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Post by riscado on Jun 2, 2007 16:07:36 GMT -7
Hello I'm new to the forum, I'm trying to decide wether to buy a route 66 or z28, I have a few questions about the route 66, maybe you guys can help me...
First of all, can I run 6V6's if I adjust the bias or is the plate voltage to high to even think about that?
Has the ghost note issue that I read about been adressed, or did it never exist at all?
I haven't been able to play the amp for myself as I live in portugal, and haven't been able to try anything but a maz jr, and it impressed me.
thanks
Ps. Could you guys tell me if the z28 is also ultralinear? (trying to avoid making an unecessary post at the z28 forum, save some bandwidth) thanks again
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Post by zdogma on Jun 2, 2007 16:24:47 GMT -7
First of all, can I run 6V6's if I adjust the bias or is the plate voltage to high to even think about that? Ps. Could you guys tell me if the z28 is also ultralinear? (trying to avoid making an unecessary post at the z28 forum, save some bandwidth) thanks again I'm pretty sure you can't run 6V6's in a route 66. I've never tried, mind you. The Z28 is not ultralinear.
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Post by riscado on Jun 2, 2007 16:47:23 GMT -7
Thanks zdogma, thought so, plate voltage is probably to high...
still I'm leaning more towards the 66 than the 28... not sure why though!
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Post by cementman on Jun 2, 2007 16:59:46 GMT -7
i didnt understand that mike z is a bit irritated that people want to mess with the design of a certain amp,, i understand that now.. i think you can change the bias and run 6L6's in a z-28, but some of the amps were designed and sound the best just the way they are,, you can put a gz34 in a ghia and it will eat the power tubes faster, and sound more marshally, but, this amp maker has done his homework and knows how his amps sound the best,, just the way they come from his factory..if you want to play loud i would get the route 66, if you want a lower volume, but still have a big full sound, and sound loud, get the 28,, the 28 with a 4-10 z cab just kills with humbucker pickups by the way,,i wish i had it back,,,
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Post by riscado on Jun 3, 2007 3:43:28 GMT -7
far from it man, I don't want to mess with the amp in anyway, I was just curious! I believe in buying something for what it is and not for what it could be... as far as mike not liking people messing with the design, I can understand that, I feel the same way. Always pisses me when people buy an amp and then feel the need to do this and that and whatever, why not just buy an amp that does it to begin with?
I love the idea of having a z28, but I already own a tweed deluxe sort of clone made by myself. I know it is radically different from a z28, but even so I'm ready to try the route 66 as I seem to be leaning more towards it.
So hopefully I expect to be a proud owner of one by the end of summertime.
By the way thanks for the nice replies, this seems like a quiet forum, so I guess I'll be hangin' around from time to time!
thanks again
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Post by zdogma on Jun 3, 2007 6:25:47 GMT -7
Thanks zdogma, thought so, plate voltage is probably to high... still I'm leaning more towards the 66 than the 28... not sure why though! S'OK. Both are pretty loud, the route 66 is fatter sounding and more "marshally" For amps that look so similar, they sound really different.
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Post by riscado on Jun 3, 2007 7:12:30 GMT -7
yes I guess the fact that it has such rich low end is what is grabbing me...
I'm going to get the route 66 and probably build me another 6V6 amp just to forget about the fact that I could have gotten the z28...I'm not able to afford both right now even though their prices are not that high... really cool amps
thanks
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Post by cementman on Jun 3, 2007 7:38:05 GMT -7
i seem to tend to get amps that dont cost a whole lot to retube down the road,, 6L6 amps and el84s,, geuss i am gettin old,, i think the kt66s are kinda high priced,, you cant go wrong with a route 66 though.. reason i talked the way i did, is that, i used to be one of those people that wanted to mess with tubes in amps that i shouldnt,, i asked about putting 6L6s in a kt45 and stuff like that,, i saw a z28 on ebay that had been biased for 6L6s,,,
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Post by riscado on Jun 3, 2007 9:42:13 GMT -7
I understand I actually asked more out of curiosity... because for 6V6's I understand I have the z28 option which has plenty of volume...
I agree with the less tubes, I tend to go with amps that use two power tubes, two or three (but mostly two) pre/pi tubes and a rectifier...
more than that usually means it's an amp that doesn't grab my attention (there might be a few exceptions though).
I don't usually go with amp that are more than 20w, but in this case I'll have to make an exception as I've been wanting a kt66 tube amp for sometime. Otherwise I usually stick to 6V6's amps, and preferably cathode biased.
Looking forward to owning my route 66, thanks guys
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Post by LeftyLang on Jun 3, 2007 20:35:18 GMT -7
You won't be disappointed with the R66. It is a great amp, but it likes to be played with a band or loud enough to get the tubes cooking. This is not a bedroom amp. If that is the case you will love it.
