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Ruh-Roh... Hope my 6.0 will be what it was

B

Boof

Oct 3, 2008
111
2
Nashville
#1
Okay, somebody please calm me down so I can enjoy my day off. Le scoop: Been a working pro on some instrument since about '77. Exclusively a bassist since '91 or so, with a few intermittent semi-pro stretches. So when it comes to tone, hopefully I'm way beyond sightseeing. Anyhow...

Got a GB Shuttle 6.0/12T combo shortly after they came out ('08-ish?), and have loved it. LOVED it. I've used it with all kinds of cabs for different venues/road dates, and have never failed to get a tone I really dug for any style on any of my basses (mostly Fender, J & P, flats and rounds). Recently bought a Fender Bassman 4/10 cab (neo), GREAT results in tandem with the 1x12 AND as a stand-alone. Best & most versatile rig (for me) I've ever had on any instrument. So, figuring I'll stick with this rig for a long, long time, I sent my trusty 6.0 to G.B. for cleanup, re-furbish... just check under the hood. G.B. service was everything they say; just great, responsive, etc. Very fortunate to get a loaner Streamliner 600 from my fave Nashville store (thanks, J.D.).

G.B. called before the weekend (today's Sunday) to say the 6.0 was done & ready to ship. The tech said he'd "done all the stuff you listed, and did all the upgrades & everything." I didn't think anything of it, just said thanks.

So, I HATE the Streamliner. I know some people love 'em. Did I mention that I'm not in that group? I've done about four rehearsals & three gigs with it, and regardless of what cab I use, what bass I play, or how I set it, the low end is just this woofy, wooly, undefined bowl of mush. Forget the nice Jamerson-esque thump of my P with flats. Bag the broader, chewy goodness of my J with rounds. I can turn down the bass pot, and pump a little of one of the mid bands, and get better definition, but all the meat of the low notes goes away. The 4x10 is pretty much unusable for me with this head. Did I mention that I don't like the Streamliner at all?

I've read that the Shuttle 6.2 has "more extended bass." Okay, cool... unless what G.B. considers "extended bass" means the subsonic mush I'm getting with the Streamliner. I drove home from the tonal turd hunt that was last night's gig all panic-stricken; what if, when the tech said he'd "done all the upgrades," he meant that he 6.2'd my amp, and was sending back a nice, shiny bowl of mush? More fundamental on the low notes? I'm in. Bowl o' mush? Aaaauuugghhh! Nooooo!

Please, somebody tell me that the 6.2 upgrades don't make the Shuttle anything like what I'm getting out of this Streamliner. Please. I'm one of those guys who can't focus on ANYTHING if I feel there's something not right in my setup. Yes, I've done a search. Yes, I've read umpteen threads, which ATE a perfectly good morning. Nothing that I can find really addresses it. I can't call G.B. on Sunday, obviously. My dogs want to go to the park. My honey-do list looks like a phone book. There's a T.V. show I really want to watch. Save me - get my brain outta this loop!

BTW, I should mention here that I really don't care for the Streamliner, in case that was in doubt.

Any input is welcome. I thank you, and my therapist thanks you.
 
#6
Thanks for the replies, guys. I finally found a thread about the Streamliner's EQ scheme... very helpful. Although I still don't get it; yeah, it helped me dial a reasonable (actually, pretty good) tone on some very different basses, I don't understand how people get all frothy about an amp that you have to turn bass and treble WAY, WAY down on to make the tone liveable (especially when the maker's specs say those controls are +/- 12db). That's not very versatile, for me. Not much of a range. I think those who mention them being two different amps are right... three tubes in the pre section of the STL, for one thing. Different beast.

Oh... and while it's a nice suggestion to just not worry about it 'til I get my amp back, please see where I described myself as not being able to focus on ANYTHING else when some part of my setup is giving me trouble. I'm 56 years old. If I could morph out of that kind of obsessive brain setting, I'd have done it by now. And now that I'm whacking away making most of my living from playing again, having spent wads of time & money putting together a great-sounding stable of basses and a rig I can get whatever I want out of, the idea that something would/could come up (and stuff can come up real quickly here in Nashville), and I'd have to do it with a rig I can't control well FREAKS ME OUT. "Oh, well, I guess I'll spend that day futzing around for the tone they called me for" doesn't work for me. Thanks again for the responses. Those, and the tone-control thread have me feeling a LOT better. I'm gonna go walk the dogs now.
 
#11
Boof said:
Thanks for the replies, guys. I finally found a thread about the Streamliner's EQ scheme... very helpful. Although I still don't get it; yeah, it helped me dial a reasonable (actually, pretty good) tone on some very different basses, I don't understand how people get all frothy about an amp that you have to turn bass and treble WAY, WAY down on to make the tone liveable (especially when the maker's specs say those controls are +/- 12db). That's not very versatile, for me. Not much of a range. I think those who mention them being two different amps are right... three tubes in the pre section of the STL, for one thing. Different beast.

