Genz Benz Streamliner Part 3!!!!

[GRoberts]

IME, my 2 nEarfuls (LDS 15/6 and Avatar TB153) compare to a good 410, if you feed them 500 watts. I recently caved and changed my GB order from SMax 9.2 to a SL900 and played it at band practice yesterday alternating between those 2 nEarfuls and a Schro BMF 1515. It sounds pretty good with all of them, but I haven't had a chance to properly compare them. Next week I'll compare all 3 cabs with the SL900 and a Walkabout and will likely post in the Walkabout megathread.

Looking forward to the Walkabout/Streamliner comparisons. I expect they will be different. Nothing, in my experience, sounds like the Walkabout. But for my needs, the WA lacks punch that I believe the Streamliner has

 

[SteveC]

I think the WA Scout is a great amp - I almost bought one. But it's so bulky and heavy. I know you are talking head only, but I think GB heads just have more/nicer/more useful features. A pre/post DI for example is a big one to me. Mute, tuner out, etc. All very nice to have.

 

[Blues Cat]

...but also cost about 4x as much, and IMHO sound nothing like each other. Kind of an odd comparison to me.

I'm really thinking out loud, and then typing it. It would only be 2x the cost. I'm looking for a solution so my 50lb rack doesn't have to leave the house.

Depends on your definition of "optimal".
If you want a full, rich sound with clear articulation and plenty of bottom, then it's pretty optimal.
I'm playing through that combination.

If you want the sound of 10's pushed to breakup, then not so much... by definition.

Overdriven is what I was referring to. Clean it's a perfect match. If my 156 cab was 4ohm it'd be even better.

Why do you think the SL900 won't sound optimal with an LDS 15/6? That's actually the exact rig I'll have when Don finishes my cab and I have high hopes for it.

I was referring to the overdriven sound. It would be great if it did sound good, I don't have a tweeter.

 

[Vic]

I'm really thinking out loud, and then typing it. It would only be 2x the cost. I'm looking for a solution so my 50lb rack doesn't have to leave the house.

I know. But I was also talking about 2 SL900's compared to one B1500... last I checked, the SL900's were going for about 1K each, and the last B1500's I saw sell for about 1/2 that. So roughly 2K vs 500... that's where I got that from.

I know what you're saying tho... just a better solution for you overall.

 

[Blues Cat]

I know. But I was also talking about 2 SL900's compared to one B1500... last I checked, the SL900's were going for about 1K each, and the last B1500's I saw sell for about 1/2 that. So roughly 2K vs 500... that's where I got that from.

I know what you're saying tho... just a better solution for you overall.

I thought the SL's were going for about $750.

I just heard from GB that a 156 might sound very good overdriven.

 

[Vic]

I thought the SL's were going for about $750.

My information is that's one specific dealer, who is selling under MAP, which may eventually be a problem, and I don't necessarily consider that to be correct reference.

Again tho, no biggie. So ok, "at least 3x" the money instead of 4x. Still a lot more.

Really I was just bustin' yer chops (and all in fun,btw) mainly because I just thought it was odd you'd even compare the two heads. They're just worlds apart in so many ways IMHO.

 

[adivin]

My information is that's one specific dealer, who is selling under MAP, which may eventually be a problem, and I don't necessarily consider that to be correct reference.

Again tho, no biggie. So ok, "at least 3x" the money instead of 4x. Still a lot more.

Really I was just bustin' yer chops (and all in fun,btw) mainly because I just thought it was odd you'd even compare the two heads. They're just worlds apart in so many ways IMHO.

He's not too off from most prices I've seen.

 

[Kael]

I played one of these for a half hour today at OKC Music and Sound while I was having a jack repaired on an instrument. I played an old fretless MIA Peavey (a foundation from 83 I think) through the Streamliner and into a Mesa 210. What follows is my long winded and probably unnecessary thoughts on the head. The guys at the store said they just got it in that day, so I figured my ramblings might benefit someone.

The power up delay/warm up felt like longer than the stated 20 secs. Felt more like a solid minute. Not a big deal either way, and to be honest I wasn't exactly watching a clock on power up. Might have been just me being impatient.

