Genz Benz Streamliner; Part 4

[svtb15]

The SL900 has an Airy top.. it is not muted at all...
Is so easy to get a great sound with this amp.. You would have to really try hard to make it sound bad.

 

[Fretless5verfan]

This reminds me more of a Reeves 225 than an AD200 really...

 

[HvyMtlThunder]

STM 900 in the house today!!
Tried headphones today- would agree mids are polite. Nice defined top end. Can't wait to crank her up(a little!) through my GB NeoXT212 tomorrow.
well built. easy to dial in - all controls make sense.

 

[abassman84]

I kind of buried this clip link in the body of a response to another post earlier on this thread. Thought I'd post it up again as an example of the 'clean' tone of the Streamliner with a bright, aggressive 70's style J. It sounds GOOD! You can really hear that fat, warm, tubey low end, and it is also a good example of the clean pop you can get from this head if you want a bit of sizzle in your tone.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

I have a buddy coming over with his TF750a this afternoon. That will be a fun comparison to do. Not sure if I'll have time to do a clip on it, but I'll post up. I love my life!

Looking forward to hearing that TFB750a compared to the Streamliner.

 

[faulknersj]

I just wanted to bring up the issue of familiarity as relates to gear evaluation. Whenever I try out new gear, it typically takes me a fair amount of consecutive time, particularly in gigging situations, to get beyond what I have grown accustomed to. Some producers I have worked with called it 'demo-itis'; that is to say that if you are familiar with something (a song structure for example) a certain way, changes to it may seem odd or off until IT becomes that which is familiar . I bring this up because the comparison with the Orange amp seems divergent from many of the other posts I have read about the Streamliner. I have not played thru the Orange amp in question, but based on Chefs description of that head, I am wondering if the guy that made the comparison allowed time to adjust from what he was used to and become familiar with the Streamliner. For example, as a Fender Jazz guy, had I written a review of my Musicman Sterling after my first 4 or 5 gigs with it, I would have offered a lackluster review. However, 10 gigs in, the Sterling sound is what I became used to and familiar with and at that point, I would have offered a glowing review. I still switch between these basses periodically, and there it always takes several gigs to adjust and re-adjust to Fender Jazz vs. MM Sterling. Thoughts?

 

[nostatic]

I would agree. When I first fired up the S900, I thought it was too rich in the low end for my taste. I also was used to running my eq fairly flat (though I dialed treble and upper mids down on the GK). After I worked with the amp for awhile, did a lot of back and forth between amps and basses, I found the sweet spots for my ears and got used to the way the amp behaved. A good tube amp needs to be learned - it ain't just a set of knobs.

 

[Musicman20]

Cool and...hmm....odd that its being compared to the Orange. I own the AD200b and it does indeed punch quite well, but sounds 'vintage' in the highs which is perfect for rock n roll, punk, or motown thump. Oh yes, it will grind like the best tube amp grinds (I LOVE the way it grinds for heavier music) but if the SL900 is quite similar, it might indeed be superfluous for myself.

Obviously I realise everyone will have a different take on it. I just need to make sure it has a very sweet clean high end, as all my other amps are quite dark (which is great, but I want to make sure I maintain a variety of sounds).

My guitarist has just informed me we have an Orange endorsement (1 year after I buy the whole rig hahha ) so that has just put a huge spanner in the works for my plans (obviously in a good way).

 

[KsPiNeSh]

The Orange *is great* at what it does.
Good luck hearing your round wounds thru one is all I'm sayin'...

IMO there is plenty of treble to be had. I tossed some SS Lo Riders on my Streamer before playing through my Streamliner, and I don't fell like anything is lost in translation.

If you're interested, the DI clip that I did (near the end of MT 3 I think) has a section of the Streamliner post-EQ with my SS-equipped Streamer - maybe that would give you a small feel for how it comes across.

 

[KJung]

Just unplugged my LEPJ5 from the SL600 & Glockenklang 410. Man, big ass bottom! Warmed my LEPJ up with nice punch. Thought I would never put my Tecamp Puma 1000 away, but right now, it's chilling zipped up in its softcase.

