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Genz Benz Streamliner, Part 10

#1,361
BassPilot said:
The harder you drive the input the dirtier (subjective term) the amp will be.If you want clean, try unpressing the gain button and adjust from there.
I would turn the gain down to about 11 o’clock, the volume up to ~3 o’clock and use the master for volume.
I haven’t played a Berg HT322 but I’m sure it can be extremely loud. In the end, the Streamliner may not do the job for you. There’s no “one size fits all”.
Click to expand...

Hmmm. Maybe something isn't right.
I had a few minutes to try the following: G&L J bass connected with a cable to the amp (no pedal or HPF). Same Bergantino cabinet with the the gain button off, gain and volume at noon, and master full up. The amp is really quiet. Then tried no gain button but volume and master on full and it is still really quiet. No way it could cover a quiet rock gig like this.

With the gain button on, it's a much different amp. It gets equally loud compared to the other amps with gain button on, gain at noon, volume at 3:00 and master at 3:30 to wide open.
Even with gain button on and master full up, the volume really needs to be above noon for any serious volume.
And I don't play really loud. I'm talking small club / bar level with reasonable drummer and guitars.
Thoughts?
 
#1,362
Jim C said:
Hmmm. Maybe something isn't right.
I had a few minutes to try the following: G&L J bass connected with a cable to the amp (no pedal or HPF). Same Bergantino cabinet with the the gain button off, gain and volume at noon, and master full up. The amp is really quiet. Then tried no gain button but volume and master on full and it is still really quiet. No way it could cover a quiet rock gig like this.

With the gain button on, it's a much different amp. It gets equally loud compared to the other amps with gain button on, gain at noon, volume at 3:00 and master at 3:30 to wide open.
Even with gain button on and master full up, the volume really needs to be above noon for any serious volume.
And I don't play really loud. I'm talking small club / bar level with reasonable drummer and guitars.
Thoughts?
Click to expand...

The Berg HT322 is rated at 800 watts @ 4 ohms. You're using a Streamliner 600 which is rated at 600 watts @ 4 ohms. So you can put out 600 watts with everything maxed out. Even 500 watts with the HT322 should be pretty loud.
So something doesn't sound right to me. Maybe something is wrong with the amp. Andy @agedhorse may be able to shed some light and troubleshooting info on this situation.
 
#1,365
Jim C said:
Hmmm. Maybe something isn't right.
I had a few minutes to try the following: G&L J bass connected with a cable to the amp (no pedal or HPF). Same Bergantino cabinet with the the gain button off, gain and volume at noon, and master full up. The amp is really quiet. Then tried no gain button but volume and master on full and it is still really quiet. No way it could cover a quiet rock gig like this.

With the gain button on, it's a much different amp. It gets equally loud compared to the other amps with gain button on, gain at noon, volume at 3:00 and master at 3:30 to wide open.
Even with gain button on and master full up, the volume really needs to be above noon for any serious volume.
And I don't play really loud. I'm talking small club / bar level with reasonable drummer and guitars.
Thoughts?
Click to expand...

Yeah not sure what you're experiencing but this may need a trip to the GB SPA for a session with Agedhorse. Might be tube related but your output issues sound funny.
 
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#1,367
It looks like the gain push-button is in the same relative place that most amps have their selector for active or passive basses. Am I correct in assuming that's its function? Or does it activate the gain control? (or something else?)
 
#1,368
BlueTalon said:
It looks like the gain push-button is in the same relative place that most amps have their selector for active or passive basses. Am I correct in assuming that's its function? Or does it activate the gain control? (or something else?)
Click to expand...
It functionally increases the circuit gain, after the first tube gain stage, increasing the drive levels.
 
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#1,371
BassPilot said:
@Jim C , I was A/B'ing my Streamliner 900 and Mesa TT-800 last night and it occurred to me that you may like the TT-800 more than the Streamliner. Get your hands on a TT-800 and giver 'er a go. You might be pleasantly surprised :thumbsup:.
Click to expand...

