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Genz Benz Shuttle 9.0 Appreciation Thread
- Thread starter Red Planet
- Start date
Call me crazy but there is just a certain safety/comfort feeling in having a well made tube in your amp.
I like this amp.........Seems a bit punchier and beefier on the lows than the 6.0..
Most definitely.
There is no rhyme/reason to preamp tube failures. I've had amps where the preamp tubes were 20+ years old and never had an issue. And others where a relatively new one decided to go wonky. Luck of the draw these days.
You can see the tube through the grill on the top. I haven't swapped tubes yet (no reason - I'm not a tube roller) but I assume you just unscrew the top or outer case and then you can replace the tube.
Also as a stop-gap/emergency you likely can run your bass into the effects return and use the power amp section. That said I always have a backup amp in the car at ever gig I do.
Thanks for that journeyman tidbit ^ I would just be freakin out and cussin. Usually have a backup in the car too.
I've replaced my original Ruby tube (worked fine, just wanted to experiment) with a Penta 12AX7M. Sounds great! Is it better than the Ruby? Not sure, I think it may be a bit warmer with less breakup, but I didn't try to A/B the two. The original Ruby tube is now my backup.
I'd highly recommend Doug @ www.dougstubes.com as a GREAT source for tubes. Tell him what tone you're after and he'll set you up. Fantastic guy and crazy smart on tubes.
Thanks nostatic; that is excellent advice...I went out and bought the gold groove tube @ Guitar Center last week and it is working great again. It was all my local store carries so I bought the best one that they had. Ican't give a great a/b comparison, but I like the sound better than the stock tube. I bought local so I could return it if I had problems and I didn't want to trust ups not to bang it around shipping it to me.
Thanks for the help. Still love the amp...I'll get a spare tube and keep it with me...
Thanks for the help. Still love the amp...I'll get a spare tube and keep it with me...
Exactly, Just last night my son found the Normal channel of his Twin Reverb died on him. Turns out the less than a year old JJ 12AX7 crapped out. I replaced it with an decades old RCA I had laying around and it's working again...for now.
Sorry if this has been covered, but is the High Frequency (attack) boost a peaking or shelving thing?
I was playing around a bit with turning the treble way down and using the boost. It seems to put the presence back in without the clank. FWIW I am a Pbass with flats guy but I play rounds on my five string.
I was playing around a bit with turning the treble way down and using the boost. It seems to put the presence back in without the clank. FWIW I am a Pbass with flats guy but I play rounds on my five string.
My Streamliner 900 just arrived, and it is huge. But now I'm wondering how a Shuttle 9.0 would compare.
If a Shuttle 9.0 owner in the San Francisco Bay Area would like to A/B them with me, please send a PM. I'm in Berkeley, and have it coupled with a Neox-212T.
Thanks...Lyle
If a Shuttle 9.0 owner in the San Francisco Bay Area would like to A/B them with me, please send a PM. I'm in Berkeley, and have it coupled with a Neox-212T.
Thanks...Lyle
I got the chance to play this head on Thursday at my church. I got to rehearsal a little early so I could fiddle with it a bit. I definitely like it better than the 6.0 and I am totally satisfied with my upgrade.. Mind you.. I really dug the 6.0 but partly based on this thread here a year ago almost to the day... and what I have learned about heads and cabs and what I want since I first got back into this seriously a few years ago ... I decided I needed a little more in the way of headroom... Since I liked the 6.0 so much I decided to stick with GB and the Streamliner was out of my price range for now... so I decided to get one of the many 9.0s floating around here of late..
Anyway... I played it at rehearsal on Thursday.. and today i got to play it for the first time in an actual live setting..
I am so glad I upgraded... Now that I have a bit more power I am seriously considering an LDS 15/6.. and selling the Schro.... I havent played it out with the Schro yet... I used my Avatar B212 at church.. and actually I may just wind up keeping he Schro if I do decide to start saving for a LDS cab... and just sell the Avatar .. I'll see... but I am really digging this head. It is just warmer and fuller than the 6.0.. Perhaps it is just the extra headroom..
Anyway... I played it at rehearsal on Thursday.. and today i got to play it for the first time in an actual live setting..
I am so glad I upgraded... Now that I have a bit more power I am seriously considering an LDS 15/6.. and selling the Schro.... I havent played it out with the Schro yet... I used my Avatar B212 at church.. and actually I may just wind up keeping he Schro if I do decide to start saving for a LDS cab... and just sell the Avatar .. I'll see... but I am really digging this head. It is just warmer and fuller than the 6.0.. Perhaps it is just the extra headroom..
Andy from Genz told me to try turning the treble down to 9 or 10:00 and engage the high boost. Depending on the box I'm using, its a very enjoyable eq choice.
This is one of the first amps I've owned in many years where I can turn knobs and the amp still sounds good. Many different eq options.
WHAT??? I respectfully disagree...
BTW I got to hear my rig (Shuttle 9.0 and Avatar TB153) from the audience perspective as 4 other bassists put it through it's paces against a couple of Marshall half stacks (not too loud but half stacks non the less) and it just rocked. It was full sounding but crazy clear and present even with the high mids rolled off a bit and the tweeter turned down. The drummer was getting buried, but the bass (no matter what the guys played) was cutting like a knife without any harshness or clank
Gigged my 9.0 for the first time on Friday. It was a great feeling to roll into a loud rock show with nothing but my bass in a gig bag and the Shuttle in my backpack. I ran it through another band's Ampeg fridge, and with the gain at about 1:30 and the mids boosted around 600hz I got a great sound- fat and gritty with just enough breakup to cut through a two-guitar mix.
I'll have to try that treble cut/H.F. attack trick, it sounds like an interesting idea.
I'll have to try that treble cut/H.F. attack trick, it sounds like an interesting idea.
While TB rules demand respect for all members at all times, I'm not sensitive, so you can say you hate my guts for doing that, or whatever. I just like an understated look.
Also, I really like hearing my rigs played by other people, too. For some reason, they just sound so much better than me.
Today I played through two services... packed church.. full choir... and it was great. I have never heard my playing sound so good tonewise as I did this morning... 
We have two electrics, an acoustic, a piano.. keys and a Leslie at my church..
We have two electrics, an acoustic, a piano.. keys and a Leslie at my church..
I like the understated or used look, almost enjoy scratches, aging, lack of shinny things. But I think the Al knobs and blue LEDs on the 9.0 are fantastic. I think this amp looks like NASA built it. I understand people have different taste but to me everything about the 9.0 is delicious body and tone.
I just need to not let sound guys know there is a post/pre switch on the DI so I can switch the LF & MF filter on and off to my liking with HF on at all times. Seems the bigger (to me) venues want DI switched to Pre but I love switching the LF & MF at the same time and not worry about volume drop on my slap tone. Those filter switches were designed to well to let them go to waste live.
I had two sets of knobs on mine.. I took the black ones off and put the Al ones back on... but I may put the black ones back.. they are easier to see... but the ALs just look so good.. 
I do have to agree that it is tough to see the position of the aluminum knobs is some light conditions. Maybe some Sadowsky-looking black aluminum knobs ...