We did a brief A/B with the Streamliner and my Puma500. In clean mode, the Streamliner and Puma are MUCH more similar than the Streamliner and Shuttle 9. The Puma amps are unusually round and creamy for all solid state amps. However, that Puma low end is SO much bigger than the Streamliner, and IMO, not in a good way. It is that hi pass filtering that the Genz boys use. The Puma extends so low that it feels like you are going to blow the drivers out of the front of the cab (beautiful at lower volumes though). The Streamliner feels super fat and deep, but the low end extension stops prior to causing a problem.

The Shuttle 9 sounds absolutely NOTHING like the Streamliner. I've never been a Shuttle fan (which is IMO... nice head), but another data point for those who own and like the Shuttle... this is a totally different thing... cleaner, warmer, fatter, smoother up top... everything.

Just like I'm enjoying having the MB F500 for my 'quicker, brighter, more modern' vibe, the Shuttle 9/Streamliner would also be nicely complimentary for different types of gigs and tone goals.

 

[gillento]

Yea I think you're right. The highs are so smooth and airy it almost makes it seem like there's a gap between them and the massive lows. My ear expects more outrageous mids to be there, but instead, they are just "there".

I am REALLY happy with this combination! It's rare that a piece of gear exceeds the hype

Seems to be a perfect match for Aguilar db112 & 212...,

Sent from my Phone

 

[thouser1]

Subbed

 

[KJung]

The AE212 will open up a bit more with about an hour or so of play on it. A little more low end extension. Man use that mid control at 600 and bump those mids. That is what I am looking at doing when mine gets here.

+1 Just a very, very slight roll off of the low end (11 o'clock at the most), and a similar slight bump of the mids at 200hz and the AE212 should just sing.

The EQ on this amp is fabulous... again, much more musically voiced for me than the Shuttle 9. This became clear when Mike and I were A/Bing three VERY different cabs:

Berg AE410... tight but full low end, very aggressive upper mids....

Bag End 15x (the little cube).... low end attenuated and LOTS of mid mids, sweet top end

Thunderchild 112... deep low end, extremely flat and even top end.

While all the cabs obviously sounded like what they sound like, Mike and I (who enjoy a similar tone with our J's) could get each cab to work wonderfully with just slight EQ changes:

AE410... flat other than a moderate cut at 2K using the mid control

Bag End..... cut at 600hz (to remove the nasal mids) and a very slight low end boost.

Thunderchild.... slight low end cut, slight boost at 2K

Really powerful and musical EQ. Again, to my ear, much more powerful and useful EQ than the Shuttle 9, and significantly more clean low end and absolute volume. VERY impressive head.

 

[KJung]

But thats still the definition of mid scooped, big highs and big lows leaves somewhat of a valley in between. Dont get me wrong, its a nice sounding head and Im still experimenting with it, but flat through the wrong cab and its a mess. For example, this flat and an HT322. and its kinda a disaster. Huge lows, I mean dropping the bass to 9:00 lows, upper mids very soft, and an interesting quality to the highs. I can see why Ken loves this though an AE410 as it kinda fills in the holes. This head is much happier through the NV215 where the stronger mids and rolled off bass response help.
That being said the eq section is powerful and can help get you out of trouble with a cab that may be somewhat of a mismatch. If the db750 was voiced like this with its limited eq, it would be borderline unusable with some cabs.
So far out of all my amps the earliest comparison would be to a db750 with better eq, silkier highs but a softer attack.
It also kinda reminds me of an Orange AD200 on its cleanest settings. FAT, smooth, pillowy but as Ed showed on his clip, on its grittier settings its definitely capable of punching through

+1 in that the HT322 (I had the modular version) is a bit of a scooped cab, and the yin yang of the Streamliner (also, as you say, smooth in the mids, deep down low, and nice and pure and airy up top) flat would not be a good thing. A slight roll-off of the low end and a bit of a boost at 200 should sound pretty nice with that cab.

I always found the HT322 quite fussy with head match-ups, and enjoyed the tighter voicing of my MB F1 or my Walter Woods with that cab.

And yes, the match-up with the AE410 is one of the best match-ups I've ever heard... perfect yin yang of a tight, bright, punchy cab, and a fat, warm, smooth head!

