Kind of ironic, though. The guy that GB wants on their side so bad on TalkBass, and the amp dies on him ! Maybe they just wanted Ken to experience the great customer service, first hand !
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Genz Streamliner 900 and TC RH450 Comparison
- Thread starter KJung
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Kind of ironic, though. The guy that GB wants on their side so bad on TalkBass, and the amp dies on him ! Maybe they just wanted Ken to experience the great customer service, first hand !
- Jun 29, 2006
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- President, CEO, CFO, CIO, Chief Engineer, Technician, Janitor - Reiner Amplification
Kind of ironic, though. The guy that GB wants on their side so bad on TalkBass, and the amp dies on him ! Maybe they just wanted Ken to experience the great customer service, first hand !
It is all becoming very clear now
Genz rocks. Andy (Agedhorse) already contacted me and we did a test. The amp works with the bass plugged into the effects return, which means it is just a tube that probably got damaged in shipping.
Called Genz and talked to Jeff... and even though I'm sure just replacing a tube would have taken care of it, they are shipping a new amp to me for Saturday delivery, just so they can check out the unit.
Really top notch (as many know already).
Great amp, and my guess is, other than the typical tube going to hell in shipping, these will be solid as a rock.
Funny how you can be more pleased with a company that fixes a minor problem quickly than if nothing had even gone wrong.
Look for couple J Bass clips later this weekend.
Amazing customer service in action by the folks at Genz Benz -- a new unit for Saturday delivery!
At this time, however, it would be a wise move for everyone to adopt or re-visit their own backup plan in case of a gig-time emergency.
Even if Ken had access to an extra tube on site at the gig, the odds of also having access to the correctly-sized hex wrench to open the chassis is a long shot.
From the details of this incident we've learned that should the tube/preamp section fail on a Streamliner, chances are that the EFFECT RETURN jack is still open for business. For me, this would mean grabbing the VT Bass pedal from my gig bag and jacking into the Streamliner's power section from the rear.
I do not wish to hi-jack or side-track this thread, but instead I would like to consider this post a friendly Public Service Announcement
Cheers!
Kind of ironic, though. The guy that GB wants on their side so bad on TalkBass, and the amp dies on him ! Maybe they just wanted Ken to experience the great customer service, first hand !
I think Genz is doing just fine with or without me!
Ok, back to the topic. I listened to that second clip again, and that Streamliner tone is killing with just a touch of low mids dialed in. I'm digging it. The RH450 sounds great also, but the more open, wide tone of the Streamliner is a bit closer to some of the tube amps like the SA200 that I've had the pleasure of playing. I like it!
Look for more clips tomorrow! J Bass time
svtb15
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- Mar 22, 2004
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- I play it all. Whatever works for the gig. Q+
That is so funny ! not about the amp.. but the statement.... that is really humorous
not about the amp.. but the statement.... that is really humorous Kind of ironic, though. The guy that GB wants on their side so bad on TalkBass, and the amp dies on him ! Maybe they just wanted Ken to experience the great customer service, first hand !
svtb15
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- Mar 22, 2004
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- I play it all. Whatever works for the gig. Q+
Ken -- thanks for these, and all your other clips. I've been tossing up between these amps, and I think I'm probably going to go a little against the grain of these threads and go with the RH450. It was your clip with the piezo-equipped Mouse (?) bass that did it for me in the end, I think. I play an EUB 99% of the time, have no problem with the 5 kHz low-pass filter, and like the very flexible EQ section. My band is essentially acoustic, generally fairly small venues (although have some festivals coming up), and the on-board tuner and presets will help with a small load and quick changes between songs -- acoustic gat players don't want to wait for you to set up and fiddle with your tone!
Ideally, I would have liked to have played them both myself, but one of the the (very few) disadvantages of living at the far corner of the world is the small range of models to check out locally. You, and TB in general, are an incredibly useful resource -- Cheers!
Ideally, I would have liked to have played them both myself, but one of the the (very few) disadvantages of living at the far corner of the world is the small range of models to check out locally. You, and TB in general, are an incredibly useful resource -- Cheers!
I think Genz is doing just fine with or without me!
Ok, back to the topic. I listened to that second clip again, and that Streamliner tone is killing with just a touch of low mids dialed in. I'm digging it. The RH450 sounds great also, but the more open, wide tone of the Streamliner is a bit closer to some of the tube amps like the SA200 that I've had the pleasure of playing. I like it!
Look for more clips tomorrow! J Bass time
In any event, it sounds like you're hooked .
I'm also looking forward to the Jbass clips, especially the sadowsky, if you can.
svtb15
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- Mar 22, 2004
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- I play it all. Whatever works for the gig. Q+
I have an order in... I think they ship in a couple of weeks from what Greg at RocketMusic told me.
The RH is a wonderful box. Mine is going nowhere! The Streamliner is yet another very nice flavor, and a nice choice! I actually like the sound of my P through both of these heads, and +1 the Mouse through the TC rig is a thing of absolute beauty!
In any event, it sounds like you're hooked .
The Sad sounds VERY good through this. My aggressive Sadowsky is 'fattened and smoothed' by this amp. I dig it. I'll post a clip later tomorrow.
Another cool comparison would be between the SL 900 and F500. This would give an idea of the contrast between "vintage" and "modern" class D technology.
Cool but probably not very useful because they dont really appeal to the same people.
This is a great comparo for me and for a lot of guys who play rock and are looking for a new amp because in the realm of lightweight hybrids, there are basically only two choices worth looking at and its these two.
Thanks so much for this thread!
Maybe it's just me, but I always make certain I have any parts and tools I need to do on-site repairs for whatever gear I happen to be using at a particular gig, including tubes.
Question for Ken: I wonder if the problem tube(s) effected the tone as demonstrated in your videos.
Some folks might want to hear if a tube front-end class D amp really sounds much different than a solid-state design. Yes, different goals... however, some people, like Ken, also appreciate diversity, or might be thinking of moving to a more "old-school" tube amp sound in a light package.
FWIW, although I heard a sort of darkness and warmth in the TC clip (which some might take to be tube-like), it still sounded pretty solid-state to me. The Streamliner didn't.
Not sure about them not appealing to the same people -- obviously Ken has all 3 heads, I have an F1 and will soon have the RH450 (gods willing). Ken has a clip on his YouTube channel with the F1/F500 (I can't remember which, exactly, but they're similar enough) and the RH450 compared. Different heads, to be sure, but I'll be pleased to have access to the range this pair will offer me.
The only problem I can see is that we'll need a whole new thread ...
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