Genz Benz Streamliner; Part 4

[zippydog]

Happy to say that I am back in the family and am totally loving the Streamliner 900.

FANTASTIC head, and I REALLY like this company. As others have said, this head is unique in that IMO it really does generate what many would consider a 'clean all tube tone' (I'm not one for much distortion, but it does that too). Very forceful low end that stays much tighter and more usable than, for example, the Mesa MPulse600 (which is another of the rare hybrids that actually sounds 'relatively all tube' to me).

The EQ points are perfect, the knobs feel like silk, the unit looks good, and it is one of those heads that sounds great set 'neutral' right out of the box.

The gain structure is wonderful also. There is enough 'power' in both the pre gain and volume to get virtually any sound (from totally clean to totally overdriven) from literally any level of input signal, no matter how hot or soft. VERY impressive. I also very much like the more audio taper operation of the master volume control... no big jumps in volume, and usable through a wide range of the taper.

Here is one of my original clips with the AE410 and my P Bass. I'll be doing some J bass clips with various cabs over the next couple of weeks.

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Good for you Ken - glad it worked out!

 

[RumbleBeeAL]

Mike got a shipment of about 17 STM-900s in last week and said he'd called everyone who was on the list. From what I gathered YOMS places orders with Genz Benz as they get them, so once you're put on a list you're at the mercy of your place in line and the size of the shipment.

I concur with all of the above, except - I called Mike mid-afternoon on this past Monday to verify that he received the expected shipment. He stated that mine shipped on Monday. I then asked for the tracking number to which he provided me.

I placed my order on 01-24-2011. Apparently the cards were stacked against me. The "cards" being a high demand product, non-stocking dealer, and so forth...

Last week, I phoned and inquired where I stood in line on orders placed. He said I was second. Since he expected a large shipment, I would be in the first group.

Finally, the 900 is scheduled for delivery tomorrow.

I doubt stocking distributors receive priority on filling orders over the non- stocking guys. More than likely, they get a better multiplier/discount for stocking and/or having a showroom display in efforts to offset promotion of the product.

That being said, orders are likely filled as they are received by the distribution/warehouse channel(s).

Many of the folks here did their homework and pre-ordered. That seems to have paid off big time with prompt deliveries. My hat's off to those that did.

I stumbled on the thread about a week before the release. I suppose lack of planning on my part hardly constituted an emergency on their part as the saying goes...

Peace -

Sent from my iPhone using TalkBass

 

[RumbleBeeAL]

So he's out of stock for now I take it. Another question I have is, is any place else selling them for $750?

If you have an existing order with any dealer/reseller, I'd recommend NOT jumping ship at this point. You will likely get leapfrogged (further delays) unless the new place already has an unallocated order placed and is ahead of YOMS in line.

Sent from my iPhone using TalkBass

 

[Saluki]

Mike got a shipment of about 17 STM-900s in last week and said he'd called everyone who was on the list. From what I gathered YOMS places orders with Genz Benz as they get them, so once you're put on a list you're at the mercy of your place in line and the size of the shipment.

FWIW I ordered a STM-600 from him on Feb. 7 and am still waiting on him to get one in. Considering the volume of STM-900s compared to 600s I can't say I'm surprised I'm still waiting.

Mostly true, but there were still a few of us that had ordered, but were not in the top 17 of his first shipment. I think I was order #19 and I placed order on 2/5. Just missed the first shipment. Hopefully more will be in soon. Not complaining, just want to rock it out

 

[Jeff Scott]

The GB bag looks just like the one I got from Ampeg for the PB250 I used to own. I have to say it was well padded but I did not like the concept of having the main zipper take all the load when using the handle. GB, please find a better bag design.

 

[Eublet]

One thing that I notice with the Streamliner that I really like is what I assume is the setting of the hi pass filter down low. My Thunderchild 112 has one of those super duper 3012LF drivers in it, which has that super duper xmax. So, it can really piston out and in a lot if you pump a lot of really low bass into it (and actually reproduce that low end at volume). With the Streamliner, I get a much fuller, rounder, fatter low end than with my LMII with that cab, but the speaker does not travel much at all. Very usable low end that sounds really big without the super low end baggage.

In other words, they have the low end tuned to just wump at a reasonable bass frequency to sound really deep and fat, but they aren't dumping a lot of sub freq's that I hear with some other heads when you crank the low end a bit. As a result, this head results in a louder, deeper tone from my little Thunderchild cab, but I don't feel like I'm going to blow the driver out of the front of the box when I dig in.

