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Post by joelostrom86 on Oct 20, 2006 10:44:15 GMT -7
I'm looking into buying a new amp in the future, and I know its going to be a Dr. Z. But I'm not sure exactly which one to get to maximize the tone I'm looking for. I really enjoyed the tones Brad Paisley was able to get out of his "Mud on the Tires" album from his Mazerati and Z-28. The "Time Well Wasted" album had some good tones, but they were definately fuzzier and fatter sounding. The tone i'm looking for is sort of a mixture between the twangy, smooth, snappy tone of a Maz 18jr. and the thicker, fatter, crunchier tones of an RXES. What I want to know is, for those of you who have an RXES, how versatile is the RXES? Is the tone pretty fuzzy and crunchy even at lower volumes, or can you have a smooth, twangy, snappy tone that you can get from a Maz 18jr.? How many different kinds of tones can this amp produce? Is it good for both country and rock? Does the fact that the RXES has no master volume amp limit the amount of crunch you can attain without jacking the volume through the roof? That is the kind of tone I'm sort of aiming for. Kind of a mix between a Maz18/Prescription ES. Anybody have any suggestions? Thanks, Joel
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Post by osostrings on Oct 20, 2006 21:38:49 GMT -7
In all confidence, you can get most conceivable tones with this amp with various guitars and speaker setups. It really is that versatile - at least in my opinion. As for the twangy tones you mentioned - absolutely. Get an open-back with some alnico speakers...grab a tele...plug into the low input...you won't be able to ask for a twangier tone...with such fat richness to boot!
I've owned the RxES for a year and every time I plug in, I'm convinced that it is one of the most interesting and compelling-sounding amp designs out there today...period.
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Post by Chris_Ferreira on Oct 22, 2006 21:58:28 GMT -7
Hey joel,
When I decided to get a Z, I had a really hard time deciding between the RX ES and the Stangray. I've wanted a VOX AC-30 for years and when I heard the Stangray I was blown away. But then I heard the RX ES, and I couldn't get that sound out of my head. A large part of the reason I ultimately went for the RX was that I felt like it was probably a little more versatile.
It seemed to my ears (and other people on these boards seem to agree) that the Stangray was always going to sound great and very distinctive, but that it was essentially one really great clean sound. I opted for the amp that had a great clean sound but could also get me very close to the tone of my favorite guitarist, Jimmy Page.
The amp has a great clean sound and it stays pretty clean until you get to around 11 or 12 o'clock (with my speakers leastaways). 11 or 12 o'clock on this amp is really loud.
As for your master volume question, that might be more of an issue. In order to get this amp breaking up at lower volumes, you'll probably need either pedals, a power attenuator, or to play the amp through one 12" very inefficient speaker through an open-back cab. It is very, very loud.
You should check through the forums at some of the other threads, as I think they'll address some of your questions. In one thread, it was generally the concensus that the Maz38 was the most versatile Z, that its master volume allowed for amazing tones at lower volumes, and that it could do everything from jazz to Zeppelin.
Hope this helps a little, and good luck with your search.
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Post by dock66 on Oct 23, 2006 7:07:48 GMT -7
RxEs likes to be pushed a little hard and air brake will allow this amp to really shine.
dock66
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Post by joelostrom86 on Oct 23, 2006 10:40:10 GMT -7
Chris: Hey thanks for the tips. It was a concern of mine whether or not this amp was versatile. I understand what you mean about the Stang Ray, having a very distinct tone. It's a good tone, but if you want versatility you should probably go with something else. I do use a Boss CS-3 compressor. You suppose that would be able to suppress some of the "loudness" you talked about? I understand that it would be a really loud amp (45 Watts) for just a home amp. What do you do about the volume when you really want some gain in your tone? You probably know "CountryShawn" from the tele forum (He lives very close to me and taught me how to play guitar). He has a Maz 18 jr. and I like his tone. The only thing I would like differently for myself is maybe a little thicker and fatter tones with a bit more hair on it. I think the RXES would be just what the Dr. ordered. Have a good one. Joel
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Post by kruzty on Oct 23, 2006 10:57:00 GMT -7
If CountryShawn will let you, play around with the control on hi Jr. You should be able to get plenty of hair and a pretty thick tone with it. It might depend what speakers he's using with it, too. Start here:
input - high volume - 11:00 high - 12:00 mid - 12:00 low - 11:00 cut - 10:00
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Post by ruger9 on Oct 23, 2006 11:40:49 GMT -7
Also, keep in mind that Country Shawn uses 2x10"s, while brad Paisley uses 2x12"s. As a rule, the 12's would probably be a bit fatter than the 10's (but this depends highly on the speakers & amp, of course...)