Thanks very much for reaching out!
I think the Streamliner is an amazing amp but I just can't make it work for me.
At last nights rehearsal I had the bass at 9:00 and the mids at 220 at 10:00 or
3.5K at 2:00
with treble at 11:00ish. Problem was I needed another band of EQ as I wanted to pull 220 and boost 3.5. The treble control EQ center is too high for me (or maybe my playing) and I still don't get the bass EQ. I had it off at one point last night and there was still plenty of bottom with a 2x15 loaded with 421A's. I was using a HPF the entire time and used it with my tube Ampeg pre and Ampeg lead sled for consistency.

I did learn that practicing in a huge room with powerful amps had me playing much louder than normal.
In comparison the other amps were cleaner but at a reasonable volume the STL 600 is plenty clean enough for my tastes.
OTOH, this particular amp could not be used without the gain button turned on. Just not enough volume. I forgot to bring a pedal to raise the gain so could not experiment with that last night.
And my buddy needed his amp back today so no more testing for the moment.
He also has a Genzler amp and cabinets which are really nice too.

It is amazing how Mesa has really become the critics (and players) darling in such a short time considering how long it's been since they were popular. I really owe it to myself to check the TT and WD out but I need to sell some gear first. I could afford to drop $1,100 on an amp but considering there are hardly any gigs, and that I have many really nice amps, it's a little hard to justify right now.
The search continues...
IMG_3437.jpg
 
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#1,372
Jim C said:
Thanks very much for reaching out!
I think the Streamliner is an amazing amp but I just can't make it work for me.
At last nights rehearsal I had the bass at 9:00 and the mids at 220 at 10:00 or
3.5K at 2:00
with treble at 11:00ish. Problem was I needed another band of EQ as I wanted to pull 220 and boost 3.5. The treble control EQ center is too high for me (or maybe my playing) and I still don't get the bass EQ. I had it off at one point last night and there was still plenty of bottom with a 2x15 loaded with 421A's. I was using a HPF the entire time and used it with my tube Ampeg pre and Ampeg lead sled for consistency.

I did learn that practicing in a huge room with powerful amps had me playing much louder than normal.
In comparison the other amps were cleaner but at a reasonable volume the STL 600 is plenty clean enough for my tastes.
OTOH, this particular amp could not be used without the gain button turned on. Just not enough volume. I forgot to bring a pedal to raise the gain so could not experiment with that last night.
And my buddy needed his amp back today so no more testing for the moment.
He also has a Genzler amp and cabinets which are really nice too.

It is amazing how Mesa has really become the critics (and players) darling in such a short time considering how long it's been since they were popular. I really owe it to myself to check the TT and WD out but I need to sell some gear first. I could afford to drop $1,100 on an amp but considering there are hardly any gigs, and that I have many really nice amps, it's a little hard to justify right now.
The search continues...
View attachment 4245233
Click to expand...
With my band, the mids at 220 at 10:00 would have been very muddy even with the bass at 9:00. I normally have to run the mids at 3:00/220 with the tweeters on on my cabs and then it sounds very clear, detailed and thumpy. Too bad it didn't work out for you, but honestly the mids set at 10:00 would not have worked for me either.
 
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#1,373
@agedhorse @Jeff Genzler - was there ever an “approved tech” or similar in the UK?

I bought my STM900 shortly after the UK release. It has been sat in a case for a while so and it’s still got the original valves. I think they may be getting a touch noisy so I’d like to get them changed out and generally “serviced”.
 
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#1,374
Nickthebass said:
@agedhorse @Jeff Genzler - was there ever an “approved tech” or similar in the UK?

I bought my STM900 shortly after the UK release. It has been sat in a case for a while so and it’s still got the original valves. I think they may be getting a touch noisy so I’d like to get them changed out and generally “serviced”.
Click to expand...
PM me, I should have some options for you. The valves are likely just fine, failures and noise due to valves is very rare.
 
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#1,377
I have always been curious as to why the Streamliner has the three point fixed midrange frequencies rather than a sweep able frequency control as most of the other Genz-Benz amplifiers of the period.
Was it somehow tied to the six-stage valve front end?
Still sounds and feels incredible…

Kim
 
#1,378
For several years I had my Streamliner EQ set pretty much the same but ( as I've changed pedals and such in the meantime ) I spent a little time "tweaking" the EQ section.
After a few minutes of fairly minor changes ( mainly around the mid frequency & level ) I remember why I fell in love with this amp all those years ago.
Even happier with my sound now
 
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