Genz-Benz SHUTTLE MAX 6 User Manual
OWNER’S MANUAL
PRODUCT DESCRIPTION – The SHUTTLE MAX 6.0 bass amplier has been designed with our unique ULTRA
LIGHT unied design process, yielding a 600 watt professional high powered tour-class bass guitar amplier weighing only 5.75 lbs! This compact design blends the best of analog and digital platforms to produce the ultimate in
warmth, punch and power.
The SHUTTLE MAX 6.0 is equipped with a ¼” unbalanced INSTRUMENT INPUT; input stage clip detector; MUTE
switch with LED indicator; FET and 12AX7 TUBE preamps each with HIGH/LOW gain stage settings, and 4 band
ACTIVE equalization with 2 sweepable midrange bands; 3 switched SIGNAL SHAPE lters with level adjustments;
MASTER VOLUME; proprietary OUTPUT LIMITER; TUNER OUT; AUX INPUT; 3 EFFECTS LOOPS; balanced
DIRECT OUTPUT with GROUND LIFT, PRE or POST EQ; and MIC/LINE switches; HEADPHONE OUTPUT; and 2
Neutrik NL-4 “Speakon”® speaker jacks.
The power amp design is a powerful, lightweight Class D design and is supported by a state-of-the-art digital Switch
Mode Power Supply (SMPS), which does away with the weight of a traditional power transformer. The SHUTTLE
MAX 6.0 uses a 600 watt amplier module which delivers full output power into a 4 ohm speaker load. The power
supply is usable from 100-240 volts, lending itself well to international touring players.
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FRONT PANEL
INPUT – The SHUTTLE MAX 6.0 is equipped with a standard ¼” unbalanced INPUT. The INPUT sensitivity range is
from 40 mV to over 1.6 volts. The INPUT impedance is >500K ohms. The INPUT stage contains a precision high order
active high pass lter (more effective and less intrusive than the more common 6 dB lters) and an “RFI” lter (radio
frequency interference) to eliminate unwanted noise. The INPUT gain stages consist of a feedback type variable gain
circuit that provides wide range, continuously variable gain with minimal noise. The preamp contains an FET input amp
circuit based on our highly regarded GBE series touring ampliers.
INPUT SIGNAL MUTE SWITCH – With this MUTE switch, you can place the amplier (and Direct Output) in standby
mode between sets, without having to change any of your amp settings. This feature can also be used for silent tuning since the TUNER OUT stays active when the MUTE is engaged. A red LED indicates when the MUTE is active.
This function is not operable from the included 5-button footswitch, but a rear panel jack is provided so a standard
single button footswitch can be used to remotely engage this function. The switch on the amplier’s faceplate must be
in the out position for the footswitch to work properly.
FET/TUBE CHANNEL SELECTOR SWITCH – This switch is provided to select either the FET channel or the TUBE
channel. This function can be remotely engaged via the 5-button footswitch. The front panel switch must be in the out
position for the foot switch to engage the function.
CHANNEL MIX SELECTOR SWITCH – When engaged this switch combines the signal of the FET and TUBE
channels together. This function can also be remotely engaged via the 5-button footswitch. The front panel switch
must be in the out position for the footswitch to engage the function.
FET CHANNEL---
GAIN SWITCH (LOW/HIGH) – This switch sets the GAIN sensitivity for the FET channel. It works somewhat like an
Active/Passive switch. The amber LED indicates that the HIGH setting is selected. The difference between the LOW
and HIGH gain positions is approx. 10dB. Since there is a GAIN Switch provided for each channel this allows the
player to set different gain structures for the FET or TUBE channels. If the cleanest possible signal is desired, we recommend that the LOW setting be used for basses with hotter output or active pickups (those with an output sensitivity
over 1 Volt, generally most basses using one or two 9 volt batteries to power their on board preamp) and the HIGH
gain setting be used for basses with lower output or passive pickups.
PREAMP GAIN CONTROL – This control sets the GAIN level of the preamp to the output of your bass. If the red
OVERLOAD “O/L” LED ashes when setting up your input levels, reduce the preamp gain control to eliminate any
input preamp overload. You may want to check the setting of the GAIN switch as well.
This GAIN control, in conjunction with the PREAMP VOLUME control allows you to set the signal level to the EQ section. The MASTER VOLUME then controls the total output level of the power amp.
“O/L” LED – In the FET channel this LED senses the condition of the input signal after the GAIN control and also
senses and warns of possible clipping in the EQ network. The “O/L” sensing circuit is very dependent upon the output
of the bass instrument pickups, the GAIN and VOLUME level settings of the FET channel and the amount of EQ used
i.e. the more radical the EQ boost and volume level of the PREAMP VOLUME control, the more possibility of an overload condition.
