Streamliner 900 vs Tiny Terror 1000

Neither one is a tube amp. Both are hybrids, with a tube preamp. There are extensive threads on the Streamliner, and a few on the Orange. 2 different flavors, so as always, it's best to audition them in person.

 

I'll follow this thread- I've got a similar one going comparing the Streamliner and the GK Fusion 550 (which just showed up today). I didn't dig the Orange TT500- found it a one trick pony....

 

I have plenty of experience with the Streamliner and just a bit with the Terror Bass. The SL900 has been my sole head for the past year or so - used mostly with an Ampeg SVT410HLF and an Ashdown 1x15 with an Eminence speaker. Smarter people than me can speak more to its qualities, but I will say it's a great, versatile head that will serve you well in a variety of genres.

I've had the chance to gig with a BT500 just once, paired with an Orange 4x10. I thought it sounded really amazing, and got a great vintage rock sound immediately. I'm sure in part this was because it was a matched rig (with Orange Terrors for the guitars as well) that the soundguy had been working with for a few days, but I was amazed at how well it articulated my sound. I'm maybe a little doubtful, though, that the Orange would be as flexible when playing outside of a traditional rock setting. I would say that if you're more likely to play slap than with a pick, the Streamliner will probably better meet your needs. (As for me, I'm agonizing over whether I want to make the switch. Grass is always oranger on the other side)

 

I'm a huge fan of the STM-900. It's a very versatile head with a good "baked in" voice. However, if you replace V2 with a 12AU7, it becomes an amazingly neutral and balanced head with a myriad of tones available, a ton of power, and smooth through absolutely overdriven, distorted fuzz tones. Phenomenal head, can't say enough good about it.

 

I'd be very interested to hear the Aged Horse's thoughts on this one.

 

I would, too, but am very happy with mine. I always thought it had just a little too much bottom end, and if you dialed it down, the tone on higher notes got a little thin. With this tube switch, it is much more balanced and rich.

 

I just wish the Streamliner was rackmountable. Or is it and I just don't know it?

 

Bah, I tried that, didn't work for me.

Didn't take away the 'baked-in' boomy-ness I, & rest of ppl in my 3 bands found. No clarity at all for me from the STL, not even with sealed NV610, AE410 & other cabs I tried it with.
The Shuttle on the other hand, sounds good with any cab-imo etc...

 

It is. They offer rack ears for it.

Perhaps the cab has something to do with it, but it's wonderfully flat for me with a Goliath III.

 

I remember a discussion where he confirmed that tube rolling a Shuttle 6.0 had little effect. I'm wondering if the Streamliner is different - and if there's a tech explanation for the EQ change you're hearing.

FWIW I've never tested a Streamliner but have been really put off by reports of its shy midrange.

 

I know the STL is VERY diffrrent to a Shuttle, & I'm glad GB's put out both. Both good amps & as the GB boys've said many times, some ppl will like the Shuttle & some the STL.
Strange thing is for me at least, I've used all tube amps all my life, & I like the SVT, YBA300, V4/B & BH, & other all tube lovelies, but like the Shuttle far more than the Streamliner.

 

IME, tube rolling the only tube in a shuttle (or in other GB single tube hybrids) didn't make much, if any, of a noticeable change in their tone for me, but tube rolling in the streamliner has.

i'm basically an 'old school' tube amp guy (i.e. SVTs, V4B, 2000S, & Fenders) and for my taste, the shuttles and GBE series, while being nice amps, 'feel' a bit too thin & sterile. the streamliner 900 is the first hybrid (all tube front end) that actually sounds and feels more like a 100% tube amp to me.

BTW, tonight i tried an AU7 in the V2 position of my SL900, and didn't get the same results that others have (the bass control became almost 'ineffective' and the amp lost it's 'charm') so i went back to running either a 5751 in V1, or NOS RCA 7025's in all three positions.

i have also not found the 900 to be lacking in midrange at all. you just have to experiment with different eq settings to bring it out.

 

The Streamliner has a six-stage pre-amp with three tubes, so the tubes have a much larger impact on the tone than on a Shuttle with only one tube that is only used once. Most of the tone in a Shuttle (or other single tube hybrid) comes from the solid-state components in the pre-amp, whereas the pre on the Streamliner is a true tube pre. IME, this makes an enormous difference.

"Tube rolling" is a term for trying different tubes. You "roll" through all the tubes in your inventory.

