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Genz Streamliner 600/900 tone control primer

#381
gustobassman said:
So I was digging through this old but great thread as I wanted to find the "Angry SVT" setting to crank my 900 through my new (to me) LDS 1212/6/1. I've usually always boosted the mids at 220 and rolled the bass back to about 10:00 for "my tone". I read this thread a while back and I don't remember reading the suggestion above about cutting the mids at 2.5K. All I can say is WOW!!! I have no idea why I didn't try this before. The statement above about the sound having "snapped into focus" makes sense to me.

Gain 2:00
Vol noon
Bass 11:00
Mid 11:00 @ 2.5
Treble 9:00

Very muscular and I'm getting enough high end extension from the cab without having to lean on the treble. I'm digging this tone. It's too bad these are no longer produced. It still just amazes me what this little bad boy can do.
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Funny that you brought this up as I always run my EQ like you on 220 and have tried cutting the mids at 2.5 and liking it, but not as much alone at home.

I tried it again yesterday with the band and wow, I totally got the "Sound snapped into focus" comment.

Here is the EQ I used last night and it reminded me of my NEO PAK but more muscular.
IMG_20190906_115101.jpg

My guitarist liked it as well. I have an outdoor gig tomorrow that I was planning on using my GK 700rb II at, but now I am thinking about taking this out instead. Weather depending as I like the Streamliner way too much to risk it.

Edit: Here is the EQ I had been using up till now:
IMG_20190705_182928.jpg
 
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#382
Rather late on this thread. I read the whole thing and to my delight, found that there’s no particularity radical approach to the controls that I haven’t tried. I love my STL 900 that I’ve used since this thread was started. I’ve used it with two Aggie GS12s and now mostly with two SL 12s. I set it and forget it for the room and have always been able to get a desirable tone with minimal effort.
 
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#383
Father Gino said:
Rather late on this thread. I read the whole thing and to my delight, found that there’s no particularity radical approach to the controls that I haven’t tried. I love my STL 900 that I’ve used since this thread was started. I’ve used it with two Aggie GS12s and now mostly with two SL 12s. I set it and forget it for the room and have always been able to get a desirable tone with minimal effort.
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Yep - that amp is plug and play for me. Sounds awesome every time.
 
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#384
Father Gino said:
Rather late on this thread. I read the whole thing and to my delight, found that there’s no particularity radical approach to the controls that I haven’t tried. I love my STL 900 that I’ve used since this thread was started. I’ve used it with two Aggie GS12s and now mostly with two SL 12s. I set it and forget it for the room and have always been able to get a desirable tone with minimal effort.
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Alexander said:
Yep - that amp is plug and play for me. Sounds awesome every time.
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I agree, although I do remember one time when I forgot that it was a Modified Baxandall Tone Stack, not Fender, and I started increasing the mids at 220 on a particular show. It started to sound very muddy and unfocused. So like a dummy I increased the mids some more and it became even worse :confused:.

So the next day I played around with it again and realized "Oh yeah, cut the mids and bass at 220 and it totally snaps into focus". At least for me and my band, it sounds great at those settings. Especially with Stingrays and Jazz Basses:bassist:.

I think that may be why some people had a hard time with this amp when they first came out.
 
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#385
Wicked G said:
I agree, although I do remember one time when I forgot that it was a Modified Baxandall Tone Stack, not Fender, and I started increasing the mids at 220 on a particular show. It started to sound very muddy and unfocused. So like a dummy I increased the mids some more and it became even worse :confused:.

So the next day I played around with it again and realized "Oh yeah, cut the mids and bass at 220 and it totally snaps into focus". At least for me and my band, it sounds great at those settings. Especially with Stingrays and Jazz Basses:bassist:.

I think that may be why some people had a hard time with this amp when they first came out.
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I would say with that amp I’m an all knobs at noon kinda guy - they must’ve designed that amp with me specifically in mind. Every time I mess with the EQ, it goes right back to noon. Worked in every room with every cab and bass I’ve owned. Which is why I own two and will never get rid of them
 
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#387
Alexander said:
I would say with that amp I’m an all knobs at noon kinda guy - they must’ve designed that amp with me specifically in mind. Every time I mess with the EQ, it goes right back to noon. Worked in every room with every cab and bass I’ve owned. Which is why I own two and will never get rid of them
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Where do you have the Mid Frequency knob set at? At 220 with Bass and Mids at about 10:30 I get a focused yet thick and weighty tone which works very well with my band. Not to mention that it kicks pretty nicely too.
 
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#388
I’ve certainly used the tone controls and I’ve come to liking higher gain these days. With the GS12s, I’d often have these bass around 8 o’clock. Usually 10 or so with the SL12s. Noon to 2 outside. My previous head was an Alembic F1x/Stewart World. That rig seemed light when I bought it considering how much power it had. I find the overall sound of the STL similar, but with much more flexibility with tone shaping and of course there’s no comparison in weight and size. I did occasionally enjoy running four 8 ohm cabs with the Stewart outside for a shake your liver experience, but those thrill seeking days are over.
 
#395
Zombie Thread, I know, but I've picked up another Streamliner - installed my preferred tubes, and exploring the EQ.

I made up this settings sheet so I could easily write down all the different combinations- thought I'd make it available to anyone else still rocking their Streamliner!
 

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#396
groovaholic said:
Zombie Thread, I know, but I've picked up another Streamliner - installed my preferred tubes, and exploring the EQ.

I made up this settings sheet so I could easily write down all the different combinations- thought I'd make it available to anyone else still rocking their Streamliner!
Click to expand...
Great idea, but I was not able to see any settings on your attachment, only face plates. Could be a browser thing on my end. What tubes did you install?
 
#398
Jeff Genzler said:
What tubes did you install?
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I ended up with a JJ gold pin 5751 in V1, a JJ E83CC in V2, and a JJ ECC83MG in V3.
Original tubes were still healthy, but these changes made the amp sound brighter and tighter - and still very tubey!

My choices were based on what each tube does in the amp - and the descriptions of how each variant compares:

V1, input gain stage, 5751 gold pin: "The 5751 is about 25% lower in gain than a traditional 12AX7. We recommend these in input stages where players are looking for more headroom and a cleaner overall amp. Keep in mind reducing gain generally has the effect of decreasing high end response. If that’s not desired checkout the gold pin 5751 variant as they tend to retain more bandwidth"

V2, Bass & Treble EQ, E83CC: "Expect a ruler flat sonic presentation, firm/fast dynamics, and maximum clarity."

V3, midrange control, ECC83MG: "It has a bold character with a fair amount of harmonic density but remains very open sounding whether played clean or overdriven...a little more eager to hit the midrange. It can take a bit of wooliness out of a standard Fender tone stack by taming the bass response."
hennessybass said:
I think it's blank on purpose so you can fill in your own settings!
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Exactly right - I can mark knob and switch positions, then add a description of the tone (like the fantastic "angry SVT" setting)
 
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#400
agedhorse said:
IME, beware of the descriptive prose t that tube vendors offer as it may only apply in specific circuits, or when under the influence…
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Big 10-4 on that!
There is TONS of cork-sniffing in tube descriptions - I only included the descriptions that aligned with how I'm hearing them in this circuit.

Eurotubes' descriptions compare them to other JJ tubes, so that would seem to inject less bias (pun intended).

The part about the ECC83MG being "eager to hit the midrange" was from Tube Depot - and while their review certainly engaged in plenty of puffery, that line in the description aligned with what I was hearing in the Streamliner.
 
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