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Post by cactuskurt on Mar 4, 2010 6:30:15 GMT -7
Received my Remedy yesterday and had a chance to put it through the paces. I'm a jaded old cynic when it comes to boutique amps. I've been playing the same Marshall JMP 50 watt head for over 30 years frankly because I haven't found an amp the measures up. Not to say I haven't tried Bogner, Carr, Dr.Z, Engl, Bad Cat, Top Hat, ... you get the idea.
The Remedy takes me WAY back to the first 4-hole Marshalls I played as a kid. Dr. Z really nailed it. I was looking for a gig-worthy amp to replace my 50 watt Marshall (it's just too loud for small clubs these days), and I think I've finally found a suitable replacement in the Remedy. What sold me was the 1/2 power setting... perfect for small clubs.
Describe the tone? In a word, FAT. I play a Les Paul and a telecaster, and both guitars sound great without a lot of amp tweaking. Guitar --> cable --> Remedy is all that's required (I'm not a pedal guy). No attenuator. Just ride the amp bareback. I haven't played with the amp settings a lot (the sign of a good amp) and I have the BMT set at about noon and both volumes at about 1-2 o'clock. Ride the guitar volume for cleans/leads... I love it!
I know it's still the honeymoon phase, but I'm quite impressed with this little rig. I've demo'd most Dr. Z amps in the past. Buddy W's "Spinning Coin" tour w/ John Mayall first got me interested in Z amps about ten years ago, but I just couldn't find the right Z model to suit my needs... until now.
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Post by Joey Beverages on Mar 4, 2010 7:00:45 GMT -7
Congrats on your new amp and welcome aboard. The Remedy is a great way to get acquainted with Z Amps (although I see that you'd already demoed a few already). What cab(s) you usin' with Remedy and where'bouts you playing? cheers always, eh Joel
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Post by cactuskurt on Mar 4, 2010 8:18:30 GMT -7
I'm using an Avatar 2x12 cab loaded with Vintage 30s. The (widely hated) V30 mid spike seems well-suited for the fat-sounding Remedy. I like the percussive nature of V30s when you wind them up a bit. I'm not sure why V30s get such a bad rap (bedroom players?). Dr. Z and Divided by 13's Fred Taccone (among other boutique amp makers) seem to like them... and I value their opinion.
I play in a cover band in and around the Tucson/Phoenix area. We cover a lot of ground: rock, blues funk, and twang. I use a Les Paul for the heavy stuff and a tele for the twang and funk.
The Remedy covers a lot of ground tonally. I'm amazed at how the Remedy cleans up simply by rolling back the guitar's volume (without getting thin-sounding like most amps). I'm able to get telecaster spank and Les Paul crunch without fiddling with a bunch of knobs.
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Post by benttop (Steve) on Mar 4, 2010 8:50:08 GMT -7
Welcome to the party! Remedy - mmmmmmmmGOOD!
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Post by Joey Beverages on Mar 4, 2010 9:18:14 GMT -7
I'm using an Avatar 2x12 cab loaded with Vintage 30s. The (widely hated) V30 mid spike seems well-suited for the fat-sounding Remedy. I like the percussive nature of V30s when you wind them up a bit. I'm not sure why V30s get such a bad rap (bedroom players?). Dr. Z and Divided by 13's Fred Taccone (among other boutique amp makers) seem to like them... and I value their opinion. I play in a cover band in and around the Tucson/Phoenix area. We cover a lot of ground: rock, blues funk, and twang. I use a Les Paul for the heavy stuff and a tele for the twang and funk. The Remedy covers a lot of ground tonally. I'm amazed at how the Remedy cleans up simply by rolling back the guitar's volume (without getting thin-sounding like most amps). I'm able to get telecaster spank and Les Paul crunch without fiddling with a bunch of knobs. Good to know - thanks for sharing. Been using my Remedy with 112 Z cab loaded with V30 ... no complaints here ...
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Post by John on Mar 4, 2010 9:31:40 GMT -7
I'm using an Avatar 2x12 cab loaded with Vintage 30s. The (widely hated) V30 mid spike seems well-suited for the fat-sounding Remedy. I like the percussive nature of V30s when you wind them up a bit. I'm not sure why V30s get such a bad rap (bedroom players?). Ya gotta try some greenbacks...awesome!
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Post by tubestack on Mar 4, 2010 14:40:09 GMT -7
Congrats - it's an awesome amp, eh! Lots of similarities here. I'm a long-time Marshall guy, too. I use my Remedy in much the same way: guitar>cord>amp, with B and T at noon, the M at 1 o'clock, and the High/Normal at 2 o'clock/12 o'clock. I never fiddle with these settings, it sounds killer all the time, "set it and leave it" suits me fine. I use my guitars' volume/tone knobs and pickup selectors for variation, you can get plenty of different sounds that way, it's such a responsive and sensitive amp. I too was blown away by the range of clean-to-mean with just the volume knob, it's absolutely fantastic. I switch between a Gibson (SG) and Tele in my band, as well. As John was saying, if you get the chance to try some Greenbacks, they're magic with the Remedy. Have fun!