Without engaging the gain boost button the sound was fairly clean. Maybe not as clean as my old squeaky clean EA Iamp, but definitely clean. Honestly even though I am a clean amp guy, this setting didn't do much for me. Hitting the gain button fattened up the tone a lot. At first I had way too much overdrive with it. After futzing with the gain structure for a while, I settled on low on the volume and master and relatively high on the gain. This setting was cleaner than I thought it would be. I got more overdrive when raising the volume knob (appears to be an input volume) but ran into preamp clipping issues when doing so. With more time I could probably get the gain structure to yield more overdrive if desired. I was trying to be polite and not be the guy playing obnoxiously loud in the corner in the store, so I didn't go nuts here.

The bass knob felt voiced fairly low. The 210 I was playing through wasn't exactly the lowest extended cab out there, so the low EQ felt like it did a good job at compensating for it. The treble knob did what treble knobs do. Since I was playing a fretless (which normally doesn't sound great with treble boosted), I wasn't in the best situation to test high end sheen. I attenuated the treble slightly (say 11:30) and left it there.

The mid knob I experimented with the most. Boosting the mids to 3 o'clock and having the rotary selector selecting the lowest mid frequency (350 hz I believe) I got a nice thick tone. Really beefed up the perceived low end. Cutting to 9 o'clock just resulted in an anemic tone on that Peavey. Boosting low end to compensate just didn't do it for me. I don't ever see cutting those lower mids. Setting the mid freq switch to the middle position (650 hz?) and boosting to 3 o'clock got a great burp. Favored the bridge pickup and played the obligatory Jaco. Harmonics rang out nicely. Scooping out this freq to 9 o'clock yielded the stereotypical contour sound. Not a useful setting for what I do, especially with a fretless. Perhaps more useful if you are going for a Marcus Miller slap tone. Setting the mid freq to the highest setting (2.5 khz) was pretty interesting. Boosting to much gets twanky pretty fast. On the other hand, since I had the gain relatively high, that frequency boosted interacted with the gain to really bring out the grind. This setting would probably work wonderfully at helping to cut through a denser rock mix. Too much got ice-picky quickly though. Definitely would need to spend some time finding the sweet spot if I wwas boosting this frequency. Cutting this frequency let me roll the tone knob up and not have annoying string noise. If I wasn't using one of the other mid settings already, I'd probably consider leaving the amp set here to help deal with any string clank (as opposed to just playing cleanly ). Overall though this was my least favorite mid freq to play with. Sidenote: Boosting this frequency, 2.5 khz, with the gain turned up really reminded me of ho the presence knob interacts with the drive knob on my SABDDI..

The overall volume this head was putting out could have clearly driven that Mesa 210 harder than would have been wise. Since I was in a store, I refrained from being a jackleg with the master knob. Don't know if it is due to the preamp voicing or not, but it seemed to have more volume on tap than the shuttle 6.0. Most likely that has a lot to do with the high setting on the gain knob I was using.

Comparing this to the Walkabout, which I've never owned but have gigged several times, the streamliner seemed like it had a tighter low end. I also think it will probably stay cleaner down low at high volumes. That opinion is me extrapolating the tone I heard at lower volumes and not direct experimentation. I could be completely wrong there. I really like the walkabout but this amp seemed like it was voiced more towards my tastes. The walkabout always felt like it was a touch more overdriven when played loudly than I wanted it to be regardless of how I set it.

 

[ElMon]

I played one of these for a half hour today at OKC Music and Sound while I was having a jack repaired on an instrument. I played an old fretless MIA Peavey (a foundation from 83 I think) through the Streamliner and into a Mesa 210. What follows is my long winded and probably unnecessary thoughts on the head. The guys at the store said they just got it in that day, so I figured my ramblings might benefit someone.

The power up delay/warm up felt like longer than the stated 20 secs. Felt more like a solid minute. Not a big deal either way, and to be honest I wasn't exactly watching a clock on power up. Might have been just me being impatient.

Without engaging the gain boost button the sound was fairly clean. Maybe not as clean as my old squeaky clean EA Iamp, but definitely clean. Honestly even though I am a clean amp guy, this setting didn't do much for me. Hitting the gain button fattened up the tone a lot. At first I had way too much overdrive with it. After futzing with the gain structure for a while, I settled on low on the volume and master and relatively high on the gain. This setting was cleaner than I thought it would be. I got more overdrive when raising the volume knob (appears to be an input volume) but ran into preamp clipping issues when doing so. With more time I could probably get the gain structure to yield more overdrive if desired. I was trying to be polite and not be the guy playing obnoxiously loud in the corner in the store, so I didn't go nuts here.

