Genz Benz Streamliner, Part 10

[fitz420]

Thanks for all the responses guys. I'm thinking a pair of Uber 115's will be giving my NV215 a run for its money soon.

[Sav'nBass]

Originally Posted by willsellout

That helps, thanks. So maybe I need to take a look at the bass knob and fiddle with it during practice and try to find a happy medium.
I'll say it again, I really wish the manual for the Streamliner had more info in it. I'm lucky to know about TB, but for someone who doesn't, they could have a lot of frustration trying to "get" the amp without this kind of info. It's my one and only complaint. I always thought quite a few companies could learn from Eden and what they had put in their manuals. I never had any questions about the operation of any of the Eden stuff I owned.

AS soon as I read this I was thinking this:

Originally Posted by KJung

I feel the Streamliner is one of the most complicated amps on the market. The Max 9.2 with all those knobs... simple as pie. The Streamliner, with everything interacting... gain, volume, midrange, bass control, etc., etc., it can get a bit crazy. It is worth the time to really get to know it IMO and IME, but it is not a 'take it out of the box, plug it in, and play' sort of amp. And, IMO, just like many all tube amps, it seems quite sensitive to cab matching, and can sound wonderful, or a bit flubby depending on the cab, no matter how you turn the knobs.
Good luck. Don't be afraid to really twist those tone knobs, and don't be afraid to really experiment with different gain levels and gain/volume ratios, with and without the boost.

That is so true.. and the SL is kind of deceptive in that respect because one would think that it would be simpler. Simpler than the Shuttles (not even talking about the Max) but it isn't. I find that with this amp more so than any I have ever owned I really have to use my ears.. more than before. With other amps I knew what I wanted and could quickly find it, but with this amp and factoring in the pre on my bass.. I am still experimenting. I just wish I could use it out more.

[amcrory]

Originally Posted by speyer

I just found a streamliner 600 in the classifieds and plan to pair it with my TC rs210 stack. Anyone familiar with this pairing? I think Ken has both? I should have it in a week or so...

I've been using my Walkabout head with the RS210's for 6+ months and just love the feel and tone I'm getting with my cover band.. However, I'm experiencing some issues running in at 90%+ vol for 3+ hours. I think the Streamliner might be a good way to go.. being somewhat in the same camp as the WA.

I use my 900 with a TC RS212, and it's a fantastic combination. Very sparkly and punchy.

[speyer]

Picked up my STL600 today...

Just got back from a 3hr rehearsal with my classic/modern rock cover band. Used it with my rs210 stack and my bandmates all thought it was a great sounding amp. I just love the great feature set and form factor of this amp paired with my TC cabs. We use in-ears and the DI is fantastic... Tubey, punchy and sweet with a touch of grit on top. It took half a set to get it sounding similar to my walkabout and I was loving the extra headroom it had to offer. Overall, this amp is shy on midrange content compared to what I'm used to... But it is still very usable in a mix and does sound sweet. Very pleased with the class A pre/D power design (gain/vol/master) and I felt it sounded very natural for a digital amp.

All very good stuff IMO!

[Jacob J]

Guys, is anyone here putting an EQ pedal in front of their Streamliner? I have a chance to grab the Empress ParaEQ for cheap, so I was thinking if that could provide more control over my sound in various situations while giving me more versatility. What do you think? For me Streamliner itself is terrific but sometimes I miss more control over the EQ. Sometimes I need more low mids, sometimes I need boost when switching from pick to fingerstyle...

[bassgod0dmw]

I've used a ParaEQ with my SL900 many times. I think it's great, and does exactly what you are looking to do with it.

I believe some have ran it in the FX loop too, bypassing the preamp of the head.

[maxgroover]

When I play upright bass I run my Fishman Platinum Pro EQ into the effects return of the SL900 and use the head as a power amp.

If I encounter a really boomy venue and I'm playing electric I put the Fishman between my electric and the SL900 which allows me to control the boominess whilst still maintaining the nice full Streamliner sound. I did this setup last weekend in the boomiest hall I've ever played in and everyone could hear my notes nice and clear.

[speyer]

I have an Empress Para EQ on its way to me... I've been told it's the only EQ in stompbox format worth using. Transparent, powerful and doubles as a clean boost. After only a few hours with the SL I knew I would need something in my signal to bump the mids to suit some of the songs I play, also to zero in on those trouble frequencies on the gig. My walkabout is great for that...LOVE the Para section on it and know I will definitely miss it on the Streamliner.

At the same time... I'm very, very happy with the overall tone and feel of this head and I believe it just may be the best amp purchase I've ever made. Kind of reminds my of my Tecamp Puma rig; having great smoothness and clarity when run clean, but the SL has all that gooey 3 dimensional Tubieness going on that I always missed. At under $500 (what I paid) or even $750+ for that matter.. you just cant beat this kind of value IMO. Really quite impressive.

