Genz Benz Shuttle 6.2 210T

[mingsta]

Here’s my initial thoughts on the Genz Benz Shuttle 6.2 with 2x10 cab. I’ve had this for about 6 weeks now and it’s a keeper.

[b]The brief:[/b]
I purchased this online as a replacement to my venerable Trace Elliot 1215 GP12 SMX + 2x10 extension cab. I was after something that was going to be [b][i]much[/i][/b] lighter and which had all the bells and whistles for home practice (headphone, aux in, sounds good a low vol) as well as being gig-worthy. I also wanted a more simple pre-amp as I never used to make full use of the 12-band EQ, presets, hi/lo compression etc of the Trace.

[b]Specs:[/b]
All available here: [url="http://www.genzbenz.com/?fa=detail&mid=2823&sid=715&cid=95"]http://www.genzbenz.com/?fa=detail&mid=2823&sid=715&cid=95[/url]

[b]Build and ergonomics:[/b]
Head is tiny, cab is reasonably manageable with one hand. Anyone still lugging a 30KG kilo plus monster needs to wake up and see the light!
Great build quality, feels like a quality piece of kit, controls feel precise and well engineered.
The pots on the amp are notched – personally I like this though others may not.
This amp’s got it all connection wise; aux-in, tuner out, effects loop in/out, headphones, 8 ohm out to 2[sup]nd[/sup] cab, footswitch. It’s a really versatile head.
Really like the kickstand at the base of the amp, allows you to tilt the cab back for better on stage monitoring.

[b]Sounds:[/b]
I [b][i]love[/i][/b] the pre-amp gain section. There’s a gradual fattening up of the tone as you take the gain beyond 12 o’clock which is great for getting old school rock and motown tones through to moderate overdrive. Take it back to 9 o’clock and it’s clean and hi-fi.
With everything set flat, it’s got a nice clean and uncoloured sound. I didn’t find it to be sterile sounding – I A/B’d it with a Streamliner 600 (Genz’s more old school head, with 3 tube pre-amp section) thinking that I’d prefer the streamliner but ended up going for the Shuttle because it can go really clean through to fat and warm (that gets quite close to the streamliner), while the Streamliner was more of a one trick pony (but a good trick nonetheless!)
The tone shaping controls (Low, sweepable mid, High + seperate buttons for bass boost, mid scoop and treble boost) are all useable and give a nice range of tones without anything too extreme. My default setting is to have bass at about 2 oclock, mids fairly flat and roll off a bit of treble + gain at about 2’oclock for a nice fat vintage sound.
It sounds great both at low volume and at gig/rehearsal volume. My Trace Elliot sounded slow and muffled at low volume, so it’s a big improvement for home practice.
Volumewise, it’s not as loud as the Trace Elliot (what they say about Trace watts is true), but still plenty good enough for rehearsals with a loud band and small-medium gigs.

[b]Niggles:[/b]
The headphone socket isn’t enabled until you disconnect the speaker cable. I’d prefer it if connecting to the headphone socket bypassed the power amp automatically.
Two side handles would have been better than the single top handle.
The speaker cable is built in to the cab. I would have been better if this was detachable for easy replacement and greater flexibility.
LEDs on the amp are blindingly bright especially on a darkened stage.

[b]Overall:[/b]
Love this amp. It’s much more portable than my old rig and sounds bloody fantastic. The pre-amp was a revelation, I was expecting hi-fi but some lovely fat and warm tones are available through the gain knob – wasn’t able to do this with my Trace amp. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend.

[gary mac]

Nice review Mingsta.

I did the same a few years back. I really loved my Trace rig but was finding it increasingly more difficult to lift it in and out of the car and in to venues etc.

Ended up with the Shuttle 6 and a couple of Mark Bass 2 x 10's.


So pleased that I did. Always get a sound that I like and don't end up flat out on the settee, with a hot water bottle on my back after every gig.



A couple of times I've put a little blob of blu tack over the LED's, dulls them down just right

[mingsta]

Cheers Gary.

I loved my trace rig, first thing I ever bought with my own earnt money back in 92. But it weighed a frickin ton and too many knobs and gizmos that I never really got the hang of over the years. Was sad to see it go, but the genz is so much better for my needs. I think we really have things good now with all the new lightweight stuff out there now.