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Post by neville01 on Dec 28, 2012 18:16:19 GMT -7
Hi everyone. My name is Neville and I've just joined the forum. I have just purchased a Jaz 20 / 40 and thought I'd join the forum and chat to other Z members. I should be receiving the amp in the next few days. I have had a ton of different amps over the years but never a Z. I play and teach guitar for a living. I have always owned Fender style amps but have found reliability problems in the recent models. The chance to buy a mint 2010 jaz 2x10 with built in z brake light was too much for me to resist and I just pulled the trigger. The idea of having a reliable hand wired amp is a big thing for me. So any way, looking forward to it. I hope I've made the right decision, it was down to this, a PRS Dallas or a Fender Vibro King.
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Post by heynewguy (Ol’ Bill) on Dec 28, 2012 19:38:14 GMT -7
Welcome to the forum neville01. Lots of great people and info here. You're gonna love that JAZ. Let us know when it arrives.
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Post by Eddie on Dec 29, 2012 0:12:42 GMT -7
Hello!
Welcome to Z Talk. I think you will really like the JAZ. I had a chance to hear one, albeit for a short time only, and I thought it was pretty amazing.
Drop us another note when you get it and have had a chance to play it a bit.
Best, Eddie
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Post by brayks on Dec 29, 2012 5:15:47 GMT -7
Welcome to the forum. I was at the Doc's when he was finishing up his first JAZ that he was going to present to Mr. Walsh. Mike was pretty "jazzed" about it (sorry) and was like a little kid showing off his new toy. I have a feeling you're not going to regret your decision. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.
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Post by doctorice on Dec 29, 2012 7:33:00 GMT -7
Welcome to the forum and congrats on your incoming JAZ.
I am a big fan of this amp and have used it for many of my rock 'n' roll gigs over the last couple years. Not that I play a ton of gigs, but they are frequent enough for me to know if I'm happy with an amp or not in a live setting.
Very good on the Brake Lite because it will let you drive the amp without blowing out your ears.
Some notes that may be helpful:
1. Think of the Volume knob as controlling preamp gain and overdrive. Master controls power amp drive. Set Master high and keep V low for cleaner blackface-type sound. Note: Master is not really a master volume as the tone will change depending where that knob is set.
2. The tone stack is passive. The amp achieves front-end maximum gain when all three controls are maxed out.
3. I find I use quite low settings of the Bass knob most of the time. However, the tone controls are interactive and there is no reason not to experiment with "extreme" settings. There are lots of interesting tones in there.
4. The amp is a bit bright compared to many Zs, imo. You may find running Treble a little lower than what you might use on other amps to be helpful.
5. The tremolo is fantastic. With moderate settings it seems to disappear when one is playing a lot of notes, then it reappears when holding a note or chord. Very musical effect.
Finally, I will tell you that I didn't immediately fall in love with the JAZ, but that's because I didn't spend a lot of time with it. A few hours of geeky knob tweaking changed that ;D
Anyway, eager to hear your impressions.
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Post by neville01 on Dec 29, 2012 7:43:18 GMT -7
Hey guys, thank you all so much for the responses. Doctorice, i appreciate you taking the time to type such detailed information. The daunting prospect of getting that new amp and trying to dial it in will be much easier with your tips, thank you.
I should have it on Wed, i will drop back then and let you know my thoughts. I have got my hands on a couple of nice Overdrive pedals to try with it. Some are mine, others borrowed from friends. I have a Wampler Paisley Drive (my favourite so far through a Fender amp), a Keeley 808, a OCD, a Fuchs Plush and an Xotic EP and an RC Boost. My intention with these units is to add a little hair to the amp for solos. It will be interesting to see how it takes pedals, all though I don't use a lot, just some Overdrive, a Wah and perhaps a little subtle delay. I understand the Jaz also has a loop which I have always felt is the best place for delays. In front of my Fender's used to get a little funky from time to time.
Have a great New Year everyone.
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Post by nicholas on Dec 29, 2012 13:56:07 GMT -7
Welcome to the forum!
The JAZ is a great amp. I love mine.I have a 1-12 combo. As Mike said the trem is beautiful, as is the reverb. I have a bl in mine also and it works very well with the amp when used in moderation. Not much to add behind the already stated tips. But the half power switch is handy as well.
Enjoy that sucker!
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Post by wayben on Jan 1, 2013 14:57:28 GMT -7
Welcome to the forum and gratz on a great amp. I run mine thru a 2X10 cab and am very happy with it. As mentioned above the trem is very musical. Looking forward to hearing what you think of it.
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Post by Maddog on Jan 1, 2013 15:54:30 GMT -7
Welcome to the forum. You've got a great amp! I think you'll like it better than the fenders....
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Post by zpilot on Jan 1, 2013 23:33:40 GMT -7
Welcome. You're gonna like the JAZ. Especially with the 10's. It might take you a little while to dial in the settings you like. I run the master wide open or close to it most of the time. I only use the 20 watt setting at rehearsals. I have my treble between 9:00 and 11:00. It likes just about every pedal I've played through it. With your history with Fender amps you're gonna love the reverb.
Like you I've mostly played through Fenders over the years. I had a Vibro-King when they first came out. The JAZ does a better job on clean settings. You would really like it with another 2x10 cabinet.
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Post by simpleton on Jan 2, 2013 9:35:48 GMT -7
Have fun with that JAZ....That's one that I'd love to have one day. Don't let your traditional Fender settings limit your options with the Z. I kinda had to rethink what I was looking for when I bought my Ghia. Previous amps ( /13 10/20 & Swart STR ) where more Fendery... I haven't played the JAZ but i figured my .02 might be practical in some way. Let the music lead the way and your ears will follow. The JAZ sounds like the complete package to me! Welcome to the forum.
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Post by neville01 on Jan 2, 2013 16:23:31 GMT -7
More great advice guys. I'm still waiting for delivery as the New Year has held up UPS with their deliveries. I have also just go hold of a Lovepedal Eternity Kanji so it's going to be interesting to try out these pedals. Like Zpilot, my intention is to run the master wide open as I'm used to not have master volume amps (even during my metal phase durning the 90's I always hunted down non master volume Marshall's) and set the volume to just a little hair on the tone when guitar vol on 10 then pull the Zbrake back to the required vol and boost with an overdrive. I use the guitar volume a lot for different tones. I'm not much of a pedal jumper. I will upload my thoughts and maybe a video as soon as I get her.
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