My 25th bass creates a big attraction in London

[Grand Wazoo]

Well I have just returned from the Bass Merchant shop in Colechester, Essex, what a trip! 65 miles there and same back pheew!

The store man was very nice, he took my combo and I should get it back in a few days time but in the meantime he let me take away a Genz Benz combo of similar specs 2 x 10 and a head on top (fitted to the cab by screws)

So at least I have something and on top of that he told me that when my amp is ready I won't need to do all that drive back to him as he will arrange both delivery of my souped up combo and collection of his Genz Benz one.

We do get some great service here in ENGLAND. The man was so nice I gave him a crate of beers from the back of my trunk.

GENZ BENZ Shuttle 6.0 (600W)

 

[keko]

Let us know how this Little Mark Tube works with 2x10 box and Your great bass!

I also considering such an amp head with tube preamp and solid power output in combination with mine EBS 210 Proline cab, but our domestic MarkBass dealer is awful!

 

[five7]

How many beers in a crate?

 

[Grand Wazoo]

24 x Fosters

See that pic, I got lots and lots of those crates stored in my cabin given to me as gift by pilots, harbour masters, tribe chiefs, this and the other port authority personnel, (happens a lot in my line of business), problem is, I don't drink any alchool so I always carry a few cases of that stuff in my car to use as "currency" to smoothen some transactions

 

[Grand Wazoo]

GENZ - BENZ mini review

Well I guess since I had never tried one of these Genz - Benz Shuttle 6.0 before in my life and I happen to have one on loan for a few days, I might as well give it a good test and write my findings here.

This amp is only temporarily replacing my Mark Bass CMD102P combo which is undergoing a head change from the Little Mark II head to the Little Mark Tube 500 one, and as a result, the benchmark upon which this Genz - Benz is being compared to is an act difficult to follow to say the least.

The G-B has all these funky blue and red lights for various functions and actually they are a bit too bright for my liking to the point where looking at them directly actually bothers my eyes sight, far from relaxing, I wish you could dimmer them down a bit.

As you can see in the pics above (sorry about the non EB bass) the controls are divided in sections:

Tube Preamp controls are Gain & Volume with a red overload clip light to warn you of it. There is a mute button which it's actually a neat idea not present on the Mark Bass and makes swapping basses noise free and safe to your speakers.
The EQ controls:
Active Parametric Equalization
Low / Mid (cut/boost) / Mid Freq lets you shape the Mids once you are done with boosting/cutting / High

Following are 3 buttons each dedicated to an additional post eq series of preset curves, these are from left to right:

L.F. Boost (Low Freq, Boost obviously)
Mid Scoop (Similar to Trace Elliot Smiley Face)
H.F. Attack (High Freq. Boost)

Master Section
Master Volume and a series of lights that indicates the status of the power amp ranging from top to bottom as follows:
Clip/Limiter - lights up when auto limiter kicks in and prevents you from blowing your speakers

Signal - lights up when the mute button is on and "signal" is fed through the speaker.... what's the point of this? I fail to recognize.
Thermal - I assume this would light up when the amp is overheating, this one is handy.

Operate - It's on when everything is ok, so I assume it's a light that reasure you thunderbirds are go and all is tickety-boo. If you know better tell me, I might have missed something.

The whole thing is quite light and aestetically does nothing to me compared to the macho looks of a Mark Bass combo or head. Frankly this head looks like someone has stuck one of those old retro Marantz Stereo Amp on a mobile discoteque speaker with a grill and a fancy name (Genz-Benz)

Before I move on to the actual aural characteristics of this amp let me tell you that I am not a fan of the small metal control pots, for the following reasons: Their tavel is far from smooth and it actually require a little force to turn, the fact that these knobs are so stiff and also so small, it does not make them ergonomically comfortable to operate. They are made of solid knurled alluminium they are cold to the touch and last but not least they friggin' crackle a lot when turning, maybe this particular one being used might need a little contact spray tlc on the pots, but in one year of ownership my Mark Bass has never developed crackling pot yet and I am told this amp is a shop demo 7 months old.

-------

So, what does it sound like?

Well it's very modern sounding, the EQ section gives you a very good range and this is where the heart of your sound is chiselled, oh and forget the mileage you can get from a Mark Bass with all the control set flat and just your bass on board preamp to boost bass middle and treble! You just can't do the same with this amp as the bass sound is simply not reproduced as naturally as it is with a MBass. Period!

Here my friends, you really need to shape it with bass over the centre flat line and same with the mids, and you need to back off the high a little as it is slightly brittle from flat.

