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Genz-Benz Streamliner Part 6

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#881
wateroftyne said:
It's a beautiful thing, eh?

That's pretty much what I meant in my post earlier where I said it had redefined what I wanted from a bass tone.
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It is indeed. Seeing as im the only one that knows the songs its only right that i get heard lol.
I wouldn't say its the best tone ive ever had but its a nice change and one im looking forward to refining. As per the BC thread, ill probably change cabs soon, something with a bit of bottom end, maybe a 1215L or a Barefaced cab.

I've always had to be careful in the past, too much low end and the mix gets a bit muddy (a si guess through the 1212L ists not realyl low end), not enough low end and the mix is too empty (so much for having two guitars in the band, neither play all the way through the songs without cock-ups).
Ive always had enough mids and volume, but with the 600 i seem to have that "something else" as well now.
And all this based on one gig in a Teepee. Cant wait for a proper stage.
 
#882
dave_bass5 said:
...I also feel my pick tone is now a bit closer to finger playing, ive lost a certain part of my pick playing tone that used to bug me.
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+1. I play mostly fingerstyle, but I know that feeling of fighting something quacky or brittle in your tone. When I play my basses unplugged I hear lots of overtones, but none of the harshness I get when they're amplified.

Amps that are supposed to sound warm often sound muffled to me, but I've always had a love/hate relationship with modern sounding amps. The Shuttle 9.0 I auditioned on Saturday was a perfect example. I thought it was great, but I couldn't quite dial in the treble- it was like there was a razor-thin line between sounding edgy, and throwing a blanket over the sound.

I didn't pay a lot of attention to the buzz about the Streamliner at first, because a lot of interest in tube bass gear seems to revolve around distortion, which isn't my cup of tea. But my ears really pricked up when I saw Ken Jung's video comparison between the SL900 and a TC RH450. Two very similar tones, yet the Streamliner seemed to have an extra "heft" in the fingerstyle passages, without sounding wooly.

I don't know that it's necessarily a tube thing, as I've heard solid state studio gear that's as smooth as butter. But whatever the cause, in person I'm finding that the Streamliner has that nice, round note envelope, just like on Ken's video. To borrow a guitar term, I can dial up a lot of treble without getting "ice pick" highs. Until something better comes along, I think I'm done. Now I just have to find the right cab combination...
 
#884
steve_rolfeca said:
I didn't pay a lot of attention to the buzz about the Streamliner at first, because a lot of interest in tube bass gear seems to revolve around distortion, which isn't my cup of tea. But my ears really pricked up when I saw Ken Jung's video comparison between the SL900 and a TC RH450. Two very similar tones, yet the Streamliner seemed to have an extra "heft" in the fingerstyle passages, without sounding wooly.

.
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Same here. Ive never been interested in valves for some reason, probably because, like you say, they seem to be connected with distortion a lot of the time and i have no interest i distortion. I also have a few bad memories from my past with huge valve heads at rehearsal studios.
I was looking in to a TC head when i noticed the Streamliner thread on Bass Chat and i must admit it ticked all the right boxes, something on other head has done since i got my SA450 4 years ago.
 
#885
dave_bass5 said:
Same here. Ive never been interested in valves for some reason, probably because, like you say, they seem to be connected with distortion a lot of the time and i have interest i distortion. I also have a few bad memories from my past with huge valve heads at rehearsal studios.
I was looking in to a TC head when i noticed the Streamliner thread on Bass Chat and i must admit it ticked all the right boxes, something on other head has done since i got my SA450 4 years ago.
Click to expand...

+1 That was my experience also. I was never an 'all tube' head fan, due to the weight, and the relatively poor performance for those who like a relatively clean tone and need high volume performance. I did appreciate the more modern tube tone of the Sadowsky SA200, but was again unimpressed with the performance/tone at even moderate volumes (i.e., it would break up like most other low powered tube heads quite early). This head really is in that SA200 tone universe IMO and IME.

