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TC Electronics RH450 vs Genz Benz Shuttle 9.0

#41
I just a/b the shuttle 6.0 and 9.0 and If I never tried the 9.0 I might have bought the 6.0 but I really didn't like tones of the 6.0. The 9.0 on the other hand is incredible! It's night and day difference. I've never heard a more usable tone (for Live settings).

Now the RH450 might be the mother of all tones in the studio. But it just made my live setup worse. But that's just me.
 
#42
I'm also trying to decide between the RH450 and the GB Shuffle 9.0 at the moment. I've been pulling my hair out trying to figure out which one is right for me. I'm looking for a powerful live unit that will also work great in the studio. I know that the RH450 is great in the studio, but can it keep up with the 900 watts that the Shuffle 9.0 is rated to pump out?
 
#43
Jarrett said:
Finally the power was the main issue. I have an amp that puts out around 250 at 8 ohms, I needed more than that. The Shuttle 9.0's 500 watts @ 8ohms and 900 watts @ 4ohms was exactly what I needed for this amp as well. Not to mention I love that the GB 9.0 is 4lbs and I can put it in the front pocket of gig bag with my bass.
Click to expand...

BassicManSC - After owning the Shuttle 9.0 for a few months now, I've changed my stance on it power wise. In my opinion, its not a 900 watt amp. To me, maybe 400-600 watts compared to other amps of similar reported wattage. I've never played the TC, but I have a feeling if you lined a TC RH450 and Shuttle 9.0 up head to head, there would not be that big a difference in the perceived volume.

If I had it all to do over again at this point, I would probably give the TC a whirl.
 
#44
Jarrett said:
BassicManSC - After owning the Shuttle 9.0 for a few months now, I've changed my stance on it power wise. In my opinion, its not a 900 watt amp. To me, maybe 400-600 watts compared to other amps of similar reported wattage. I've never played the TC, but I have a feeling if you lined a TC RH450 and Shuttle 9.0 up head to head, there would not be that big a difference in the perceived volume.

If I had it all to do over again at this point, I would probably give the TC a whirl.
Click to expand...

+1, exactly the same for me. I only had the Shuttle 9.0 for a few days but I had the same experience. RH450 is probably the same perceived volume.
 
#47
Jarrett said:
BassicManSC - After owning the Shuttle 9.0 for a few months now, I've changed my stance on it power wise. In my opinion, its not a 900 watt amp. To me, maybe 400-600 watts compared to other amps of similar reported wattage. I've never played the TC, but I have a feeling if you lined a TC RH450 and Shuttle 9.0 up head to head, there would not be that big a difference in the perceived volume.

If I had it all to do over again at this point, I would probably give the TC a whirl.
Click to expand...

Thank you for sharing your experience. I think ill be picking up an RH450 next week, and needless to say I'm quite excited that i finally can decide between the two and have an amp once again.
 
#48
I used an Eden (WT400, then WT550) for 6-7 years, and the transition to the RH450 was painless. Though I had to play with the EQ quite a bit to find the tones I wanted...

The TC's range of EQ is greater than the other amps mentioned here, but, as mentioned, it is missing some of the sizzle modern players would want. There is nothing missing in the mids or lows however! Particularly if you are looking for a more vintage, even tube-like tone, and even more importantly, tube "feel." The louder you play, the more evident that "tube-ness" becomes, whether you use the compressor or tube-tone or not.

And though "watts are watts," I've always thought tube amps had a gutsier sound than equally powered (even 2-3x the power) SS amps. But not so with the RH450. It truly feels like the gutsier tube heads I've had (Ampeg, Fender Sunn, Traynor). So much so that I have sold all my tube bass amps! Now I'll never have to re-tube and re-bias another tube head for bass again! There's something comforting about that too (IMO).

I recently recorded a bassist using a GB Shuttle 6.0 through my 2x12 sealed cab (think Ampeg's SVT 2x10AV). I'm quite familiar with the cab, and thought the GB presented itself quite well. But must agree that the bass frequencies were a little anemic...

I found the Edens mentioned to be "plug n play," while the TC needed a little coaxing. Having messed with the EQ (including making "major" changes to the low and low-mid center freqs), it is an amazing amp! Other than the sizzle, I can't find anything missing from the RH450!

As an experiment, I lined up all 3 of my 15" cabs (Carvin 115, TL606 and TL606"D") for 4 15" speakers, powering two 15s with the TC, and the other two 15s with a Carvin PA amp. That was certainly mind blowing! But I can't see ever needing to do this on a stage. Ultimately, the TC made a great pre for such an occasion where the PA carries the big power.

I heard several bassists a couple of nights ago through my RH450 and a KappaLite 3015 loaded '82 Carvin 1x15 cab (with second port added). Two of them were 5 stringers, and both used a brighter tone than I do. They missed the hi freq horn, but were otherwise happy with the sound. It sounded great throughout the club we were in...

I think you'll be quite happy with one!
 
#51
As stated here, two very different heads. If you want an articulate head with a lot of upper-mid and treble sheen, the Shuttle 9.0 is for you. If you want a warm, tubey "vintage intersects modern" tone, the RH450 is for you.
 
#52
My initial thread re which amp to use has ended up with a choice between the two in this thread - although some of the posts are from the same people as this thread, there has been some very useful info on the differences. Worth a look.

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f15/genz-benz-neox-212t-but-amp-765356/index2.html#post10827821

It does seem to me that the weighting is toward the RH450, although there is something that makes me think that a cab and amp from the same company should have been developed with each other in mind - or maybe it is just wishful thinking that the 9.0 would make me play like Doug Johns!!!!
 

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