|
Post by bluewail on Feb 20, 2006 1:55:31 GMT -7
I just wanted to drop a note after spending my first night out with my newly acquired Rt.66 and tell you what you already know. WHAT A FREAKIN' GREAT AMP!! I put a set of Genelex KT-66's in it and biased her up (31ma), a Dario EF86, JJ ECC803s and JJ rectifier. I'm using a Mesa open back 1x12 cab with a 200 watt EV. The tone is just amazing - punchy and articullate, incredible chord definition, huge hedroom and pedals never sounded so good. I was completely floored! It was a jam session and the other players were just as blown away, and not just the guitar geeks, the drummer even commented on it. I've had a LOT of VERY good amps (Bruno, Two-Rock, Carr, VHT, THD, Fender, Allen and Mesa) and this is the most impressed I've been in a long, long time. I know this is a dangerous prediction for a gasser but this amp is gonna' be a keeper. ;D
|
|
|
Post by Beckanon on Feb 20, 2006 18:20:45 GMT -7
Congrats on the amp and welcome to the Dr.Z forum, bluewail. I'm going on two years this April with my 66. Just retubed it and its sounding fantastic. I'm buying a Menatone Red Snapper to boost it.
|
|
|
Post by bluewail on Feb 20, 2006 23:21:08 GMT -7
I'm running a Timmy and a Zendrive in front of mine with a bit of delay (Boss Dm-2). Both sound spectacular.
|
|
|
Post by rclemmer on Feb 24, 2006 18:00:56 GMT -7
Agreed! The more I play my Route 66 the more I like it. Different than my Maz 18 and Matchless HC30, but definitely awesome!
|
|
|
Post by taswegian on Feb 24, 2006 20:33:09 GMT -7
A Benchmark amp IMHO. If this amp was made in 1967 people would be paying squllions for it.
|
|
|
Post by taswegian on Mar 2, 2006 18:25:55 GMT -7
Last night I played in my brothers cover band. I've had this amp for three years now and it never ceased to amaze me. I ran it last night at 10:00 oclock on all knobs as it was a small room, so it was clean and I used my Fulltone Fulldrive on Comp cut setting for mild overdrive and my Hellbilly for Fuzz, thicker bigger gainer overdrive. The amp sounded amazing. I have an airbrake but it's just not needed for quieter gigs. This amp just inhales pedals, especially good ones. I still have the same phase inverter in that the amp came with too. Anyone worrying this is too much amp I would say forget it, and just run it clean with pedals when you have too
|
|
|
Post by Beckanon on Mar 2, 2006 19:37:22 GMT -7
I probably run my 66 clean like that 90% of the time. Yes, it does sound great with good quality pedals in front.
|
|
|
Post by James on Mar 2, 2006 21:07:39 GMT -7
I just sold all my fulltone boost stuff.......OCD, Dist Pro....and took some of the guys advice on this forum and I purchased an xotic AC and BB bost pedal set.........
I gotta say that I am blown away by the duo with the Rt 66. The AC can be dialed in as to produce a seamless transition between whatever level of gain you already have going on the amp........just adds the slightest bit of "hair" to your amps tone...especially nice if you have the RT 66 Treble and Bass at 3 ocklock, volume at 9....click on the boost ...perfect with a humbucker...you hardly know its been kicked on.....the BB takes you nicely into Marshall land..........gives your strat a real nice voodo chile tone if you want it.....
I am thinking the RC to round it all out........
|
|
|
Post by taswegian on Mar 2, 2006 21:29:42 GMT -7
If I buy any other boost or overdrive pedals I'm going with Dave Ulbrick. Amazing stuff. I've heard only great things about the RC-AC pedals. I wouldn't mind the Robo Talk either!
|
|
|
Post by viddarenca on Mar 3, 2006 4:55:22 GMT -7
I have the RC/AC combo. I use the rc for a clean boost and the ac for some hair. The greatest thing about the RC is that you can dial in a bunch of treble for a more jangly sound without getting harsh. The RC is awsome and its one of those pedals I havent thought of trading yet. A strat and the RC is my best friend right now!
|
|
|
Post by James on Mar 3, 2006 7:42:43 GMT -7
Thats good to hear.....because for the last week I have been Gassing for the RC...... I have been experiencing tone epiphany as of late..............what I finally realized was that in most recordings.......the guitar tone , in terms of dirt level, is the same throughout the whole song............except that the solo is just boosted...............or just a little "hairy" er ( AC) and boosted...........duh.......so thats why I am jonesing for the RC.........
It just goes to show that it really takes time and attention to detail to get good tone......I am sure I just figured something out that tons of players already know..........but it just so happens that today my ears were ready to learn something new!
Thats why I love this forum........so much free and shared knowledge floatin' around!
|
|
|
Post by taswegian on Mar 3, 2006 15:15:49 GMT -7
I should point out that I only use the Comp Cut setting on the Fulldrive 2. I don't really like the overdrives. I dont really like any tubescreamer type overdrives that I've tried. I'd rather use a germanium fuzz for higher gain through the 66. Although I hear the Ulbrick 12axe is awesome so I might have to try that for leads. I had a friends Zvex Fuzz Factory last weekend and with that and my Tonefactor Hellbilly on at the same time I had a huge fat high gain lead sound that was really fun. Now I'm gonna have to find a nice fuzz.
|
|
|
Post by Beckanon on Mar 3, 2006 17:20:13 GMT -7
I had an Xotic AC a couple of years ago and liked it for awhile. I was using a Carvin Bel Air, set on the clean channel, and I could get anything from Vox to tubescreamer sounds with it. But something in the voicing of the pedal started to stay in my ear that I didn't like, and I couldn't dial it out.
