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Post by chickfrench on Jun 17, 2009 21:09:25 GMT -7
Not being located anywhere near a dealer is making this a hard decision.
Play alot of blues, r&b and country. Looking for an amp that can cover all.
KT45 - Love the soundclip and it appears from reading the different threads that it has a nice clean tone and will overdrive and sustain enough for blues.
Maz38 - From the clips I've heard, I really like the plush rich tones but the distortion is not to my pleasing...sounds metallic and way too crunchy for my taste.
RT66 - I'm thinking this would make for a great blues amp but would fall short on clean biting country.
Playing a blackface super now...guitars are AM Tele and 335.
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Post by Darkside on Jun 17, 2009 23:42:56 GMT -7
Hi, I have a KT45 and can confirm it sounds absolutely gorgeous, superb clean tone, great headroom and takes pedals like a duck to water BUT the distortion tone, well it's outstanding, but if you are relying on the amp alone for your distortion tones it's HUGELY LOUD! I mean really loud! Airbrake a definite. Pedals are the way to go for your drive tones at lower SPL's. I've no experience with the '66, but I reckon it should make a great blues amp, but I do have a Maz 18. Now that's a versatile amp! The natural overdrive with my Tele or Strat is glorious, never harsh or mettalic (to my ears) the cleans are simply beautiful, takes pedals superbly and I would think the Maz would be your best bet. As with anything it's always personal preference, post your area up and see if there's a Z-talk member near you who's got one, you never know, there's a lot of good folk here someone may invite you round for a demo. Best of luck!
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Post by troutstrat on Jun 18, 2009 10:12:18 GMT -7
I have a KT45 now and once had a RT66 at the same time. The 45 to me is a little brighter/clearer with the same set up (guitar, cables, etc...). Like the 66 the 45 to me also has thick single note tones available, which is why I kept the 45. With an Airbrake on the 4th click I can get a great overdrive: VOL 3pm, Bass 3pm, Treb maxed. Country clean bite is also dial-able.
When I had the 66 I used a Keeley Comp and that actually brightened the tone up for me just enough.
Also, I remember watching clips at musictoyz.com with a tele player country pickin' through a Route 66. Incredible. You can't go wrong either way. Truly incredible tones out of either amp. Get them both. Collect them all.
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Post by Darkside on Jun 19, 2009 3:11:35 GMT -7
lol, That IS the answer - buy them all! It's only a matter of time before you buy another Z. Why wait? ;D
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Post by Phil (aka Phil) on Jun 19, 2009 14:48:20 GMT -7
I've got all the above amps, and all are great as the others have said. I don't think you could go wrong with any of them, and I also personally think the MAZ 38 has a great smooth overdrive.
Having said that, I've got one word for you...
EZG-50!!!!!!!!
If you like that BF Super you'll love the EZG.
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Post by eliot1025 on Jun 20, 2009 8:50:53 GMT -7
I have a KT-45 and a Route 66. Both great amps. You're right, the KT does have enough overdrive and sustain for blues but I don't hear the KT as a blues amp - I just don't think it's voiced for that. Too much chime for blues IMO. Great country amp. The KT has my favorite break up tone, though. It's fantastic. But like Darkside said that tone is available only when cranked, and cranked is loud through a KT.
The Route is great for blues but is dark by nature so it doesn't have lots of the sparkle you usually associate with country tones. But I think the Route can be used for country with the right accessories. Get the right tubes for a brighter tone and more headroom, Zaolla Artist instrument cables, classic-style alnico pickups (try Sheptone), a speaker with lots of high-end detail (Celestion Blue or Gold or the Weber Blue Dogs/Blue Pups), and a good speaker cable (van den Hul Inspiration or Eleph cable from Solid Cable) and I think you'd be ready to bridge both worlds. If it's an all blues gig, try the Dynamic Arc Ultra cable from Solid Cables.
Or, get two amps. Or the Z-28 could probably cover country and blues.
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Post by chickfrench on Jun 20, 2009 10:50:25 GMT -7
Yeah I've been checking out the Z-28, looks very interesting. Everyone idea of a blues tone is different. The tone I like, someone else will hate and vice versa.
Personally, I just don't care for the blues tones I've heard from the Maz38 so far.
Take for instance my BF Super, I love the sound and tone at certain volumes, but it doesn't have enough head room for clean tone at higher volume and can sound sloppy and distorted at loud volumes. Looked at the EZG50 but I just don't know...50 watts may be the key to the "Super that never was". The Z-28 intrigues me at the present. I'll just have to play through a few to really know.
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Post by Darkside on Jun 28, 2009 18:49:19 GMT -7
Hey chickfrench, have you tried any amps yet? Just curious to see what you thought of them.
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Post by eliot1025 on Jun 30, 2009 1:33:48 GMT -7
Yeah I've been checking out the Z-28, looks very interesting. Everyone idea of a blues tone is different. The tone I like, someone else will hate and vice versa. Personally, I just don't care for the blues tones I've heard from the Maz38 so far. Take for instance my BF Super, I love the sound and tone at certain volumes, but it doesn't have enough head room for clean tone at higher volume and can sound sloppy and distorted at loud volumes. Looked at the EZG50 but I just don't know...50 watts may be the key to the "Super that never was". The Z-28 intrigues me at the present. I'll just have to play through a few to really know. Yep, and everyone's idea of a country tone is different, too. Maybe the Route 66 would work for you as a country amp. With traditional pups, good bright cables (Zaolla Artist), the right speaker, I can easily imagine it. There are some YouTube clips of country guitar played through a Route 66. They might be of help to you. I'm not sure if the Route 66 or the Z-28 will have more clean headroom than the SR. But it might. A good choice of tubes would help with that.
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Post by mtlrecords on Oct 12, 2009 15:03:05 GMT -7
If you like the blackface super sound you should try the EZG-50 or the Galaxie. I own both and would say that both amps can get into that territory, as well as cover some other areas too. Depending on how loud you want to get though, an airbrake (or similar) might be helpful. Although guitar based music is meant to be loud, so there is that to consider too.
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