Genz Benz Shuttle 9.0 discussion thread

[Mastermold]

I wish the Shuttle 6.0 had this warm voicing you mention the 9.0 having. I understand why the 6.0 was designed as it was. Figuring users would be running smaller,portable cabs...etc. But the 6.0 having 600 watts makes it so usable with big cabs too. Just wish it did more 9.0 vibe. I certainly don't need 900 watts ! But would love a warm lower watt Shuttle.

For me, the GB Uber 410 cab (4 ohm) is the perfect solution. The cab is small enough to use at home (and very easy to transport) while powerful enough to play any sized club gig I might have, and is tuned perfectly IMO to mate with the Shuttle 9.0. Get the Uber 410 (4 ohm) and the 9.0 and you'll never need another amp for 99% of what most of us do in music.

 

[Dr Funk]

You could always get something like a VT Pedal set for lower grind to warm it up some.

Please post your results if you would. I and I'm sure others are curious about that combination also. Thanks!

 

[Mr Matt]

Got the rack kit for the Shuttle 9.0 today from Greg at Rocket Music (who wasted no time gettin it to me & got an awesome TB discount thanks dude!) & thought I should share.

I shed some 40 lbs off my rack weight going with the Shuttle 9.0 & got it down to 28 lbs, very manageable & sounds incredible!

 

[stjohn1299]

Dr Funk...I don't have a VT pedal, but I've read several posts of people using them in conjunction with an amp that sounded hifi and had good results warming the tone up.

 

[Mike Flynn]

hey Mr Matt - that rack set up looks fantastic...

Anyhoo - I sold my UL502 and while it's a shame the more I play my GB 9.0 the more I love it - I think it's the amp that I've been waiting for all these years - it just does everything really well - I am seriously in love...

A lil' pic of my rig - small but perfectly formed (it's an Epi 210 BTW - tho I am gagging to get my hands on a 410 - but I can't justify that right now...)

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[svtb15]

that S15B-D cab on the right is my favorite 1x15 cab... EVER

Got the rack kit for the Shuttle 9.0 today from Greg at Rocket Music (who wasted no time gettin it to me & got an awesome TB discount thanks dude!) & thought I should share.

I shed some 40 lbs off my rack weight going with the Shuttle 9.0 & got it down to 28 lbs, very manageable & sounds incredible!

 

[Jarrett]

I had my first practice with this rig yesterday. I had the gain at 2 o'clock, volume dimed and mater volume dimed it was barely enough to keep up with our hard hitting drummer. It seems like the 2x10 is putting out most of the volume. I'm just not hearing much from the 4x10 at those volumes. Wondering if another SWR 2x10 would bring the volume up. Hate to go to a pair of 4x10s if I don't need to.
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Also, I bought the amp for how slick and hifi sounding it was, but at the above settings, its got a lot of tubey sound going on. The guys in the band loved the sound, but I found it a hair loose at those volumes. It seems to revolve around the gain knob. At noon or less, its pretty slick/hifi sounding, but as I creep up the dial it gets tubey fast. While it sounds great and got many compliments, its not exactly the sound I was hoping for. I'm guessing if I used some more efficient cabs, I could back down the volume a hair and get the sound more to my liking. Any suggestions on efficient cabs to get that done would definitely be appreciated.

 

[flewis]

Well my first major gas pain of 2010 will be cured later this week. Ordered the 9.0 yesterday and should have it in a few days. For an old man, waiting for it to arrive, is like being a kid again waiting for Christmas morning and expecting a bicyle.

Had a touch time deciding between the Shuttlemax 6.0, 12.0 and the 9.0. It's great to have a forum like Talkbass and reading others thoughts and experiences to help make major decisions gear wise. I'm sure I would have been happy with either choice, but it sounds like the 9.0 is very flexible and I should be able to obtain the tone/tones that will cure my amp gas.

Now just the waiting!

