• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join freeLog in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Genz Benz Streamliner-Pt 2

Status
Not open for further replies.
+1

I don't know much about the design (other than the dual mid drivers), but it really sounded great, all things considered... meaning, this was NAMM, after all, and there was literally a 25 man drum circle going on 10 feet behind me. But yeah, sign me up for one of those cabs too.

If anyone is interested, here is the logic of that design (I go WAY back with three way cabs, having gigged the EA VL210 back in the day, and then the Acme cabs, and also having reviewed quite a few LDS executions).

The logic of this design is that in order to voice a large driver (like a 12) to go very low, it will, by definition, not go very high (i.e., it will act more like a subwoofer than the typical midrange type, full range drivers used in most 410's or 212's, etc. with tweeters). A standard little tweeter can't be crossed over low enough (into the upper mids) to cover the upper mids that are not being reproduced by the deeply voiced driver.

Hence, you need 'something' to plug that hole in the sound. Some cabs use little 5" mid drivers (like the Acme and the old EA VL cabs and the Accugrooves... not enough juice in the upper mids with those IMO), while other more recent designs use a more powerful 6.5" mid driver crossed over at kind of the start of the upper mids (700hz, 800hz or so), and others, like the Genz execution, use 8" drivers to cover an even wider swath of midrange (I think their crossover is down at around 150hz).

In addition to being able to use a deeply voiced driver with better than average mechanical specs (the xmax that is talked about... the ability of a driver to actually reproduce deep bass at high volume/wattage without 'farting'), the midrange coming from a smaller cone tends to 'beam' less (i.e., be less directional, which results in an improvement in the upper range of the cab tone when standing off axis).

Finally, some of these cabs, like the Genz, also include a more standard tweeter to 'top off' the top end, since a mid driver won't extend as high as a more traditional horn type tweeter.

Pretty cool design... less beamy midrange, deeper bass (relatively to the more typical 12's in two way boxes), and a 'cleaner' midrange, since the smaller drivers are designed for clean mid response, versus the more ragged mid tone coming from the very upper range of a full range driver (which can sound VERY good... I actually prefer that bit of upper mid distortion/grind in my tone personally... depends what tone you are looking for).

The downside is that the big high xmax woofers take a bit more wattage to reach their full potential versus a more midrange voiced full range driver, but wattage is pretty cheap now, and the 8ohm output of the Shuttle 9, Shuttle Max 9.2 or Streamliner 900 would be PERFECT for driving one of these.

Whew... lots of words there, but hopefully helpful to those that are looking for a very clean, very wide, very even tone from a relatively small cab.:)
 
If anyone is interested, here is the logic of that design (I go WAY back with three way cabs, having gigged the EA VL210 back in the day, and then the Acme cabs, and also having reviewed quite a few LDS executions).

The logic of this design is that in order to voice a large driver (like a 12) to go very low, it will, by definition, not go very high (i.e., it will act more like a subwoofer than the typical midrange type, full range drivers used in most 410's or 212's, etc. with tweeters). A standard little tweeter can't be crossed over low enough (into the upper mids) to cover the upper mids that are not being reproduced by the deeply voiced driver.

Hence, you need 'something' to plug that hole in the sound. Some cabs use little 5" mid drivers (like the Acme and the old EA VL cabs and the Accugrooves... not enough juice in the upper mids with those IMO), while other more recent designs use a more powerful 6.5" mid driver crossed over at kind of the start of the upper mids (700hz, 800hz or so), and others, like the Genz execution, use 8" drivers to cover an even wider swath of midrange (I think their crossover is down at around 150hz).

In addition to being able to use a deeply voiced driver with better than average mechanical specs (the xmax that is talked about... the ability of a driver to actually reproduce deep bass at high volume/wattage without 'farting'), the midrange coming from a smaller cone tends to 'beam' less (i.e., be less directional, which results in an improvement in the upper range of the cab tone when standing off axis).

Finally, some of these cabs, like the Genz, also include a more standard tweeter to 'top off' the top end, since a mid driver won't extend as high as a more traditional horn type tweeter.

Pretty cool design... less beamy midrange, deeper bass (relatively to the more typical 12's in two way boxes), and a 'cleaner' midrange, since the smaller drivers are designed for clean mid response, versus the more ragged mid tone coming from the very upper range of a full range driver (which can sound VERY good... I actually prefer that bit of upper mid distortion/grind in my tone personally... depends what tone you are looking for).

The downside is that the big high xmax woofers take a bit more wattage to reach their full potential versus a more midrange voiced full range driver, but wattage is pretty cheap now, and the 8ohm output of the Shuttle 9, Shuttle Max 9.2 or Streamliner 900 would be PERFECT for driving one of these.

Whew... lots of words there, but hopefully helpful to those that are looking for a very clean, very wide, very even tone from a relatively small cab.:)

Makes sense to me... My GBE1200 has no issues powering my 2 cabs individually or at the 2.67ohm load (212 is 4ohm / 410 is 8ohm). In fact, a bit over powered, that's what the Master Volume knob is for - right?...

The GB Streamliner Series does sound tempting.
 
I was there while the drum circle was roaring along. Two bassists were taking turns playing along, pushing two Uber Quads with a 9.0 and it sounded especially great before the SPL cops showed up; one was playing the six-string fretless, which sounded full, strong, and articulate. Never got to hear the Streamliner under circumstances that would allow me to draw a meaningful conclusion.

