My bar room companion

[morrow]

So I'm slightly retired but still do a couple of gigs every week . We're back to business here in NS . I'm hauling stuff in and out of the car , and back out the door so I like lightweight and modular . Mostly play mid sized rooms and generally am not in the PA so I have to fill the room .
Mostly playing blues and roots gigs so we're not real loud , but still a good volume .
In the old days it was tubes and fridges .
Now it's Class D amps and cabs I don't mind lifting .
So Bergantino has been a godsend . Great cabs , loved them so much I bought a little Forte head , but still have the old Liner if I want something a little darker and warmer .

[gearHed289]

Nice. I've got a Streamliner 900 that I use for smaller gigs and rehearsals. Being such an Ampeg guy for so many years, I've found the GB to be tricky to dial in. I almost sold it last summer, replacing it with a Tech 21 VT Bass class D head, but that one had an odd quirk - the amp volume control also affected the DI out level. I'm always going through the PA live, so this was a deal breaker. I'm now using a VT Bass DI in front of the amp and getting better results.

[morrow]

The Liner has three gain levels and is a bit finicky , but there's a broad world of tone there . The Forte is very simple . Two very different amps .
The new Mesa TT800 is kinda like having both of them in one chassis .
Andy Field , who designed the Streamliner still services them . I'm thinking I should send it to him for a checkup , aside from the LEDs being out it seems to be perfect . I just think I should take advantage of Andy's service and have it checked out by the guy that actually designed it while I can .
He also designed the new Mesa ...

[Pilgrim]

The lightweight stuff is very kind to us mature types who have to lug it around.

Mine is a Genz-Benz Shuttle 6.2; I have a single 12 and a 2x10 for it, and if I ever want to be stupid loud I have a NeoX 2x12 that has rollers and weighs all of 50 pounds. Most of the time it sits in my back room with stuff piled on it.

There is much to be said for a Shuttle head docked on a 12" cab that totals 36 pounds and can easily be lifted with one hand.

And for the low volume country stuff I have been was playing, my Fender Rumble 100 (22 pounds) is delightfully light and classic sounding.

[morrow]

GB made some fine amps , it was a crime when they got buried by Fender . I've never seen the new Genzler amps and cabs but the tradition continues . I've heard some great praise for them .
I live in Halifax so the nearest dealer would probably be in Montreal , 1200 km away .
Heh , I was looking at a picture of a store in Seattle that had me drooling .

[Dave W]

GB made some fine amps , it was a crime when they got buried by Fender . I've never seen the new Genzler amps and cabs but the tradition continues . I've heard some great praise for them .
I live in Halifax so the nearest dealer would probably be in Montreal , 1200 km away .
Heh , I was looking at a picture of a store in Seattle that had me drooling .
...

GB was already in distress when Kaman bought them out, and Kaman's music division had been losing money for years when Fender bought them at a bargain price. Fender bought Kaman for their music distribution business (C. Bruno) and for extra guitar manufacturing capacity. GB was just incidental and had been losing money for years, there was no reason for Fender to continue the brand. They did use GB's Class D technology in the v.3 Rumble amps so something good came out of it.

[Pilgrim]

As Dave notes, the GB technology gave Fender a nice entry into lightweight amps, and the Rumble 100 I have is a real winner. The guys I know who have those amps love them. Although I was sad to see G-B disappear, Fender did well with the tech.

For that matter, IMO Fender has done pretty darn well as a steward of Gretsch, my favorite line of basses.  They've kept Gretsch tradition going, the instruments are well made, and they have the Electromatic and Pro lines to provide some nice price and feature options.

Overall, I think Fender has done pretty well with the brands they have picked up over the past couple of decades.

[morrow]

Sunn , SWR , and GenzBenz were buried .

[Dave W]

Sunn , SWR , and GenzBenz were buried .

Buried? LOL.  All three brands would have been extinct on their own if Fender had never bought them. Sunn and SWR were in receivership when FMIC bought them, and no one else was interested. As I mentioned earlier, Genz Benz was already a dead duck, they were already failing when Kaman bought them in the early 00s. FMIC isn't in business to lose money.

[slinkp]

That's too bad. Genz-Benz made really great little amps, but making a viable business is another story of course.

[doombass]

Yes, the Genz Benz brand fell under its own load and like already stated the tradition goes on under the Genzler moniker.