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Post by Bill on Jul 22, 2005 16:24:37 GMT -7
RMC got one in, they called, and I bought it as it was being pulled out of the box. I've had about an hour to mess around and WOW, this is one serious amp! My Z path has been Maz Jr, Maz Sr, Carmen Ghia, Z28, and now the RX...and not surprisingly at 45 watts this thing literally explodes with power. It's on par with the Maz Sr until you step on the overdose pedal and then it's HANG ON! I'm plugged into a Z 1x12 closed back w/an Emi Swamp Thang (150w) speaker and can't imagine needing an additional speaker, unless I want to go deaf. It's very touch responsive and the notes jump out with great articulation, so you better be on top of your game with this amp (not that I am by any stretch) cause it will show everything, be it right or wrong. With the overdose ON (boosting the EF86) and the guitar volume backed off a bit, hybrid picking comes easy as the slightest pop of the middle finger sends the notes flying off the fretboard...a very nice feel. Rolling up the guitar to max gives a very aggressive tube overdrive and lots of sustain. Haven't tried my OD pedals yet, not sure if they'll be needed. The biggest challenge for me will be taming the beast!
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Post by kingink on Jul 24, 2005 20:10:50 GMT -7
Sounds great, Madison! Can you clarify please: are you saying that the overdose function is foot-switchable? I thought it wasn't, but cool if it is.
How does the RXES compare to the Maz Sr. in terms of break up? Does the RX start to overdrive earlier than the Sr. (with or without the overdose)? I love my Sr., but I could use a wee bit less headroom, and I'm interested in the RXES for that reason.
Keep us posted on your findings with this amp. Enquiring minds want to know.
David
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Post by kingink on Jul 24, 2005 20:34:36 GMT -7
Oops! Just read your previous thread. Overdose is now footswitchable. Cool.
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Post by Bill on Jul 25, 2005 5:10:20 GMT -7
The common ground of the two are of course, 4 EL84 power tubes. The RX has the coveted EF86, which I came to love in the Z28. Now if Z would only adapt an overdose to the Z28!
Anyway, if you prefer more gain on tap, you'll like the RXES. It's a bit brighter sounding to me than any Z amp I've owned to date, and I have the treble knob set at only 2. For this reason I'm thinking of possibly moving a strat and finding a Cobra or something with 'buckers.
The Tom Anderson T smokes with this amp! Very nice cleans, lots of girth. Step on the overdose and this is where it leaves the Maz Sr behind. In all fairness the Sr with a booster would stand equal ground to the RX so YMMV. I'm fussy about OD pedals and AB'ing the overdose to my RC Booster had me sending the RC back over to the Z28 where it does so well. The complete transparency of the overdose is a plus feature for those who like an aggressive tube overdrive.
Each of the five Z's I've owned, have in order climbed a rung on the ladder in a sense. I thought the 28 would never be surpassed. It's a keeper, but has moved to position 2!
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Post by jtracy on Jul 25, 2005 10:24:49 GMT -7
Madison,
Great review on the RXES!!!! My 1 and 2 amps are the RXES and the Z-28 also........
Jim
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Post by Bill on Jul 26, 2005 4:35:55 GMT -7
Well at least two of us here have got their act together!
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Post by myles on Jul 26, 2005 10:23:36 GMT -7
Congrats.
On the 45 watt thing though .... these amps on a bench are typically even higher in wattage. The transformers are also quite oversize so this amp can be very strong and very loud when you want it to be with no problem-o !
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Post by jtracy on Jul 26, 2005 10:32:02 GMT -7
Madison,
I still have to send my RXES back to the good Doctor for the Overdose switch to pedal upgrade. I am glad to have the Z28 as a "back-up" ;D
Jim
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Post by Bill on Jul 26, 2005 11:31:12 GMT -7
Hey Jim, despite the convenience of the footswitch I'm finding I leave the overdose on all the time and roll my guitar volume back to 4 or 5. By rolling up you find many, many shades of tone...from clean, to a bit of hair, to all out mean and lots in between.
Since I've been using Dr Z amps (close to 5 years) I've become accustomed to working the guitar volume and tone controls. Use to just max 'em both on the guitar and leave it with my old amps.
