Genz Benz Shuttle 6.0

I bought this amp because it is extremely light weight: 3.75 lbs. After recent surgury, I couldn't lift my old SWR MoBass amp. The Shuttle 6.0 has a 12AX7 tube preamp, tone shaping circuitry, and 600 watts output to 4 ohms. The power comes from a class D switching power supply, instead of the old fashioned boat-anchor power transformer. It sounds great at gigs and doesn't even get warm to the touch after being powered on for 6 hours.

I play a Carvin LB70 and a Fender Precision Lyte with EMG PJ pickups. I also use a Roland ME-50B multi-effects unit. Both instruments sound great through this amp. Plenty of punch and clarity. I mainly play classic rock-n-roll in my band and this amp suits my playing perfectly.

I've owned this amp for 6 months and have had no problems yet.

Haven't needed customer support.

I say this amp is very versatile but if you want to go to 2 ohms it ain't happening.

The EQ section is very useful. The knobs are typical Genz Benz modern era notched pot brushed aluminum goodness.

The pre-amp gain knob can dirty up the signal really nicely without sounding like you put a guitar fuzz in front of the amp. It can go from very subtle to ballsy. I've been having a lot of fun with this knob.

I was a little disappointed that I had to purchase Speakon adapters to use my good speaker cables with this amp.

I am blown away that a 3.5 pound package can shake the plaster off the walls like this little head does. I play in a very loud hard rock, stoner rock, prog rock band.

There is nothing harsh or sterile sounding about it that I've noticed through my cabinets yet. It isn't muddy however. The tone stays the way you set it up until it full blast and too loud to use unless you're on a Colosseum stage.

I'm using a Fender '80's Japanese P bass with active EMGs currently.

I'm running the amp through an old ported 2x15 cab loaded with 350 watt Eminence speakers and a 4x10 Ampeg cabinet. Total ohm = 4.

So far so good. We ran it the other day for 6 hours between vol. 4 and full non stop and it didn't even get hot.

But I haven't had it long enough to claim long term liability.

I dealt with the company for my El Diablo head footswitch and they were A1.

I've been playing guitar and bass since 1981.
I would replace this amp if stolen.
The only thing I wish this amp had that it doesn't is the option to use standard speaker cables.

This amp is very versatile. I thought I would rather have both low and high mid controls but the sweepable mid control works very well.
I would rather have an XLR volume pot rather than the pad switch.

??? Ultra Light 3.75 lb Design
??? Power: 375W/8 ohms; 600W/4 ohms
??? Analog 12AX7 Tube Preamp
??? Digital SMPS (Switch Mode Power Supply)
??? High Current Class D Amplifier
??? Active EQ w/Parametric Mids
??? 3-Band Signal Shape Circuit (Footswitchable)
??? Signal Mute Switch (Footswitchable)
??? Tuner Out
??? E xtended Range Input Gain for Active/Passive Sensitivity
??? Limiter Circuit
??? LED Status Indicators
??? Speakon?? Speaker Outputs
??? Internal Fan Cooling
??? Full XLR Direct Out Interface
??? Aux. Input
??? Headphone Jack
??? Effects Loop
??? Optional Footswitch available

Wow, just WOW! I have tried all of the small bass heads. Eden, Markbass, Euphonic and GK. I finaly found my amp. The Eden sounds great but is low on power. The Markbass is warm but no clarity. The GK has clarity but isn't warm. This amp has it all. This the most musical of all the small amps. With the tube preamp you can get a wide range of tones with just the gain and volume controls. My gear: 1962 Fender Jazz, American Fender P bass fretless with Audere preamp, Hohner B bass 6 string with Audere preamp and a 1960 EKO fretless hollow body bass. My cabs are Aguilar 1x12s. This amp sounds great with every bass. It can be clear and let the natural tone of my basses through or I can alter the tone as much as I want. I can even get some good overdrive tones with the tube pre. As a matter of fact, I took my Sansamp out of my signal chain because the overdrive on the amp is better. One more thing, I have yet to push this amp to it's limit. My speakers fart out before the amp does. Most the time I'm only running it @ 8 ohms. It is 600 watts @ 4 ohms!

I have not had it very long. It seems well built. I do worry because it is a fairly new technology.

A powerful, musical amp that fits in my gig bag pocket. If anything happens to it I will replace it.

This unit was built in 2008. The greatest feature of this amp is it's weight - 3.75 pounds. It utilizes a class D switching power supply instead of a massive transformer. It puts out 600 watts into 4 ohms and features a tube 12AX7 tube preamp with gain and volume controls. It has very straightforward tone controls: bass, parametric mids, treble. It also features tone shaping buttons which add bass, scoop mids, or add treble. There is an effects loop and DI output. The speaker outputs are speakon connectors.

I used it on a classic rock gig. The tube pre gave just the right amount of punch without getting muddy. I ran it at half volume and it was still plenty loud. I played a Fender P-Lyte w/EMGs and a Carvin LB70, both active instruments and both sounded clear and powerful. (There was some low level buzz from the electric outlet caused by the lighting dimmers at that particular venue. A hum eliminator would help there. I don't get that hum in the practice studio.)

It's so new that I don't know if there are any reliability issues.

Haven't needed customer support.

I've been playing for over 20 years. My most recent amp was an SWR MoBass head with the MoControl foot pedal. It was good but weighed about 30 pounds. I recently had surgury and can't lift a heavy load. The GB unit fit the bill for me perfectly.