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Genz-Benz Streamliner Part 5

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#321
Jazzdogg said:
If you have clips that illuminate these nuances, I'd love to hear 'em, Ken! :D
Click to expand...

:D I think I am posted out and 'clipped out' on the SL900. The good news is, my clips sound pretty close to the way the amp sounds with those particular cabs The head totally speaks to me with the AE410 and my P Bass, not as much with the other cabs and basses I've tried it with. Just personal IMO there.

As you can tell by the discussion on this and other threads, the response to this head is quite similar to many of the DB750 threads over the years.... strong liking, and quite a bit of dislike, and more variance in opinion across cabinets that you typically hear regarding most heads (due most likely to something in the ratio of the low end to the mids that, on the good side, makes the head fat and warm and big sounding, and for some on the 'bad' side, does not provide as much articulation and 'punch' as they want).

Again, surely not saying it sounds exactly like the DB750, but as I say too often, it is definitely in that 'tone universe' of more fat and smooth versus the other end of the spectrum of tight and bright/grindy.

This became pretty clear when I attempted to somewhat match the tone of the SL900 with my F500 through one of the 15/6 executions. Dialing up the low end below 40hz, reducing the low mids around 400hz, and reducing the upper mids around 1K and dialing back the treble a bit got the F500 moderately close to the SL900 'flat', which is a pretty good indication of what some are callling 'fat and smooth' and others are calling a bit 'scooped and dark'. There was no way to get the SL900 to sound like the F500 set 'neutral'.
 
#322
KJung said:
:D I think I am posted out and 'clipped out' on the SL900. The good news is, my clips sound pretty close to the way the amp sounds with those particular cabs The head totally speaks to me with the AE410 and my P Bass, not as much with the other cabs and basses I've tried it with. Just personal IMO there.

As you can tell by the discussion on this and other threads, the response to this head is quite similar to many of the DB750 threads over the years.... strong liking, and quite a bit of dislike, and more variance in opinion across cabinets that you typically hear regarding most heads (due most likely to something in the ratio of the low end to the mids that, on the good side, makes the head fat and warm and big sounding, and for some on the 'bad' side, does not provide as much articulation and 'punch' as they want).

Again, surely not saying it sounds exactly like the DB750, but as I say too often, it is definitely in that 'tone universe' of more fat and smooth versus the other end of the spectrum of tight and bright/grindy.

This became pretty clear when I attempted to somewhat match the tone of the SL900 with my F500 through one of the 15/6 executions. Dialing up the low end below 40hz, reducing the low mids around 400hz, and reducing the upper mids around 1K and dialing back the treble a bit got the F500 moderately close to the SL900 'flat', which is a pretty good indication of what some are callling 'fat and smooth' and others are calling a bit 'scooped and dark'. There was no way to get the SL900 to sound like the F500 set 'neutral'.
Click to expand...

For all your time and effort. You deserve to be "clipped out"
There is enough info thanks to you and ED and guys recording their gigs i.e. ElMon and Nostatic and waterofwayne et al for any of us to take the leap or stand down. (sorry for moniker misspelling). I know I needed at least a back up for my Shuttle 9.0 but I think this streamliner may take 1st posistion.
Talkbass is a wonderfull resource!
 
#323
Used the 900 at practice tonight with the Duck Dunn with rounds. Even though it sounds sweet alone, with the band, I think I know what Chef and Eublet were experiencing. I think I miss the bridge pickup of the J. I will try the J next time. This amp is new territory for me and so is a P bass. Its a whole other vibe.

Another observation is that the RH 450 is still damn loud at 8 ohms compared to the 900 at 8 ohm it seems.
 
#325
I just bought a used SWR Marcus Miller golight 4x10 cab from Musician's Friend. I get 45 days to try it out so I feel like it's worth the risk.

After playing the SL900 some more with the Thunderchild cab (with plugged ports) I think that having a sealed cab keeps the low end in check and helps the mids punch through a bit. It makes sense that if Genz Benz is voicing this amp like a smooth tube amp then a sealed cab might be appropriate for pairing up with it.

For me I want a high power handling and light sealed 4 ohm cab. There are not a lot of options. I know GK and Carvin have them but I'm not to sure about the quality. The cab that I might try if the SWR MM 410 doesn't work out is the Berg AE410 even though it's ported and way more expensive and with no trial period. I'm sure it would sound great, but it's worth trying a cheaper alternative first.
 