The Streamliner gives me that classic, round, glassy, full 'all tube tone' that I love in some contexts (in my case, a P Bass with nickel rounds), that is totally controllable and constant up to massive volume, without needing a ton of high efficience sealed cabs or whatever. Very impressive.

+1 to Steve and others' comments above.... there is a certain 'bigness and roundness' to this head that just slots a P Bass (in my case) right where a bass should be in many contexts... full, big support of a band without flub or tub or mush. Kind of like having a 500 watt all tube head that will break ear drums but stay clean in a micro format.

Again, nothing else like it on the market IMO.... for better or worse depending on your needs and wants!
 
#886
I'm happy to report that I have a new (replacement) SL-9.0. I spoke with Jeff on Monday and had a new amp Tuesday. No issues...it just lives up to everything I'd hoped for. It's the long-haired brother of the Shuttle 9.0 and more.

I'm very pleased and impressed by the GB company and their responsiveness. They really stand behind their fine products. Out goes my massive CA9 and Alembic F2B, but I'm going to keep my SL and Shuttle 9.0s.

Incidentally, I'm playing hacker ole skool funk these days. Come check us out this weekend at the Bleacher Bar at Fenway park (Boston!) this weekend for a SL-9.0 demo. (Link Removed and YouTube)

Thanks again to hasbeen, agedhorse, Greg @ Rocket, and of course, Jeff G. You guys are top rate!
 
#887
Hmmmm.

Anyone else get a slight scratching noise when they adjust the preamp volume?

It doesn't clean up even momentarily when I wiggle the knob, so I don't think it's a defective pot. It's not objectionable, just a little scritching sound.

I probably wouldn't have even noticed, except that the gain and master knobs are so smooth, and perfectly silent in their operation. my amp is a 900.
 
#888
steve_rolfeca said:
Hmmmm.

Anyone else get a slight scratching noise when they adjust the preamp volume?

It doesn't clean up even momentarily when I wiggle the knob, so I don't think it's a defective pot. It's not objectionable, just a little scritching sound.

I probably wouldn't have even noticed, except that the gain and master knobs are so smooth, and perfectly silent in their operation. my amp is a 900.
Click to expand...

Its been mentioned already a few times. My 600 also does it although ive only noticed on the master knob.
 
#890
Hey guys, I have a question about using the SL900 as a power amp. If I do that, and it by-passes the pre, does that make the master volume the only knob that does anything? or would all 3 volume/gain knobs still function?
 
#891
p0k said:
Hey guys, I have a question about using the SL900 as a power amp. If I do that, and it by-passes the pre, does that make the master volume the only knob that does anything? or would all 3 volume/gain knobs still function?
Click to expand...

I checked that on mine, and the return is after the preamp circuitry. Only the mute button and the Master Volume work when I bypass the preamp. Sounds pretty sweet, by the way.
 
#893
Does anyone find the fan a bit noisy?
I had my 600 on for less than 15mins and it was deadly silent. I went to change strings and moved it on to the bed. All of a sudden i could hear the fan from across the (quiet) room.
Im not too bothered about the noise as i know i wont hear it at a gig but i was surprised it was making this noise. The case wasn't even slightly warm.
 
#896
Musicman20 said:
Was it because the bedding was near the fan?
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No, it was the same when i held it up in the air and ut it on the floor. Its been on the bed before and ive always made sure the vent and fan were never covered.
It i put my had over either vent the noise seems to get a lot quieter.

@smeet. Yes, mines been dead quiet until tonight. The funny thing is the noise started when i wasn't using it
 
#900
The fan is audible but not noisy at all IMHO. There are three glowing hot tubes in there. The fan works as intended I think. IMO it's not even an issue for recording. Any mic you put on a bass cab shouldn't pick up that fan noise, and putting the cab in an iso-room away from the head is typical anyway. Vintage heads have been WAY noisier for decades, at a third of the power.
 
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