I totally get this, Ken. I think I went on a similar tangent weeks back when I was first getting used to the Shuttle 9.0 on the Berg AE212. The HPF is extremely appreciable on this cabinet to say the least, compared to a LMII. It lets me boost the low end, either directly on the Shuttle, or via my Lakland 55-02 preamp, without causing the pistoning action you are referring to. It really reserves a lot of power on the head so that you can crank it. On the 9.0, the LF Boost (which we hopefully all know is a low-end extenstion really) adds a lot of that big bottom that the LMII has. It sounds really good no doubt, but it takes away just at touch from the punchiness of the cab. I did some experimenting where I pushed the 9.0 hard into the AE212 with the LF Boost on, until I felt like the drivers were being stressed just a touch. The 9.0 starts clipping a bit right where the AE212 seems to be at the limit. The cool thing is that I can turn the LF boost off, and it adds a lot of headroom back into the power amp while simultaneously cleaning up the bottom and giving me more punch, even if I in turn boost low's a bit more to fatten it up. Way cool!

I really want a Streamliner, though I have absolutely no need for one.

 

[MikeBass]

OK, here's a real world gig example for you guys....I'm playing Friday and Saturday night.
For some reason the club has a web cam and streams live the bands.

So, I'll be there with my 9.0 and BagEnd S15D-X, Sadowsky and/or my PRS or Valenti.
I could maybe con KJung to borrow his SL900 and use it on the gig switching between the two. A lot to ask I know. (or maybe Roger shoot one out to me to use??? )
And, if we could work it out, I could post the set list and use what bass and/or amp as requested real time here from TB'rs and Ken could text me. and I would make the switches when I could.

Either way, I'll post up the link when I get it. But it might just be with my 9.0.....

 

[jlepre]

I had called Mike at YOMS and he quoted me $750 + $20 shipping to NY. As luck would have it, I found out that http://www.reddirtbrothersguitars.com/
had just received a small shipment that were unspoken for, and they beat his deal with $750 shipped.

Man I was so happy, and I've had my STM-900 since last week.

 

[ledyard]

If you have an existing order with any dealer/reseller, I'd recommend NOT jumping ship at this point. You will likely get leapfrogged (further delays) unless the new place already has an unallocated order placed and is ahead of YOMS in line.

Sent from my iPhone using TalkBass

No, I dont have an existing order yet. I just put my monster bass rig in classifieds and on ebay yesterday afternoon. I have no doubt that at least one piece of gear will sell allowing me to get a streamliner.
Just looking for other places that might have them for $750. I cant afford to wait a month.

@ jlepre.....thank you for that info!!

 

[ledyard]

on the back panel am i not seeing an ohm switch?

If I want to run 2 cabs and have the SL run at 4 ohms do I need two 4 ohm cabs or two 8 ohm cabs?

 

[Flanker]

You would need two 8 ohm cabs.

 

[Musicman20]

Well, my LM3 is sold pending payment. I didnt need another amp, but this SL900 seems the perfect match for my tone goals.

Just waiting for a quote from the Bass Merchant in the UK, and ill be on the list once Ive got the money for the LM3.

I really hope I love this amp!

 

[wateroftyne]

Don't forget Bass Direct... Mark's pre-order deal is very good indeed...

 

[KJung]

OK, here's a real world gig example for you guys....I'm playing Friday and Saturday night.
For some reason the club has a web cam and streams live the bands.

So, I'll be there with my 9.0 and BagEnd S15D-X, Sadowsky and/or my PRS or Valenti.
I could maybe con KJung to borrow his SL900 and use it on the gig switching between the two. A lot to ask I know. (or maybe Roger shoot one out to me to use??? )
And, if we could work it out, I could post the set list and use what bass and/or amp as requested real time here from TB'rs and Ken could text me. and I would make the switches when I could.

Either way, I'll post up the link when I get it. But it might just be with my 9.0.....

Hey Mike. I have a 'stream' of people (pardon the pun) coming by the house starting today and through the weekend to check out the head. However, come on over this afternoon (or late afternoon... Burk will be over). You should be able to get a good idea about the amp. I think Harrington is due by on Friday or Saturday.

 

[mikeluch]

subscribed

 

[Nickthebass]

STM-900 due in Scotland at the back end of March (courtesy of Bass Direct).

Also GigSkinz bag and a couple more Speakon cables.



Let the waiting begin.

 

[KJung]

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.

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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!

 

[Mooch]

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!

What tuning do you play? Just curious if you could play some drop tuning stuff for some of us with some "agressive" eqing.

 

[KJung]

What tuning do you play? Just curious if you could play some drop tuning stuff for some of us with some "agressive" eqing.

Man, I'm clueless at that. I just play standard tuning. I wouldn't know where to begin! I'll leave that to others

 

[Mooch]

Man, I'm clueless at that. I just play standard tuning. I wouldn't know where to begin! I'll leave that to others

That's cool, you have been more than helpful to us all on this thread.