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Genz Benz Shuttle 9.0 discussion thread

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#941
Something that gets way overlooked on TB quite often is the input sensitivity difference when comparing the other lightweight amps to the Genz Benz amp.

As Aged Horse stated the other builders are putting all of the gain increase in the first half of the pot, thus giving the appearence the amp is louder than it really is. You run up to a ceiling very quick and then the limiter kicks in hard and quashes the rest of the signal.

It's a parlor trick. I can not believe how so many people fall prey to this cheap parlor trick. I think part of it is they are setting their amps with their eyes instead of ears and playing follow the leader based off of what is said in the threads.

I would ask anyone to compare the percieved loudness between a QSC PLX2 1804 and a Crest CA-9. The CA-9 has a greatly reduced sesitivity thus causing the amp to appear louder. Take both amps up to full boar with equal amounts of Gain and notice how the 1804 keeps up with the CA-9 easily without breaking a sweat.
 
#944
Hey guys,
I just ordered a 9.0 and have a question about a cab to pair it with.

I was thinking about getting the Uber Bass 410 from Genzbenz. This is probably a silly question, but how can I tell the difference between the 4ohm cab and the 8ohm one?
 
#945
ukepicker said:
Hey guys,
I just ordered a 9.0 and have a question about a cab to pair it with.

I was thinking about getting the Uber Bass 410 from Genzbenz. This is probably a silly question, but how can I tell the difference between the 4ohm cab and the 8ohm one?
Click to expand...

we only offer it in 4ohm.
 
#946
Red Planet said:
As Aged Horse stated the other builders are putting all of the gain increase in the first half of the pot, thus giving the appearence the amp is louder than it really is. You run up to a ceiling very quick and then the limiter kicks in hard and quashes the rest of the signal.
Click to expand...

This has been one of my points. As much as I feel the 9.0
may not be as powerful as I might expect, the fact that I can
get every bit of volume out of it with no squashing, limiting,
dripping, or spilling, (whatever) and my speakers don't sound
like they are about to die from the distortion due to the amp
being at its very limit.

This has to be one of the most interesting threads (for me) on
Talkbass in a while. It concerns the "art" of engineering and
our growing expectations of gear. This stuff has come leaps
and bounds from when I was a kid. Hell, I have friends who
had to stop playing due to back problems. The gear they
needed just weighed too much for them to carry. The light
weight gear options now are mind boggling and wonderful. You
just have to find the gear that fits your ear and wallet.
 
#947
B String said:
This has been one of my points. As much as I feel the 9.0
may not be as powerful as I might expect, the fact that I can
get every bit of volume out of it with no squashing, limiting,
dripping, or spilling, (whatever) and my speakers don't sound
like they are about to die from the distortion due to the amp
being at its very limit.
Click to expand...

Have you tried cranking the preamp Volume knob all the way up? That way you're getting the maximum out of the preamp. You should then be able to adjust the overall level at the Master, getting the most power out of the amp.
 
#952
I'd like to take the time to once again thank the Genz Benz guys for making such cool functional tools for us Bassist. The 12.0 is an amazing Bass amp and the 9.0 is just crazy.

I am very fortunate to have the 9.0 as my go to amp. I like it so much it is now my only amp. I've allways had several amps for differing flavors etc...but the 9.0 made anything else collect dust.

Sometimes there is a product that comes out that just hits the mark and raises the bar. The Shuttle Series is that product. The competition will be scrambling for years to try to repackage something that is more appealing and I frankly don't see it ever happeing.
 
#956
Musicman20 said:
So, what are the smallest cabinets you guys 'dare' to use with the Shuttle 9.0?

Im guessing the GB Neox 212 is probably a brilliant match?
Click to expand...
How small? I'm using an EA Whizzy 10 with the Shuttle 9.0 tonight. Under 20 lbs for the cab and head together.

No problem anchoring the BigBand with this. I get nowhere near the max output of the 9.0, so no risk to the Cab. I get this nice solid comfy low end mass of sound that is just so right, and so effortless.
 
#957
fretster said:
How small? I'm using an EA Whizzy 10 with the Shuttle 9.0 tonight. Under 20 lbs for the cab and head together.

No problem anchoring the BigBand with this. I get nowhere near the max output of the 9.0, so no risk to the Cab. I get this nice solid comfy low end mass of sound that is just so right, and so effortless.
Click to expand...

