference between the FET and Tube channels. Oddly enough I've come to find that the FET is perfect for me in most live settings, and the Tube is 1000% better for recording.

Something else to note (and I think the Bass Player mag review a while back said the same thing), is that the GB EQ system is very sensitive, meaning there is really a large range of tweaking in each knob. Many of the other heads and pre's I've had in the past take large turns to get you where you want to be; the Genz is a different animal IMO.

Perhaps it's the incredibly tweak-able and flexible nature that makes the head almost difficult to get the sound you want right out of the box. I don't have any experience with the 750, but I think the overall options/features are similar to my SM. Who knows though, perhaps at the end of the day Genz just isn't for you. Good luck!
 
#50
Spaldo said:
Hey

Thanks for all your comments / advice. I didn't expect this many.

I am a little miffed that seem to have I bought an amp which doesn't appear to do what the pre-amble in the manual specified. Perhaps I have bought a damaged one?

I don't mean to offend anyone with this post (esp. Mr. Genzler - I take back that 'rip off' suggestion) and if I have, my deepest apologies. I'm a committed and busy bassist and I'm not here to start fights. I just thought I'd present a post a little out of the ordinary, and as I produce advertisements as a day gig, the style I presented it in reflects that. I actually would have written the same thing if any other brand of amp had presented me with the same problems I'm experiencing...which in my 27 years of playing, none have.

I'll post details of the many tests which I've done to this date, and there have been several....but I will say at this stage all my loads have been correct (the cabs I've used are a Trace 410, Genz XB 610, Ampeg 610 and a Markbass 410 - none in combination as they're all 4 ohm boxes), I've looked at the mounting and condition of the electronics, and I have used no eq, save rolling off the top end. Cables are all good, tube is new, input gain is correct, power flex is set to 4-8 ohm, effects loop is clean, in fact the amp is in perfect working order.

It sounds great in my studio, I just don't have the confidence to gig with it.

But I should have explained my issue, in less facetious terms, to the manufacturer. Not an on-line community.

Cheers

*note - no alcohol was involved*
Click to expand...

I always appreciate a fella that can make a humble apology as many have said here GB's aren't for everyone, just like not everyone likes Nada Surf, but some like the Pixies more than the care to, but can't really get over the Snow Patrol thing but you got it so go dude, dig up and more funk with the hump.
 
#51
"but I will say at this stage all my loads have been correct (the cabs I've used are a Trace 410, Genz XB 610, Ampeg 610 and a Markbass 410 - none in combination as they're all 4 ohm boxes)"

Unless they changed the design of the GBE models, my 600 and 750 were 2 ohm capable. When I used 2x212's or 2x410's, each were 4 ohms, the sound coming from either head was massive. Of course I did use the filters and did alot of knob twiddeling but I do that to most my amps. So if you cared to you could've ran two of either of those cabs above. Of course, being that they're all different brands and specs, not sure you'da liked that either.

Besides my GB amps, I do own three other different brand heads and many cabs and basses just cause they all offer something to me for giggin purposes. Hope you find what works for you. Peace, ernie.
 
#52
ErnieD said:
"but I will say at this stage all my loads have been correct (the cabs I've used are a Trace 410, Genz XB 610, Ampeg 610 and a Markbass 410 - none in combination as they're all 4 ohm boxes)"

Unless they changed the design of the GBE models, my 600 and 750 were 2 ohm capable. When I used 2x212's or 2x410's, each were 4 ohms, the sound coming from either head was massive. Of course I did use the filters and did alot of knob twiddeling but I do that to most my amps. So if you cared to you could've ran two of either of those cabs above. Of course, being that they're all different brands and specs, not sure you'da liked that either.

Besides my GB amps, I do own three other different brand heads and many cabs and basses just cause they all offer something to me for giggin purposes. Hope you find what works for you. Peace, ernie.
Click to expand...

yes...if he ran both 4 OHM cabs, he wouldn't be clipping. You are correct.
 
#53
Spaldo said:
Hey

Thanks for all your comments / advice. I didn't expect this many.

I am a little miffed that seem to have I bought an amp which doesn't appear to do what the pre-amble in the manual specified. Perhaps I have bought a damaged one?