Oh... and while it's a nice suggestion to just not worry about it 'til I get my amp back, please see where I described myself as not being able to focus on ANYTHING else when some part of my setup is giving me trouble. I'm 56 years old. If I could morph out of that kind of obsessive brain setting, I'd have done it by now. And now that I'm whacking away making most of my living from playing again, having spent wads of time & money putting together a great-sounding stable of basses and a rig I can get whatever I want out of, the idea that something would/could come up (and stuff can come up real quickly here in Nashville), and I'd have to do it with a rig I can't control well FREAKS ME OUT. "Oh, well, I guess I'll spend that day futzing around for the tone they called me for" doesn't work for me. Thanks again for the responses. Those, and the tone-control thread have me feeling a LOT better. I'm gonna go walk the dogs now.
Click to expand...

Well, I'm kind of the same way to a lesser extent. It really bothers me when any of my gear goes down. I hate the hassle of taking it to the shop, I hate waiting for it, and I hate the fact that it has parts that may not be identical to the original in it.

But what I do is take the dog to the park, watch a little TV and maybe do something on the honeydo list if I have time. Oh yeah, I go over to Bass San Diego and hang out, too.
 
#12
I have to question why you'd send a perfectly fine working head to Genz Benz. Usually you send stuff out when it breaks ;) You could spray contact cleaner on the pots, switches and jacks yourself.
 
#14
"I have to question why you'd send a perfectly fine working head to Genz Benz. Usually you send stuff out when it breaks ;) You could spray contact cleaner on the pots, switches and jacks yourself."

This amp's seen a LOT of use. Aside from some issues with the chassis closure and preamp tube socket, I sent it in so that I'll have a like-new, perfect amp the next time I go out for a gig. I don't do electronic testing or repair. Yeah, I could spray the pots. But when it comes to checking to see that things are working like they should, aren't about to fry, etc., that's not my bag. I don't wait until I blow a rod in my car to change the oil.

Munji,
I hear ya. But for me, what I tried to describe anyway, it's about being ready to go, always. I've been out of the scene in Nashville for a while (after 20 years of hitting it hard, I worked mostly at photography for a few years). On the kind of gigs I'm trying to fill my schedule with, every other guy WILL show up with killer gear that works perfectly, and that he knows how to use. You gotta play - WELL - and you can't be scraping around for a sound. The frustration of waiting for something to come back from the shop, for me, is nothing at all compared to the ugly feeling of having some serious pro players stand around watching you trying to get your sound together. I just refuse to let myself get in that position. Thanks again, all, for the responses. My like-new, squeaky-clean, great-sounding, fully upgraded, no-chassis-rattling Shuttle will be here tomorrow, according to FedEx.

I guess it's like this... more likely than not, every amp is going to go down to some degree at some point. I would rather choose a point in my schedule where there isn't much critical need than have that time "chosen" for me by fate. I chose a time that wasn't critical, so that when something important is on the schedule, a trip to the tech won't be sprung on me. My original post wasn't about waiting for it to come back. It was about using something that doesn't really work well for me, and being a little scared that my amp would come back sounding similar to that replacement.
 
#15
Slow down everyone...

First of all, please don't go spraying the pots with contact cleaner unless you really want to buy a new set of pots (and the installation) down the road. Bad idea.

Secondly, the Streamliner and the Shuttle are totally different amps with different features and voicing. They don't sound all that much alike. The low end is a lot different on the Streamliner and suits a specifif type of player.

Thirdly, we do not change a Shuttle 6.0 into a 6.2, can't happen. Any upgrades are very, very minor and probably wouldn't even be noticed unless I pointed them out to you. The .2 is a different amp BASED on the .0.
 
#16
agedhorse said:
Slow down everyone...

First of all, please don't go spraying the pots with contact cleaner unless you really want to buy a new set of pots (and the installation) down the road. Bad idea.

Secondly, the Streamliner and the Shuttle are totally different amps with different features and voicing. They don't sound all that much alike. The low end is a lot different on the Streamliner and suits a specifif type of player.

Thirdly, we do not change a Shuttle 6.0 into a 6.2, can't happen. Any upgrades are very, very minor and probably wouldn't even be noticed unless I pointed them out to you. The .2 is a different amp BASED on the .0.
Click to expand...

While I've never had an opinion on GB gear one way or another, it's awesome to know that somebody from the company is hear and active enough to pitch in on conversations like this.

What's that about the contact cleaner though?
 
#17
Boof said:
You gotta play - WELL - and you can't be scraping around for a sound. The frustration of waiting for something to come back from the shop, for me, is nothing at all compared to the ugly feeling of having some serious pro players stand around watching you trying to get your sound together. I just refuse to let myself get in that position....

...I guess it's like this... more likely than not, every amp is going to go down to some degree at some point. .
Click to expand...
I get that your perfect tone set is mission critical to you, but no backup amp in the car?
 
#18
oniman7 said:
While I've never had an opinion on GB gear one way or another, it's awesome to know that somebody from the company is hear and active enough to pitch in on conversations like this.

What's that about the contact cleaner though?
Click to expand...

Many contact cleaners contain chemicals that can damage the materials used in pots. The only stuff that I have found to be mostly generaly safe is CAIG DeOxit F5 (also called faderlube) but only the 5% version, and use a tiny amount, and only if necessary.
 

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