 

[Saluki]

And yes, the match-up with the AE410 is one of the best match-ups I've ever heard... perfect yin yang of a tight, bright, punchy cab, and a fat, warm, smooth head!

Good thing you talked me into keeping my AE410. So on the AE212 you boosted the low mids, ah? I was just guessing it might need boosting at the 600 level. I guess I will know soon enough. I think I read in another thread the the EQ was passive and it may take a little more turning of the knob then people are used to to get the desired result. When you say a little how much are you talking about. Did you have any controls at 9 o'clock or 3 o'clock? Or less extreme?

 

[Tunaman]

I'm hoping this amp matches well with the old Epifani NYC 310s which is still my favorite cab 68 lbs or not.
KJung: I've had your Streamliner vs TC450 Riff in my head for the last 2 days, I want to punch you in the brain! Great riff, that Alleva-Coppolo bass is fantastic. Although I think you did the riff on a P bass like

 

[KJung]

I'm hoping this cab matches well with the old Epifani NYC 310s which is still my favorite cab 68 lbs or not.
KJung: I've had your Streamliner vs TC450 Riff in my head for the last 2 days, I want to punch you in the brain! Great riff, that Alleva-Coppolo bass is fantastic. Although I think you did the riff on a P bass like

That little pattern is my rather inaccurate take on the classic Cissy Strut by the Meters. That entire era of Meter's tunes is a kind of 'must listen to' for any bassist IMO. Thanks though... it is such a powerful 'bass melody' that it sounds good no matter how you mangle it

 

[hasbeen]

I'm curious of the "scoop" is coming from the cab or the amp....I can't handle scooped mids.

I'm sure that IP310 is unreal. Those IP's are still tops for me.

FWIW, I would never sign off on an amp tha was scooped. We worked hard to soften some high mids that could lead to "gank". We also worked hard on the highs to make them "pleasing". Rest assured though, that there is plenty of mid content in the amp. Plus, there are mid controls.

 

[Tunaman]

FWIW, I would never sign off on an amp tha was scooped. We worked hard to soften some high mids that could lead to "gank". We also worked hard on the highs to make them "pleasing". Rest assured though, that there is plenty of mid content in the amp. Plus, there are mid controls.

As the owner of a Sterling that can be "ganky" with harsher highs I have to roll off... thanks

 

[KJung]

Good thing you talked me into keeping my AE410. So on the AE212 you boosted the low mids, ah? I was just guessing it might need boosting at the 600 level. I guess I will know soon enough. I think I read in another thread the the EQ was passive and it may take a little more turning of the knob then people are used to to get the desired result. When you say a little how much are you talking about. Did you have any controls at 9 o'clock or 3 o'clock? Or less extreme?

I've yet to have to move any knobs more than the 11 to 1 o'clock range. VERY powerful EQ and very musical. I guess that has to do with the tube driven EQ.... VERY different impact versus the Shuttle 9.

Also, the secondary volume control plays a somewhat bigger roll with the Streamliner than the Shuttle. If my ears aren't tricking me, you can actually drive the EQ tubes to distortion (and not a good distortion) by cranking that secondary volume too much. So, that control is much more useful than on the Shuttle, and really works to keep the EQ section 'clean' while allowing you to really crank the pre gain if you want to. However, you can get into a little bit of trouble with user error on that control. Easy to hear though. It would have been kind of cool to have a clip indicator light on that secondary gain stage, but minor niggle.

The AE212 versus AE410 is kind of a tone goal thing. They do sound quite different, and with the single mid control of the Streamliner, you can't get both to sound identical. With my F500, I can roll off just a touch of deep low end, boost at 200 hz and boost at 1K and get the AE212 quite close to the AE410. Not possible with the Streamliner... so which one you will dig is more a function of how much deep low end versus punch and brightness you like.

 

[hasbeen]

As the owner of a Sterling that can be "ganky" with harsher highs I have to roll off... thanks

you're welcome. One of my main basses is a Ken Smith 6 string (actually pulled out my old KS 4 string lately too). As we all know, these can get really "ganky" too.