Streamliner tone versus Walkabout tone

SactoBass · #1 10-14-2011, 09:43 PM

I would like to hear from TB'ers on what your opinion is comparing the tone of the Genz Benz Streamliner amp head to the Mesa Walkabout amp head.

Please keep the discussion focused on the tone comparison (not power differences, portability, price, etc.)

And don't assume the Walkabout head is plugged into a Mesa cab. Any cabs can be applicable in this discussion.

I have selected these two amp heads for this particular tone comparison thread because they both seem to be liked by people who like tube tone in a small package.

Thanks!

KJung · #2 10-15-2011, 05:13 AM

I've owned a Walkabout, and currently gig a STreamliner. Both are fantastic, both are the two 'tubiest' hybrids out there (along with the Mesa MPulse600), and both sound quite different from each other.

The Streamliner is a bit more like the MPulse600...tube BIG down low, very smooth in the mids, and a crystal clean, very tubey sounding, sweet, extended top end.

The Walkabout is much brighter in the upper mids, not quite as extended into the upper treble, and while big down low, does not have nearly the heft of the Streamliner down deep. There is always a kind of mid warmth and complexity to the Walkabout (punchy), whereas the Streamliner can be 'studio tube mic pre' clean... crystal clean.

On the other side of the coin, the Streamliner can go into full distortion if you want that, and I never found the Walkabout to really be designed to do that. The Streamliner really does sound like a big tube amp pushed into distortion if you want that. Of course, it sounds like it sounds, and does not exactly mimic any of the classic tube all out grinds like an SVT or whatever.

The DI is massively better on the Streamliner... one of the biggest negatives of the Walkabout is no pre EQ capability on the DI, and if I remember correctly, even the master volume impacts the DI signal, making it virtually useless in a 'PA support' setting (at least if you have a professional sound person running the board).

I like them both a lot. The EQ on both is similar, even though the Walkabout has more knobs. Both amps have a very interactive EQ section, and different settings of the gain sections and EQ can give you greatly different tonality. That is a good thing or can be a bad thing, depending on how 'plug and play' you are. The EQ section isn't the typical bass amp EQ, that kind of is like a channel strip.

So, quite different. Comparing the Streamliner to the Mesa line, I think of it more as a 'lighter, louder, and better voiced MPulse600' than a 'more powerful Walkabout'.

IMO and IME!

**JxBass** · #3 10-15-2011, 06:04 AM

+1 to Ken's comments. I have owned the Streamliner and Walkabout amps and I couldn't tame the mids on the Walkabout to a level I liked. If it had the smoothness and depth of the Streamliner I might have felt differently. I know there's a lot of Walkabout love on TB, just my personal impression and tastes.

lomo · #4 10-15-2011, 06:17 AM

Yeah, Kjung nailed it. One man's ceiling is another man's floor: for me, the mid character of the Walkabout is what gives it the win, along with it's somewhat quirky eq, appearance, and the fact that it's made in CA, USA. I love the Streamliner tone solo, but didn't care for it with the band.

SactoBass · #5 10-15-2011, 03:11 PM

Thanks Ken, JX, and Lomo for those comments.

It is interesting how some people love the Streamliner, and some people love the Walkabout. That is why I asked for comments on these two fine amps. Both get rave reviews on TB.

I guess the Walkabout is better suited for bassists who have a preference for more present mids, and the Streamliner is better suited for bassists who prefer slightly tamer mids and more present lows and highs.

Neither is "better" than the other. It's all a matter of personal taste I guess.

I have read many posts on TB saying the Walkabout has excellent tube tone. Same with the Streamliner. Perhaps we each have differing ideas on what "tube tone" is.

I look forward to more posts in this thread.

rodl2005 · #6 10-15-2011, 05:34 PM

Owned both, kept the WA.
I don't find the mids hard top contain at all on the WA. Heck, it's got a semi-para. EQ! I find I can dial in virtually any tone with it.
I once thought it wouldn't do a 'modern' tone, but a quick experiment soon put that idea to bed.
Sounds great with every cab I've tried it with.
I, too, liked the STL tone on it's own, but it just made our band sound muddy-everyone said so.
So,a good argument for 'tone is in the fingers' ???
And, I wanted an amp that'd work with my cabs, of which the AE212-plays a big part, & the STL's mid shyness -for me- just hated that cab. Just for the record, I couldn't get a useable tone (in a band mix) with a few dif. cabs.

SactoBass · #7 10-15-2011, 05:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rodl2005

Owned both, kept the WA.
I don't find the mids hard top contain at all on the WA. Heck, it's got a semi-para. EQ! I find I can dial in virtually any tone with it.
I once thought it wouldn't do a 'modern' tone, but a quick experiment soon put that idea to bed.
Sounds great with every cab I've tried it with.
I, too, liked the STL tone on it's own, but it just made our band sound muddy-everyone said so.
So,a good argument for 'tone is in the fingers' ???
And, I wanted an amp that'd work with my cabs, of which the AE212-plays a big part, & the STL's mid shyness -for me- just hated that cab. Just for the record, I couldn't get a useable tone (in a band mix) with a few dif. cabs.

