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My reliable source confirmed something....
- Thread starter gustobassman
- Start date
It became the Fender bassman 1200. 300T was the valve version, same deal with the rebadge.
Ahhhh... OK, i was thinking about the 300T. I forgot about the 1200S... I just remember the "Stand Way Back" Sunn ads that were in BP years ago.
Mr. Foxen
Commercial User
Kind of have a thing about the 1200s because it is what my housemate had, and it had more of everything than anything else, power and control. Now my main head is a 70w valve head.
Perhaps.. but I have owned both.. and the SWRs that I owned do not compare to the GB in any way. I owned a SWR WP400 and I still own an SWR La-15. There is no comparison. I have owned a GB 6.0, 9.0 and I currently own a 900.. and there may very well be "much better out there" but all of the GB products I have owned have been top notch and the 900 will be with me until either it or I die. Regardless to what else I may acquire down the road.
Now can I get an Amen...
That is almost surreal... Literally all they did was change the name. On the outside at least.It became the Fender bassman 1200. 300T was the valve version, same deal with the rebadge.
Naw man... look at the knobs!
LOL!!
He is probably not at liberty to discuss it. I remember when Pre CBS Fenders were supposed to be the bee's knees.. I was surprised to hear about Pre Fender SWRs when I started getting back in the groove in 2001.. Now we may be hearing about Pre Fender GBs.. I would think that the Shuttles would compete directly with that line of micro heads they released a few years back..
Genz has offered innovative amps and cabs with unparalleled quality and customer service. IMO, it would be a huge loss to the bass playing community even if the designs are assimilated by Fender.
The top-notch customer service would be gone along with the "coolness" of the Genz Benz name.
Genz had their own manufacturing facility in Taiwan and I have a hard time believing the Fender wouldn't move manufacturing of Jeff's designs to China with the attendant loss of quality.
I should really pick up a SM 9.2 since I have confidence it would last longer than almost any other amp out there and deliver massive tone.
I'll be very sad to see them go if all this is really true.
The top-notch customer service would be gone along with the "coolness" of the Genz Benz name.
Genz had their own manufacturing facility in Taiwan and I have a hard time believing the Fender wouldn't move manufacturing of Jeff's designs to China with the attendant loss of quality.
I should really pick up a SM 9.2 since I have confidence it would last longer than almost any other amp out there and deliver massive tone.
I'll be very sad to see them go if all this is really true.
I'm not a business guy, but if Fender is in the red, it has more to do with business decisions than sales. They certainly sell a lot of guitars, guitar amps, basses, and they just issued some cool bass amps.
Genz Benz is one of those companies that brings the innovation. If it weren't for companies like this pushing the envelope, our options would be limited as far as bass amps. GK does cool stuff, but they have their own thing going on. The Streamliner is an amazing piece of equipment. Also, their prices are VERY competitive.
I can see Fender consolidating the Genz company, and changing the badges. The years following they'll find ways to make the streamliners and shuttles cheaper and less reliable, and upping the price. They would lay off the talented engineers with a "we got this" attitude.
I mean I love Fender guitars, basses and their guitar amps. But their product line hasn't changed much since the 60's and 70's. Most new products they issue don't last long.
There are sectors of the music industry that don't really have major innovations ( I may be wrong), drums, guitars, tube guitar amps, passive basses. But the bass amp world is in on a different level, I consider bass amp innovation to be up there with pro audio and such.
What I'm trying to say is that Fender doesn't seem like a new idea company. They build some cool stuff, but IMO to compete in the bass amp market, especially with micros, you need the right talent. Genz has this, I hope fender doesn't screw it up. They should stick with attempting to reissue chunks of wood that they made 50 years ago.
Genz Benz is one of those companies that brings the innovation. If it weren't for companies like this pushing the envelope, our options would be limited as far as bass amps. GK does cool stuff, but they have their own thing going on. The Streamliner is an amazing piece of equipment. Also, their prices are VERY competitive.
I can see Fender consolidating the Genz company, and changing the badges. The years following they'll find ways to make the streamliners and shuttles cheaper and less reliable, and upping the price. They would lay off the talented engineers with a "we got this" attitude.
I mean I love Fender guitars, basses and their guitar amps. But their product line hasn't changed much since the 60's and 70's. Most new products they issue don't last long.
There are sectors of the music industry that don't really have major innovations ( I may be wrong), drums, guitars, tube guitar amps, passive basses. But the bass amp world is in on a different level, I consider bass amp innovation to be up there with pro audio and such.
What I'm trying to say is that Fender doesn't seem like a new idea company. They build some cool stuff, but IMO to compete in the bass amp market, especially with micros, you need the right talent. Genz has this, I hope fender doesn't screw it up. They should stick with attempting to reissue chunks of wood that they made 50 years ago.
It's not that Fender isn't a new idea company...it's that most new ideas they come up with don't sell as well as the tried and true. Sure, a lot of stuff they bungle, but every idea can't be genius.
Hmm, if you'd asked me a few minutes ago before I read this thread I'da filed Genz Benz under "tried and true"...actually I DO file them there regardless of what goes down.
Just upgraded GB 6.0 12t to a new 6.2 12t, plus extension 12t cab. Figured if Fender was taking GB out, better to get it now when it was all still available. Comment: my back has felt better for the last few years with GB, my old, heavy Eden cabs are collecting dust. And the 6.2 is a real improvement over the 6.0, deeper, smoother, much more refined. I A/B'd against my Eden WT400 with a D210xlt, they both sound great but the Eden rig weighs almost 90 lbs, the entire GB weighs under 60, amp and two cabs. For this old guy, GB wins.
I can't say that I agree with this, with where we are now. I think bass amplification has FINALLY sorted itself out, and hit a plateau where all that's left is nattering at the edges. Little 35lb combos of today deliver more volume, punch and lows than a wall of mid 60's gear. Amps today can deliver an incredibly deep low end, without the mud common to many 70s or even 80s rigs. I'm not saying there's not room for improvement. I just don't expect any giant leaps.
It is however AWESOME that bass amps have come so far 
.
I would say they have nearly reached the limit, they are reaching the bounds of physics with the sizing , much smaller and your not going to be able to get good low end no matter how well the cab is built
.I would say they have nearly reached the limit, they are reaching the bounds of physics with the sizing , much smaller and your not going to be able to get good low end no matter how well the cab is built
It would be interesting to know if GB would have been able to innovate so heavily without Fender's resources and distribution behind them these last few years.
Hmmm, this is the THIRD thread about Fender shutting down Genz Benz, yet NOTHING OFFICIAL has been issued by Fender stating this. When the sky starts to fall for real, let me know.
You are comparing apples and oranges.
...and your opinion is based on what you were comparing. That's fair. The SWR pro gear was quite different sonically from the WP series. Genz also has different tone and packaging goals. SWR's peak was easily a decade before Genz started really selling some product.
