Genz-Benz Streamliner Part 5

[mntngrown]

Thanks Kim and wateroftyne! More good info.

 

[gillento]

I had a RH450 and have a SL600 now.
Whereas I didn't like the RH450 at all (sounded bland & compressed to my ears), the SL600 sounds "juicy" and powerful with my PJs.

I really don't see any common point to both amps

 

[adivin]

It definitely has some beef down low! I cant see from the clips why J players wouldnt dig it?! Maybe its just me, but I like a nice thick low end with punchy low mids, and a sweet high end.

I was on the fence about my SL900 order, but after more clips and realising it will sound much more clear up top than my RH450, im sticking with the order.

+1 I prefer the J with this amp. Sounds awesome.

Gain in
Gain 12
Volume 12

Bass 11
Mid 600
Mid 2
Treble 12

 

[Tunaman]

It sounds great with these basses:

Despite its main competition:

 

[HvyMtlThunder]

It sounds great with these basses:

Despite its main competition:

Howz it working with the studio cans? Any DI luck yet?

 

[Tunaman]

Its been a busy week & my 7mo little girl is keeping me away from the DI test & more headphone playing lately. Any time I've had to play has been through the cab lately. Its great but hopefully I have a moment tomorrow.

 

[faulknersj]

Tunaman...I second your opinion that this head really makes a Musicman Sterling shine! My regular gigging bass is a 73' Fender passive J Bass with flats and it sounds like vintage goodness thru the Streamliner, but the way this head worked with my Sterling was quite surprising in a good way! I have been reserving my overall opinion of this head. I absolutely love my GB Shuttlemax and after gigging it 5 nights a week for the last year I am so used to its sound. Like Chef and Eublet, I had initial reservations about the Streamliner, but attribute those reservations to my level of comfort and familiarity with the Shuttlemax. I always go thru this process when changing gear. All I know thus far is that the more I gig with the Streamliner, the more I dig it. +1 to Tunaman and being dead on about the Sterling + Streamliner combo!

 

[5StringPocket]

+1 more - With its focused tone and tight attack I could see how the MM Sterling and the SL900 would rock together. Sounds like another winner.

 

[Eublet]

The more I play this thing, the more comfortable I get with it. It really has a singing quality to it. I'm learning to control the mids the way I like them, albeit at a slightly lower frequency of 600 hz, but really that frequency point works MUCH better for bass in a live mix anyway.

I also reject the notion that this thing doesn't sound as good with J basses. It seems to me to be very much in the traditional category of that fat and warm J tone, albeit with a little more glass up top. I get why so many love P bases on the Streamliner, but man it makes a jazz bass burp and punch also.

Can you tell I'm coming around on this one or what?

Sent from my iPad using TalkBass. Please pardon terse messages. All spelling errors are the sole property of Apple, Inc.

 

[svtb15]

This is the first time that i have ever heard someone basically saying that an amp sounds good with one bass or another.. Are you insinuating that now you need a special amp to go with a special bass? That's about the most ridiculous thing that i have ever heard....
Are people doing gigs or playing in their basements by themselves?

Did i miss getting my dose the crazy pills or what?

 

[Eublet]

This is the first time that i have ever heard someone basically saying that an amp sounds good with one bass or another.. Are you insinuating that now you need a special amp to go with a special bass? That's about the most ridiculous thing that i have ever heard....
Are people doing gigs or playing in their basements by themselves?

Did i miss getting my dose the crazy pills or what?

I don't know, Kirk. I can see it being true in some cases. I know that when I was into Stingrays, I had to be careful with my amps more. I bet a Ray or Sterling would sound great throughout a Streamliner though.

Sent from my iPad using TalkBass. Please pardon terse messages. All spelling errors are the sole property of Apple, Inc.

 

[svtb15]

Ok.. i understand using a rig and bass combo to get a certain sound.. I was under the assumption that someone said that a certain amp doesn't sound good with a certain bass...

 

[nostatic]

I've gigged with the S900 in two of my bands at this point. I can say that compared to previous amps (and the current Shuttle 9.0), the S900 seems to have some more "magic" combinations relative to other heads.

For instance, I have two Rob Allen basses - Deep 5 and MB-2 4-string. They sound different, but still are very much the "Rob Allen sound." I can dial up a great tone for each on the S900, but one particularly cool sound with the MB-2 (gain switch in, gain at 2:00, vol at 3:00) just doesn't work with the Deep5.