That was actually the point of the 12AU7 in V2. It didn't make the bass control "ineffective," but did reduce the gain on the bass, and did reduce the efficacy of said knob somewhat. Since the Streamliners have so much bass, and the knob is so touchy, this change makes it much easier to tame. You simply have to realign your thinking, and treat it as a whole new amp - one that has a reasonable amount of bass now. After playing it for several hours with the 12AU7 last night, I ended up with Gain and Volume at noon (button in), Bass at noon, Mids at 1:00 (600 Hz), Treble bouncing between noon and 2:00. This allowed me to go between really nice, slightly overdriven, slightly boosted '60s P Bass thump (treble at noon); and grindy, midrangey '80s rock tones with the turn of a single knob.

There may be some difference as I am using a '60s NOS Sylvania 12AU7WA rather than a straight 12AU7. There may also be some differences with input basses (I use a modified P Bass with no tone control, volume, or capacitor, so it's a pretty open, airy tone going in) or expectations, or gain settings, or knob twiddling, or...

These amps are very versatile, and love to have their knobs twiddled (why does that sound so dirty?), and you need to do it to a larger degree after swapping in a 12AU7WA in V2. Even with stock tubes, they can be made to be quite mid-rangey, but with this new tube in V2, it's easier, and the tone doesn't get as thin when bringing the mids forward. IME, YMMV, etc.

 

You should give this amp a try again IMO. My guess is, as many have said, it takes a while to really understand both the gain structure and the EQ, and once you do, it is kind of magic. The idea of this head sounding muddy or boomy with those cabs suggest possible user error.

Of course, if you are happy with what you have, it is a mute point. However, since you post in every Streamliner thread, it seems you might be wondering what you were missing. See if you can borrow one again. Just don't dial down the bass and think 'well, that didn't do it, so that is that'. LOTS of interaction with the gain and the relatively proportion of bass/mid/hi cut and boost. Quite amazing, actually.

 

I understand it's a nice amp, but so many ppl rave about it, I just like to post my experiences with it.
It IS quite cab sensitive & I just to convey my opinion.
I DID state how GB said some will dig the Shuttle a some the STL. That's cool.
I am very happy with what I have now & have NO desire to revisit a STL tho I did use a friends STL 900 recently & it reinforced my views.
Good for some, not for others, like every amp.
I'll not post my views if ppl find them un-helpful tho, no probs.

 

I found it boomy at first, too. It takes more than a few minutes (more than a few hours, actually) to figure out how to really make the EQ work for you.

It isn't you posting your experiences that bothers people, it's the way you go about it. Whether intentional or not, it comes across as argumentative and confrontational. "Bah. I tried that, and it didn't work." Really? You don't have one, and we just began discussing putting a 12AU7 in V2 a couple days ago, so it's difficult to see your post as entirely accurate (it may be, but it's tough to see it that way). You see where we would find that off-putting? Simply saying that you had one, and were unable to get a tone you liked from it would be enough. Saying that you made every mod we've discussed (to an amp you don't own), and none of them get rid of a certain tone you don't want simply isn't plausible, particularly when many of us have made the mods, and found them to be effective.

I hope the above reads the way I intended it to. I'm not out to bash, or hurt, or argue. I simply am trying to explain why we react to your STM posts the way we do.

 

Nah, I'm a BIG fan of posts by people who have a different opinion on stuff. I've just found the head less cab dependent as I really got to understand the MASSIVE difference in EQ functionality with this head versus almost every other head I've owned other than the old Bassman heads and that Alembic preamp.

I had similar experiences with some cabs as you had, but really don't anymore. Some of the EQ 'curves' I use are very strange versus the more traditional 'channel strip' type EQ controls on most heads. However, once you get past that, and explore the VERY complex interaction betweent he gain, volume and EQ, it is quite amazing, and really does emulate a big old fat all tube head.

That being said, it sounds nothing like the Shuttles, no matter what knobs you turn, so +1 there. I again still use my Markbass F500 (relatively similar to the Shuttle) for many of my gigs, and dig that 'bright, punchy, quick' feel and tone for many contexts.

Edit: Also, your posts are a good warning to potential buyers. The Genz site describes this amp as a 'simplification' of functionality, etc. (i.e., the 'Streamlining' of controls versus their other amps). This is, IMO, not accurate and a bit misleading. I find this amp to have one of the more complex front ends out there, and you can REALLY make it sound bad if you haven't really spent time with those interactive controls, and kind of 'think outside the box' versus the very straight ahead EQ and gain controls of most other amps. It is, IMO, more of a 'tweakers' amp than the Shuttle Max, which is kind of hard for most (including me for a while) to get their heads around.