Probably the closest thing I have to the RC Booster is the Sea Blue EQ from BJF. It's an eq pedal that can functions great as a boost. The treble and bass pots are voiced very tastefully so that diming either is actually still a viable tone through the Rt66. I prefer to just goose the treble a little and keep bass at unity...volume a little above unity...and it hits the Rt66 so nice for that low gain overdrive. Plus it enhances the sounds from my other dirt pedals and boosts, like the Zvex Super Duper, Menatone Red Snapper and Lovepedal Eternity.
|
|
|
Post by taswegian on Mar 3, 2006 21:00:38 GMT -7
Wow, some nice pedals there Beckanon!
|
|
|
Post by Beckanon on Mar 4, 2006 7:40:33 GMT -7
They are all nice pedals, indeed. I'm in an in-between phase right now, though...I'm playing as much as I can with these peds to see which ones go and which ones stay. The Red Snapper and Eternity cover fairly similar ground for me. And, I'm really enjoying just using some stacked boosters together (SBEQ + Super Duper) to drive the Rt66 hard. I've got some hard decisions coming, cuz I like em all alot.
I would like to someday try a Klon Centaur as a boost in front of the Rt66...I've heard raves about that sound too. But this Red Snapper is really knocking me out as a booster/overdrive pedal.
|
|
|
Post by taswegian on Mar 4, 2006 11:14:22 GMT -7
Yeah, I'd like to hear the Red Snapper, heard some good things about it. One problem with being in the middle of the Southern Ocean is there isn't much Boutique gear around to try out. You kinda gotta go on the clips and the forum hype. Might have to bother you for some info sometime!
|
|
|
Post by Beckanon on Mar 4, 2006 13:05:52 GMT -7
I'm not very good at descriptions, but as I try out the Snapper I'll fill you in on my thoughts. Same with some of these other peds.
|
|
|
Post by bluewail on Mar 5, 2006 10:03:21 GMT -7
Well it's been a few weeks and a few gigs and I'm still blown away. One thing bI've noticed is how sensitive this amp design is to changes in bias. As soon as I got the bamp I pulled the GT KT66HP's in favor of an old used pair of Genelex Gray glass Kt66's. They were old and not a perfect match with about a 5ma spread between them. So I biased them up with the weaker tube reading about 28ma and the stronger up around 32ma. Sounded great but not a lot of break-up which is OK since I use pedals to boost. But curiosity got the better of me so I rebias about 3ma hotter. That's when the weaker of the Genelex's gave up the ghost. Bummer! I was convinced the GT could not possibly sound as good. I put them in and played through the amp while tweaking the bias. 34ma was the sweet spot for me. Below that the amp sounded anemic. A bit cold, no roundness to the the higher frequencies and weak bass response. Around 33ma it starts to warm up. At 35 ma and above that the breakup level increases pretty dramatically. The "bluebreaker" tone was right there at 35-36ma . At 34ma it gave me the headroom I wanted and the nice musical feel it had initially. The GT's sound great. Not as quite as smooth and musical as the Genelex's but for $400+ a set, I won't be seeing that tube again for a long while. So I'm still loving the amp and having a gas trying different tubes, guitars, pedals, speakers and cabs. My current tubes are a Mullard EF86, JJ ECC803s and The GT KT66 HP's #6. Th JJ is a bit lower gain than some other 12AX7's and very smooth so I'm using it to increase headroom and smooth out my Tele tone. When I want to get more crunch, I swap in a Tung Sol 12AX7 and use humbuckers. What fun!!
|
|
|
Post by zdogma on Mar 5, 2006 17:51:18 GMT -7
"Bluewail" ;D, that's a good 'un.
|
|
|
Post by taswegian on Mar 5, 2006 19:22:49 GMT -7
Bluewail, sounds like my rig and thoughts. I too have the GEC brown base clear bottle Kt66's but I was very impressed with how the amp sounded with the GT's. I think my bias is around 35-36 too but I can't really remember. I also have the GEC EF86 and a Mullard Steel based GZ34 from 1954. Yep, the 66i s alot of fun and tone.
|
|
|
Post by Telemanic on Mar 21, 2006 20:45:37 GMT -7
I totally agree!! With my Rt. 66 and my stalwart 65 vibrolux rvb, i crave nothing more! The 66 just gets it. I'm on the high side at about 38 ma. , with GT # 5's, and it sounds amazing. I'm going to try a pair of grey glass GEC's i got from Mike clark, who recomends running them REAL hot. ( they are nos) and shouldnt have any issues, but Myles and everyone seems to recomend around 30 to low 30's. The HP's sound so good tho, that the $350.00 oldies have sat in the drawer. I have a 3- knob Red snapper that IS great, But my OCD has taken top honors now. It's openess and headroom and ability to clean up with guitar volume changes is Very cool! In fact i leave it on all the time. As far as RC boosters, Michael of MJM guitar fx, makes IMHO the best goin. In fact his entire line i believe represents the top of the mountain ( subjectively). For bluesy type stuff his blues devil tops any 808 ive owned, played or heard. Plus he's one of the most helpful guys you could talk to. Check out his 60's vibe. WOW!
|
|
|
Post by LeftyLang on Jun 20, 2006 21:15:55 GMT -7
A Benchmark amp IMHO. If this amp was made in 1967 people would be paying squllions for it. That is So True..the 66 is now my #1 !!
|
|