If overloading of the FET channel is occurring adjusting the PREAMP GAIN and /or PREAMP VOLUME down will
reduce or eliminate the over-load condition and adjusting the MASTER VOLUME up will return the overall loudness.
Note: It is OK for this LED to ash occasionally with your hardest notes played and it may ash even if the TUBE
channel has been selected for use. This is normal and is due to the mixing topology for the 2 channels.
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PREAMP VOLUME CONTROL – This control sets the volume of the preamp after the INPUT and FET channel gain
stages and before the EQ controls. Use this control in conjunction with the GAIN control and the MASTER VOLUME
control for your overall output level.
TUBE CHANNEL—
GAIN SWITCH (LOW/HIGH) – This switch sets the GAIN sensitivity for the TUBE channel. It works both like an Ac-
tive/Passive switch and like a GAIN boost switch. The amber LED indicates that the HIGH setting is selected. The
difference between the LOW and HIGH gain positions is approx. 10dB. Since there is a GAIN switch provided for
each channel this allows the player to set different gain structures for the FET or TUBE channels.
If warm, clean tube tone is desired, we recommend that the LOW setting be used for basses with hotter output or
active pickups (those with an output sensitivity over 1 Volt, generally most basses using one or two 9 volt batteries to
power their on board preamp) and the HIGH gain setting be used for basses with lower output or passive pickups.
If tube compression, growl, or all-out distortion is desired then the HIGH gain setting may be used regardless of the
pickup sensitivity. The ‘hotter’ the pickup output, the more tube distortion can be achieved.
PREAMP GAIN CONTROL – This control sets the input sensitivity gain of the 12AX7 TUBE preamp after the GAIN
switch. The design of the TUBE GAIN structure allows you to set your tone from rich, clean tube tone to mild tube
compression, to warm tube growl, to all-out aggressive tube overdrive. The volume of the signal is then controlled by
the TUBE PREAMP VOLUME control and also the MASTER VOLUME control. The higher the gain settings are, the
lower the channel volume will need to be set, so as not to overload the EQ network.
“O/L” LED – In the TUBE channel, this LED senses the condition of the input signal after the GAIN control and also
senses and warns of possible clipping in the EQ network. The “O/L” circuit does not sense distortion or overdrive in
the tube. Your ears are the best judge of that for your desired tone.
The “O/L” sensing circuit is very dependent upon the output of the bass instrument pickups, the GAIN and VOLUME
settings of the FET channel and the amount of EQ used i.e. the more radical the EQ boost and volume level of the
PREAMP VOLUME control, the more possibility of an overload condition.
If overloading of the TUBE channel is occurring, adjusting the PREAMP VOLUME and/or PREAMP GAIN controls
down will reduce or eliminate the over-load condition and adjusting the MASTER VOLUME control up will return the
overall loudness.
Note: It is OK for this LED to ash occasionally with your hardest notes played and it may ash even if the FET
channel has been selected for use. This is normal and is due to the Mixing topology for the 2 channels.
PREAMP VOLUME CONTROL – This control sets the volume of the preamp after the INPUT and TUBE gain stages
and before the EQ controls. Use this control in conjunction with the PREAMP GAIN control and the MASTER VOLUME control for your overall output level.
ACTIVE EQUALIZATION (both channels) – The SHUTTLE MAX 6.0 contains two active 4 band equalizers (one for
the FET and one for the TUBE channel) each with 2 sweepable parametric midrange frequency networks (low-mid
and high-mid) that offer 15dB of cut or boost with a bandwidth of approximately 1 octave wide. These are slightly
over-lapping lters to provide ultimate exibility.
Parametric lters are typically (but not always) used to reduce or remove offending frequencies in the instrument’s
pickup response, or boosting response to achieve a particular voicing. Spend some time experimenting so that the
process becomes creative as well as corrective.
LOW FREQUENCY CONTROL – The LOW FREQUENCY EQ section is an 80 Hz shelving curve with 15dB of cut or
boost.
LOW-MID FREQUENCY FILTER -- The center frequency of the LOW-MID lter is continuously user adjustable from
120 Hz to 2 KHz with a single control. The LOW-MID GAIN control sets the amount of level (cut or boost) for the specic frequency set by the LOW-MID FREQUENCY control.
HIGH-MID FREQUENCY FILTER -- The HIGH-MID frequency is continuously user adjustable from 300 Hz to 5 KHz
with a single control. The HIGH-MID GAIN control sets the amount of level (cut or boost) for the specic frequency
set by the HIGH-MID FREQUENCY control.
HIGH FREQUENCY -- The HIGH FREQUENCY EQ section is a 4 KHz shelving curve with 15dB of cut or boost.
NOTE: These equalizer networks are similar to those found on professional sound consoles and are very useful tools.
These active equalizers are very wide response type lters and a little “tweaking” goes a long way.
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