New amp suggestions and Genz Benz Question

[arkarus]

Alright well I have been playing for about 7months now and I feel that I should slowly research to get a decent medium size rig and moving away from my line6 practice amp. Planing to change over next summer, but I have been very focus into trying a lot of different amps to choose something that is right for me.

Now the two amps that I have really enjoyed so far were GK and Genz Benz.

The GK Amps a very clean and I really like the treble cleanness compared to a so so feel on a Genz Benz Shuttle 6.0. GK Amp didn't seem to be pushing around as much air as the Shuttle for some reason.

On the other hand Genz Benz Shuttle has an amazing mid and low feel. And just love the tube preamp this amp has and its properties.

So i have a hard time choosing since I like the glossy high end of GK and the Genz Benz mids/lows and raw power feel. The only thing that is now giving me some question is that the store that sells Genz Benz apparently had some issues with them 2 years ago when around 50% of the heads had a problem with the input jack losing all low end. So the had to send a lot of them back and ended up stopping consistently supplying more. So I was wondering what up with that? Anyone else has heard about this problem and if it still exist (before I consider ordering a shuttle max 6.0)? Also any suggestions on something that might mix the two things I like about these amps into one package?

 

[KJung]

I haven't heard anything negative about the Max heads at all. They did have an issue way back when on the effects loops jacks causing some cut-out issues on the original Shuttle 6, but I think that is ancient history.

That Max 6 is killer (I've played out of 1/2 of the Max 12, which is basically the 6). Highly recommended if you are a tone tweaker and want a lot of different sounds coming out of the amp. Much warmer, fuller, fatter than the original Shuttle 6 IMO.

Other cool heads to consider:

- Markbass LMIII... great price, warm, fat, but crisp up top. Very clean though.

- TC RH450.... warm, fat, punchy, with LOTS of features (great tuner, great compressor, cool 4 band semi-parametric EQ and memory, etc. Lot's of 'tube-like' grind and feel if you want it. LOUD!

- Genz Shuttle 9..... they extended the low end of the Shuttle 6.0 and added more power.... really small. I haven't tried this, but it should be killer. The black looks a lot better too IMO.

- Markbass F500... in stock now at Musician's Friend. Punchier, crisper, tighter than the LMII, with a wondeful feature set. Clean, crisp, transparent, loud, SMALL!!!

All good stuff. I'm a bit underwhelmed by the GK head for a variety of reasons, but the 'next generation' MB2-500 Fusion looks pretty killer.

IMO and mostly IME!

 

[kaiser_sosea]

Never heard about consistent issues with the Shuttles, and find it hard to believe Genz would not supply more heads, that just doesn't sound like them. I've not played a GK recently so I can't comment on that but I can tell you that my Genz product (NeoPak 3.5) has been the best piece of bass gear I have owned, performs flawlessly time after time, tone is amazing, built like a tank and light to boot.. It is highly unlikely you would have a quality issue with a Genz product (from experience and what i've read on Talkbass, HCBF, ebassist, etc...) and in the event you do they have the BEST customer service in the industry.

 

[deekay911]

I've been into the GB Shuttle's since the start, and apart from isolated effects jack issues due to dust, as mentioned above, there have been zero issues.
You are not thinking about that little gremlin the GK MB2-500 are you ? - now that one is a completely different story....

 

[agedhorse]

Let me set a couple of things straight here, looks like something got translated wrong...

We have had a few defective effects return jacks, maybe a dozen or so out of thousands of these amps that we have shipped. Regarding it being 2 years ago, that's quite a bit of time to hang onto something like this IMO. This kind of thing happens to all manufacturers, some acknowledge it and take corrective action and some do not. The effects return jack's internal normaling contacts are probably one of the most common problems with all manufacturer's amp products, they are vulnerable to dirt, dust and not often cycled since the majority of users don't even use the effects loop. In fact, if you have any amp that is acting intermittent, the FIRST thing you should try in the troubleshooting process is to bypass the effects loop with a 1/4" jumper.

Regarding supply of the Shuttle amps, there has not been any supply problems, (don't know why they would say this) and there are plenty of them out there in the retail channels. You might also take a look at some of this forum's sponsor's stores.

Hope this helps clear things up.

 

[arkarus]

Thanks everyone. The guy I was talking to was quite old so maybe his 2 years in retrospect might have been more than that. This is a small store in the suburbs so the 50% might have been 1 out of 2 heads that they got or something, I don`t know it did kind of seem strange when he told me since I haven`t previously read about problems when I was looking on TB. I was just wondering about the current models since he did say to see if there is any problem with the current stuff since he remembered they had previous issue, well since there isn`t I don`t have to worry about it anymore and just focus on the sound and feel that I get out of these.

Also, I really like the Genz Benz cabs, they are lighter in comparison to other cabs but have but have a great sound. I was wondering about how compatible they are with say GK heads. This is just my thought on the possibility of mixing the two to possible get both the clear high end of GK and the great feel of Genz Benz. Does this make sense or does it in reality not really work as well, meaning that I should probably get the same brand head and cab to get the best results?

Might be kinda a stupid question but. I know that Shuttle Max series have 2 channels which can be blended together into a cab. I was wondering if connecting 2 cabs to this amplifier would give the possibility of having each channel on a different cab. Not sure if that makes sense, example would be having the one head power 2 cabs, 1 cab has a lot of distortion and the other is clean.

