Genz Benz Shen CPK-8T Mini Review

guit_box

I recently purchased this amp and so far I think it's a better and more versatile for gigging than other amps I've owned which include: AER Compact 60, Acoustic Image Coda R Series III combo, AI head with Raiser's Edge cabinets 2x8 and 1x12ER, Crate Limo. I am not affiliated with Genz Benz, but I do play a lot of gypsy jazz and electric jazz gigs and I've spent a lot of time looking for the best amp that will be versatile and allow me to get from the car to the gig in one trip.

Here are some features that make this amp stand out:
1. Very lightweight amp with shoulder bag, I think it's lighter than an AER but maybe a little larger. Much of the lightweight design can be attributed to the neodymium speaker.
2. Input clipping light is very useful to know if you are overloading the preamp with a hot pickup or mic
3. Sweepable mid-range is very easy to dial in a mid range cut fast in gigging situation
4. The head is removable so you can use it with a different cabinet or in conjunction with the combo
5. 175 watts gives it enough headroom, it's 300 watts with an extension cabinet
6. The digital reverbs are more natural than AER and AI. I found the AI effects caused some noise
7. The larger ported cabinet with a tweeter gives a fuller sound than the AER
8. Tweeter on/off/pad is very useful and allows plenty of control over brightness. The tweeter seems less harsh than the eminence in the RE cabinet. I can't even hear the tweeter in the AI
9. The choice of frequencies for the bass and treble EQ fit acoustic guitars better than other EQs
10. Sounds quite good with a bigtone, although mine has an internal jack preamp so I can't comment about passive bigtones.
11. Works well with electric guitar, especially when used as a head with another cabinet like a 12"
12. Output clipping lights could be useful, but I haven't used the amp in that loud of a situation to need them. It's still good to get that visual feeback to know if the amp is overloading.
13. Three direct outs for channels 1,2, or a mix is very versatile.
14. Class D circuit allows you to use the head as a preamp without a cabinet
15. The head is small and light enough to fit into a guitar gig bag front pocket.
16. The sound is quite clean and noise free.

pekkaee

I have almost same amp - CPK-10T - with little bigger loudspeaker. My opinions is also rather good. I have used it with archtop (Eastman 910 CE) and little modified Gitane DG-255 with AT 831B mic. Sound is rather natural. We use it also as little PA, and no problems. Even bassguitar (electric) sound rather good and violin and flute is very good. It is easy/light to carry and sounds good. Nothing to regret.