Finally Tried a Genz Benz Shuttle 6.0

rahock · August 03, 2011, 03:19:04 PM

I took a 45 mile ride to the closest place that handles GB stuff and tried out the Shuttle 6.0 through the 2 10 cab. t This is an 8 ohm cab, so I was only getting 375 watts but it sounded good. It has all the features I like , bass boost /treble boost/mid scoop and it is a nice clean sound with the ability to add a little dirty push from the tube preamp. It is not as bottomy as my Seymour Duncan head but I was playing through 10 inch speakers rather than the 12s that I'm used to. I liked it

. I think I might be pulling the trigger on this thing and I may spring for the foot switch too.
Thanks to everyone and particularly Pilgrim for all the good input on this thing.
Rick

Pilgrim · August 03, 2011, 05:15:10 PM

Thanks for the note - glad it sounded good to you. All in all a pretty remarkable piece of engineering.

I found a foot switch at Talkbass for a good price, so I added it. Interesting - if you mute with the foot switch, the manual mute button is bypassed - you also have to un-mute with the foot switch. Not a problem as far as I'm concerned.

I haven't played through them, but the word seems to be that the Genz uber-bass cabinets are killers...although they're not as light as the Shuttle series.

The 12" cabs all seem like good choices to me; for more bottom, a double-12 would be better than a single.

Contradicting my last statement, I went with a 2x10 Shuttle series cab that I add to the docking 12 and get 4 ohms. It pleases my ears...and it was at a great price, slightly used at my local store. I decided not to wait for a 2x12.

Denis · August 04, 2011, 05:46:51 AM

How much does a Shuttle 6.0 go for?
I tried a Shuttle 9.0 a few weeks ago and it was phenomenal.

rahock · August 04, 2011, 05:58:31 AM

The 6.0 is $679 at Musicians Friend. I really would have preffered to buy it from the store I was at, but their price was $820 and they didn't seem all that negotiable, so I went online. The cabinet I'll be using is a 2 12 and tweeter Avatar with Eminence speakers. It's a 500 watt cab but I think it will work just fine.
Rick

Spiritbass · August 04, 2011, 07:21:39 AM

Pretty good combination. I used to play this rig at a larger and louder church than the one I presently attend:

I thought of it as the "Shavatar". I pulled the tweet and mounted a mid-driver instead. Loud & clear!

Pilgrim · August 04, 2011, 08:51:26 AM

Quote from: Denis on August 04, 2011, 05:46:51 AM
How much does a Shuttle 6.0 go for?
I tried a Shuttle 9.0 a few weeks ago and it was phenomenal.

There are many who like the Shuttle 9.0 even more than the 6.0. There are some long discussions about the 9.0 on TB. Its peak power ratings are higher, and its voicing is somewhat different - all discussed in those threads.

This is a good thread, where in post #17 Agedhorse (a Genz engineer) discusses differences in the Shuttle series models and the Shuttlemax series. http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f15/genz-benz-shuttle-9-0-discussion-thread-594562/

It's a long thread, but Agedhorse was active in it and provided a lot of great info.

For my use, the Shuttle 6.0 has at least 50% more power than I ever expect to need, and I like the sound through the Shuttle cabs, so all is well. I have wondered what it would sound like through a Neo 15 or Neo 2x12, but not enough to spend money on the experiment.

rahock · August 05, 2011, 06:00:08 AM

Quote from: Spiritbass on August 04, 2011, 07:21:39 AM
Pretty good combination. I used to play this rig at a larger and louder church than the one I presently attend:

I thought of it as the "Shavatar". I pulled the tweet and mounted a mid-driver instead. Loud & clear!