I don't mean to offend anyone with this post (esp. Mr. Genzler - I take back that 'rip off' suggestion) and if I have, my deepest apologies. I'm a committed and busy bassist and I'm not here to start fights. I just thought I'd present a post a little out of the ordinary, and as I produce advertisements as a day gig, the style I presented it in reflects that. I actually would have written the same thing if any other brand of amp had presented me with the same problems I'm experiencing...which in my 27 years of playing, none have.

I'll post details of the many tests which I've done to this date, and there have been several....but I will say at this stage all my loads have been correct (the cabs I've used are a Trace 410, Genz XB 610, Ampeg 610 and a Markbass 410 - none in combination as they're all 4 ohm boxes), I've looked at the mounting and condition of the electronics, and I have used no eq, save rolling off the top end. Cables are all good, tube is new, input gain is correct, power flex is set to 4-8 ohm, effects loop is clean, in fact the amp is in perfect working order.

It sounds great in my studio, I just don't have the confidence to gig with it.

But I should have explained my issue, in less facetious terms, to the manufacturer. Not an on-line community.

Cheers

*note - no alcohol was involved*
Click to expand...

I dunno......the thread title still remains as well as the first post.
Still going for the "Shock and awe" I see.


I'm curiouse though, in all seriousness, you say it sounds great in "the studio", but not confident to gig it?
Why?
I reference your first post and then the "sounds great in the studio" comment.
What would be the cause of your lack of confidence in it?

That's totally cool if it isn't your thing. Not everything can be all to everyone.
 
#54
Here is the deal I see. We all have different taste in amps. Much of that is due to the way we play. Each person plays with a different style, and thus each prefers a different tool. If we all had the same taste/technique, then there would only be one amp that everyone would use.
For me, I play my guitars through a myriad of different tube amps. Love them all. But for bass (I have played bass much longer), I can't stand the feel and sound that I get with tube amps. I have never met an SVT that I got along with, and all of the new hybrid amps (Markbass, GK, SWR etc.) never feel right to me. What does work for me are straight up Solid State and Class D Bass amps. My guitar friends think that I am nuts, but it all has to do with my hands.
The original poster obviously has hands that don't get along with the GB amp. No big deal. Find an amp that does. If I had spent big money on a SVT ( I would never order something of that cost without playing it, but that is a different issue) and started playing, felt it sounded like crap, I would be upset too. I may go about it a different way, but I would feel jilted a bit. Didn't I just buy an amp that is regarded highly?
When a company sets high expectations for a product via hyperbole in marketing (as it appears GB did in the manual), then people become more expectant of the products result.
Remember the old Basketball Shoe ads? Jump Higher, Run Faster, Be Better. I am still an overweight white guy sitting on a stool playing bass, not an NBA star.
Poor choice of words by the OP? Sure. Not happy with his purchase? Yup. Bad amp? For him yes, for others no.
-P
 
#57
cheezewiz said:
I'm pretty sure you're going to be shouted down pretty quickly by those of us that have had great dealings with GB. I've owned some of their gear, and all of it has been great. I've dealt with their customer service, and they are top notch.
Click to expand...

Right, but OP isn't complaining about customer service as much as the actual tone of the amp he uses and the lack of ergonomics.... as you pointed out yourself this thread will bring out the shills pretty quickly.
 
#58
Derek Kiernan said:
I still have little impression of what the problem is, especially with the great in the studio/no confidence to gig comment.
Click to expand...

Yes, I too am having trouble figuring out exactly what the OP is unhappy with in order to make any recommendations or suggestions.

One thing though, if you are using full size (larger as opposed to compact or sub-compact) cabinets, I suggest that you engage the LF Extend filter as that extends the LF response to take advantage of the capabilities of the larger cabinet's performance. I would also start with all of the eq flat and start with the FET channel only, master about 1:00 position, FET volume at ~12:00 position and input gain to suit yourvolume needs. This will get you to a reasonable baseline. Then we can discuss possible approached from here.
 
#59
Meddle said:
Right, but OP isn't complaining about customer service as much as the actual tone of the amp he uses and the lack of ergonomics.... as you pointed out yourself this thread will bring out the shills pretty quickly.
Click to expand...

I think the thread is bringing out folks who would genuinely like to help but don't quite know how to go about it given the content's description and thread title.
 

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