Genz Benz Shenandoah 100 112 Combo

I just purchased this amp and i think it might be one of the best investments that i will ever make in my music career.. I will admit i was a little slow i buying this because i wanted to try every amp out to find out which one had that distinctive tone and quality that i was looking for and the GenzBenz had everybit of that and more..

The effects are the only thing that i am going to say that this amp needs some work on. The chorus is not bad and the hall effect isnt to shabby .. but the other effects suck.. any type of peddle will do the trick that is the smallest thing to fix in a amp

This amp is very loud and clean at the same time... great for any acoustic player who plays in cafe's or even a night club this amp is really that versitile

Never had to use and prob. will NEVER

All i have to say is that if this amp was stolen or lost i would sell whatever i would have to and get another one just like it... there is no amp to compare this one with it is TO GOOD TO BE TRUE.. great price and a great buy.. a MUST HAVE

This amp was built in 2003 and is the new Shenandoah 100 model with the silver metal corners and grille. It was designed and tested in the US but built overseas. It features two identical channels, each with a 1/4" input jack and a balanced input jack for a mic. Each channel features its own EQ, level, and effects level settings. It does not have a headphone jack, but does have an effects loop. Genz Benz also included some very handy features like a bottom handle that doubles as a tilt mechanism (to tilt the amp up a little), a built-in speaker stand mount, and rear ports for extended bass response.

This amp features built-in Alesis digital effects, although they are NOT tweakable. For some reason, the effects do not include a chorus-delay combo, which is usually my favorite setting for acoustic playing. I play an Ovation Balladeer 1861 through this amp and it sounds INCREDIBLE. This amp brings my guitar to life in an incredibly natural, warm, full way. I've never heard anything better! The only thing that gets on my nerves in the built-in cooling fan. It's a little distracting, and I'm worried about how it will hold up over time. Otherwise, the amp is extremely quiet and the effects are very good. Too bad they're not tweakable. You can't even adjust the delay time or chorus depth. There is also no notch filter for feedback control, which is strange for a higher-end acoustic amp like this one. Sorry buys, I have to deduct a couple of points here.

I've only owned this amp for a couple of days. I actually ordered two of these amps from Brian at Chuck Levin's Washington Music Center. (Great guy, by the way). One will be for home / road use, and one is for a permanent installation at church. I am very confident in the build quality of these amps. Although they are made of particle board and not plywood, they are extremely well constructed and appear to be built to last. As I said above, I'm a little concerned about the cooling fan. Will it hold up? Will it become noisy after a few years of use? I hope not! I think Genz Benz should have ditched the fan idea and gone with some type of passive external cooling. The Samson company is very good at passive cooling, even on large power amps. Maybe GB could look at that type of design.

I've never dealt with the company for a warrant issue, but I did e-mail a question to them before I purchased the amps. They responded within a day and answered my question in a very polite and professional manner. They also offer a very good warranty on their products.

I've been playing for over 20 years. I've gone through a lot of electric guitars and amps. As I get older, I find myself wanting to keep things simple. Now I'm just an acoustic guy with a very good acoustic amp! It's a simple setup and sounds incredible. If I could add anything to this amp, it would be some type of effects tweaking, and a notch filter for feedback control. And of course I'd remove the cooling fan! If this amp were lost or stolen, I'd buy it again without hesitation. It's the best acoustic amp I've ever owned. It's powerful, packed full of features, very portable, and sounds amazing!

This is a new acoustic guitar amplifier. I use this as a high quality reference monitor in live performance. 2 channels: each with unbal 1/4" and xlr inputs. Each channel has gain/effects level/3 band eq. Alesis 24 bit effects chip is better than most onboard effects--though I still don't know any acoustic players that need a flanger. Cool bypass setting so you can use the fx loop with your own pedals. Reverb and delay do not have variable depth/decay: just volume. The 12 inch speaker and tweeter with variable gain are quite good. In my opinion, the larger speaker captures more ambiance of the guitar. Tilt back cabinet saves time. In small gig situations this amp works well with guitar in channel 1 and vocals in channel two. It comes with a cooling fan: great in concept, but loud for recording situations.

I play a Goodall rosewood jumbo, and Huss and Dalton OM, and a Larrivee parlor. I run all my guitars in stereo with B-band mic/transducer blended with a Raven pro master blender. I play contemporary fingerstyle, ragtime, classical. As a worship leader it really helps to have my sound sorted out to the degree possible with the Genzbenz.

No problems so far.

Been playing 27 years, last 7 professionally. I've owned a crate c125 acoustic amp and a trace elliot. I've had a chance to demo the SWR california blond. Without breaking into the boutique scene, I feel the Genzbenz is the best of the lot. Playing high end acoustic guitars can make you a tone snob--you get used to sweet tone. This amp does the best (imperfect) job of the bunch to my ears.