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Genz Benz Streamliner; Part 4

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#941
Chef said:
I don't like distortion at all, so, really a non-issue.

Yes, I do use 1/4 cables sometimes, and, the dual use speakons mean I never get scrwed by having a "wrong" cable with me.

Scratchy pot: hopefully, it'll clean up.
If not, GB seem to be really good at CS.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm not one for big overdrive either, but it sounds pretty nice if that is your thing through the right cab.

I got rid of all my 1/4" speaker cables years ago... just switch totally to speakon, and be happy!. More secure, easier to fix, and a bit safer for the user and I guess the amp too (the 'no shorting' thing).

Enjoy the head. I am pretty sure you are going to really dig it.
 
#942
What cab are you playing though... You do have a nice selection IIRC.


Chef said:
Got it, unboxed it, plugged it in.

Picks:
The tone is great. Fat, clean, clear. More treble extension than the Walkabout, I was hoping for that.
Easy to use and simply laid out eq.
The mid points are well chosen.
It's fat: nice if you need that. I immediately backed bass off...is this is nit?
Front panel mute: thanks!
Tons. Of. Power.
OD: nice when it's lower
Did I mention the tone was great?
Eq works well, easily, and, like the Walkabout is "genuine and musical."

Nits:
Power on/off on the back.
Scratchy input volume. Hopefully this cleans itself up.
OD: too much, and it's not so nice. I haven't played with killing my cab's horn, and dialing back treble.
Single function speakons: I think this was covered earlier, by saying EU required them. OK, but, then how does MarkBass get away with dual use speakons?
No front panel skid rails. Drop this on it's face, and bad things will happen. Skid rails, plz & thx.

Bonus: fits right in my Mesa Walkabout gig bag.
Click to expand...
 
#943
can't ditch the 1/4" as the WA still has them...

As to the OD: there's "plenty of flavor" in there before it turns into something I'd never like...
 
#945
KJung said:
My suggestion would be to kill that horn and dial back the treble. Tweeters and/or too much treble combined with distortion equals yuck:)

Speakons.... would you ever use a 1/4" speaker cable for anything if you didn't have to? Zero issue for me. Don't even own 1/4" speaker cables any more.

Scratchy pot.. bummer.
Click to expand...


I IMMEDIATELY dialed-back the horn to Zero when I got the Streamliner 900 ... and I do not have treble cranked-up past 12:00 on the SL 900's EQ (and keep it near minimum levels on my active basses ... and at about 70% bass/30% treble on my passive single tone control basses). I find that this works well with the SL 900 .... and with the active Mike Lull M5V, I still need to keep the tube gain down below 9:00 on the dial. I think I am going to open up the control cavity cover and dial-back the internal gain on the Lull 5-string!

No scratchiness in my volume pots ... or anywhere on this baby!
 
#946
KJung said:
Yeah, I'm not one for big overdrive either, but it sounds pretty nice if that is your thing through the right cab.

I got rid of all my 1/4" speaker cables years ago... just switch totally to speakon, and be happy!. More secure, easier to fix, and a bit safer for the user and I guess the amp too (the 'no shorting' thing).

Enjoy the head. I am pretty sure you are going to really dig it.
Click to expand...

Ken,

I agree with you 100% on the Speakon-only thing .... with these high-powered amps, there's NO WAY that I would ever consider using a 1/4" speaker cable!
 
#948
I don't own any 1/4" speaker cables any more either. All speakon, and love that they are field serviceable. I won't buy an amp that doesn't have speakon.

Will get to A/B the S900 with the Shuttle9.0 tonight at rehearsal. At last night's gig the Shuttle9.0 impressed the heck out of me. I prefer the P-Bass through the S900, but may like the Rob Allen more with the S9.0. Hard to go wrong either way though...
 
#949
Overdrive:

It isn't my bag, but somebody at NAMM had the Entwhistle right hand thing down. They asked me to dial in some gain.

I immediately plugged them into an 8x10. Turned off the horn, rolled off some treble and boosted some 2.5 K on the mids.

He thought it nailed that classic tube, Cliff Burton, Lemmy type thing.

FWIW though, if anyone is demo'ing the tube gain, I can't stress enough to turn off the horn and roll back some treble.
 
#951
Sure:
the walkabout sounds darker overall, and can't really be tweaked out of that.
by contrast, the M9's treble goes waaay higher.

The Streamliner sits nicely inbetween those; based on the 5 minutes I've spent with it so far.
 
#953
Oh NO! I was scheduled for the Brown truck to show up with my new Streamliner 900 today. But my part of northern New England got hit with a blizzard with over 20" of snow overnight and today. And sure enough- "delivery on hold due to adverse weather conditions".
Bah! Can look forward to good skiing, but I want my amp! Sometimes in every silver lining there's a cloud.:crying:
 
#955
Chef said:
Single function speakons: I think this was covered earlier, by saying EU required them. OK, but, then how does MarkBass get away with dual use speakons?.
Click to expand...

Chef ... I think it's unlikely that the EU would have different safety regulations on electrical equipment for stuff made in the EU. Tariff barriers yes ... but that's another issue.

The possibility that springs to mind is that Genz Benz and Markbass have had different advice on the regulations. It wouldn't surprise me if the rules are a little vague in places. Added to the (in my perception) more litigious culture in the US it wouldn't surprise me that a US company would take an uber-cautious route if there was any ambiguity in the safety regs. All law making bodies can be vague at times and the EU is no different (worse is a matter of opinion).

For example we had a total nonsense when the WEEE (waste electrical gizmo rules) regulations came in a few years ago. If you (the manufacturer) sold something like an after-market acoustic guitar pick-up you had a liability to pay towards it's disposal at the end of its life. However if you sold a guitar in which the pick-up was factory fitted you had no liability, despite having sold exactly the same electrical gizmo.

You gotta love the EU :D


On a different note, my pre-amp volume and master make a little rubbing (not harsh enough to be a scratch) when turned as well, but only if I'm playing a note at the time.

Doesn't affect the sound otherwise and if I can be bothered I may track to an authorised repair bloke to open the bonnet and spray some cleaner in the pots.
 
#956
Looks like I'm going to be jamming with some old friends tomorrow. I haven't seen some of them in over 20 years, so it should be interesting. I'll be bringing my STM900 and Uber Quad, but undecided on which bass to bring. I might bring my 25th so I can try out some of the many tones both active & passive, that this bass delivers, but maybe the SR5 will be easier.
 
#957
jlepre said:
Looks like I'm going to be jamming with some old friends tomorrow. I haven't seen some of them in over 20 years, so it should be interesting. I'll be bringing my STM900 and Uber Quad, but undecided on which bass to bring. I might bring my 25th so I can try out some of the many tones both active & passive, that this bass delivers, but maybe the SR5 will be easier.
Click to expand...

Now that's a pairing I'd love to hear...
 
#958
Streamliner bretheren,

Ok, in my ever-changing-insane-tone-chase I'm thinking about pulling the trigger on another cab. Here's my deal, J and P passive basses through our beloved SL900 in a loud rock band.

Gun to your head: GB uber quad or uber 410?

I want tight and punchy with a good mid presence.

Yes, I've done my search but I wanted my fellow Streamliner brother opinions (those that have played through them anyway). Thanks fellas.
 
#960
My SL900 arrived today, and I haven't had a lot of time to spend with it yet, but this head is definitely VERY fat. I need to play with it more, but my first thought was "db750" as I was playing with it for about 10 minutes. I'm surprised more folks haven't made that comparison here. I'll have a lot of time tomorrow to see what it can do.
 
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