New Amp*Day!!!

southpaw pete · #1 08-18-2017, 07:13 PM

Just bought a used Genz Benz Shenandoah Jr today. I remember playing through one at a store years ago, and being so impressed by the tone, so when this came up locally (in excellent condition and for a great price) I knew I wanted it. It does not disappoint.

I've also got an SWR California Blonde, which sounds amazing, but is sometimes more amp than is needed, or than I care to carry. This Jr however is half the weight, and a good bit smaller... And while it doesn't have any equivalent to the Aural Enhancer of the SWR, it does have some very nice Alexis digital effects. There isn't much you can do other than choose your effect and how much of it you want (no tone, decay, rate...) , I do find that the settings are dialed in very well for acoustic guitar, and that there are plenty of choices if I want shorter/longer, brighter/warmer etc...

Just last night I was playing acoustic at a new church, and was having some problems hearing myself in the monitors... thinking about whether or not to bring by SWR for Sunday service so I could have a little more control of my stage monitoring. I think I will bring the Shenandoah Jr instead, as I really want to hear how it performs in a band setting, and it is smaller. Still don't know if I want to use the DI out of the amp or just use my Baggs PADI and run a line to the amp.

Any others on here with experience with the Genz Benz Shenandoah amps?

Methos1979 · #2 08-19-2017, 10:54 AM

I had one of the original Shenandoah amps, the 85. It was an off-white color with a black grill. It was a little on the heavy side but it had incredibly good tone for both vocals and guitar. They quickly went up to the Shenandoah 100 then the 150 and started producing the much lighter and smaller versions. I've always wanted to try one and keep an eye out of good deals on Craigslist but have yet to find one. They don't get as much mention around here but they were/are great acoustic amps.

Paully · #3 08-19-2017, 10:56 AM

Congratulations on a sweet amp.

southpaw pete · #4 08-19-2017, 03:29 PM

Thanks guys,

I am really happy with how this amp sounds, as well as how light this is compared with the California Blonde (25lbs vs 50+lbs). Looking forward to using it tomorrow. I think I will use my PADI to the FOH, and send a line from the DI to the Shenandoah Jr simply for monitoring for this week.

I find it unfortunate that the DI out of the amp is so tied it to the volume settings on the amp. With the CA Blonde the input gain affects the DI out, but the master volume doesn't. So I can adjust my stage volume without affecting the feed to the FOH. Not so with the Shenandoah Jr. Not a problem if I get a good level set during sound check, but I hate to affect the output level to the FOH while adjusting my stage volume.

southpaw pete · #5 08-20-2017, 03:03 PM

Well, I used the amp in a band context today. I was using an LR Baggs PADI to the FOH, and ran a line to the amp for monitoring. I'd like to try the DI out from the amp next time.

The amp sounded great and made a huge difference. I had broken some nails during the Thursday night rehearsal because I couldn't hear myself and was playing too hard. I was afraid I may break a string today if I couldn't hear myself again. But the amp offered plenty of volume, and sounded great. The kickback feature really makes a huge difference.