Brad was using 1 Weber Silver Bell (12") and one Weber Blue Bell (12") in his RxES on TWW/Mud On The Lens.
When I buy, regardless of which amp I settle on, I'm getting a head- so I can experiment with different speakers/speaker sizes/cabs over time.
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Post by Chris_Ferreira on Oct 23, 2006 17:19:41 GMT -7
I do use a Boss CS-3 compressor. You suppose that would be able to suppress some of the "loudness" you talked about? I understand that it would be a really loud amp (45 Watts) for just a home amp. What do you do about the volume when you really want some gain in your tone? Hey Joel, I have very little experience with compressors, as I'm not really comfortable using them, but I'm not sure that it would really be able to tame the ES's volume and still let the tone you wanted to come through. I played a show two weeks ago where the volume was sitting between noon and 1 o'clock. When I hit the overdose, the tone was amazing. But last Friday at a show I was really only able to get the amp volume up to about 9:30, and the overdose wasn't quite as satisfactory at that level, so I used a Fulldrive II (an old blue one) for my drive, and I actually liked that sound better compared to the RX ES at low volume. At high volume, the overdose leaves the Fulldrive in the dirt. I am contemplating buying a Z Airbrake so that I can push the amp harder and get that great tone at a "reasonable" level. An important thing to remember, I think, is that the overdose switch doesn't just give you a more "driven" or rocking tone, it also increases your volume. (I think the overdose circuit is a 3db boost, if I recall correctly). Given how loud you have to have the amp in the first place in order for the overdose to shine, this further volume increase can be difficult to manage. I'm still on the bottom of the learning curve in terms of wrangling the overdose circuit, but it's the best lead tone I've ever been able to get my hands on, so for me it's worth the time investment to get it right. Hope this helps. I would suggest posting your compressor question in the effects thread.
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Post by Curt on Oct 23, 2006 18:33:02 GMT -7
The RXES is VERY versatile. More so than the control layout would lead you to think. and it has PLENTY of girth, fatness and more gain than nearly anyone would need, but still has awesome clean tones. low imput, OD off, get that volume at noon and smile. I'm selling mine as I finally got my 66 dialed in perfectly for me and I am way top heavy on amps. I just have no reason to move the 66, but if I only had the RXES I could be very happy...really any 1 Z amp would make me happy, just the 66 seems to make ME the happiest, but they are ALL better than anything else I've played.
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Post by Phil (aka Phil) on Oct 24, 2006 6:04:05 GMT -7
The RXES is VERY versatile. More so than the control layout would lead you to think. and it has PLENTY of girth, fatness and more gain than nearly anyone would need, but still has awesome clean tones. low imput, OD off, get that volume at noon and smile. I'm selling mine as I finally got my 66 dialed in perfectly for me and I am way top heavy on amps. I just have no reason to move the 66, but if I only had the RXES I could be very happy...really any 1 Z amp would make me happy, just the 66 seems to make ME the happiest, but they are ALL better than anything else I've played. Curt, how long did you have that RxES? Didn't you just get it? PDW
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Post by Curt on Oct 24, 2006 7:45:01 GMT -7
The RXES is VERY versatile. More so than the control layout would lead you to think. and it has PLENTY of girth, fatness and more gain than nearly anyone would need, but still has awesome clean tones. low imput, OD off, get that volume at noon and smile. I'm selling mine as I finally got my 66 dialed in perfectly for me and I am way top heavy on amps. I just have no reason to move the 66, but if I only had the RXES I could be very happy...really any 1 Z amp would make me happy, just the 66 seems to make ME the happiest, but they are ALL better than anything else I've played. Curt, how long did you have that RxES? Didn't you just get it? PDW Yes, I just got it, I just need to thin out my gear in preperation for my wife closing her business and the included income drop I'm quite pleased with the 66 and have my rig dialed in for that amp. I did jam on the RXES last night using the airbrake....serious second thoughts on selling the RXES !!! was grabbing some killer tones through a single Texas Heat...may keep it and move some other stuff now
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Post by ruger9 on Oct 24, 2006 9:28:53 GMT -7
I did jam on the RXES last night using the airbrake....serious second thoughts on selling the RXES !!! was grabbing some killer tones through a single Texas Heat...may keep it and move some other stuff now Alright, now you've got me drooling again... can you get that 45W sucker up into a sweet spot, then attenuate ENUFF to get it down to a reasonable home playing volume? I know I BARELY can (not really enuff) with my 50W Classic 50. As much as I'm GASsing for a RxES, I'm afraid it's simply too powerful for home playing (which is what I do most these days)