 

[agedhorse]

I had my first practice with this rig yesterday. I had the gain at 2 o'clock, volume dimed and mater volume dimed it was barely enough to keep up with our hard hitting drummer. It seems like the 2x10 is putting out most of the volume. I'm just not hearing much from the 4x10 at those volumes. Wondering if another SWR 2x10 would bring the volume up. Hate to go to a pair of 4x10s if I don't need to.

Hold on a minute, something may not be right with your rig because that should be very loud and punchy. I would hate for you to damage a speaker before sorting out what may be a simple problem.

Not all manufacturers use the same polarity for their speakers, and unfortunately when folks repair their own speakers (or get them repaired) they sometimes do not pay attention to proper polarity when reassembling them. This can absolutely kill the sound of a bass rig.

(I'm going to describe testing with 1/4" plugs, it's not as convenient with SpeakOns) Take a 9 volt battery and plug a speaker cable into your 210 speaker cabinet. momentarily touch the tip to + and the sleeve to - and watch which way the cones move. Both should move out. (positive voltage = forward cone motion = positive pressure) Do the same thing with your 410 cabinet.

If one of the drivers in the cabinet moves the other way, that generally means that it's wired reverse polarity (though for parallel wired drivers, it can also mean that the voice coil is open or disconneted and is just responding to the change in acoustic pressure. This is a common fault among cabinets with series-parallel wired drivers like many 410's. If there is a driver out of phase, this will eat up between 15 and 50% of your output and also detune your cabinet so the other drivers do not operate correctly.

This information applies to all of you players. Go test your cabinets and see what you find. I'm almost positive somebody will find an out of phase driver or cabinet compared with your others.

Also, both cabinets are 8 ohms right? The minimum load on the Shuttles is 4 ohms. If one cabinet is 8 ohms and the other 4 ohms, the protection limiter may be prematurely limiting the output to protect the amp.

 

[Popps]

So, I read all 35 pages hoping that someone would have tried the 9.0 with an Acme Low B-2. I am currently using an Alembic F2-B and a Crown XLS 402. I love the sound, but, I would not mind loosing some rack weight. Any thoughts?


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[MCN]

I think there's a chance the 9.0 is too much power for a single B-2 if it's 4 ohms. On the other hand, a single 8 ohm B-2 might be just the ticket. Then, you'd have the option of adding a second one if you wanted. This is just speculation on my part -- since I had 4 ohm B-2s, I went with the ShuttleMax 12.0.

 

[Popps]

MCN,
Sorry, I forgot to mention that, yes, it is a 4 ohm cabinet. I did speak with Andy at Acme when I first got the Crown about bridging it for mono. It would be in the area of 1100 watts at 4 ohms. Andy told me to follow 3 simple rules if I did, "1. Be careful, 2. Don't drink, 3. Don't let anyone else use it. The 900 watts doesn't scare me, my band really is not that loud, we try for a Hi-Fi sound. I just have not seen anyone else on this thread mention these cabinets. Thanks for the input, the 12.0 does offer the built in back-up, a great option, IMHO. Thanks, more food for thought.

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[Jarrett]

Go test your cabinets and see what you find. I'm almost positive somebody will find an out of phase driver or cabinet compared with your others.

Also, both cabinets are 8 ohms right? The minimum load on the Shuttles is 4 ohms.

Ok, finally got a chance to test. Both (8ohm) cabs respond the same way to 9 volt test. No phase issues here.

One cab is an SWR 8ohm Golight 2x10 and the other is an Ashdown 8ohm MAG 4x10. I've run the cabs in two configs. One way with separate Speakon cables coming from each output on the back of the Shuttle 9.0 to each cab. The other way is running from one Speakon out on the Shuttle 9.0 to the SWR Speakon input, then out from the SWR Speakon output over the single Speakon input on the Ashdown cab. I can't tell any difference in either config.

