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Genz Benz Streamliner, Part 10

#41
CYA Smeet! Glad I talked you into the 9.2max, its the best amp ever, I love it

Today I was really experimenting with my Bongo & the SL900
Man did I LOVE boosting the mids at 600hz, what girth & punch it gave to the upper registers, I VERY rarely boost there. Wow, I'm going to use that MUCH more often, it also allows me to cut the lows but still have girth on the notes for a more aggressive tone. I was always stuck believing I should raises the other mids to get a more clear modern tone but this is cool

Find some awesome crunch with the Gain in, Gain at noon & having the volume & master low... Are you going to be my girl by Jet... NICE

If I had to have only one amp, for sure its the 9.2max but I do love this Streamliner & when I want to change it up... throwing that EBS Microbass in the back really makes this amp totally different too.

Happy as hell with my Cabs, Amps & 1 one bass... Just one more bass to sell & buy & I'm taking a gear vacation for a LONG LONG time!
 
#42
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... :bassist:

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. :hmm: I think the Streamliner might be a good way to go.. being somewhat in the same camp as the WA.
 
#44
So I wanted to share my first impression of the 900 in my first try in a band setting. I read many of these postings in my due dilligence before the purchase of the 900. I play bass and keyboards in a very loud Led Zeppelin tribute band. I usually play through a 69 SVT or a MB400. Lately I've just been using a 410 ported amped cab at practice. Well I didn't say anything to the band at set up. I pulled the 900 out of my computer case and set it up. Now the drummer is as old school as anyone could possibly be. He has stacks of crown amps and an awesome home made PA we practice through. He looked at the amp and said "What the hell is that thing?". I said 'It's my new amp". He laughed out loud and said "Get the hell outta here, what is that thing suppose to do?". I said just wait until you hear it and asked him how many watts he thought was in that box? He said 60, maybe 100. I told him 900 watts and he simply just could not believe it. Then he said it would never keep up with the band all night long. Now I got the amp that night and played through it a total of 10 minutes before I headed of to practice. First up was the 1964 Jazz bass. Sounded awesome. I was astounded at the low end that seemed to fill the entire room in a strange way. Gain button on, preamp 12:00, bass 11:00, mid boost all the way, treble 12:00, volume 12:00. Plenty loud enough. After the first song the drummer asked if I was running that thing through the PA because it sounds like the bass is everywhere. I tweaked all the knobs over the next few tunes. Took the bass control down a little more on the amp and the gain to try to clean it up a bit. Sounded better but I was still missing a little punch and clarity on some of my bass runs. I'm usually an all tube kind of guy. I walked around to different parts of the room while we were playing to hear bass tones swirling all around us. Nice but different for sure. We took a break, the drummer said "I don't like it". We had a discussion of what he did not like. He said it was the low end and I disagreed but agreed there was something in the voicing I did not love as well. I told him I thought it was the clarity and punch of some of the notes. I also said I needed to monkey around with it a bit. So round two after a break came the 1984 Yamaha BB2000 guitar. I worked on cleaning up the sound a bit. Turned the gain button off, boosted the volumes up. mid 12:00, bass 10:00, treble 12:00. Both pickups on the bass and tone all the way open. I had to run both tone knobs on my basses full open that night. It sounded better adjusting the treble on the amp. This sounded much better and towards the end of the night, I had turned the gain button back on with the preamp knob set around 9:00. At the end of the night the singer said "Man, that thing kicks ass!". The guitar player said "It sounds really good, different, and it has a voice of its own". The drummer looked at me and smiled and said "You ain't getting me to go in there". The singer said "In where?". And I said "The box". The drummer looked at me and laughed. That's when I knew he really liked it but still could not believe it.
So I need to play with it some more. I have some different cabs to play around with and I'm sure I will find that "sweet spot of tone I'm looking for".
First impression is, I'm really impressed!
Oh yea the biggest thing I noticed was the way I was playing. I usually play a certain way to get the tone I like. Finger picking style etc., but with this amp, it came without trying and I had to back off my playing style a bit. Never experienced that before.
 
#45
Dont be afraid to have the bass at 9 oclock or lower man...
What was the mid frequency at? That matters a lot

Its simple & complicated at the same time... just a bit more tweaking. I've had mine for a year or so now & I'm still figuring it out!
 
#46
Yep it's just going to take a little time. I had the freq set at 2.5k.
Right now I'm using a 64 p bass with DiMarzio's in it. I have the mid at 220. Bass rolled off to 10 and it sounds awesome! The higher notes coming out of this amp really sing!
 
#47
Also work with the ratio of volume to gain. Those really affect how the EQ behaves, especially the mid control.

I tend to start every gig with the bass at 11 o'clock, mids (600hz) at 1 o'clock, treble at noon, and then adjust the gain/volume ratio until I get in the ballpark of what I want. After that it's minor EQ tweaks to get it there for the room.
 