P-bass is just flat out magic with the S900 and Berg AE210. Contrasting the two heads, I can play a gig with the Shuttle 9.0, run everything flat, switch between P-bass, RA, and Roscoe and everything sounds great. I can do the same gig with the S900, dial in "my" typical eq (bass 9-10:00, mid 1:00 @ 600hz, treble @ 1:00) and it'll sound sublime with the P-bass, good to great with the RAs depending on the room. I think it is the inherent "real" tubey-ness of the S900 (the MB Fusion wasn't like this but that is a totally different sounding head). The tubes react/sag/etc in response to the instrument, so as the character of that sound changes the amp acts/reacts accordingly. I find the S900 to be more of an "instrument" that I need to work with instead of just a knob to twiddle.

 

[faulknersj]

Svtb15's, I think that some of us (myself) are used to having seperate low mid and high mid EQ options such as the Shuttlemax affords. On my shuttlemax, I typically boost the bass and high mid controls while leaving the low mids and treble flat. This allows for a balance between a nice tight bottom and the clarity that high mids provide whil avoiding that high frequency clank that a treble boost creates. If the Streamline had seperate low mid and high mid controls it would be the perfect head imo.

 

[husky123]

+1 more - With its focused tone and tight attack I could see how the MM Sterling and the SL900 would rock together. Sounds like another winner.

I hope that holds true for the Stingray too! I've been playing it through a J, P and PJ but just picked up a Stingray 4HH on here. Can't wait to hear it through this head.

 

[Musicman20]

The more I play this thing, the more comfortable I get with it. It really has a singing quality to it. I'm learning to control the mids the way I like them, albeit at a slightly lower frequency of 600 hz, but really that frequency point works MUCH better for bass in a live mix anyway.

I also reject the notion that this thing doesn't sound as good with J basses. It seems to me to be very much in the traditional category of that fat and warm J tone, albeit with a little more glass up top. I get why so many love P bases on the Streamliner, but man it makes a jazz bass burp and punch also.

Can you tell I'm coming around on this one or what?

Sent from my iPad using TalkBass. Please pardon terse messages. All spelling errors are the sole property of Apple, Inc.

Sounds perfect to me.

The fact you say this amp can, if you want, add some glassy highs, is perfect for what I'm after.

Keeping mine incoming

 

[svtb15]

But with all practicality.. i dont know how one would expect a dual Semi Para EQ amp with a totally different EQ topology to sound like a Baxandal style EQ or visa versa.
I believe the SL900 was stylistically to follow in the footsteps of the SA200. If Im not mistaking..

I really think that people that enjoy the Ampeg amplifier interface would really like the SL900.... But people wanting the multi Semi PAra EQ ala Eden may not ...
Although the tubiness of the SL900 is very warm and cushy.. in a sort of eden-ish way...... but not all the EQ hoopla.

Different stokes as they say... but to say that only one style of bass works with a certain amp is rather weird..

Svtb15's, I think that some of us (myself) are used to having seperate low mid and high mid EQ options such as the Shuttlemax affords. On my shuttlemax, I typically boost the bass and high mid controls while leaving the low mids and treble flat. This allows for a balance between a nice tight bottom and the clarity that high mids provide whil avoiding that high frequency clank that a treble boost creates. If the Streamline had seperate low mid and high mid controls it would be the perfect head imo.

 

[svtb15]

It SL900 does not do the Icepick in the ear treble thing . Which to me is a GOOD thing...It does do the silky glassy AIRY thing though... it has AIR on top

Sounds perfect to me.

The fact you say this amp can, if you want, add some glassy highs, is perfect for what I'm after.

Keeping mine incoming

 

[svtb15]

I have the week off so i lent my SL900 to a buddy doing some larger gigs this week... Hope he brings it back..

 

[zippydog]

Trigger pulled!

My Shuttle 9.0 is on its way to a fellow TBer and I've landed a Streamliner 900 from a great authorized Genz dealer I've worked with previously (MusicPower). Awesome experience once again!

So...it'll go something like this:

Sadowsky Metro PJ5 > Streamliner > Berg HS210 and/or Berg HT112ER

Will be a kick to put it all together. Going with the tube pre has me wondering if I'll need to use my VT Deluxe (with the Shuttle 9.0 this was on all the time but at a fairly neutral setting) or my Diamond compressor. With the "give" of the tubes, I'm wondering if the light compression I had going before would be redundant now.

...lots of experimenting ahead!