Shuttle 9.2 vs Streamliner

[DirtPoorRobins]

I've got a streamliner, I love it with my ae112, but with my ae212, it's too much of a good thing, too much bass, not enough mids for my liking. I'm looking at the shuttle 9.2, but wondering if it can cop a warm round tone through the tube channel? What do guys think? Would a gramma pad relieve some of the lowend? Thanks.

 

[lookiel]

I own an AE212 and had the opportunity to try out the Streamliner and the Shuttlemax 9.2 at a store a while ago:
The Streamliner sounds amazing solo, full and rich and thick.
I bought the 900 but found it way too soft and scooped in a band mix, no matter how I fiddled with the EQ I wasn't happy. I also tried it through some 410's with the same result.
In contrast the 9.2 sounds much more mid rangy and somewhat honky solo, which leads me to believe it would sound better in a mix. The EQ is very tweakable and the channel switching/mixing options are great.
YMMV and all that.
My go to amp is the TC RH450.

 

[lookiel]

And to answer your question, the 9.2 doesn't sound like a tube amp, it sounds like the shuttle 9 with an extra FET channel.

 

[KJung]

And to answer your question, the 9.2 doesn't sound like a tube amp, it sounds like the shuttle 9 with an extra FET channel.

+1 That head would be a GREAT match for the AE212, and would be much 'tighter and brighter' than the Streamliner, while still being a 'little tubey' for you if you push the input gain on the tube channel. I'm using the Markbass F500 with my AE212, and it is just a beautiful thing. The Shuttle Max 9.2 would give you a similar vibe with a touch of 'crunch' added if you want it. However, there is VERY little similarity between the tube channel on the Shuttle Max (or Shuttle 9) and the Streamliner.

To the OP, the Gramma pad would have very little impact, and that little impact would only be experienced on hollow stages, etc.

 

[JxBass]

To the OP, why not just the Shuttle 9 with the AE212 instead of the ShuttleMax 9.2? There are some great Shuttle 9 deals available.

 

[lomo]

To the OP, why not just the Shuttle 9 with the AE212 instead of the ShuttleMax 9.2? There are some great Shuttle 9 deals available.

I've tried pretty much all the GB heads and for my taste, the FET SS offering is the most pleasing. I'd take one of the Max heads over the Shuttles or SL any day. YMMV
If you look hard, there are great deals on all the GB heads. I've seen the 9.2 for 750!!!

 

[DirtPoorRobins]

Yeah, I'm torn between the these two heads. I have a F1 that I like with the AE212, and I've also tried a shuttle 6.0 vs F1 with my AE112 and the shuttle came out on top sounding more full in the lowend when I boosted the bass, where as the F1 is voiced lower so boosting bass just made it DEEP sounding which wasn't my goal. Basically I found the shuttle series to be inbetween the F1 and the streamliner tonally, and I think that's where I want to be, but I'm having a struggle because the streamliner can sound great with the ae212 if I back WAYYY down on the bass knob and really push that head hard.

 

[DirtPoorRobins]

Hey Ken, your pretty good at eqing your berg's to sound similar to each other. What do you think I could do to get the ae212 closer to the 112s signature sound? Or the ae410? (since you've done that before in your youtube video) Could it be done via outboard eq since the streamliner only can access one mid control at a time. Low pass filter through effects loop? ect.

 

[noahw1]

the streamliner can sound great with the ae212 if I back WAYYY down on the bass knob and really push that head hard.

What's wrong with backing off the bassknob and pushing it hard if it sounds great?

 

[DirtPoorRobins]

I'm not always in the position to push the head hard, when I play soft, technique wise (say on a ballad), it goes back to scoop city, where as on the f1, when I play soft, I still have that definition. I'm thinking about running both amps through that radial pedal that splits the signal and you can footswitch between both amps, I was just thinking that the Shuttlemax could do both heads in one (or as close as can be having one tube channel and one solid state)

 

[rpsands]

I've tried pretty much all the GB heads and for my taste, the FET SS offering is the most pleasing. I'd take one of the Max heads over the Shuttles or SL any day. YMMV
If you look hard, there are great deals on all the GB heads. I've seen the 9.2 for 750!!!

