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Streamliner 900. Blue LEDs dependable?

A

AchtungBass

Mar 30, 2012
85
3
#1
In the market for a top micro. First current choice is the Genz Benz Streamliner 900. Know it's a super amp w/the tone, simplicity, & power I'm looking for.

My only concern is the reliability of the blue LEDs. How many of you guys have had LED issues? Is this more than a very infrequent problem? Mentioned this in the main Streamliner thread, but wanted to start a thread on the topic since I'd like to pick up a micro within the next week or two.

The lights look great, but if they're faulty or go out, not so much. Genz says LED failure is a small problem. I really want to believe this, but also want to ask from real live owners. Guessing ~1 dozen guys have posted about an LED problem. Not really such a small #.

Understand there's zero amp functionality issue, all cosmetic. Can send it back under warranty for repair, but it's on the owner's dime. Someone mentioned that he wasn't sure if he'd want to pay shipping just to fix the lights. I don't know either.

If the LEDs are more than just a little problematic, I always have other fine options to consider; Shuttle 9.0, Aggy TH500, T.C.E. RH450/750, Markbass F1.
 
#2
Led's are inherently reliable in and of themselves. If there is a problem with them I'd wager it is more of a problem with a connector somewhere rather than with the Led's. With the vibrations in an amp sitting on top of a bass cab, I wouldn't be surpriesd by this. Led's normally just don't fail.

I'll remove my Engineers hat now.
 
#3
TinIndian said:
Led's are inherently reliable in and of themselves. If there is a problem with them I'd wager it is more of a problem with a connector somewhere rather than with the Led's. With the vibrations in an amp sitting on top of a bass cab, I wouldn't be surpriesd by this. Led's normally just don't fail.

I'll remove my Engineers hat now.
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I'll agree with that. So let me restate the the question. Who's had problems with the application of the LEDs in the Streamliner 900 format?
 
#4
Have you played through a Streamliner? Regardless of whether or not its LEDs work, it doesn't sound anything like the other amps you mentioned. I would recommend trying the amps out first if possible to see which you prefer soundwise/feature-wise. If the Streamliner is the one you want then buy used- you can get some great deals on them And they will still be under warranty (so if you did have to send it back you could justify it by the money you saved buying used). Chances are the LED will already have stopped working if the original owner actually used the amp much and it is an issue (mine never had a problem with the LED, but I also wouldn't have cared much if it did).
 
#7
sunbeast said:
Have you played through a Streamliner? Regardless of whether or not its LEDs work, it doesn't sound anything like the other amps you mentioned. I would recommend trying the amps out first if possible to see which you prefer soundwise/feature-wise. If the Streamliner is the one you want then buy used- you can get some great deals on them And they will still be under warranty (so if you did have to send it back you could justify it by the money you saved buying used). Chances are the LED will already have stopped working if the original owner actually used the amp much and it is an issue (mine never had a problem with the LED, but I also wouldn't have cared much if it did).
Click to expand...

No I haven't played one. But from the tons of posts in the threads (from some pretty reputable guys), I'm sure the 900 is my 1st choice for its serious tube tone.

I'd have to disagree with your assertion, though, that the others don't sound anything like the 900. The 900 does the tube emulation best (& does it really, really well), but the T.C.s can do the tube thing pretty well, too. And both the Shuttle 9 & F1, while definitely being cleaner/punchier can both dial in warmth too, just not like the 900. Still pretty nice choices though.

As for the LEDs themselves, I'd like looking at them a lot. Very purdy. Sure most other guys like to see them too. That's why they're there. Do I need them, do others need them? No, of course not.

The "under warrantee can get it fixed" thing is good, sure. But as mentioned, I'd really likely rather not pay for shipping just to get lights repaired/replaced.

Glad to hear that you've not had a lighting issue. That's what I'm after ;) & hope to hear a lot.
 
#8
AchtungBass said:
No I haven't played one. But from the tons of posts in the threads (from some pretty reputable guys), I'm sure the 900 is my 1st choice for its serious tube tone.

I'd have to disagree with your assertion, though, that the others don't sound anything like the 900. The 900 does the tube emulation best, but the T.C.s can do the tube thing pretty well, too. And both the Shuttle 9 & F1, while definitely being cleaner/punchier can both dial in warmth too, just not like the 900. Still pretty nice choices though.

As for the LEDs themselves, I'd like looking at them a lot. Very purdy. Sure most other guys like to see them too. That's why they're there. Do I need them, do others need them? No, of course not.

The "under warrantee can get it fixed" thing is good, sure. But as mentioned, I'd really likely rather not pay for shipping just to get lights repaired/replaced.

Glad to hear that you've not had a lighting issue. That's what I'm after ;) .
Click to expand...

Don't have any info for you on the LED's. I do remember a few posts with guys having trouble, but not many. My guess is, as typically happens, if the Genz guys found anything systematically wrong with the connector in the earlier models, they put in a production change. So, wouldn't really worry about that.

As one who had the RH450 at the same time as the Streamliner, those amps are WAY different. The RH450 has a sort of 'fridge' voicing built into it (i.e., kind of an entire vintage rig voicing built in... very tight down low, and very rolled off up top, just like playing through an old school one way 810 cab). The Streamliner is wide open, deep, smooth in the mids, and very crystal clear up top.