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Post by Curt on Oct 24, 2006 10:08:50 GMT -7
I did jam on the RXES last night using the airbrake....serious second thoughts on selling the RXES !!! was grabbing some killer tones through a single Texas Heat...may keep it and move some other stuff now Alright, now you've got me drooling again... can you get that 45W sucker up into a sweet spot, then attenuate ENUFF to get it down to a reasonable home playing volume? I know I BARELY can (not really enuff) with my 50W Classic 50. As much as I'm GASsing for a RxES, I'm afraid it's simply too powerful for home playing (which is what I do most these days) I have limited time on the RXES, but my feelings after last night are the airbrake made the RXES sound BETTER, smoothed it out, I had the volume at noon (LOUD at this setting) and the brake on clicks 3, 4 and beedroom and the amp responded well, I liked it on click 3 with a Strat through the Texas heat and a Weber Alnico Blue Dog 30 watt. My music room is not yet finished and so I must keep it down, the wife normally tells me I'm too loud, last night she did not even hear me and I was jammin', had the tone workin' . Felt like I was playing a Ghia. Even attenuated down that much the amp was a blast to play...sure wanna keep it now !! LOL
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Post by ruger9 on Oct 24, 2006 10:54:51 GMT -7
I have limited time on the RXES, but my feelings after last night are the airbrake made the RXES sound BETTER, smoothed it out, I had the volume at noon (LOUD at this setting) and the brake on clicks 3, 4 and beedroom and the amp responded well, I liked it on click 3 with a Strat through the Texas heat and a Weber Alnico Blue Dog 30 watt. My music room is not yet finished and so I must keep it down, the wife normally tells me I'm too loud, last night she did not even hear me and I was jammin', had the tone workin' . Felt like I was playing a Ghia. Even attenuated down that much the amp was a blast to play...sure wanna keep it now !! LOL oh boy... thanks... I think... (gonna' be in trouble with the wife sooner than I thought maybe!) I'm surprised that even on "bedroom" the tone was workin'. If that's the case, that gives the RxES a serious edge over the Maz18Jr for me...
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Post by Curt on Oct 24, 2006 12:50:46 GMT -7
Well my RXES is up in the for sale section, I hate to sell it but I need to recover some $$ from the spend spree I've been on lately. Helluva deal on a helluvan amp, the KT45 is up for sale as well.
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Post by prsnstrat on Feb 27, 2007 9:54:27 GMT -7
Alright, now you've got me drooling again... can you get that 45W sucker up into a sweet spot, then attenuate ENUFF to get it down to a reasonable home playing volume? I know I BARELY can (not really enuff) with my 50W Classic 50. As much as I'm GASsing for a RxES, I'm afraid it's simply too powerful for home playing (which is what I do most these days) Felt like I was playing a Ghia. Even attenuated down that much the amp was a blast to play...sure wanna keep it now !! LOL This got me thinkin...hate it when that happens. hehe So that being said, would the Ghia be a better choice if you are playing smaller venues? Thanks.
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Post by drew on Feb 27, 2007 23:31:14 GMT -7
Hey prsnstrat, It's hard to go wrong with a ghia. The ghia works for me in a small club and you can get different volume output with different speaker setups. In fact it's sweet spot is just right for me in a small club. YMMV. I use my ghia in clubs in a band w/bass, drums, second guitar play usually acoustic & fiddle. Buddy has been playing his ghia with the John Mayal and the Blues Breakers with good results. It is different than the RXES, in a good way. Of course I can say that about all Zs.
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Post by anacephalic on Feb 28, 2007 17:52:17 GMT -7
Joel, i have an original RX not an ES but i find it to be very versitile. I've done rock with it, blues, ton o funk. worked good for all. Mine came with 2 celestion v-30s in it was all over snap and twang...a bit too much so actually. I just threw in a G12h30 into the mix to smooth it out some and to great effect. I've also seen substantial sonic changes swapping preamp tubes out. The point of all that was with a little tweaking you can probably end up where you want to sonically. The general consensus between the Rx and the es appears to be that the original is a little grittier while the es produces more drive. As much as i like my Rx i'd have to say that if i did it all over i'd look hard at a maz sr
an airbrake is about mandatory. the 45 watts allows a tad bit of clean headroom space on the dial but still generates some serious volume in that space.
Ruger, if you are looking for home playing i'd say get something smaller. The brake on bedroom is cool but the amp does give up some touch and tone once you work past click 3. I'm at the point where i figure 20-25 watts will do most gigs. My Rx is way too much for most places i play and i rarely use it at home because it is just too loud.
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