Genz Benz ShuttleMax 12.0 any views

[jazzyvee]

I popped into my local music shop this afternoon looking for a replacement for my small rig head which is currently a Peavey Tour 450 which is great for reggae but I haven't found it hi-fi enough for my the other gigs where I need a full range sound.
 
I tried out a used Genz Benz ShuttleMax 12.0 which is a Class D amp with a tube pre-amp channel and a solid state channel. I tried it alongside a Aguillar D751a nd an angular 4x10 cab which was only because it was there not that I'm after an angular rig . But I actually preferred the Genz benz to the Aguillar. It sounded much more hi-fi and cleaner and seemed to respond to the filter changes on my bass much better.
 
Any views on it?

[ajdover]

I've got a Shuttlemax 12.2 which I love.  For me, it is a very transparent amp - clean, clear and uncolored tone.  In other words, it doesn't color the sound of the instrument - what you put into it is what you get out if it.  Best of all it's light and very powerful.  I love the parametric EQ on mine, and the fact that you can  get a little tube grind with the gain control if you want that sort of thing.  I use it with two Uber cabinets (a 1288 and 115), and it's great.
 
I also own a Shuttle 6.2 which I absolutely love.  Light, powerful, and it sits on a 2X10 Shuttle cabinet with the mounting bracket.  Whole thing is 43 pounds.  I often use it with a Shuttle 2X10 extension cabinet, giving me the full 600 watts at 8 ohms.  
 
It's too bad Fender shut Genz Benz down, but then that seems to be their modus operandi - acquire a brand and shut it down.  It pissed me off so much that I actually wrote Fender and told them they'd lost me as a customer for good.
 
Alan

[sonicus]

Fender also shut down SWR .  I do not like this type of business process . SWR made some decent products in my opinion.  
 
 Wolf

[Glynn]

Jeff Genzler has started up again - go to Bass Direct website. Genzler amplification.
Cabs only at this stage but amp to come.
I use a Streamliner 900 with a Bergantino HD112 and love the valve mid-section.
Glynn

[lidon2001]

ShuttleMax 9.2 owner.  It's a nice clean and powerful amp,  very felxible eq section, but my 1963 Fender Bassman with just Bass, Treble, and Presence controls has so much more warmth and depth that I am looking for a replacement.  
 
The new class D amp from Mesa also has DNA from Genz.
 
Is it really wrong for a company to stop making a line of products that people aren't buying in sufficient quantities to stay profitable?
 
Did the original owners profit when they sold the business to the acquisition firm?  What is the level of blame that should be put on them?
 
What level of blame do you then put on yourself for not buying lots of the products that the company that went out business made to help keep them profitable?  If people were that gung-ho on the company, why weren't they getting a new amp and cab every year?  Every six months?
 
I call it business cycles.  Stuff happens when money is involved.  I certainly wouldn't take it personally.
 
(Message edited by lidon2001 on October 12, 2015)

[bigredbass]

And it all goes on way behind the scenes.  Supposedly Nordschow designed the RedHead as SWR was an amp designer.  Lots of products are turnkey projects from designers contracted by major manufacturers, as not each owner designs everything like Leo Fender did:  Being a big company allows you to spend on the best talent and save a lot of money on engineering, saves you going down some blind allies to nowhere.  Dan Armstrong revolutionized Ampeg back in the day, having nothing to do with an 'amplified peg' for uprights.  There's lots of stories like this.
 
Genzler says he and his wife have moved back to Brooklyn to be around family, leaving Arizona behind:  It may have been as simple as that.
 
Joey

[ajdover]

I didn't take it personally when Fender shut Genz down - I just wanted them to know that I wasn't happy with their decision and that they'd lost me as a customer as a result.  I'm sure they had their reasons for shutting down, much as I had my reasons for not buying Fender stuff anymore.
 
As far as I know, Kaman Corporation (the folks behind Ovation) acquired Genz at some point, and then Fender acquired Kaman.  There's a bunch of info here:  http://www.talkbass.com/threads/2015-genz-benz-news-update.1133818/page-3
 
All I know is I'm a Genz-Benz guy now.  I had an F1-X, SF-2, power amp set up before, but the weight was just too much.  I can carry my bass in a gig bag, and my Shuttle 6.2 in one hand, and that suits the music I'm doing these days.  My Alembics sound great through Genz stuff, as does every other bass I own.
 
As for supporting Genz, I own two Uber cabs, two Shuttlemax cabs, an NX212 cab, a Shuttlemax 12.2, and the Shuttle 6.2.  The Shuttlemax, Ubers, and NX I bought new.  The 6.2 and it's extension cab I bought used as Fender had shut Genz down by that time.
 
I'm definitely going to check out Jeff's new stuff, though.  SVTs are great, but unless you have your own personal roadie, moving that kind of stuff can be problematic for a lot of folks.
 
Alan

[keith_h]

Part of the problem with many large companies, and Fender is one, it they don't know how to handle niche or boutique products. Genz and SWR both could have been profitable but not supporting the profit margins that Fender expects from its commodity products. It is also common to here from the big divisions when they aren't performing well that the niche brands are diluting their business. The end result is the company cannibalizes whatever technology they want in their core products and shuts the smaller units down. Although I have not seen the financials I suspect this is more likely than the business not being profitable. Particularly with how Genz was acquired indirectly via the Kaman acquisition.    
 
Keith