Today I got my old Trace Elliot AH350SMX back from being rebuilt by British Audio Service, so I got to A/B the amps. It appears from A/B testing the AH350SMX and Shuttle 9.0 for a while that the AH350SMX (supposedly 350 watts) is slightly louder than the Shuttle 9.0 (supposedly 900 watts). But at the end of the day, the Shuttle 9.0 is about 45lbs. lighter, much less noisy at peak volumes and I prefer the sound of it to my old AH350SMX.

I think I just need a better cab match for it and all will be well.

 

[John Bigboote]

One cab is an SWR 8ohm Golight 2x10 and the other is an Ashdown 8ohm MAG 4x10.

Well, that's something -- each driver in that 210 is getting whacked with twice as many watts as each driver in the 410, so that could explain why you're hearing the 210 more (particularly if it's on top). But still -- I can't imagine why that rig wouldn't be way loud at those settings.

-jb

 

[agedhorse]

Well, that's something -- each driver in that 210 is getting whacked with twice as many watts as each driver in the 410, so that could explain why you're hearing the 210 more (particularly if it's on top).

-jb

Absolutely.

 

[agedhorse]

Today I got my old Trace Elliot AH350SMX back from being rebuilt by British Audio Service, so I got to A/B the amps. It appears from A/B testing the AH350SMX and Shuttle 9.0 for a while that the AH350SMX (supposedly 350 watts) is slightly louder than the Shuttle 9.0 (supposedly 900 watts). But at the end of the day, the Shuttle 9.0 is about 45lbs. lighter, much less noisy at peak volumes and I prefer the sound of it to my old AH350SMX.

I think I just need a better cab match for it and all will be well.

I wonder if you are unconsciously pushing the T.E. into power amp clipping, while respecting the limit LED a ltiile too much in your comparison?

Try playing while hitting the limit LED pretty good on the peaks, see if that levels the playing field. Unfortunatly, the ear and brain process average levels as "loudness", which is why the FM broadcast industry has used peak clippers and multiband compression and limiting so heavily. Their world revolves around maximizing average level at the expense of dynamics.

It's a trade-off, some players like a dynamic sound and feel and others like a compressed sound and feel. That's why there are so many good choices in amps for today's player.

 

[Jarrett]

I wonder if you are unconsciously pushing the T.E. into power amp clipping, while respecting the limit LED a ltiile too much in your comparison? Try playing while hitting the limit LED pretty good on the peaks, see if that levels the playing field.

I'm not sure what you are saying here. Are you asking if the limit light is coming on while I am playing the Shuttle 9.0? If so, yes the limit light does come on while I am playing the Shuttle 9.0 at full volume. And its still not quite as loud as the TE.

To clarify, I'm not complaining that the TE is louder than the Shuttle 9.0, just pointing it out to those who aren't aware or wanted a frame of reference for how the Shuttle 9.0 compares volume wise to the an old Trace Elliot AH350SMX.

 

[buffordbass]

I play my 9.0 with a single 112neox a LOT, with a 9 piece horn band and can keep up... something is amiss in this set up. When I play the 9.0 through the Uber 212 I always get told to turn down. The 9.0 is a very loud amp... not sure what, but something is up.

 

[Jarrett]

something is amiss in this set up. not sure what, but something is up.

I'm using the same bass, cables and cabs with both heads. Are you suggesting I have a defective Shuttle 9.0?

 

[12bass]

I'm not sure what you are saying here. Are you asking if the limit light is coming on while I am playing the Shuttle 9.0? If so, yes the limit light does come on while I am playing the Shuttle 9.0 at full volume. And its still not quite as loud as the TE.

To clarify, I'm not complaining that the TE is louder than the Shuttle 9.0, just pointing it out to those who aren't aware or wanted a frame of reference for how the Shuttle 9.0 compares volume wise to the an old Trace Elliot AH350SMX.

I think he's suggesting to push it harder into limiting because, due to the Shuttle's limiter design, there's still more power available once the limit LED lights up, perhaps another 6 dB or so. So, in other words, if you aren't pushing deep into limiting, you are not playing the Shuttle at full volume.