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Genz Benz Streamliner Pt 7.....

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#201
Red Planet said:
Prolly an issue with Tube V3.
Click to expand...

Almost certainly.

The thing with an all tube preamp is that every once in a while there will be an "infant failure" in spite of everything being burned in at the factory. If we burn them in for an hour, we won't catch the tube that fails in 2 hours... if we burn them in for 2 hours we miss the tube that fails at 4 hours etc. Since we do not manufacture the tubes, we are at the mercey of those who do, there's not very many of them and everybody faces similar challenges.

This is precisely why all products have warranties, and why we take customer service so seriously.
 
#202
I bought a shuttle 9.0 and fired it up for 5 mins to make sure it worked then put it on a shelf for several months waiting for the custom cab I ordered to arrive, to fulfill it. Then when I finally took delivery on the cab the tube went wankers. I just replaced it for 15 bucks. These components are made in China folks! Go ahead and ask the best customer service in the business to replace your 15 buck tube and they probably will but keep in mind a streamliner 900 can be had for less than 800.00 bucks and knock the socks off the competition. IMHO
I don't ask too much from the best amp company (IMHO) unless something more serious is goin wrong. If folks want tube 3 year warranty the price of these gems will go up!
Just sayin. Streamlinin right now with shuttle 9 as backup
 
#203
I don't think anyone local has this in stock.
Any recommendations for online purchase? Price seems to be the same everywhere.
How are warranty issues handled when buying online?
 
#204
Was doing something yesterday where I needed an aggressive fuzz tone, so I ran my Blowtorch through the Streamliner.

Cranked the gain much higher than I usually would, and the blend far more towards effected, pushed the bass on the amp to about 11 o'clock, and kept the gain about level with the volume, maybe slightly higher.

Bloody beautiful thick sound, damn I don't know why I haven't been using distortion pedals more with it! Especially with a pick, big, grindy, punchy, but still nice and thick down low. Later tried a Boss Bass OD, and got great results too. :cool:
 
#206
mntngrown said:
I bought a shuttle 9.0 and fired it up for 5 mins to make sure it worked then put it on a shelf for several months waiting for the custom cab I ordered to arrive, to fulfill it. Then when I finally took delivery on the cab the tube went wankers. I just replaced it for 15 bucks. These components are made in China folks! Go ahead and ask the best customer service in the business to replace your 15 buck tube and they probably will but keep in mind a streamliner 900 can be had for less than 800.00 bucks and knock the socks off the competition. IMHO
I don't ask too much from the best amp company (IMHO) unless something more serious is goin wrong. If folks want tube 3 year warranty the price of these gems will go up!
Just sayin. Streamliner right now with shuttle 9 as backup
Click to expand...

The very nature of tubes sometimes lead to failure even if they were made in Switzerland. The filament in tubes heats up somewhat like a light bulb. The Metallurgy in many of the old giants such as GE and RCA was much purer and lasted longer but you still had failures.

I agree. If I had a tube issue I would just swap it out for another, no big deal.

To me it's way too much work to go to the trouble of sending my amp back over a tube when (in 5 minutes) I can change it.

I do understand we have a generation of folks who did not grow up with tubes.
 
#208
Well my STM900 arrived yesterday. Beautiful piece of design work. Played it at home on top of my S9 and it sounded beautiful, much wider and thicker than the S9 for sure. Took it to a regular large outdoor venue we play regularly and set it up on my Epi UL610, sounded nice and big first show (1 1/2 hours) Started the second show and no power, pre was OK but barely any sound out of the cabinet at all. I had to run the G,V and master full, wide open could barely hear it on stage. Sound engineer (our regular guy) said the di signal was trash/distorted/weak also. I think that was due to me having to crank everything to hear at anything at all. I did have my S9.0 for back-up but it was the second show, packed house so I just finished the night as is. I'm not a very happy camper this morning at all. I'm going to hook up the STM900 now at home and see what's up. Definitely not the experience I expected. Any similar experiences and if so... the solution?
:confused:
 
#210
Check the power cord connection and check the tubes.

Current production tubes are not of the quality they were during the Golden days (40s, 50s, 60s).

Also check all the usual stuff like your cables, etc.......I had a similar experience with the Streamliner and it turned out to be a bad connection in the 1/4" jack on my Bass.
 
#213
Red Planet said:
So you replaced all three tubes?
Click to expand...

Yeah right, I'm not replacing three anything in an 18 hour old amp, it's going back. GB is the best in the business they'll figure it out.
BTW I just hooked it up in my music room and it has the same problem. Pre seems fine but there is no power, or I should say minimal power all the G/V/M have to be maxed to hear it.
 
#214
Odd that you had two Genz Benz Amps fail on the first day you got them.

I guess you did not read my post about replacing tubes.

So you would rather ship/take an amp back than spend 5 minutes seeing if you have a bad tube in V1?

I guess it takes all kinds.

Do not give up though.

I understand the thought behind your statement about purchasing a new product but an amp with tubes in it is an amp with tubes in it. It is what it is.
 
#217
I take offense to your statement "it takes all kinds". Is that in reference to the fact that I'm not opening up a brand new amp and putting in $60 worth of tubes to see if that is the problem? I've been playing tube amps and hybrids for 45 years and these are the only out of the box failures I've ever had.
Yes I'm one of "those kinds" that expect a brand new amp to work out of the box without taking it apart and checking the build and parts quality. I'm sure GB agrees with this and I know for a fact they'll take care of it, they are the best.
 
#218
This makes me think of all the non producers that are out of work and the story yesterday of the lady suing her law school because she dosn't have a job.

No offense meant.

I'm sure Genz Benz will take care of it as they are known for that.
 
#219
I guess I just do not understand the mindset of purchasing an amp with tubes and not even willing to lift the hood.

It takes all kinds take make the world go round. Sorry if that is offensive.
 
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