Agree, the Shuttle 3 sounds a bit better to me than the 9.0/6.0 did. I'm happy enough with the 9.0 for now but will probably want to migrate over to 9.2 at some point down the road.

 

[bucephylus]

Just my 2c on the 9 vs 9.2, which is a bit OT, but germane in terms of understanding the 9.2:
I have and gig both an S9 and an SM12. The S9 has one band of parametric mid control and the tube channel; the SM12, which has a similar front end to the SM9.2, has both the FET and Tube channels and two bands of parametric mids.

My experience, and YMMV, is that the tube vs FET has a non-zero, but really small influence on the tone IF you run the input gain clean. If you use distortion, then the tube will behave differently. Obviously, if you favor FET, then you are going to be running clean; and in that case, I find negligible difference. Not begrudging anyone their prefs, but that's what I find. Regarding the parametric controls, the S9 has nearly the equivalent of the lower mid control on the SM and that is where the honk in the 700Hz to 1kHz lives. So, again IMO, either front end allows the capability to cut honk in various cabs. The upper mid control on the SM honestly remains a mystery to me, and I just run it flat. It MAY be useful for tailoring the treble, but I find the treble control to be sufficient. So, for my purposes both front ends are equally useful, and I get nothing more out of the SM than the S.

The real advantage of the SM12 for me is being able to drive two 4 ohm cabs. I suppose 2 S9's could do the same thing.

Anyhow, the Streamliner is a significant departure. A real tone modularity system to me would be to have a Streamliner and an S9, and then feed the pre out from one into the power section of the other to drive two 4 ohm cabs and get whichever tone pallet I was after. But, that's just me.

 

[lomo]

My ears prefer the FET channel to the tube pre of the Shuttles, even when run clean.

 

[rpsands]

My ears prefer the FET channel to the tube pre of the Shuttles, even when run clean.

Agreed.

 

[hasbeen]

I'm not always in the position to push the head hard, when I play soft, technique wise (say on a ballad), it goes back to scoop city, where as on the f1, when I play soft, I still have that definition. I'm thinking about running both amps through that radial pedal that splits the signal and you can footswitch between both amps, I was just thinking that the Shuttlemax could do both heads in one (or as close as can be having one tube channel and one solid state)

Have you tried turning the bass on the amp all the way off? This is how I run the "bottom" on my SA200. Keep in mind that this network behaves like a interactive yet passive tone network.

 

[bucephylus]

My ears prefer the FET channel to the tube pre of the Shuttles, even when run clean.

Everyone is entitled to their own preferences of course. But, just to be clear, are you comparing an S3 to S6/S9 or are you talking about the MAX front end where you are switching into the same power module? Just think you should be clear for other readers so you're not (or are) comparing apples and oranges. The power sections also matter, and the S6 does not sound the same as the S9.

Again, these are discrimination differences that as players we get picky about, but the average listener is not going to tell the difference; at least for clean signals. IMO.

 

[rpsands]

I like both the S3 and the Max Fet preamps better than the S6 and S9, if that's clear enough. Not spent tons and tons of time with them, but I liked the Fet module better on the GB 1200 and 750 also.

 

[lomo]

I like both the S3 and the Max Fet preamps better than the S6 and S9, if that's clear enough. Not spent tons and tons of time with them, but I liked the Fet module better on the GB 1200 and 750 also.

Me 2

 

[DirtPoorRobins]

Well, I just bought the Shuttlemax 9.2, so I'll be able to give them an "at home" and "on the gig" trial by fire. I'll either keep both and get rid of the F1 or keep one and get rid of the other. Keep you eye on the classifieds if you are interested in one of these. I can't see myself keeping all three.

 

[OldogNewTrick]

Me 3

I do hear a significant difference between Tube and Fet pre's. Recently tried to get a S9 to get that clearity of the S3 I was a/b'ing with.... impossible !
Still waiting for that "Fet9"

Me 2

I like both the S3 and the Max Fet preamps better than the S6 and S9, if that's clear enough. Not spent tons and tons of time with them, but I liked the Fet module better on the GB 1200 and 750 also.