Has Genz Benz gone out of business?

[seratone]

I was interested in getting an amp to play live with a duo I've recently put together. Originally thinking of a powered monitor or two. QSC or the new little Yorkvilles. My acoustic 'rig' consists of a Dtar Mama Bear, Dtar Equinox, line6 M9 and Neunaber Wet. So all the EQ and effects a dedicated acoustic guitar amp would be wasted. Then I started reading reviews of the Genz Benz Shanendoah Compak.

I can't seem to find one anywhere for sale. None of the music retailers on the Genz Benz site carry them anymore.

[paulin]

It's my understanding Genz Benz was bought by another company who is no longer making them. I have one of the last (I think) Genz Benz Shanendoah 150LT amps. It is a great amp but I only use it for larger gigs anymore.

[Tomm Williams]

A very good friend of mine was one of their design engineers until about a year ago when he went to work for Mesa. He told me that they once did custom mods on three Shenandaoh 100's for the Eagles for one of their tours. Last he knew, they were still in use.

[pieterh]

Aren't they another victim of the post-flotation Fender buy-up of the entire music business? The website hasn't been updated since 2012 and seeing as Genz-Benz were a part of Fender subsidiary Kamen by this time (and look how those brands are doing...) it doesn't look promising...

You can certainly tell that when Fender were run by the staff that bought out the company from CBS there was a feeling that they cared about the brands and their users. The fact that Guild, Ovation and others have all been shut down since the controlling interests in Fender have been owned by various equity firms is maybe not surprising but is saddening.

[seratone]

If that's the case - no longer being made - I found a Shenandoah 100 for $399 locally - I was sort of holding out for something from them more powerful - or stereo perhaps- maybe I should just pick it up.

I need a powered monitor solution for an acoustic duo - and these things seem like the Swiss Army knives of amps....acoustic guitar, vocals, Keys...even a POD had 500 I hear sounds good through them.

I had one of the older Fishman Loudboxes - didn't really like it very much....

[seratone]

Now I've found another Genz Benz for sale - it's a toss up between the Shenandoah 100 for $399 and the Shenandoah 150 LT for $649.

Any suggestions? the LT is half the weight, 26 lbs vs 40 something....wondering if the extra $250 is worth it.

[jonfields45]

Fender shut down Genz Benz. I imagine the website is still up to support dealers moving old stock. To me it is a real loss. Their products were reliable, good sounding and light weight.

[Irish Pennant]

As other have said, Genz Benz is out of business. Does anyone know if their former employees have started up another acoustic amp manufacturing business? if so, what do they call it?

[oatsoda]

Bummer indeed that they are no more. When you are eaten by the bear, your protein goes to make it roar, your fat gets it through the next winter, and it craps the rest of you out in the woods.

I have a Shen stereo 60, the model from before the LT series. In fact I wrote to GB, asking what got eliminated in the LT model to save the 9 pounds, and heard back from FMIC that they had no insight to anything produced under the previous owner. They passed the buck, the same way the bear did "you know what" in the woods. I assume they started using thinner ply, a lighter transformer, maybe speakers without big ceramic magnets, and then filled all the unused space with helium, which when it eventually starts to slowly leak out, puts the vocal channel up an octave.

I really like how my guitars sound through the Shen 60, and feel like it does great at my vocal too, especially after I ditched the old SM58 for a Senn e835. If only it were 9 pounds lighter...

[coconuts]

Jeff Genzler has a profile on Linkedin. Appears he's looking for a job. You can send him an email if you have questions. You might have to be a member to see this link.
https://www.linkedin.com/pub/jeff-genzler/14/899/682

GB strength was with their bass amp and speaker lines. Kaman (Fender) probably saw them as cutting into their bass market with the high quality of those systems and found it economical to just buy and bury it. The acoustic guitar amp line fell victim to this decision.

Just keep your eye out for used ones in excellent condition and sometimes boxed new ones found in a warehouse collecting dust. I was lucky on both counts in the last 6 months and couldn't be more pleased with my 80 LT stereo and Pro LT amps.

[Gemini11]

Look up a guy that goes by "agedhorse". He was one of the brains behind Benz. He can tell you about anything about GB amps. They are around on the used market. He told me that Shen Pros tour all over the world and run like tops.

[tepar]

An amazing friend involving acquire was considered one of the pattern fitters until about last year while he or she went to be employed by Mesa. They laughed and said that they when would custom mods on three Shenandaoh 100's with the Eagles for just one of their excursions. Previous he or she understood, these folks were still utilized.

[SMan]

FMIC is where good companies go to die.

[royd]

as was said, Genz Benz was bought by Fender and dismantled. A number of the folk went to work for Mesa. You can find agedhorse (Andy) at the Talkbass forum where their shuttle bass heads get a lot of love. He still does repair work though and has parts for the entire line I think.

As for the drop in weight, I assume it was when they went to class D amplifiers. The weight difference is amazing. I have 2 Genz Benz bass heads a 300 watt one that weighs about 3 pounds and a 900 watt head that weighs about 5 pounds. And they sound amazing. I know that the compaq series used a 300 watt class D amp. If I ran across one of those and had the disposable cash, I'd grab it in an instant.

[Tomm Williams]

Originally Posted by Gemini11

Look up a guy that goes by "agedhorse". He was one of the brains behind Benz. He can tell you about anything about GB amps. They are around on the used market. He told me that Shen Pros tour all over the world and run like tops.

Yep, That's my friend I spoke of.