gimik
Junior Member
Peace, Love & Music
Posts: 58
|
Post by gimik on May 3, 2007 10:26:27 GMT -7
I only just received my Route 66 and had a 3 hours test session this afternoon. Well, to speak frankly, I'm a little bit disappointed since I expected it to break up earlier. It has the "fat touch" I like but I could not obtain the big crunchy sound I wanted to hear from it. It stayed in the dirty-clean region (even crancked). I bought this 6 years old amp on ebay and I supect the tubes to go dead. I let it with my amp tech for a full tubes checking. Wait and see... So... my question is: does your RT66 behave the same way as mine?
|
|
|
Post by iggs on May 3, 2007 11:53:27 GMT -7
Depends on your pickups and your expectation of "crunch". It is not a cascaded-gain design like SRZ-65 or a JCM 800 type amp. Play with the Treble and Bass controls as well. They are boosting their respective frequency ranges and will add gain to the signal, giving you more crunch.
With single coils (Strat) mine breaks up around 12-1 o'clock. With humbuckers (PAF type) around 11-12 o'clock. Either way, when cranked that loud, mine has a serious crunch to it with very tight low-end. Again ... nothing in the cascaded-gain range but that's not what it was designed for anyway. More like early AC/DC type stuff ... but fatter.
I suspect it is not biased properly either, in addition to possibly having old and worn out tubes. Try a new pair of KT66 in there biased between 34-36 mA and see if that helps. If not, I would try a different 12AX7 in the PI slot, I went through a few and they all made a big difference in sound and where the amp breaks up. NOS rectifier always helps the Route 66 and a different EF86 might add some more of what you are looking for.
|
|
gimik
Junior Member
Peace, Love & Music
Posts: 58
|
Post by gimik on May 3, 2007 23:30:42 GMT -7
I will try with different tubes. I also have to take time to "master" the amp settings. Thanks for the input iggs.
|
|
|
Post by kruzty on May 4, 2007 5:47:48 GMT -7
Try turning the tone controls up. That gives me more grind.
|
|
|
Post by John on May 4, 2007 6:49:31 GMT -7
I felt the same way you did when I first received my 66. I come from a Marshall/Boogie hi-gain background and at first, I thought the amp was terrible. Tried it for the last set of a gig and right then decided I'd made a mistake and should put it back up on Ebay. (I was using a Marshall TSL601 at the time)
But after playing with it for a while, I absolutely love it. The Marshall got sold and I'll never get rid of the 66. It's NOT a hi-gain amp. If you need hi-gain, stick an overdrive/distortion pedal in front of it.
As stated above, the tone controls act like tone controls below 12:00, but above that, they are tone controls AND gain controls. Most people here set the treble at 3:00 and the bass around 1:00 to 3:00. If given a choice (because this can be a loud amp for some venues) most people set the volume on 3:00
Obviously, this is not a channel switching amp (like my old Marshall...3 channels) but all shades of sounds are in there. For me, clean, crunch and overdrive are all in there, and all accessable with a twist of the guitar volume. Like I said before, you may need a dirt box for the 'over the top' sounds.
I purchased mine used and I changed the power tubes and I noticed a difference. (For the better) I also got a matched phase inverter.
This is SUCH a dynamic amp. Changes in pick/strumming attack make SUCH a big difference in tone and crunch. And if you come from a hi-gain background like me, your first experiences with such a dynamic amp can be dissapointing. Where's the crunch? Where's the massive overdrive sustain? Like I said, those sounds are in there, you have to learn to 'play the amp'. But once you learn, your fingers can create such changes in tone you never thought possible. You don't have to rely on pedals/effects or channel switching.
But...some people like all those effects and channels. It's personal taste.
|
|
gimik
Junior Member
Peace, Love & Music
Posts: 58
|
Post by gimik on May 4, 2007 9:51:45 GMT -7
Thanks guys. I will take your advices into account as soon as my Route 66 is back.
|
|
|
Post by Dr.T on May 4, 2007 10:49:15 GMT -7
R66 is a very loud amp, and to me it is a great rock amp ( Taz docet ) but due to his loudnes its break-up point is at high volume. You simply need an Airbrake.
|
|
|
Post by billyguitar on May 4, 2007 11:37:36 GMT -7
Amen on the Air Brake.
|
|
|
Post by LeftyLang on May 4, 2007 11:54:51 GMT -7
Dime both Tone Controls and add Volume....if you need more crunch than that, add a Boost pedal to the front end. If you need more then that add a OD pedal stacked with the boost & you should be good to go.
|
|
|
Post by Dr.T on May 5, 2007 2:09:52 GMT -7
Airbrake sometimes happens to be the most useful "effect" with this amp...
|
|
gimik
Junior Member
Peace, Love & Music
Posts: 58
|
Post by gimik on May 6, 2007 1:30:00 GMT -7
Airbrake sometimes happens to be the most useful "effect" with this amp... Got one on ebay
|
|
|
Post by drew on May 6, 2007 14:21:08 GMT -7
The Airbrake is good purchase Nicolas, especially for the 66. I set it on one or two and it was enough to tame the beast. I agree with the other responses, new tubes and set the bias should have the 66 sounds like the rock monster it is. It's not a gain machine but should give you plenty of crunch when cranked up.