Next year all of the TBers who attend should affix a concpicuous sticker on their NAMM credentials so we'll be able to identify each other. ;)


the guy playing fretted while you were there was Doug Johns.......doing the jam with the percussionists. I was standing there....you should have said hi.
 
If anyone is interested, here is the logic of that design (I go WAY back with three way cabs, having gigged the EA VL210 back in the day, and then the Acme cabs, and also having reviewed quite a few LDS executions).

The logic of this design is that in order to voice a large driver (like a 12) to go very low, it will, by definition, not go very high (i.e., it will act more like a subwoofer than the typical midrange type, full range drivers used in most 410's or 212's, etc. with tweeters). A standard little tweeter can't be crossed over low enough (into the upper mids) to cover the upper mids that are not being reproduced by the deeply voiced driver...

Thanks, Ken. I get the basics of the 3 way design, this was probably my first experience playing through one. I've mostly read about the fEarful and the more recent Avatar box, this one seemed a bit different with two 8 inch drivers rather than a single 6.5... not having heard the other style though I can't comment on any audible differences.

I will say this, if no one told me what was going on with the cab design, I wouldn't have thought twice... rather I would have assumed it was just a cab that happened to sound really good. And I typically lean towards traditional, tweeterless, and even sealed cabs. So this one didn't have a noticeably "modern" flavor or anything... though it could definitely deliver the goods down low. As it is, maybe it was just the pairing with the Streamliner, but it seemed like a great cab for my uses (classic rockish stuff).
 
While this is a three way design, it differs from the Fearful and similar because of the 8" mids, and where they're crossed...150hz is significantly lower than the 800 or so used in those designs.
While I haven't heard this cab, I'd suspect it might sound more like a 410 in terms of "paper cone breakup at high volumes," which is something I actually prefer over the Fearful design, at times.
However, it should also significantly benefit from having dedicated drivers per sound portion...perhpas a nice "best of both worlds" kinda thing.

Having the 2x8's delivering content down to 150hz should also make it "more than just a good 112" in terms of it's ability to fill a room, I'd suspect.

I wouldn't know how to theoretically compare 1288 to a 410 in overall spl, but I'd sure like to do an a/b at some point;)
 
Thanks, Ken. I get the basics of the 3 way design, this was probably my first experience playing through one. I've mostly read about the fEarful and the more recent Avatar box, this one seemed a bit different with two 8 inch drivers rather than a single 6.5... not having heard the other style though I can't comment on any audible differences.

I will say this, if no one told me what was going on with the cab design, I wouldn't have thought twice... rather I would have assumed it was just a cab that happened to sound really good. And I typically lean towards traditional, tweeterless, and even sealed cabs. So this one didn't have a noticeably "modern" flavor or anything... though it could definitely deliver the goods down low. As it is, maybe it was just the pairing with the Streamliner, but it seemed like a great cab for my uses (classic rockish stuff).

+1 One of the great applications for these types of cabs is classic/vintage tones with some distortion, since the mid drivers extend higher than a typical woofer, but don't have the issues with distortion like a tweeter does (you can always turn the tweet off with a three way cab like the Genz.

+1 To Chef's post also.... this design (from my experience with the LDS cabs using 8" neo mid drivers) is kind of 'in-between the 12/6 type builds and a 'typical two way highe end 12 with tweeter'.

Nice spec, and it does not surprise me that those who have heard it are impressed!
 
I'm hoping the Streamliner has the tube tone of the Walkabout with more power and a less compressed low end.
QUOTE]

Shame on Mesa for not listening to what the players want/need, and congrats to GB for paying attention.
If the Streamliner can deliver what some of us are looking for, there are suddenly a bunch of new (not so effecient) cabs to consider.
 
[Shame on Mesa for not listening to what the players want/need, and congrats to GB for paying attention.
If the Streamliner can deliver what some of us are looking for, there are suddenly a bunch of new (not so effecient) cabs to consider.

I agree. I'm still waiting to hear a Streamliner A/B'ed with Walkabout. IMO the eq on the latter is a big part of it's vibe so I doubt I'll part with it. However, I applaud GB's offerings and service, which make me look at Mesa's newest offering
(M3) and wonder what/if they were thinking. If Mesa is listening to bass players, I don't know which ones were clamouring for a hybrid, $800, 300 watt head that's short on features, or a 65 lb 300 watt 112 combo version of same.
I'm still hunting for a super efficient cab for my Walkabout...

and in the meantime I caved and preordered a SMax 9.2:D
 
I'm still trying to figure out what I should plug into my Streamliner 900 first when it gets here. :D

So which one is the Streamliner going to want?

QuatroBass2.jpg
 
I'd say any of them. I'm looking forward to the Roscoe fretless through the Streamliner, as I think it'll warm up the active bark on the bass. In fact I think that this head could be great for more "hi-fi" active basses, unless the owner really wants an ultra-squeaky tone.

And since I'm a sick puppy, am looking forward to running the Rob Allen with a bunch of grind dialed up :p
 
concur, and that's why I like Sadowsky thru Walkabout.
I bet I'd like Sadowsky thru Streamliner;)

Hey, just spent some time poking around your blog. Neat...
 
Mostly it's cause the Walkabout doesn't have xtended treble response, and it's really warm.
The Sadowsky does have really xtended treble response, and benefits from that more organic, warm thing the walkabout has....that I bet the Streamliner also has.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.