Genz Benz Shuttle 6.0 Amplifier

Howdy!

We are looking at something really rare today: a piece of equipment that has been in my collection for more than two years. Anything more than 6 months is amazing, actually.

This would be the Genz Benz Shuttle 6.0 bass amplifier.

During this time Genz Benz has introduces the Shuttle 12.0 and 9.0 models, and although I have been tempted to get the latest and greatest, I have stuck with the 6.0. I do not need any more amplification than this.

The 6.0 is truly a marvel of modern technology. It is small and lightweight, with a footprint of 10” by 10” and a total weight of 3 ¾ pounds. And despite its small size it can crank out 375 watts at 8 ohms, or 600 watts at 4 ohms.

Of course, it uses a class-D solid state power amp to get this much output without a weight penalty, but still uses a 12AX7 tube pre-amp to get a nice warm tone. Plus you can dial in a ton of gain on the pre-amp stage and get your tone all crunchy. So, it is plenty loud and it sounds good.

But, it also has a ton of features, most of which really work for me.

On the back are an effects loop, a dedicated tuner out (yay!), Speakon outputs, a footswitch jack, an XLR output and a headphone jack.

On the front are gain and volume for the pre-amp, the 4-band parametric EQ, a mute switch (also yay!), three signal-shaping switches and a master volume control. And do not forget the world’s brightest LEDs

My only gripe is that the power switch is located on the back of the unit. That’s all!

As I said, I have had this amplifier for two years, and during this time I have had no problems at all with it. And Genz does stand behind their products, with a 3-year parts and labor warranty (1 year for tubes). Just make sure hyou send in your warranty card…

I have paired it with the Genz Benz Shuttle 12-inch extension cabinet, as well as with the Genz Benz 4-ohm Uber Bass 4x10 cabinet to get the full benefit of the 600-watts. It performed well with both cabinets, and can get pretty much any tone that I am looking for. BTW, I will be providing reviews of both of these cabinets in the near future.

You can find the Genz Benz Shuttle 6.0 online at a street price of $699, discounted from the list price of $879.

Thanks for checking in!