|
|
|
Post by kledbet on May 7, 2007 22:35:38 GMT -7
Things to check out. 1. Tube ratings... higher tube rating break up later. If the tubes in there are #6-7 go down to #4-5. 2. Bias should be around 37.38 if its lower say 32 then your amp will be brighter and won't break up as soon. 3. Tube brand- a lot has been mentioned on this forum about the different KT66 tubes. The original GEC KT66 are the best. The only other ones are the Saratov KT66 tubes, or the Chinese. Some guys like one and some guys the other. The Saratov (GT KT66HP) tubes are warmer and I find they break up a little sooner, the Chinese (GT KT66C) tubes are more clear and have more treble. IF you get Chinese KT66 tubes and want early breakup they will need to be biased hot 38-40, they won't last quite as long that way but they will be warmer and more bluesy. 4. Air Brake- In my opinion a must have anyway. Anyway let us know what happens.
|
|
|
Post by LeftyLang on May 9, 2007 11:52:57 GMT -7
I am in the minority here, but I do not like my amps attenuated I find I lose a lot of the feeling, dynamics & "thump" ..... Stacked OD's and Boost is the way to go for me. "LeftyLang...ducking for cover"
|
|
gimik
Junior Member
Peace, Love & Music
Posts: 58
|
Post by gimik on May 9, 2007 13:25:55 GMT -7
Hi all, Thanks a lot for your suggestions. My amp is still at tech workshop. No news for the moment. Anyway, it gives some time to tweak my MAZ 38 settings.
|
|
|
Post by taswegian on May 9, 2007 15:28:39 GMT -7
I am in the minority here, but I do not like my amps attenuated I find I lose a lot of the feeling, dynamics & "thump" ..... Stacked OD's and Boost is the way to go for me. "LeftyLang...ducking for cover" Don't worry Leftylang, I'm in your corner on this one! I much prefer unattenuated and hit it with a boost also. Unless I'm doing an out and out rock gig that only needs a dirty tone. Then I MIGHT crank up the amp to 3 oclock and attenuate as necessary, but I like the thump and air as well. I'm beginning to think the speaker interaction has alot to do with the response and tone that I like from my rig. I'm certainly glad I have the Airbrake in my gig bag though.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on May 30, 2007 20:04:38 GMT -7
I am in the minority here, but I do not like my amps attenuated I find I lose a lot of the feeling, dynamics & "thump" ..... Stacked OD's and Boost is the way to go for me. "LeftyLang...ducking for cover" Don't worry Leftylang, I'm in your corner on this one! I much prefer unattenuated and hit it with a boost also. Unless I'm doing an out and out rock gig that only needs a dirty tone. Then I MIGHT crank up the amp to 3 oclock and attenuate as necessary, but I like the thump and air as well. I'm beginning to think the speaker interaction has alot to do with the response and tone that I like from my rig. I'm certainly glad I have the Airbrake in my gig bag though. +1 I bought an air brake with my maz 38 and I didn't much like the loss of punch nor did I like replacing the tubes more often, that gets expensive. Z amps sound good at low and high volumes.
|
|
|
Post by LeftyLang on Jun 1, 2007 19:40:07 GMT -7
Don't worry Leftylang, I'm in your corner on this one! I much prefer unattenuated and hit it with a boost also. Unless I'm doing an out and out rock gig that only needs a dirty tone. Then I MIGHT crank up the amp to 3 oclock and attenuate as necessary, but I like the thump and air as well. I'm beginning to think the speaker interaction has alot to do with the response and tone that I like from my rig. I'm certainly glad I have the Airbrake in my gig bag though. +1 I bought an air brake with my maz 38 and I didn't much like the loss of punch nor did I like replacing the tubes more often, that gets expensive. Z amps sound good at low and high volumes. Hey...looks like I am not alone with my thinking.
|
|
|
Post by Dr.T on Jun 4, 2007 0:15:24 GMT -7
+1 I bought an air brake with my maz 38 and I didn't much like the loss of punch nor did I like replacing the tubes more often, that gets expensive. Z amps sound good at low and high volumes. Hey...looks like I am not alone with my thinking. I agree, Airbrake sucks tone but I'm a fan of it because at bedroom level when there isn't another choice I prefere the Airbrake to switching down vol at h 6:05!
|
|
|
Post by Surreal McCoy on Jun 5, 2007 12:52:28 GMT -7
Dime treb/bass and add boost/OD....... as much hair as you'd ever want.
I dime the controls and get a great noise with either a Xotic BB/RC combo or a COT-50/Eternity combo. I just rec'd a Toneman Rangemaster and haven't had time to tweak yet. I'll let you know how it works.
-Surreal McCoy
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 21, 2007 18:27:10 GMT -7
I just rec'd a Toneman Rangemaster and haven't had time to tweak yet. I'll let you know how it works. -Surreal McCoy I have been looking at the Toneman Rangemaster and I'm curious if you tried it yet? How did you like it?
|
|