The bass knob felt voiced fairly low. The 210 I was playing through wasn't exactly the lowest extended cab out there, so the low EQ felt like it did a good job at compensating for it. The treble knob did what treble knobs do. Since I was playing a fretless (which normally doesn't sound great with treble boosted), I wasn't in the best situation to test high end sheen. I attenuated the treble slightly (say 11:30) and left it there.

The mid knob I experimented with the most. Boosting the mids to 3 o'clock and having the rotary selector selecting the lowest mid frequency (350 hz I believe) I got a nice thick tone. Really beefed up the perceived low end. Cutting to 9 o'clock just resulted in an anemic tone on that Peavey. Boosting low end to compensate just didn't do it for me. I don't ever see cutting those lower mids. Setting the mid freq switch to the middle position (650 hz?) and boosting to 3 o'clock got a great burp. Favored the bridge pickup and played the obligatory Jaco. Harmonics rang out nicely. Scooping out this freq to 9 o'clock yielded the stereotypical contour sound. Not a useful setting for what I do, especially with a fretless. Perhaps more useful if you are going for a Marcus Miller slap tone. Setting the mid freq to the highest setting (2.5 khz) was pretty interesting. Boosting to much gets twanky pretty fast. On the other hand, since I had the gain relatively high, that frequency boosted interacted with the gain to really bring out the grind. This setting would probably work wonderfully at helping to cut through a denser rock mix. Too much got ice-picky quickly though. Definitely would need to spend some time finding the sweet spot if I wwas boosting this frequency. Cutting this frequency let me roll the tone knob up and not have annoying string noise. If I wasn't using one of the other mid settings already, I'd probably consider leaving the amp set here to help deal with any string clank (as opposed to just playing cleanly ). Overall though this was my least favorite mid freq to play with. Sidenote: Boosting this frequency, 2.5 khz, with the gain turned up really reminded me of ho the presence knob interacts with the drive knob on my SABDDI..

The overall volume this head was putting out could have clearly driven that Mesa 210 harder than would have been wise. Since I was in a store, I refrained from being a jackleg with the master knob. Don't know if it is due to the preamp voicing or not, but it seemed to have more volume on tap than the shuttle 6.0. Most likely that has a lot to do with the high setting on the gain knob I was using.

Comparing this to the Walkabout, which I've never owned but have gigged several times, the streamliner seemed like it had a tighter low end. I also think it will probably stay cleaner down low at high volumes. That opinion is me extrapolating the tone I heard at lower volumes and not direct experimentation. I could be completely wrong there. I really like the walkabout but this amp seemed like it was voiced more towards my tastes. The walkabout always felt like it was a touch more overdriven when played loudly than I wanted it to be regardless of how I set it.

Cool to hear!!! I"m going to Red Dirt Brothers Guitars this evening to pick mine up!!!! Should be able to give some impressions late tonight or tomorrow after a rehearsal this evening.

 

[Red Planet]

I know. But I was also talking about 2 SL900's compared to one B1500... last I checked, the SL900's were going for about 1K each, and the last B1500's I saw sell for about 1/2 that. So roughly 2K vs 500... that's where I got that from.

I know what you're saying tho... just a better solution for you overall.

The price you are quoting for the Streamliner is not correct.

You can not beat what these amps are selling for. It's a steal.

 

[KsPiNeSh]

My 900 should arrive tomorrow The amp stable has been a Mesa M6/M9 and GBE 1200 for the last 2 years or so, so it will be interesting to hear how Genz's take on tubes compares.

 

[BuffaloBob4343]

My 900 should arrive tomorrow The amp stable has been a Mesa M6/M9 and GBE 1200 for the last 2 years or so, so it will be interesting to hear how Genz's take on tubes compares.

Looking forward to hearing your take, since we play the same stuff, cept for that Mesa thingamajiggy!

 

[Hot Rats]

I think the WA Scout is a great amp - I almost bought one. But it's so bulky and heavy. I know you are talking head only, but I think GB heads just have more/nicer/more useful features. A pre/post DI for example is a big one to me. Mute, tuner out, etc. All very nice to have.

I just recently had to sell my Walkabout. the thing I miss the most, is the direct out volume control knob. Every bass head should have that feature.

 

[Saluki]

My 900 should arrive tomorrow The amp stable has been a Mesa M6/M9 and GBE 1200 for the last 2 years or so, so it will be interesting to hear how Genz's take on tubes compares.

