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GenzBenz Streamliner Pt 8...

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#681
steve_rolfeca said:
At least one TB'er has done that, and liked at. I think I may be headed in that direction.

I like the chewy feel of Genz's 3DPM, so the other Max models are out, at least in my case. Street price on the feature-packed Max 9.2 and simplified SL900 are the same in the States at the moment (according to MF), so a Streamliner and a ParaEQ actually come out about $300 more expensive, and about 12oz heavier. And with the two discreet channels, the Max is almost like having TWO Empress pedals, footswitchable.

Still, I'm leaning more toward the Streamliner. Last night, the sound of the Streamliner with some added EQ was literally bliss.

For me personally, the telling factors are these:
- My tonal priorities are about 80/20 on the Streamliner side of the fence. I don't think that a Max 9.2 set to do its best emulation of a Streamliner, would meet my needs as well as a tweaked SL900.
- My Streamliner's already paid for. Also, it may be stoopid as heck, but I just like having those tubes in there...
- Fixed-bandwidth semi-parametrics never seem to have the Q I'm looking for at the time. Even if I had a Max with all those knobs, I might still be jonesing for the ParaEQ.
- Channel switching doesn't particularly interest me.
- It's only a few extra inches, but the Max won't fit in my favourite laptop bag. Meanwhile, I've got room for the Empress in my string pouch.
- I can use an outboard parametric for other things, like recording vocals, shaping electric and acoustic guitars, etc.

Of course this stuff is highly personal. Your mileage may (and very likely WILL) vary...
Click to expand...
Steve,
all good and practical points..
Friend recently switched from ShuttleMax to Streamliner. Last weekend we tried preamps for additional tonal options. We tested my PJB Bass Buddy (directly to FX retrun), Sadowsky outboard pre with DIY boost. Both interesting options. He wasn't so excited with BB too much and doesn't like its format, but loves Sadowsky in front of Streamliner (with additional boost it is can really bring some tubey magic and allowed some interesting tonal combinations although it has boost only EQ). Still it works mainly as juicy enhancement device, you cant make any corrective cuts with it.
Empress is quite exotic here and i've never seen it on any gig (also overseas postage bumps its price), but on paper specs looks great. Very nice is, it has quite high input impedance and allows 18V powering (expecting some internal headroom and good output levels), that way it could serve not only as additional tweaking box but as complete clean channel for Streamliner (to FX return). Maybe it could sound good for some applications (although it will bypass internal HPF).
If you're going to that direction, test it with Streamliner, i will be very excited about hearing, how you like it.

Michal
 
#682
Finally tested my SL 900 today through a GB Uber 410 (4 ohm). Holy smokes! Freakin LOUD and CLEAN!

Honestly, I don't think I'm going to be missing my Ampeg SVT-CL and 810 AT ALL.

I can't wait to test it at rehearsal and at a live performance, but the test drive went phenomenally well.

Playing it quite loud, I had the gain/clip light going pretty consistently. By reading the manual, it appears that this is not indicating a problem, but I wanted to check with the more experienced users. Do you see this as a potential "problem" or is it simply telling me that I'm pushing the amp to the upper capabilities? I didn't get any sound clipping or distortion, only the light.

Also, when I turned the volume, gain, and master up around 3:00, I was hearing "hissing" through the cab. I don't think I'll ever have a need to play the rig at those levels, but wasn't sure if the hissing sound is normal or not.
 
#683
Glad you finally got to check out your new rig. I'd follow the manual guidelines on the gain/clip light and use your ears. Hissing is not normal but it sounds like you have everything close to maxxed out. What are your settings? There are other threads with helpful settings info. I'd back off just a bit and work with the gain structure and voicing. There are a lot more sounds and nuances than you might imagine from the simple knob layout. I just worked out a couple Pat Travers rock classics with my STM900/Uber 410 and Carvin SB5000; just the right blend of punch, depth, and growl - great tone. Enjoy yours. :bassist:
 
#684
Oh, to be clear, I couldn't hear any hissing while I was playing. I only heard that when I stopped playing and turned the gain, master, and volume up to about 3:00, with the gain button pushed in. Is THAT normal, or should the rig be silent, if not playing, with knobs turned up towards max?
 