Hmmmm.....interesting! Thanks Rod for posting that.

vin*tone · #8 10-15-2011, 07:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rodl2005

Owned both, kept the WA.
I don't find the mids hard to contain at all on the WA. Heck, it's got a semi-para. EQ!...

That's exactly what I thought!

SactoBass · #9 10-29-2011, 12:28 AM

Any other comments, anyone?

Crabby · #10 10-29-2011, 11:04 PM

Never tried the Streamliner but have yet to find an amp that gives me the rich harmonic content and amazing combination of punch and warmth all at the same time as the Walkabout.

RickenBoogie · #11 10-30-2011, 08:16 AM

Yeah, same here, no experience with the Streamliner, but since I've had my Walkabout, (5 yrs), I have been amp-GAS free. For a while, I thought I needed more power, but found with the right combination of cabs, the WA has enough juice to cover all my needs.

LeonD · #12 10-30-2011, 08:46 AM

Same here. I've been using Mesa M amps, GB Shuttle 9.0 and recently MB F500. The Walkabout is just more musical than those. (That's the only way I know to describe it.)

My concern was if it had enough power to handle my gigs. Playing with my "loud" band, the Walkabout and a couple of Berg cabs was way more than enough for the gig.

Long live the Walkabout!

mrpackerguy · #13 10-30-2011, 09:43 AM

I'll add one thing. If you double like I do, I find the Walkabout to be easier to get a sweet double bass sound from than the Streamliner. Less turning around during the gig trying to get both the electric upright bass and the bass guitar to sound like you want.

SactoBass · #14 10-30-2011, 07:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crabby

Never tried the Streamliner but have yet to find an amp that gives me the rich harmonic content and amazing combination of punch and warmth all at the same time as the Walkabout.

Thanks Crabby. That seems to be the consensus regarding the Walkabout.

Is there a difference between the silver face with red trim and the silver face with black trim? (other than that color difference). Which one do YOU have?

And what are good cab matches for the Walkabout? (other than the Walkabout cabs)

LeonD · #15 10-30-2011, 07:21 PM

Reading on here for a while about Walkabouts, I can't remember any cab that didn't sound good with a Walkabout. That said, I use my Walkabout with Bergantino cabs (AE112 and AE210) with great results.

SactoBass · #16 10-30-2011, 07:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LeonD

Reading on here for a while about Walkabouts, I can't remember any cab that didn't sound good with a Walkabout. That said, I use my Walkabout with Bergantino cabs (AE112 and AE210) with great results.

Thanks LD. Is there a difference between the silver face with red trim and the silver face with black trim? (other than that color difference). Which one do YOU have?

SactoBass · #17 10-30-2011, 07:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RickenBoogie

Yeah, same here, no experience with the Streamliner, but since I've had my Walkabout, (5 yrs), I have been amp-GAS free. For a while, I thought I needed more power, but found with the right combination of cabs, the WA has enough juice to cover all my needs.

RB: Is there a difference between the silver face with red trim and the silver face with black trim? (other than that color difference). Which one do YOU have?

rodl2005 · #18 10-30-2011, 07:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SactoBass

Thanks Crabby. That seems to be the consensus regarding the Walkabout.

Is there a difference between the silver face with red trim and the silver face with black trim? (other than that color difference). Which one do YOU have?

And what are good cab matches for the Walkabout? (other than the Walkabout cabs)

The only differences I've seen in WA's, at apart from the colour, is the one input & the toggle switch, as opposed to the 2 separate inputs for active/passive,
I thought I saw an early WA with a different transformer to my toroidal one. I could be wrong on that tho.
Anyone???
I've got 2 WA's, an earlier 2 input silver/black face, & a later single input silver/black face.
Sound the same to me. Which is a good thing imo.

Willicious · #19 10-30-2011, 07:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SactoBass

And what are good cab matches for the Walkabout? (other than the Walkabout cabs)

I'm running my black face Walkabout through a fEARful 15/6—a very nice combination. IME, that cab really accentuates the WA's warmth.

SactoBass · #20 10-30-2011, 07:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rodl2005

The only differences I've seen in WA's, at apart from the colour, is the one input & the toggle switch, as opposed to the 2 separate inputs for active/passive,
I thought I saw an early WA with a different transformer to my toroidal one. I could be wrong on that tho.
Anyone???
I've got 2 WA's, an earlier 2 input silver/black face, & a later single input silver/black face.
Sound the same to me. Which is a good thing imo.

Thansk Rod. This might be my 55 year old brain failing me once again, but I seem to recall reading somewhere on TB where there was some kind of problem with the WA version that has two separate inputs (which is why Mesa switched over to the version with the active/passive toggle switch).