If you want LOUD and clean you'd have to disable the overdose, as I'm sure you're aware!
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Post by jtracy on Jul 26, 2005 12:02:47 GMT -7
Madison, I run my Z-28 pretty much dimmed out and do use the guitar's volume and tone controls to get my tone. But with the RXES, I seem to keep the volume around 2 o'clock and hit the Overdose when needed . A Foot switch will be a God send. I also seem to be using both the overdose switch and an overdrive pedal mostly separately but sometimes together for a great gain crunch tone. I use the overdrive pedal to really just add some compression to the Overdose's drive. Jim
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Post by Bill on Jul 26, 2005 12:26:24 GMT -7
Whoa, that's getting up there in tinnitus 'ville! But I can see that setting working well too. Until I get this thing over to a band rehearsal, I won't get it all figured out.
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Post by Bill on Sept 19, 2005 6:26:34 GMT -7
Just an update from this earlier post. I attended a huge all day outdoor jam yesterday and really got to put the RxES to the test with a lot of surrounding gear to compare to...I LOVE this amp! I had the amp volume set to 3:00 all day, bass noon, mid 2:00, treble 9:00...running into a Z cab loaded with the Weber alnico 50w Blue Dog. Just a tuner and Rt 66(never used). Into the Anderson tele/ Fralin blues bridge, w/ hipshot bender. Easily my favorite rig so far, lots of power on tap, compressed singing leads, high twang factor on bridge, bluesy on neck, very versatile. The footswitch to the overdose is an amazing upgrade...just awesome. The Doc should be very proud of this amp.
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Post by pjacques on Sept 26, 2005 15:35:14 GMT -7
Just picked up an ES myself. I bought a Mini Z a few weeks ago and was hooked. Using it with a Fulltone Distortion Pro and cannot believe how huge it sounds. Nice to hear there's a footswitch upgrade for the Overdose switch. That will be huge. With the Fulltone andthe ES you still get major volume know love on the guitar which is very cool and similiar to the Mini Z. Played a pretty big gig for an LA radio station at the Whisky last Saturday and all the guitar players from the other bands were just drooling during soundcheck. They all had Marshall half-stacks of varying flavors and the Prescription ES with the Fulltone made them sound like Crates. Unbelievably cool amps, but you definitely have to be on top of your game as every little pitch scratch, scrape and bump comes through as loud and clear as the notes.
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Post by Bill on Sept 26, 2005 17:36:23 GMT -7
Played a pretty big gig for an LA radio station at the Whisky last Saturday and all the guitar players from the other bands were just drooling during soundcheck. Been getting similar results everywhere I take my mine...a killer amp.
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Post by imyurhuckleberry on Oct 3, 2005 20:13:09 GMT -7
People are blown away by it. Z is gonna need a bigger facility soon, word of mouth.
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Post by myles on Oct 4, 2005 11:03:00 GMT -7
RMC got one in, they called, and I bought it as it was being pulled out of the box. I've had about an hour to mess around and WOW, this is one serious amp! My Z path has been Maz Jr, Maz Sr, Carmen Ghia, Z28, and now the RX...and not surprisingly at 45 watts this thing literally explodes with power. It's on par with the Maz Sr until you step on the overdose pedal and then it's HANG ON! I'm plugged into a Z 1x12 closed back w/an Emi Swamp Thang (150w) speaker and can't imagine needing an additional speaker, unless I want to go deaf. It's very touch responsive and the notes jump out with great articulation, so you better be on top of your game with this amp (not that I am by any stretch) cause it will show everything, be it right or wrong. With the overdose ON (boosting the EF86) and the guitar volume backed off a bit, hybrid picking comes easy as the slightest pop of the middle finger sends the notes flying off the fretboard...a very nice feel. Rolling up the guitar to max gives a very aggressive tube overdrive and lots of sustain. Haven't tried my OD pedals yet, not sure if they'll be needed. The biggest challenge for me will be taming the beast! Happy playing! Be sure to try that low level input.... it does a lot more than you may be used to on other low and high level input amps. .... gives you a second amp for the most part.
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