#327
Mooch said:
Well I definately have it running so its of 90 percent of the time, and nothing is sounding bad by any means even when it comes on. Just want to know a little isn't hurting the head. The speakers I'm not worried about. They have done great so far with this head.
Click to expand...

DO NOT worry about the peak light. One reason we when with fewer lights on this amp and changed it from red to amber, is because people "fixated" on the lights. When the peak light is on, it means you're engaging the 3dPM.

If it sounds good, it is good.
 
#329
wateroftyne said:
I think the HS210s must be a perfect match for the SL900. My J sounded great at those gigs over the weekend.

FWIW, at those gigs I tried it with the gain button on and off.. My J is passive, and although I use flats, I don't like thumpy mud. I need to hear distinct, defined notes.

I haven't even gigged the P yet. That's to come...
Click to expand...

WOT,
What did you like better, gain ON or OFF?
 
#331
saltymonkey

Ken, after playing through both with the Streamliner which did you prefer, the Thunderchild or LDS 15/6? Thanks.
Click to expand...

I don't mean to repeat, but I did a review of my Thunderchild and LDS 12/6 just prior to the closing of Part IV.

SL900 with Thunderchild vs LDS 12/6 Bake Off

My much anticipated (by me) comparison of my Streamliner 900 with my Thunderchild 12 and LDS 12/6 (3012LF, Faital mid) is complete. Test basses were my Rob Allen modified MB-2 and D4 basses, seen in my avatar and profile pics, and my son's P-bass copy ... I'm working with Rob on the P-bass thing My findings were consistent across all the basses and I ran all tests using a very clean setting, as dirt isn't my thing for what I do.

As a picture is worth a thousand words, here is the result. Following the pic are the words

Link Removed

As I found when I did my comparison of the Shuttle 9 with these two cabs, the results were very, very close (in more ways than one - more on that later).

Overall, I gave the nod to the SL900/LDS pairing. While the tone for both cabs was extremely similar with the same EQ settings, the LDS had the slightly fuller sound due to the increased box size and really complimented the smooth sound of the Streamliner. However, I did feel that in a band setting it would be very difficult to discern the two cabs based on tone.

To complete the test I revisited my Shuttle 9/Thunderchild/LDS comparison and found I still slightly preferred the S9/TC12 pairing due to the somewhat more hi-fi sounds of the S9 and TC12.

My final part of the test was to compare the S9 against the SL900 with both cabs. For my settings and playing style the two heads sounded very similar, another nod to the great Shuttle 9.

The next round will be down the road as I recently changed my order for a second Thunderchild 12 to a Thunderchild 15. That should really be something!

It's a great time to be a bass guitarist
 
#332
hasbeen said:
DO NOT worry about the peak light. One reason we when with fewer lights on this amp and changed it from red to amber, is because people "fixated" on the lights. When the peak light is on, it means you're engaging the 3dPM.

If it sounds good, it is good.
Click to expand...

So you're saying any amount of this light lit up is ok? Just want to be as clear as crystal on this. Or is it as long as it "sounds good"?
 
#335
JxBass said:
I
SL900 with Thunderchild vs LDS 12/6 Bake Off

My final part of the test was to compare the S9 against the SL900 with both cabs. For my settings and playing style the two heads sounded very similar, another nod to the great Shuttle 9.

It's a great time to be a bass guitarist
Click to expand...

Interesting - good read. How would you describe your playing style/settings? Might help me (& others) get our heads around the whole Shuttle/Streamliner thing.
 
#337
zippydog said:
Interesting - good read. How would you describe your playing style/settings? Might help me (& others) get our heads around the whole Shuttle/Streamliner thing.
Click to expand...

I play up on the neck, fingerstyle - thumb and two fingers. As much a double-stop and chord player as single note. So I'm obviously not grindy, mid-punch kinda guy. I use nickel roundwounds to add high end tone. Hope that helps some.
 
#339
12bass said:
That would be great!

Very curious to see how the actual frequency response compares with perceptions. FWIW, IME, there are a number of other variables which make a significant difference in tonality which are not so easily measurable. If you, or anyone else, is able, perhaps running a few tests at various gain levels might be informative, given how the tubes react to varying degrees of overdrive.
Click to expand...

How would one do this? I have the True Audio RTA software on my computer using a Presonus Firepod interface. I would be willing to give it a try but don't want to publish false or misleading info if I'm doing it wrong.
 
#340
Mooch said:
So you're saying any amount of this light lit up is ok? Just want to be as clear as crystal on this. Or is it as long as it "sounds good"?
Click to expand...

Please...do not worry about the light.

If you like the sound, you're good to go.
 
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