 

[JimmyM]

Thanks everyone. The guy I was talking to was quite old so maybe his 2 years in retrospect might have been more than that. This is a small store in the suburbs so the 50% might have been 1 out of 2 heads that they got or something, I don`t know it did kind of seem strange when he told me since I haven`t previously read about problems when I was looking on TB. I was just wondering about the current models since he did say to see if there is any problem with the current stuff since he remembered they had previous issue, well since there isn`t I don`t have to worry about it anymore and just focus on the sound and feel that I get out of these.

Also, I really like the Genz Benz cabs, they are lighter in comparison to other cabs but have but have a great sound. I was wondering about how compatible they are with say GK heads. This is just my thought on the possibility of mixing the two to possible get both the clear high end of GK and the great feel of Genz Benz. Does this make sense or does it in reality not really work as well, meaning that I should probably get the same brand head and cab to get the best results?

Might be kinda a stupid question but. I know that Shuttle Max series have 2 channels which can be blended together into a cab. I was wondering if connecting 2 cabs to this amplifier would give the possibility of having each channel on a different cab. Not sure if that makes sense, example would be having the one head power 2 cabs, 1 cab has a lot of distortion and the other is clean.

Nope, you'd need two separate inputs, one driving each side of the power amp. And as far as I know, nobody makes an amp like that (though they should).

As far as mixing cabs and heads, people do it all the time. But who knows if that's the solution for you? That's something you'll have to figure out on your own.

 

[KJung]

Might be kinda a stupid question but. I know that Shuttle Max series have 2 channels which can be blended together into a cab. I was wondering if connecting 2 cabs to this amplifier would give the possibility of having each channel on a different cab. Not sure if that makes sense, example would be having the one head power 2 cabs, 1 cab has a lot of distortion and the other is clean.

As JimmyM mentioned, heads like the Shuttle 12 are called 'dual mono'... two power amps, but the preamp (or in the Shuttle's case, the two preamps) drive each power amp the same. So, not 'true stereo'.

The only 'true stereo' bass head I'm aware of is the TecAmp Bonafide head, which has two power amps and two pre's (like the Shuttle Max 12), but the pre's are assignable to both or either power amp. So, it is literally two entire amps in one case.

 

[NWB]

Let me set a couple of things straight here, looks like something got translated wrong...

We have had a few defective effects return jacks, maybe a dozen or so out of thousands of these amps that we have shipped. Regarding it being 2 years ago, that's quite a bit of time to hang onto something like this IMO. This kind of thing happens to all manufacturers, some acknowledge it and take corrective action and some do not. The effects return jack's internal normaling contacts are probably one of the most common problems with all manufacturer's amp products, they are vulnerable to dirt, dust and not often cycled since the majority of users don't even use the effects loop. In fact, if you have any amp that is acting intermittent, the FIRST thing you should try in the troubleshooting process is to bypass the effects loop with a 1/4" jumper.

Regarding supply of the Shuttle amps, there has not been any supply problems, (don't know why they would say this) and there are plenty of them out there in the retail channels. You might also take a look at some of this forum's sponsor's stores.

Hope this helps clear things up.

This is about what I figured when I read the OP. The response here by Agedhorse is also why I have 100% confidence in my Shuttle.

To the OP, I'd consider carefully how each amp will sound in a band context. Bedroom tone is one thing, but in a full band that type of tone may come up short. Read various reviews carefully to find the context of the review situation, i.e. either alone or with other instruments.

 

[arkarus]

This is about what I figured when I read the OP. The response here by Agedhorse is also why I have 100% confidence in my Shuttle.

To the OP, I'd consider carefully how each amp will sound in a band context. Bedroom tone is one thing, but in a full band that type of tone may come up short. Read various reviews carefully to find the context of the review situation, i.e. either alone or with other instruments.

The concept of what context it is played in is quite interesting. The thing is reviews are one thing but since I don't really understand the descriptive words used to explain the opinion people have on amps and their tone it is kinda hard at times to feel a connection. On the other hand unless I buy/order an amp and cab it doesn't seem that it would be possible to feel the sound in a band context, I don't know, I could potentially ask the guitarist to come around and jam with me at the store I guess. But still doesn't seem like it would be the full deal.

The Shuttle Max 6.0 that I am interested in for the most part from the Genz Benz side, but it must be ordered and its not exactly like I can place an order at a small music store(only one in the area that's a distributor) just to try the product and possibly walk away without actually buying, for some reason it doesn't seem like nice thing to do when talking about a +1K amount of gear. On the other hand I don't exactly want to buy something just to try it. From the GK side of things its not that big of a problem since there is a large chain distributor around here that sells them, so they constantly have a selection of the amps I would still like to try out. Even so I don't exactly know how to imagine the sound in a band context when I would be trying it by myself for the most part when at the store. Any suggestions?

Also, besides my own preference for sound, is there any particular property in a rig that is essentially useful in a band setting, besides being loud enough?

Thanks everyone for your help with my questions!

 

[NWB]

I suppose what I was getting at was, there are a lot of amp reviews on this forum with some fairly detailed tone descriptions. I would read those reviews carefully to find the context the amp was used in, if stated.

For example, if someone wrote that the ShuttleMax comes through clean and clear in a three-piece hard rock band, that would be pretty useful information to me since that's a similar playing situation to mine. Someone who plays an amp for ten minutes in Guitar Center and makes an evaluation would be less useful to me.

Also, carefully conside what speaker/cabs are used in the amp review, since that can play a very large part in the tone.

I'm not sure exactly how effective this approach may be, others can correct me if I'm off-base, but the Shuttle line has an auxillary input which you could run an iPod or similar source into giving some background sound. Play along with that and see how clearly your bass stands out. That might give a good approximation how it will perform in a real band situation.

FYI - The ShuttleMax 6 has a very wide tone pallette available and can likely be set to work well in most playing situations.