Post by Phil (aka Phil) on Jan 29, 2009 5:51:23 GMT -7
Well, the Remedy…where do I start? We’ve been snowed in here the last few days so I’ve had a lot of time to play it. Here’s some observations.
I guess I’ll start with the tubes. The amp ships with a quad of JJ 6V6’s. I’ve got some experience with these tubes since I bought some for my Z-28 a while ago and also have played with one in my THD Univalve. For those that aren’t familiar with these tubes, they’re not quite like a “traditional” 6V6. They’re physically larger than a 6V6GT or GTA, but not as large as the 6V6ST “coke bottle”. The glass is very thick; it’s a pretty robust tube. They can take more plate voltage and can dissipate a little more wattage too. The downside if you’re 6V6 purist is that to my ears they’re not exactly like a vintage NOS 6V6 either. They have a thicker midrange and a little less sparkle than some NOS types. To my ear they have some 6L6 characteristics. For that reason I did not prefer them in my Z28; however they’re perfect for an amp like the Remedy which is of course a Marshally amp.
At first glance the controls on the Remedy may look confusing- after all, you’ve got a full complement of bass, middle, and treble controls and also a “high” and “low” volume for each channel. This may lead you to think that there’s some overlap in the high channel volume and treble control, or the bass channel and the bass control, for example. This is not the case. The amp is very easy to dial in. I quickly found a method that works well for me. What I do is start with the bass, middle, and treble controls all at 12:00, and both channel volumes off. To me the most powerful control on the amp is the high channel volume. Even with the normal (bass channel) volume control all the way off raising this control gives that great Marshally sound we all know and love, but with the usual Dr. Z touches.
The “normal” or low volume to me is more of a lower midrange or thickness control. It adds a little bass too but it mainly fills out the sound and gives the lower mids a wooly thick sound as the amp gets more distorted. For my taste the normal volume always is set lower than the high volume, especially with Strats.
For example, one of my favorite tones of all time is on the Guitar World DVD “How To Play The Jimi Hendrix Experience’s Axis:Bold As Love” with Andy Aledort. Andy’s using his vintage Strat with a hand wired Marshall Jimi Hendrix 100JH half stack. Even though I’m a dedicated Z guy I’ve always said I’d be happy with that tone for my Marshall moments. Of course, I’m not Andy Aledort either Well, just raise the high volume on the Remedy and there it is, and I’ll bet it’s at a lot lower volume than the 100JH, especially considering that the Remedy can do it perfectly even with the ½ power switch engaged.
The bass, middle, and treble controls are more of the fine tuning variety. The old phrase “can’t get a bad sound out of them” comes to mind. The amp never gets muddy even with the bass set high and never gets harsh even with the treble set high. The mid control adds thickness but never gets honky.
So, for my Grosh-Remedy-ZBest rig one setting that sounds great is the high volume at noon, the normal volume anywhere from off to 10:00, bass at 9:00, mids from noon to 3:00 and treble at noon.
The amp is very percussive, although to me it’s not as percussive as Dr. Z’s most percussive amps like the KT-45 (especially SS rectified), and the Rx’s. This is especially true as the amp gets more distorted, as it transitions into a creamy overdrive that’s perfect for neck pickup Dicky Betts leads. Actually that’s one of the things that really impresses me about the Remedy; how easy it is to play. The string-to-string balance is incredible, even for a Z. It reminds me a lot of the Carmen Ghia or a MAZ in that respect. It’s got a great compression under distortion while still retaining articulation and dynamics. It’s got a great creamy, smooth overdrive and the sustain at all volumes is great. The Remedy cleans up very well with the guitar’s volume control too.
The volume is quite manageable, although I’ll say that Amy says it’s “still too loud”, even on ½ power. Then again she says the Mini is too loud The ½ power volume is very comparable to the Z-28, no surprise considering they’re both 20 watt-ish 6V6 amps. The full power (40W) setting is decently loud, but nowhere near what I perceive the volume to be on the SRZ. I think that word I just used, perceived, is appropriate. The Remedy is a very smooth, creamy amp that you play for a while and don’t realize how loud it really is. The SRZ to my ears has more treble on tap, especially with the presence control, and can seem even louder due to the EL34 upper mid crunch. The Remedy can do the “cutting” overdrive with the high volume up and the normal volume set lower, but it still doesn’t have the killer instinct of the SRZ. They’re totally different Marshally amps.
The half power switch works exactly as advertised. The Remedy sounds identical at either 40W or 20W, except of course for the volume and the change in impact from not driving the speakers as hard. This combined with the versatile channel volume controls makes the Remedy sort of a Marshall tone lab; you can have fun for hours playing with different Marshally tones that you know and love with different levels of volume and overdrive.
I guess my final take on the Remedy is that it is to Marshall what the EZG-50 is to Fender. They both take the best of the amps their tone is based on, eliminate the shortcomings, and add all those Dr. Z touches we all love like tight bass, great feel even at lower volumes, non-harsh treble, string to string definition, incredible sustain, etc. It’s pretty much the perfect Marshall style amp.