Being a M6 owner it seems like the Streamliner is going to be a different flavor of good. It just seems like even when the streamliner is running clean it is going to be more tubey with more give and not as quick attack as the M6. Can't wait to try it but looking forward to your impression too.

 

[ElMon]

The ballroom I rehearsed in tonight was just about THE worst place to get a good bass tone, and yet a prime opportunity for a head to really prove it's flexibility and usefulness at such moments. The rooms lows were all over the place, endless delay/reverb, sounds slapping back off of hard walls and metal ceilings, in short a bassist's nightmare.

With the EQ on my flatwound-strung Sadowsky PJ5 (alder/rw) set flat, Vintage tone control ON, and with every knob set at 12 o'clock on the streamliner pumping through my 8ohm Accugroove Tri115L, my initial impression was as follows:

A nice combination of the huge low end and all-up-the neck thickness of my DB750 but with a tighter, more Solid-State tone profile. I thought about how my DB750 set flat would've been too boomy for this room. In this way, set flat, the Streamliner was infinitely more versatile. Deep extension down around 30-100hz, but with less spread to each note.

Now, how it reminds me of the Walkabout is not so much in its inherent tonal profile, but in how it merges tube thickness and warmth with modern EQ flexibility. Obviously the DB750, a fairly one-trick-tone-pony (but BOY what a trick!!!) would've lost out here.

To even out the room, I did the following to the Streamliner's EQ:

Gain: 1 o'clock
Volume: 11 o'clock
Bass: 10 o 'clock
Mid Freq: 250
Mid boost 2 o'clock
treble: 12 o'clock
Master: 10 o'clock

The combination of cutting the lows, boosting on the low mids, and slightly boosting the Sadowky's bass EQ was just PERFECT. A perfectly thick and full lowend with NO sag in the sub-lows, perfect pitch definition, and yet enough spread in the low end to still fill up the stage. Wow. I realize right off that there is an infinite amount of subtle/not-so-subtle variations between the gain/volume/master that I'll be exploring a LOT. Much like the Walkabout in this regard. Except way more power/headroom, and IMO the Streamliner's EQ has the edge in that it can get the midrange presence that I want with one Freq knob instead of more involved tweaking with the Walkabout. YMMV.


And may I say that this head drives an 8ohm load with authority. My single Accugroove Tri115L was putting out serious SPLs. 3 singers, a keyboard player, and the kick drum were going through a large Mackie PA (2 mains and two subs) and I was carrying the room with my single speaker at 8ohms. And we're talking old-school R&B where a huge bass presence is more crucial than a Jaco-midrange.

Anyways, more to come as I put the head through it's paces, and I"ll try next week when I get my DB750 out of repair to post some KJung-style direct A/B tests. Complete with BSX Electric Upright. Maybe even some roundwounds if I'm feeling REALLY generous.

 

[nostatic]

Turns out this is a pretty good combo. First gig is tomorrow night - will have the Deep 5 and a Roscoe on hand. In limited time (was out of town on biz) I like leaving the gain switch off but putting the gain at about 1 or 2 o'clock. There is a lot of girth to be had with this head.

 

[Vic]

Turns out this is a pretty good combo...

Did you mount rubber feet on the side of the 210?

 

[GRoberts]

My 900 should arrive tomorrow The amp stable has been a Mesa M6/M9 and GBE 1200 for the last 2 years or so, so it will be interesting to hear how Genz's take on tubes compares.

KsPiNeSh, I am VERY interested in your thoughts and comparisons. Reason being, I just played through an M6 Carbine tonight for the first time ever and I compared it to my Markbass LMII. I felt that the M6 blew the LMII out of the water. (and I've loved my LMII since I got it!) I love the size and weight and portability of the new breed micro bass amps. So the Streamliner 900 has tons of promise for me. Having heard the M6 first hand finally, I want to know how the SL900 compares. ...because the M6 REALLY impressed me. I think I want an M6 Carbine. I am subbing on bass in a loud blues-rock and my friend is letting me use his M6 with my Bergantino AE410. Should be a fun and interesting night.

 

[nostatic]

Did you mount rubber feet on the side of the 210?

Yup. Got an extra set from Jim when the amp drop shipped. Can run it either way but prefer it that way.

 

[jlepre]

Mine arrives Tuesday!

Unfortunately, I am currently CABless, and my UBER Quad 1288T is backordered 2 weeks.

I will have to just run through headphones for now.