Once you are happy with this set up you better stick with it because when you come to the next section (the 3 preshape buttons) you will realize that the individual boost they provide is really only useful for a demo showcase of your slap technique than real life sound adaptation. They are just flash modes but not really something you want to use for your regular gigs.

I dare say these are barely my observations of course, and for all you know if a bright 80's style punchy sound like Mark King is what you look for in an amp than this for you.

And finally, overall this amp is actually quite noisy, if you move your hands away from the bass, it's all zzzzzzzz and hummmm and crackle & pop. Not a speck of the quiteness you get with a Mark Bass, and if you don't believe me, watch this review from Ed Friedland, we know Ed is God and anything he plays he makes it sound musical and artful, but watch what happens when he stops playing and starts talking and his hand are moving away from the bass.

So in conclusion my take on this amp is....

"Oh Loerrrd DON'T you buy me a Genz bloody Beiunnz!, just send my-Mark-Bass-back, as soon as you caaaaan!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch#playnext=1&playnext_from=TL&videos=l2CtCHOhtXQ&v=SJYX2Fkpuzg

 

[five7]

Thanks for the review. As soon as I can sell my f1, the 800 tube will be on the way. Never heard Pearl sing that verse.

 

[ekb16b]

I understand Stella but Fosters?

 

[Grand Wazoo]

I understand Stella but Fosters?

Well that makes two of us, I don't understand beers at all!

 

[Spudmurphy]

Jeez Australian larger? - they'll be making good wine soon

Nice write up Wazoo.

My bass player is contemplating a Mark bass - let me know what you want for it if your deal doesn't come to fruition.

Now if you had a stash of Dark rum I'd be heading straight there!!

 

[Grand Wazoo]

Jeez Australian larger? - they'll be making good wine soon

Nice write up Wazoo.

My bass player is contemplating a Mark bass - let me know what you want for it if your deal doesn't come to fruition.

Now if you had a stash of Dark rum I'd be heading straight there!!

I'll pm you if my first buyer is not interested

 

[five7]

I pulled the trigger after finding a used 800 tube at GC this morning. Should be here in a week. My f1 is for sale!

 

[Grand Wazoo]

I pulled the trigger after finding a used 800 tube at GC this morning. Should be here in a week. My f1 is for sale!

Great! You are going to love it, what speakers are you going to plug it into?

By the way, the Little Mark Tube also has a mute feature, I have just found out, it is on a pull/push switch fitted on the Master Vol pot, so that makes it a very neat addition which the Little Mark II and other MB head didn't previously have.

 

[five7]

The mute is cool. I have 2 ampeg cabinets. 2-12 portabass and a svt cabinet. My f1 works fine for both cabinets but after hearing what the tube can do and 300 more watts. What can I say? Now that I am only playing my bongo I am ready to rock with the loud original band I joined.

 

[DTG]

Ahem,now fran thats like putting a sweet shop in front of a fat kid and saying I dont really like chocolate.i do understand beer and can help you unload some . Thanks for the review on the gb combo

 

[five7]

Ahem,now fran thats like putting a sweet shop in front of a fat kid and saying I dont really like chocolate.i do understand beer and can help you unload some . Thanks for the review on the gb combo

I have lost 30 lbs. though.

 

[Lynottfan]

Nice info on the Mark bass stuff (still prefer EBS myself), the bass was always going to be a winner and crowd attracter!

 

[Grand Wazoo]

Nice info on the Mark bass stuff (still prefer EBS myself), the bass was always going to be a winner and crowd attracter!

When I get my "modded" Mark Bass combo back, I will make a similar review.

 

[Grand Wazoo]

It's back already!

Wow, those peope at Mark Bass UK sure are quick, the shop man called me to inform me my CMD102P modded with the Little Mark Tube head is already back in their store and he was just calling UPS to send it over to me. So when I get home tomorrow after work, I'll take a few pic and let you know how it sounds. I am so excited, I can't wait to get rid of that Genz-Shmenz!!

 

[Grand Wazoo]

This is the only one in the WORLD like that!

I got my Mark Bass CMD102P back from the UK distributors now featuring the new Little Mark Tube Head and I am told by them this is so far the only one in the whole world with such a mod.

Have a look see what you think - I am at work so I have not been able to try yet but I will later when we stop working.

Looks really impressive actually! And to think I have dropped this off to them on Friday morning and got it back today Wednesday morning all in all 3 working days if we exclude Sat/Sun - Wicked!!

 

[Grand Wazoo]

My God this combo is a killer! oh yeah, I love that Little Mark Tube head!

Very pleased.