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Post by gz34nut on Jun 3, 2007 21:12:41 GMT -7
You won't be disappointed with the R66. It is a great amp, but it likes to be played with a band or loud enough to get the tubes cooking. This is not a bedroom amp. If that is the case you will love it. I agree with leftylang but I do find mine usable and sounding good using the Airbrake , maybe not as good as letting it breath but acceptable . And on the ghost note issue , if Irecall that turned out to be a biasing issue that was causing that, not a flaw with the amp, but somebody correct me if I'm wrong .
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Post by Dr.T on Jun 4, 2007 0:12:03 GMT -7
You won't be disappointed with the R66. It is a great amp, but it likes to be played with a band or loud enough to get the tubes cooking. This is not a bedroom amp. If that is the case you will love it. I agree with leftylang but I do find mine usable and sounding good using the Airbrake , maybe not as good as letting it breath but acceptable . And on the ghost note issue , if Irecall that turned out to be a biasing issue that was causing that, not a flaw with the amp, but somebody correct me if I'm wrong . I agree, with an Airbrake you can use it at bedroom levels
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Post by iggs on Jun 4, 2007 7:35:12 GMT -7
The ghost not issue is a odd topic because everyone seems to have a different idea of what those ghost notes are.
Both my Route 66 and Bümbox Lead 50 have what someone might call a ghost note ... they are two completely different amps, in design, construction and tube choices. What both have is a secondary sound, way back in the background that is the same note as played but more "distorted". I can hear it at any volume level, attenuated or not, different guitars ... etc. Does it sound bad? No. Does it bother me? No. Do I think something is wrong with the amps? No.
So the ghost note is somewhat of a mystery to me, could be that there's always something there and some people hear it, some don't and some are bothered by it and some are not.
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Post by riscado on Jun 4, 2007 11:40:24 GMT -7
Ahh so that's what the infamous "ghost notes" are, if that's it than I'm quite used to them from tweeds... and like it! I tought it was something really dissonant. I'm getting the Route 66 to use in live situations, although I'm usually able to use 30'ish watt type amps in bedrooms, although I only use them with clean headroom... but then again at bedroom levels even my tweed deluxe clone is clean, so it doesn't bother me I also like clean... but the main intent is to use it as my playing out amp, so I guess I'm on the right track
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Post by iggs on Jun 4, 2007 12:35:41 GMT -7
Sounds like you are on the right track for sure ;D
The 30W rating for the Route 66 is quite misleading IMHO, since it's waaaaay louder then my 50W Lead 50 and my buddies 100W Valve King. With my VHT 4x12 it's ear-splitting loud. (volume past noon)
The other (great) thing about it is that the EF86 front end does not compress as easily as a 12AX7 front end so you can push it with pedals much harder.
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Post by riscado on Jun 4, 2007 17:54:55 GMT -7
to tell you the truth, I was kind of expecting it to be conservatively rated, an therefore much louder than I expected, no problem it's still good for live usage...
as for the ef86, I play blues, it's the only thing I can play I'm not very good at it, but then again, I'm even worse at everything else, and I usually use no pedals in setup, can't really explain why, I just have not felt the need to do so, I usually get away with just the tone a volume knobs on the guitar, as long as I have good amp. But I hear the ef86 will help when it comes to humbuckers and that for me is a good thing since I like les pauls with paf's...
I'm sure the the route 66 will be perfect for this kind of situation
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Post by zdogma on Jun 4, 2007 18:31:35 GMT -7
The EF86 amps do love humbuckers.
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Post by riscado on Jun 5, 2007 7:19:27 GMT -7
any ideas, on how it reacts to p90's, I use a les paul type guitar (a tokai ls-145s) which uses p90's, so I'm also interested in knowing how those work with this amp.
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Post by billyguitar on Jun 5, 2007 8:02:22 GMT -7
My Lentz has low output P90s and it sounds fine. I like brighter guitars with the Route 66. It is one loud thick mutha so it's probably best with low efficiency speakers like a pair of greenbacks but if you play mostly clean and use pedals for drive you can use it at low volumes. The Route 66 is pretty much a one toned one trick pony but it does what it does wonderfully.
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Post by Surreal McCoy on Jun 5, 2007 12:49:21 GMT -7
I picked up a new Gibson BFG - P-90 in the neck and Humbucker in the bridge - and took it east for 2 shows. I ran it through a Rt 66 and through my new Maz-38 [thanks Yup]. The P-90 just screamed. I was hitting the Rt 66 with an Xotic BB and RC. The Maz-38 had a COT-50 w/ an Eternity. The P-90 sounded fantastic through both.
-Surreal McCoy
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