Shuttle 6.0 Arrived, but is it working correctly?

A "blem" I ordered from a on-line vendor arrived today, with no apparent cosmetic defect I can find. I think the box had been opened, however. Anyway, I don't yet have a cab to try it with, so I connected it to a Peavey SP112M 8 ohm floor monitor (12" speaker and horn), just to check it out at low volume. To my surprise, it seems to generate very little output. The "signal" LED illuminates when a note is played, but with the preamp gain, preamp volume, and master volume all at 12 o'clock, the volume is quite low; less than I get with my Behringer BX1200 120 watt combo amp. I can hear a fair bit of background hiss at those settings. I'm using a inexpensive passive Washburn P/J bass that works fine with the Behringer amp.

I have never before tried connecting a bass amp to the Peavey monitor (which is a known good PA cab; works fine with my PA head), and am unsure whether the low volume is indicative of a problem with the Shuttle, or merely of my having used a PA, rather than proper bass cab? I'm going to try to find a bass cab to try it with, but in the interim thought I'd consult those of you with Shuttle experience - do you find you have to advance the various volume controls significantly before you start to get appreciable volume? Is a low volume to be expected when using a bass amp with a PA cab? I know that I'll get less output with a 4 ohm cab, but I still was anticipating something rather more thunderous!

 

I played around with the Shuttle a little more, and discovered that the Overload LED won't come on, regardless of the setting of the input stage gain or volume controls. Even fully clockwise for both. My bass is passive, but I would have thought that the sensitivity range for the input would have made overload possible at some point? With more aggressive use of the volume controls, I am getting more output, but still suspect it's not what 375 watts should be.

As a separate question, did yours come with a warranty registration card of some kind? Mine has only the instruction manual and an inspection card, showing factory inspection.

I'm beginning to think that this unit is defective, and that the vendor shipped it out as a blem when it really was a customer return which should not have been re-sold without being refurb'ed...

 

Thanks, Liam. I'll try making contact, before returning it to the vendor (not MF, but Music123). One reason I was interested in the product was G-B's rep for good customer service; I had hoped, however, not to need to test it for myself! On the positive side, Music123 will accept returns for 45 days, so my downside risk is limited, other than the hassle factor.

 

Thanks, AgedHorse. I plan to take the unit tomorrow to a friend's house, to try some other gear just in case it's something like that. He's got a Fender P-bass and a Carvin B-4 I can try it with (both passive, however), along with a Carvin BRX 4-10 NEO cab and some Ampeg cabs. I appreciate the suggestions, and will get back to you with the results.

Jeff

 

Sounds logical to me. I have a Behringer Bass V-amp, which should act as a preamp, and I'll try that to see if the issue is whether the bass I'm using isn't putting out enough signal for the head's input stage. Plugging in my friend's P-bass and B4ought to also provide some indication along those lines - I assume those are reasonably "typical" passive basses, that the head should be able to work well with?

The input tube is a interesting possibility. The manual doesn't say anything abut the tube, or how to replace it, but I assume it's probably fairly straightforward? Other than observing that "the head doesn't seem to work properly", is there a easy way to tell if the tube is the culprit other than just trying a swap with a known good one?

 

Update, and thanks:

Well, I drove over to our bassist's house a couple of hours ago, and plugged the Shuttle into his 4-ohm Carvin BRX 410 NEO, using his Fender Highway 1 P-Bass. It worked just fine! Plenty of volume, even with the volume controls around 9:00 o'clock. The Overload light came on at around 1:00 o'clock. It also had plenty of juice when connected to a Ampeg 8 ohm 2-10 cab. So, clearly Agedhorse hit it right on the money, when he suggested that my Washburn X102 bass might have insufficient output to properly drive the amp's input.

I suppose this means I have to get a new bass; as if I needed a rationale! Is anyone successfully using a Lakland Skyline Hollowbody, or a Ric, with a Shuttle 6.0 without issues? Those are two which interest me. And, a proper bass cab is obviously in the cards, too.

Anyway, many, many thanks to Agedhorse from Genz-Benz, and to Rick, for your helpful advice. You may now count me among the Genz-Benz faithful! I'll check w/Music123, and with Genz-Benz service regarding the lack of a warranty registration card - not sure if I need it or not in case of future warranty issues, and my package didn't come with one.

Jeff