#49
Picked my new STL600 up Friday, used it at a gig Saturday with one of my Shuttle 112 cabs. Had no tweak time, just straight in and do the gig. Can you say Plug and Play? :hyper:
I dont know what the fuss is all about setting the tone controls.... I just set all the knobs except mid and master at 12 o'clock, gain button in, mid 11 o'clock at 600hz.... best bass sound I've had in my life! I've had Eden, SWR, Ampeg, Mesa, Trace, GB Shuttle and GK amps, and the STL was more plug and play than any of them!
Campers dont come any happier than this one!
BTW: bass is P with TI flats, foam block under the strings, and a Dave Allen pickup.
 
#50
Marty Forrer said:
Picked my new STL600 up Friday, used it at a gig Saturday with one of my Shuttle 112 cabs. Had no tweak time, just straight in and do the gig. Can you say Plug and Play? :hyper:
I dont know what the fuss is all about setting the tone controls.... I just set all the knobs except mid and master at 12 o'clock, gain button in, mid 11 o'clock at 600hz.... best bass sound I've had in my life! I've had Eden, SWR, Ampeg, Mesa, Trace, GB Shuttle and GK amps, and the STL was more plug and play than any of them!
Campers dont come any happier than this one!
BTW: bass is P with TI flats, foam block under the strings, and a Dave Allen pickup.
Click to expand...

+1 Deadened P Bass with old flats, mid voiced cabs, old school tone goals.... take it out of the box, plug it in, play, enjoy. Probably the best head on the market for that vibe IMO, and the updated/upgraded Shuttle 112 cabs are VERY good.

Nice!
 
#54
Played two sets with my STL900 last night. Modern pop/rock/funk band for one set (very clear, Marcus Miller type tone), and a very hard edged hiphop project for the next (gritty lows and mid heavy tone). Additionally, a buddy used it for the third set, which was a Motown, RnB, soul project (very James Jamerson tone).

The amp performed wonderfully with a few knob/button tweaks between each set, and even received praise for the DI from the soundguy.
 
#56
I'm back. Loved my streamliner. Sold it and got an SVT. Just pulled the trigger on another 900. I do 100+ gigs a year and have always used great gear......ampeg, ashdown, markbass, etc. Gotta say that I think the streamliner is my favourite I've owned.

I have a bergantino NV215 as my main gigging cab and I'm dying to try these uber 15s out. Anyone care to comment on how they pair with the streamliner.
 
#58
I really like my Uber 115 pair... They are very focused. and have a tight yet round bottom to them... For me they work well with a J or P bass... depending on how you like to EQ them.
They also put out alot of sound from even one box..
I can do most of my gigs with only one.. I will be slamin that 115 though...
I have stacked them and put them side by side. I like side by side on a large stage since i dont have to rely on my rig to cover the house...

And ive been borrowing my friends uber410 for a bout 2 weeks to try it out.. I really like the 410 alot .. But i think the 115 is a little less boomy in that 150 hz area on a troubled type stage,,, the 115 is not as loud as the 410. .but to me i like the way the 115 handle the upper mids .. For me i just dig the 115 or 215 thing.. And if you stack them, it appears to me to have a better, cleaner more focused mid response up close than a 410.... my .02


fitz420 said:
I'm back. Loved my streamliner. Sold it and got an SVT. Just pulled the trigger on another 900. I do 100+ gigs a year and have always used great gear......ampeg, ashdown, markbass, etc. Gotta say that I think the streamliner is my favourite I've owned.

I have a bergantino NV215 as my main gigging cab and I'm dying to try these uber 15s out. Anyone care to comment on how they pair with the streamliner.
Click to expand...
 
#59
svtb15 said:
I really like my Uber 115 pair... They are very focused. and have a tight yet round bottom to them... For me they work well with a J or P bass... depending on how you like to EQ them.
They also put out alot of sound from even one box..
I can do most of my gigs with only one.. I will be slamin that 115 though...
I have stacked them and put them side by side. I like side by side on a large stage since i dont have to rely on my rig to cover the house...

And ive been borrowing my friends uber410 for a bout 2 weeks to try it out.. I really like the 410 alot .. But i think the 115 is a little less boomy in that 150 hz area on a troubled type stage,,, the 115 is not as loud as the 410. .but to me i like the way the 115 handle the upper mids .. For me i just dig the 115 or 215 thing.. And if you stack them, it appears to me to have a better, cleaner more focused mid response up close than a 410.... my .02
Click to expand...

+1
 
#60
svtb15 said:
I really like my Uber 115 pair... They are very focused. and have a tight yet round bottom to them... For me they work well with a J or P bass... depending on how you like to EQ them.
They also put out alot of sound from even one box..
I can do most of my gigs with only one.. I will be slamin that 115 though...
I have stacked them and put them side by side. I like side by side on a large stage since i dont have to rely on my rig to cover the house...

And ive been borrowing my friends uber410 for a bout 2 weeks to try it out.. I really like the 410 alot .. But i think the 115 is a little less boomy in that 150 hz area on a troubled type stage,,, the 115 is not as loud as the 410. .but to me i like the way the 115 handle the upper mids .. For me i just dig the 115 or 215 thing.. And if you stack them, it appears to me to have a better, cleaner more focused mid response up close than a 410.... my .02
Click to expand...

Has anybody here A/B'd the Uber 212 and 115? I went with the 212 to pair with my STL-900 but keep wondering if a 115 (or pair of them, for louder gigs) might better suit the classic R&B/rock/country bands I typically play with.
 

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