Is that safe?! Sorry Im always a worrier with gear...
 
#958
fretster said:
How small? I'm using an EA Whizzy 10 with the Shuttle 9.0 tonight. Under 20 lbs for the cab and head together.

No problem anchoring the BigBand with this. I get nowhere near the max output of the 9.0, so no risk to the Cab. I get this nice solid comfy low end mass of sound that is just so right, and so effortless.
Click to expand...

I use my shuttle 9.0 with my epifani ul110 as well for real mellow small gigs with my 4 string jazz bass , our drummer has a real nice small cocktail kit , it works great , sometimes I will even run my epifani ul210 and the ul110 together making a 4 ohm load for louder gigs and that rocks , no problem's and still a small light set up ,
 
#959
Musicman20 said:
Is that safe?! Sorry Im always a worrier with gear...
Click to expand...
Depends. Like driving a car, it's safe if you stay on your side of the road and watch out for things in the road! You can't just close your eyes and step on the gas! WIth respect to the Shuttle 9.0 and the EA Cab: that cab is rated at 250 watts, with 4ohms, nominal output 102 dB, max output 126 dB. With 900 watts on tap in the Shuttle, yes it's possible to smoke the speaker coil here! But, I could do that with an amp rated at 100 watts too, and in either case my ears would be bleeding. I keep the overall volume where it is "right" with the band, and I have no trouble burning out the cab.

Note: there are countless threads here on TB that discuss burning out speakers, with under-powered heads, with distortion, with tubes vs solid state. They all end up in the same place: you have to use your ears to tell you when you are playing too loud, and it is either sustained heat (watts) or maximum extrusion of the cone that cause speaker cone death. Both can happen with amps rated below the speaker's rating. HOW? A single massive jolt (a loud G string pop) with the amp maxed could cause the speaker to over-extend, jumping right out of the voice coil, and if it doesn't land in the right place, TOAST. Or, you simply exceed the rated output of your amp---- if it says 200 watts, there is an implied level of distortion, say 0.1%. Stay below 200 watts and you are below 0.1%. But crank up the pre-amp and the bass in the EQ, and you might get 400 watts with 15% distortion. Starts to sound distorted, of course. You hear the distortion, but you are thinking The Amp is only rated for 200 watts so I am safe. But no, in fact you are melting the voice coil!

Conclusion with the Shuttle 9.0 and a cab rated at 250 watts: safe as long as I hear no distortion, and my inner sense of "too loud" doesn't kick in! Is that safe for everybody else? Not really my call!
 
#960
Red Planet said:
The competition will be scrambling for years to try to repackage something that is more appealing and I frankly don't see it ever happeing.
Click to expand...
No offense, but all companies, Genz included, are constantly trying to make headway to keep their products fresh and competitive. No doubt there are a few companies out there that might be late getting into the lightweight market, but there are plenty of companies that play in this arena very competitively that aren't scrambling to compete with the Shuttle series. I know you are solidly decided that the 9.0 is the amp for you, but it's not like it's the only product on the market that does what it does. There are lots of options right now for us to choose from, and it won't take years for anyone to come up with something much more powerful and feature rich than the Shuttle 9.0. Many would argue that such a product already exists, but of course no one product will appeal to everyone.

Just offering some perspective as I see it, and to serve as a springboard for what I'd like to see in the future from Genz Benz. While I'm looking forward to the next Genz head, unlike many of you hear I hope very much that it is NOT a Max 18.0. I don't see any appeal in that design at all. The 9.0 has plenty of power for most gigging players, and with the dual channels and EQ, it just makes the head to big for someone who wants a small head IMO.

What I'd like to see is instead are more features on a small head, such as an even more versatile EQ (two semi-para mid controls), and adjustable pre-shape filters. Especially nice would be a tone control much like the VLE on the Markbass heads, or the Tweetertone on the TC Electronic combos. That one knob alone goes a long way toward letting you get some old-school vibe out of an otherwise modern or bright sounding head. The Genz heads are all very bright to begin with, including the 9.0, so a knob like this would open up the head to a much larger user audience.

Amp choice is all about pros and cons to me, and it seems no one company has the perfect product that has others scrambling. I could be happy with a lot of different heads, and I have a couple of wishes for all of them also.

All IMHO/E of course!
 
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