What mid driver are you using? That sounds like a good plan

.
Rick

Spiritbass · August 05, 2011, 08:33:15 AM

18sound 6.5". I attached a small plastic trash can (Wal-mart special) to the back of the baffle to cover the driver and isolate it from the rest of the enclosure. I sold the horn & crossover to another tinkerer then bought a nice inductor & cap to high-pass @ 800hz IIRC, leaving the woofers running full-range. I also installed a 100W L-pad, but I usually left it full-on. If I was still playing out, I'd be running through Avatar(s)...

jumbodbassman · August 06, 2011, 07:04:40 AM

Quote from: rahock on August 04, 2011, 05:58:31 AM
The 6.0 is $679 at Musicians Friend. I really would have preffered to buy it from the store I was at, but their price was $820 and they didn't seem all that negotiable, so I went online. The cabinet I'll be using is a 2 12 and tweeter Avatar with Eminence speakers. It's a 500 watt cab but I think it will work just fine.
Rick

I have the same cab and it sounds great with anything i have put on top of it from ampeg hybrids to hartke and most recently an Eden. usually turn of the horn. but tell me more about the midrange changeover....

rahock · August 06, 2011, 08:13:03 AM

My tweeter stays at about 1/4 volume or less. I normally keep the treble pretty low on the instrument and when I do turn
the treble on the instrument up that tweeter comes on pretty strong. It took me a while to learn to use/appreciate a cab with a tweeter. This midrange mod really intrests me though. It makes more sense and sounds more durable than a tweeter to me. I am afraid of that volume control on the tweeter, I know how easy they can blow.
Rick

Spiritbass · August 06, 2011, 02:42:09 PM

The 18sound mid-driver was their 6ND410: http://www.usspeaker.com/eighteensound%20index-1.htm Pricey, but worth it in my book. I don't remember the values of the capacitor and inductor, but I sourced them through Parts Express. I used an on-line crossover calculator to arrive at the values. I mounted them on the brace that goes from the baffle and back panel of the cab. The trash can utilized for isolation was molded from rigid plastic. With the woofers removed, I was able to hold it in place as reached through the hole for the mid-driver and apply silicone to hold it in place. The small hole for passing the hookup wires for the mid-driver was also sealed with silicone. It's been a few years since I did this mod and that's about all I remember. I hope this helped. Even easier method of figuring out values for high-pass (butterworth) filter components: pick a more knowledgeable brain than mine! If you don't want to do that, Parts Express carries Eminence crossovers. I'm not affiliated, but they are a good one-stop shop for projects like this. I can't testify to how it sounds, but Eminence offers a closed-back mid-driver that would not need an enclosure to isolate it. I hope this helped...

jumbodbassman · August 07, 2011, 07:19:35 PM

thanks for the info. you ran the woofers full and then added the mid in a capacitor no ohm load setup correct... that's what got my interest up. always hate what 2 or 3 way cabs do to the woofers mids and high. full pass thru and then how much i want to ad if any sounds like the perfect cabinet to me.

Spiritbass · August 07, 2011, 08:06:46 PM

You're very welcome. More food for thought: I haven't experience it with my ears, but others have used the Eminence LA6-CBMR sealed back mid-driver (would not require isolation) to good effect. It is also about half the price ($60) of the 18sound driver. Here is a link to a TB thread where someone used them in a couple of Avatar SB112's: http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f15/adding-6-mid-range-driver-cab-770145/index3.html I agree with Bill Fitzmaurice as to why more manufacturers don't use a mid driver instead of a tweeter - tweeters are less expensive.

Pilgrim · August 07, 2011, 09:04:16 PM

BTW- to return to the original topic...search the classifieds on Talkbass and you often can find nice used Shuttles.

rahock · August 11, 2011, 06:26:54 AM

Well, I got my new Shuttle and got to play with it last night. I've graduated from saying it sounds good to saying it sounds great and I love this thing

.
When you're playing with a couple guitars, drums and a harmonica, you really get to hear the outstanding note definition that this thing has. My Seymour Duncan head is no slouch but the Shuttle is a very unique piece of modern engineering. The boost features are not as strong as the Duncan and at first I viewed this as a negative, but after playing it for a while and working with a full band I realized that the Duncan was a bit too strong and that the more subtle approach of the Shuttle actually works much better. Less overbearing and more natural. The boys in the band love it as much as I do. It is very strong, the preamp tube brings a nice bit of warmth without making it slurry and fuzzy, and again, the note definition is unlike anything I have ever used. Every note cuts through without burying the other instruments. It cuts through, yet blends well. Tough to explain, but you get it when you hear it. It makes that Avatar 2 12 and tweeter cab sound like an absolute gem. I'm a happy guy

Rick