Post by bluzman on Jan 28, 2010 11:24:49 GMT -7
Here's a few quick audservations from a couple hours of playing with this baby.
Les Paul Standard straight in
Brake Lite bypassed
1x10 Combo with the Red Fang
I'm going to start out by saying that when I heard what everybody calls "Gain" amps or "High Gain" amps... I hear distortion with only a small portion of the sounds standing out on their own. The Monza is different than that and is a "Gain" amp with "Clarity".
The Monza is different than Z-Amps' other duet EL84 Amps. If you have a Ghia, Maz Jr. or RxJr., you know how to get the hair and you know how to get the clean chime. Like the rumours say... "Billy in a Box". With the other amps you need pedals to get where this takes you. Right out of the chute, with Volume at about 10:30, drive all the way OFF, tone to the right or left of noon, you get nice creamy sustain. It's still articulate and has the touch sensitivity you'd expect from Z-Amps. The tone is responsive in letting you tune in the harmonics of the sustain. Turn the guitar down and it cleans up a bit, but that's not what this amp is all about. Turn up the drive to about 9:30 and the "rock star in you" is forced to emerge... yet, more and more as you increase the drive... It gets "bigger" not harsh or grindy... bigger and fuller. The bottom stays firm. Then, do that "face the amp" thing and it does exactly what you think it will do... easily! There's endless sustain and controlled feedback even at low enough volumes that you'd typically need a pedal to help produce, and it doesn't turn to mushy noise. It's all about a naturally rich, driven tube gain.
Onto a Z-Best...
HOLY MOLY!!! This thing turns into a "Beautomous Beast"! FULL FULL FULL. Yeah, the combo is unbeatable for grab and go, and is probably the way to go to mic it in a studio, but with the Z-Best... YOW!!! What would you expect from plugging it into one of the best cabinets built?
I then put it into a 1x12 open back with an EV M12L which doesn't break up and allows me to hear the amp. This is probably the cleanest gain amp I've ever played... in that it's not distorted, noisy or dirty... maybe they tuned it to be more symmetrical or asymmetrical?
OK now back to the 1x10 Combo... Yeah... It's different, well, it's not a 12 or a pair of em in a TP cab, but I still dig the overall tones and how the Red Fang works with the amp. If you started with a 12 and went to the 10 you may have a different opinion but I started playing it with the 10 and my ears like it.
1x10 Combo with the 1x10 X Z-Cab. I then used my "Trusty Todd Parallel Cable" and paired it with another Red Fang in the X Z-Cab outta the 4 ohm hole. ;D ;D This is a GREAT Short Stack and I'm going to do some gigs with this for sure.
No pedals required and you can use the guitar volume for full control.
I'll try it with Single Coils tonight. AND I am going to try it with different pre-amp tubes to see what that does.
The Monza most definitely fills a gap in the variety of Dr. Z Amps available... and it does it with the class and tone expected from Dr. Z Amps. The 1x10 combo and X Z-Cabs are also a great innovation that makes it easy to retro-fit your Ghia, Mini, Monza or Z-28 into a Grab and Go. As simple as that sounds, I see the 1x10 "X Z-Cab" in all of it's simplicity as a huge thing.
The Three Answers.
About the "clean headroom".
When you compare it to the other EL84 duet Z-Amps, it's not that kind of clean headroom. It's relative to this being a gain amp. Even when you back down the guitar volume.
Sorry that's the best way I can say it.
Bedroom level?
With the Brake Lite... easily does the bedroom with TONS of gain.
Should we all run out and get one?
I DID!
Les Paul Standard straight in
Brake Lite bypassed
1x10 Combo with the Red Fang
I'm going to start out by saying that when I heard what everybody calls "Gain" amps or "High Gain" amps... I hear distortion with only a small portion of the sounds standing out on their own. The Monza is different than that and is a "Gain" amp with "Clarity".
The Monza is different than Z-Amps' other duet EL84 Amps. If you have a Ghia, Maz Jr. or RxJr., you know how to get the hair and you know how to get the clean chime. Like the rumours say... "Billy in a Box". With the other amps you need pedals to get where this takes you. Right out of the chute, with Volume at about 10:30, drive all the way OFF, tone to the right or left of noon, you get nice creamy sustain. It's still articulate and has the touch sensitivity you'd expect from Z-Amps. The tone is responsive in letting you tune in the harmonics of the sustain. Turn the guitar down and it cleans up a bit, but that's not what this amp is all about. Turn up the drive to about 9:30 and the "rock star in you" is forced to emerge... yet, more and more as you increase the drive... It gets "bigger" not harsh or grindy... bigger and fuller. The bottom stays firm. Then, do that "face the amp" thing and it does exactly what you think it will do... easily! There's endless sustain and controlled feedback even at low enough volumes that you'd typically need a pedal to help produce, and it doesn't turn to mushy noise. It's all about a naturally rich, driven tube gain.
Onto a Z-Best...
HOLY MOLY!!! This thing turns into a "Beautomous Beast"! FULL FULL FULL. Yeah, the combo is unbeatable for grab and go, and is probably the way to go to mic it in a studio, but with the Z-Best... YOW!!! What would you expect from plugging it into one of the best cabinets built?
I then put it into a 1x12 open back with an EV M12L which doesn't break up and allows me to hear the amp. This is probably the cleanest gain amp I've ever played... in that it's not distorted, noisy or dirty... maybe they tuned it to be more symmetrical or asymmetrical?
OK now back to the 1x10 Combo... Yeah... It's different, well, it's not a 12 or a pair of em in a TP cab, but I still dig the overall tones and how the Red Fang works with the amp. If you started with a 12 and went to the 10 you may have a different opinion but I started playing it with the 10 and my ears like it.
1x10 Combo with the 1x10 X Z-Cab. I then used my "Trusty Todd Parallel Cable" and paired it with another Red Fang in the X Z-Cab outta the 4 ohm hole. ;D ;D This is a GREAT Short Stack and I'm going to do some gigs with this for sure.
No pedals required and you can use the guitar volume for full control.
I'll try it with Single Coils tonight. AND I am going to try it with different pre-amp tubes to see what that does.
The Monza most definitely fills a gap in the variety of Dr. Z Amps available... and it does it with the class and tone expected from Dr. Z Amps. The 1x10 combo and X Z-Cabs are also a great innovation that makes it easy to retro-fit your Ghia, Mini, Monza or Z-28 into a Grab and Go. As simple as that sounds, I see the 1x10 "X Z-Cab" in all of it's simplicity as a huge thing.
The Three Answers.
About the "clean headroom".
When you compare it to the other EL84 duet Z-Amps, it's not that kind of clean headroom. It's relative to this being a gain amp. Even when you back down the guitar volume.
Sorry that's the best way I can say it.
Bedroom level?
With the Brake Lite... easily does the bedroom with TONS of gain.
Should we all run out and get one?
I DID!