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Post by stratman89 on Mar 4, 2010 17:16:10 GMT -7
Congratulations on the new amp!
My Remedy has taken me back to the many years of owning a '70's Marshall Mk II.
Killer, Killer amp!!!
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Post by doctorice on Mar 4, 2010 19:24:41 GMT -7
Welcome. Sounds like you've already really bonded with the amp. It really is great, isn't it, even on the half-power setting.
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Post by mtlrecords on Mar 4, 2010 19:58:43 GMT -7
Wonder how the Remedy would sound on 1/2 power through my 2x12 open back with Greenbacks...
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Post by faze on Mar 5, 2010 15:34:12 GMT -7
Welcome to the Forum cactuskurt I also replaced a Marshall 50 watt MK11 Plexi with the Remedy. The Remedy is an awesome amp. It's without a doubt a very Gig worthy amp to say the least the 1/2 power setting will surprise you. I am excited to try out a greenback I have on order with the G12H in the Z-Best. Sorry but you can add me to the list of the V30 Haters and I am not a bedroom player I think alot has to do with the guitar you use pickups ect... One of my other guitar buddy's hates the greenbacks so go figure. ;D To each is own.... I know one thing we all agree on THE REMEDY ROCKS!!!! ;D ;D
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Post by cactuskurt on Mar 10, 2010 8:19:52 GMT -7
Had a chance to rehearse and gig w/ the Remedy. It was great. Even my jaded band members were impressed. I was wondering how others are EQing the amp at gig-level volumes? It's a little too bright w/ the tone controls at 12:00. I've found that rolling back all the tone controls to about 9:00 sounds really good in a live setting (I've never run any amp with the bass set at 9:00!). I had the High volume set at about 2:00 and the normal volume at about 9:00. I set the High volume by dialing it up until tube compression just kicks in and dial the Normal volume up just until it gets "woofy". Even on the 1/2 power setting it's a bit too loud with my Les Paul, but perfect gig volume with a telecaster. I'm using a 2x12 closed back, heavily insulated cab w/ V30s. There are a wide variety of tones in the Remedy simply by playing with EQ/Volume settings... definitely not a one-trick pony.
I did a side-by-side comparison with my '79 Marshall 2204 at gig-level volume, and the Marshall sounded thin by comparison.
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Post by tubestack on Mar 10, 2010 17:41:27 GMT -7
... I was wondering how others are EQing the amp at gig-level volumes? It's a little too bright w/ the tone controls at 12:00... What speakers/cab are you using? I find that with my BMT all at around noon (Mid nudged forward to 1 o'clock), it's nice and warm, almost dark, which I like (at both 1/2 power and full). This again, is with a G12M/G12H mix in a Z Best. Also, you've got the 'High' volume set much farther ahead than the 'Normal,' maybe closing that gap will help. I've found a 2-hour spacing between the two works well (ie. 2 o'clock/12 o'clock, etc)
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Post by benttop (Steve) on Mar 10, 2010 18:07:25 GMT -7
When I first got my Remedy, I had the Hi level way up and the normal level back quite a ways. But lately I LOVE the way it sounds with both at the same setting, usually at around 2 to 3 o'clock. Woof!
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Post by John on Mar 11, 2010 8:25:54 GMT -7
When I first got my Remedy, I had the Hi level way up and the normal level back quite a ways. But lately I LOVE the way it sounds with both at the same setting, usually at around 2 to 3 o'clock. Woof! I see that a lot of Remedy owners use the bright volume around 2:00....but they have the normal/bass volume WAY down (let's just say noon or much lower) I hear no difference in tone with the bass/normal until you get it up near the same setting as the bright volume. As Steve said, I've been using both volumes around 2:00
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Post by jimfog on Mar 11, 2010 15:29:04 GMT -7
When I first got my Remedy, I had the Hi level way up and the normal level back quite a ways. But lately I LOVE the way it sounds with both at the same setting, usually at around 2 to 3 o'clock. Woof! I see that a lot of Remedy owners use the bright volume around 2:00....but they have the normal/bass volume WAY down (let's just say noon or much lower) I hear no difference in tone with the bass/normal until you get it up near the same setting as the bright volume. As Steve said, I've been using both volumes around 2:00 I think there must be some variance in the pots, because on mine, the Normal volume comes on quite a bit later than the High vol. I actually need to run the Norm 2-3 o'clock ABOVE the High to have them balance out. Not a big deal, but I wouldn't worry about exactly duplicating anyone's settings, for this reason.
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Post by taswegian on Mar 11, 2010 20:14:39 GMT -7
I've found for lower volume rehearsals, I like to run the normal up higher, say 12-2 O'Clock and keep the high volume low around 9. You still get breakup but at a friendlier volume, especially thru a 1-12. But I agree, variances are huge. Where you have the tone controls will change how your volumes react. different speakers will want different settings.
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