I use the F500 for my 'modern tone' needs and the Streamliner for my more old school tubey needs (I keep it clean, and go for a range of classic P Bass tones that range from Duck Dunn to Bob Glaub to Reddie Freddie Washington).

All nice stuff. The Streamliner can be a bit picky with cab pairing IMO. It sounds best to me (just like most all tube heads) with a tighter voiced cab with present mids (in my case, the Bergantino AE410).

IMO and just FYI.
 
#9
Glad to again hear a no problem. Also nice to also hear the assurance that GB would have put in a change if something was systematic. IIRC remember correctly you had some pretty rough luck with the 900 early on. Not an LED thing I guess.
 
#10
My LED's have been out for some time. The amp works fine so I've been too lazy to search for the relevant info - I remember reading about the repair issue in another ST thread. If anyone can re-post that info here I'd be grateful. I also would probably be reluctant to ship my head to GB jsut to fix the lights - I gig it 3-4 nites/week.
 
#11
AchtungBass said:
Glad to again hear a no problem. Also nice to also hear the assurance that GB would have put in a change if something was systematic. IIRC remember correctly you had some pretty rough luck with the 900 early on. Not an LED thing I guess.
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Yeah, bought virtually the first one off the line. That is often an adventure, as sometimes there are still some production issues/component issues in the very early production of a new product! Of course, nothing like GK's 'revision1, revision2.... revision 9!

Rock solid for me over the last year or so that I've been gigging it. There is always a bit of loving care needed when you have those tubes in there. I haven't had any issues, but they can get unseated, or a tube can fail or get noisy. Simple fix, and if you are using this head (or any other hybrid), it probably makes sense to have a spare tube.

The good news is, there is a direct in to the power amp so even if you had a tube issue, you could finish the gig with no problem.
 
#14
The LEDs on my Streamliner 900 became intermittent roughly 3 months into ownership and gigging. Didn't bother me in one bit. I ultimately decided to sell my 900, so sent it back to GB and they repaired the LEDs quickly. Fantastic customer service from Genz Benz!
 
#15
Limeman said:
The LEDs on my Streamliner 900 became intermittent roughly 3 months into ownership and gigging. Didn't bother me in one bit. I ultimately decided to sell my 900, so sent it back to GB and they repaired the LEDs quickly. Fantastic customer service from Genz Benz!
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Good to know they fixed it & did it so quickly. That's a big plus. Only problem as I view it is that whatever you sold for was actually that amount less your shipping for repair.
 
#16
Anything made by man can and does go wrong. That said, take a look around todays world. LEDs are everywhere. You see them on cars, traffic lights, on buses, on bicycles, flashlights. They are literally everywhere. If they weren't reliable that wouldn't have happened. FWIW, the blue LED in my pre-amp has been in operation for over ten years.
 
#17
BassmanPaul said:
Anything made by man can and does go wrong. That said, take a look around todays world. LEDs are everywhere. You see them on cars, traffic lights, on buses, on bicycles, flashlights. They are literally everywhere. If they weren't reliable that wouldn't have happened. FWIW, the blue LED in my pre-amp has been in operation for over ten years.
Click to expand...

The blue light on my Mesa worked for over 40 years!
 
#18
BassmanPaul said:
Anything made by man can and does go wrong. That said, take a look around todays world. LEDs are everywhere. You see them on cars, traffic lights, on buses, on bicycles, flashlights. They are literally everywhere. If they weren't reliable that wouldn't have happened. FWIW, the blue LED in my pre-amp has been in operation for over ten years.
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All what you mention is true. And great to know your preamp LED has gone 10+ like the Energizer Bunny :D .

But the specific point is the LEDs in the Streamliner 900. On the face of it, it seems to me that the failure rate in this application is on the high side. Would like to find this to be incorrect. Thus this thread.
 
#20
AchtungBass said:
No I haven't played one. But from the tons of posts in the threads (from some pretty reputable guys), I'm sure the 900 is my 1st choice for its serious tube tone.

I'd have to disagree with your assertion, though, that the others don't sound anything like the 900. The 900 does the tube emulation best (& does it really, really well), but the T.C.s can do the tube thing pretty well, too. And both the Shuttle 9 & F1, while definitely being cleaner/punchier can both dial in warmth too, just not like the 900. Still pretty nice choices though.
Click to expand...

As Kjung mentioned, having tried all four of those amps (and currently owning a ShuttleMax 9.2 that I got after selling the Streamliner), I can tell you that "warmth" and "tube emulation" are very wide categories tonally. You are correct that all three of them can get variations on either of those things (though the "tube emulation" aspects of the Shuttle and F1 are questionable if you are talking about the emulation of a full on tube amp like an SVT), but they really sound and importantly feel very different from one another!

Coming from playing all tube amps for several years, I personally didn't get along all that well with the Streamliner's baked in EQ and pillowy attack. The TC and the Shuttle are both very punchy by comparison, though the TC's built in compression and overall vibe definitely give it much more of a tube-like feel than the Shuttle IMO.
 

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