I guess I’ll start with the tubes. The amp ships with a quad of JJ 6V6’s. I’ve got some experience with these tubes since I bought some for my Z-28 a while ago and also have played with one in my THD Univalve. For those that aren’t familiar with these tubes, they’re not quite like a “traditional” 6V6. They’re physically larger than a 6V6GT or GTA, but not as large as the 6V6ST “coke bottle”. The glass is very thick; it’s a pretty robust tube. They can take more plate voltage and can dissipate a little more wattage too. The downside if you’re 6V6 purist is that to my ears they’re not exactly like a vintage NOS 6V6 either. They have a thicker midrange and a little less sparkle than some NOS types. To my ear they have some 6L6 characteristics. For that reason I did not prefer them in my Z28; however they’re perfect for an amp like the Remedy which is of course a Marshally amp.
At first glance the controls on the Remedy may look confusing- after all, you’ve got a full complement of bass, middle, and treble controls and also a “high” and “low” volume for each channel. This may lead you to think that there’s some overlap in the high channel volume and treble control, or the bass channel and the bass control, for example. This is not the case. The amp is very easy to dial in. I quickly found a method that works well for me. What I do is start with the bass, middle, and treble controls all at 12:00, and both channel volumes off. To me the most powerful control on the amp is the high channel volume. Even with the normal (bass channel) volume control all the way off raising this control gives that great Marshally sound we all know and love, but with the usual Dr. Z touches.
The “normal” or low volume to me is more of a lower midrange or thickness control. It adds a little bass too but it mainly fills out the sound and gives the lower mids a wooly thick sound as the amp gets more distorted. For my taste the normal volume always is set lower than the high volume, especially with Strats.
For example, one of my favorite tones of all time is on the Guitar World DVD “How To Play The Jimi Hendrix Experience’s Axis:Bold As Love” with Andy Aledort. Andy’s using his vintage Strat with a hand wired Marshall Jimi Hendrix 100JH half stack. Even though I’m a dedicated Z guy I’ve always said I’d be happy with that tone for my Marshall moments. Of course, I’m not Andy Aledort either Well, just raise the high volume on the Remedy and there it is, and I’ll bet it’s at a lot lower volume than the 100JH, especially considering that the Remedy can do it perfectly even with the ½ power switch engaged.
The bass, middle, and treble controls are more of the fine tuning variety. The old phrase “can’t get a bad sound out of them” comes to mind. The amp never gets muddy even with the bass set high and never gets harsh even with the treble set high. The mid control adds thickness but never gets honky.
So, for my Grosh-Remedy-ZBest rig one setting that sounds great is the high volume at noon, the normal volume anywhere from off to 10:00, bass at 9:00, mids from noon to 3:00 and treble at noon.
The amp is very percussive, although to me it’s not as percussive as Dr. Z’s most percussive amps like the KT-45 (especially SS rectified), and the Rx’s. This is especially true as the amp gets more distorted, as it transitions into a creamy overdrive that’s perfect for neck pickup Dicky Betts leads. Actually that’s one of the things that really impresses me about the Remedy; how easy it is to play. The string-to-string balance is incredible, even for a Z. It reminds me a lot of the Carmen Ghia or a MAZ in that respect. It’s got a great compression under distortion while still retaining articulation and dynamics. It’s got a great creamy, smooth overdrive and the sustain at all volumes is great. The Remedy cleans up very well with the guitar’s volume control too.
The volume is quite manageable, although I’ll say that Amy says it’s “still too loud”, even on ½ power. Then again she says the Mini is too loud The ½ power volume is very comparable to the Z-28, no surprise considering they’re both 20 watt-ish 6V6 amps. The full power (40W) setting is decently loud, but nowhere near what I perceive the volume to be on the SRZ. I think that word I just used, perceived, is appropriate. The Remedy is a very smooth, creamy amp that you play for a while and don’t realize how loud it really is. The SRZ to my ears has more treble on tap, especially with the presence control, and can seem even louder due to the EL34 upper mid crunch. The Remedy can do the “cutting” overdrive with the high volume up and the normal volume set lower, but it still doesn’t have the killer instinct of the SRZ. They’re totally different Marshally amps.
The half power switch works exactly as advertised. The Remedy sounds identical at either 40W or 20W, except of course for the volume and the change in impact from not driving the speakers as hard. This combined with the versatile channel volume controls makes the Remedy sort of a Marshall tone lab; you can have fun for hours playing with different Marshally tones that you know and love with different levels of volume and overdrive.
I guess my final take on the Remedy is that it is to Marshall what the EZG-50 is to Fender. They both take the best of the amps their tone is based on, eliminate the shortcomings, and add all those Dr. Z touches we all love like tight bass, great feel even at lower volumes, non-harsh treble, string to string definition, incredible sustain, etc. It’s pretty much the perfect Marshall style amp.