#686
woolysock said:
^^^
You crazy ;-)
900 watts, everything cranked, and you expect no noise?
That's like a dragster idling with the clutch in ;-)
Click to expand...

+1. Especially with three newer issue tubes in there. In my experience, few recent issue preamp tubes are completely noise free, and with your settings you WILL absolutely be amplifying any of that noise to very audible levels. My Streamliner could get exceptionally loud with the Gain button in, Gain at 9:00, Volume at 12:00, and Master at 10:00. I'd imagine if you hit the amp with an input signal with your settings it would probably just trip its protection circuitry- completely beyond its useable threshold!
 
#690
RASHOSS said:
What are people doing to stop the SL 900 from bouncing around the top of the Uber 410? That thing was dancing all over during today's test run and I don't want to have to think about it falling off.
Click to expand...

I had anticipated having this problem when my AudioKinesis Thunderchild was tilted back and driven hard.

My intended solution, was to bend a simple L-bracket out of aluminum sheet, a little less than the width of the amp. The long arm would be long enough to reach from the front face of the cab to just under the Streamliner, and the short arm of the L would be about an inch and a half long. I was going to drill a pair of holes near the back edge of the long arm of the bracket. That way, I could place the bracket with the "hook" facing down and hanging over the front of the cab, then drop the front feet of the amp into the two holes in the bracket.

In the end, it wasn't necessary. Although it's only made of 1/2" ply, the Thunderchild is small and nicely braced, and I've had no trouble with the amp moving around, even when pushing close to 900 watts into a 500 watt cab.

Still, I could understand the amp walking around on a cab with larger panels, like your Uber 410. Feel free to use my invention, if you don't like the idea of working with velcro...
 
#692
RASHOSS said:
Oh, to be clear, I couldn't hear any hissing while I was playing. I only heard that when I stopped playing and turned the gain, master, and volume up to about 3:00, with the gain button pushed in. Is THAT normal, or should the rig be silent, if not playing, with knobs turned up towards max?
Click to expand...

The Streamliner is one of the most quite amps out there. However, like any amp, if you crank it well beyond the level of its maximum usable volume, you will hear hiss. Again, your 'test' is totally artificial, and won't ever be a problem on the gig.
 
#693
RASHOSS said:
What are people doing to stop the SL 900 from bouncing around the top of the Uber 410? That thing was dancing all over during today's test run and I don't want to have to think about it falling off.
Click to expand...

That is very strange. My guess is the volume and EQ profile you would use to make that happen would not every be anything you would do in a live gig setting.
 
#694
I just picked up a new to me pair of Bag End S-15D cabs, well one S15D and one S15XD. I wasn't sure what to think after reading all the love/hate stuff with BE stuff, but I've always wanted to try them out. I'm been gassing for a pair of 15's of some sort too, so when these came up with a great price I couldn't say no.

I've only played through them in my house for a little while, but so far I like the pairing much better than with my GS112's. The BE have some serious mids, and still plenty of low end with the STL900. I'm not sure of the XD cab yet, as they don't have any control for the tweeter...it's just on all the time. I don't normally use a tweeter. We'll see how they work out though.

I'll be gigging these tomorrow night and I'm pretty excited!
 
#695
Played my STM-600 through a Berg AE112 stack at a small church, twice on the weekend. The church seats about 175 and has awesome acoustics. The Band consisted of a keyboard, piano, two acoustic guitars and a strong vocalist with me on bass. The music was upbeat, contemporary and we had strong 3 - 4 part vocal harmonies.

The tone and presence I had with that pairing was nothing short of staggering!

Love it!
 
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