I just read through the "SL Tone Control Primer" Thread here... and it is a very informative and interesting read. I highly recommend this to any StreamLiner owner!

[Tugboat]

Have any of you guys used something like a VT Bass or a Sansamp Bass Driver DI with the Streamliner? I know it may seem redundant but I figured someone might have tried one of those for some more bite and growliness? Just curious.

[speyer]

Originally Posted by Tugboat

Have any of you guys used something like a VT Bass or a Sansamp Bass Driver DI with the Streamliner? I know it may seem redundant but I figured someone might have tried one of those for some more bite and growliness? Just curious.

I use a Tronographic Rusty Box on my board... It's the best OD pedal I've come across and I've tried them all. It sounds great in front of any amp because it's a bass preamp pedal modeled after an old Traynor tube amp. Unlike most other OD's IME, It can be used from clean to screaming dirty and anything in between and always sounds really detailed. It also has a boost channel for ripping solos or whatever... Check it out!

Edit: I have even used it successfully as a front end into powered setups like Berg IP's... and it worked really well for me the other night with the streamliner. Adds a significant amount of midrange texture/growl the way I have it set up and it doesn't take away from the SL's nice sparkly tone.

[Musicman20]

Had some fun with a Smax 9.2 / Streamliner 900 comparison tonight.

Used my super light Stingray 5 HS (stunning bass) with both.

Gotta say the treble on the Streamliner is extremely sweet and can go from vintage to very crisp easily. I played with the mids and found the middle setting boosted a little sounds great.

I know people aren't bonding with the quite large low end...but I found the b string sounded brilliant on the bass. Full but not over bearing. Onboard EQ was flat...bass on amp was at 12 ish or just under.

[TC.65]

Has anyone here tried the Streamliner with the GB Focus series cabs? I'm thinking about pairing my STL 600 with a pair of the Focus 115 cabs. I can't try before i buy so i'm looking for some feedback. Any info will be appreciated.

[kesslari]

Genz Benz - Streamliner + Focus LT 112's

[bugbass]

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/attach...1&d=1355787472

[tink9975]

I have a ST900 inbound from the classifieds, my first new amp since I got my Eden WT-500 in '96. I'm really looking forward to playing around with a different sound, and maybe trimming some of the toys off of my pedal board.

[Rapisme]

Just got a STL-900 yesterday along with a new used fretless. Got really excited as the amp just fell into my lap ( Thanks Arch58 ) and the bass was another attempt to get into fretless playing.
Funny story looked like there where some dead blue steels on the bass so after a quik change to some D'Addarios ( spell check doesn't work ) now the bass was as I wanted.

Playing a passively thru a Dr. Bass ( Accugroove look alike ) 210 loaded with Faitals! Now I can't wait to plug this into my LDS 410 & 6x8.

The STL-900 is almost giving me a surround sound bass effect if there is such a thing. I like the mids and I'm still playing with the treble. Arch was really good at giving me a print out of the recommended settings.
HEADROOM that's what hit me in the face. I'm pretty sure the more i'll play around with it the more comfortable i'll get. But i'm excited as I always wanted to get a T-Funk 750A again but thanks to Genz Benz and TB I'm set on the hi wattage amps for a while now.
It may seem like all the craze right now but I can honestly say if I just can lay my hands on a MB F-500 then that's all I would ever need. Got the Tube vibe from the STL so letting go of my MB TTE-500 didn't hurt so bad.
So far no complaints and really making me want to do fretless again. Now that's a feet!

[Dan Knowlton]

Originally Posted by main_sale

Agedhorse,
Amen to your comment. I'm an old guy and found the streamilner more to my liking that my Shuttle 6.0, but both of them are superior amps! One is apples and the other oranges.

I like the oranges...I had the Shuttle 6.0 and like the basic tone of the Streamliner a bit better. It sounds GREAT with a Sadowsky JJ bass. And I like it with my Lakland, too but there is just something extra with a jazz bass.

Dan K.

[nordyboy]

Originally Posted by Dan Knowlton

I like the oranges...I had the Shuttle 6.0 and like the basic tone of the Streamliner a bit better. It sounds GREAT with a Sadowsky JJ bass. And I like it with my Lakland, too but there is just something extra with a jazz bass.

Dan K.

I like oranges as well, so I bought one with valves in it

[CElton]

Used my Streamliner as a preamp DI for IEM's this weekend. Ran it post EQ and had glorious tone through the IEM's.

[tink9975]

So I spent a little time comparing my two heads last night. So far I am finding that the Streamliner is naturally giving me the tone that I have been using 3-4 pedals to get from the Eden. This was just through headphones, I can't wait to try it out at practice this week.