Post by taswegian on May 24, 2006 6:31:23 GMT -7
OK, well, "thevillan" was kind enough to leave the Z28 and DrZ 4-10 cab at my house for me to check out. I gave it a bit of a workout, then on the weekend we took it down to my parents place whilst they were away on holidays in "Groovergeorge" land. 10 acres of property...no neighbors!
The Z28 came with an NOS Amperex EF86 from France and everything else is stock.
(5751, EH 6v6's and JJ Gz34) not sure about the 6v6 ratings.
Bear in mind, I am coming from a rock/pop/alt/British R and B background and mostly judge amps on how well they will work with my original music. Although, I often crank them, roll back the volume and play the intro to "Since I've been loving you". Always seems a good reference. The closest I have come to playing country is "Sweet Home Alabama" and the Eagles. ;D
So straight up I plugged into my Z-Best (stock). My very first impression is that it sounds exactly like I thought it would!
It has that thick 6v6 tone with the sparkly top end and the tight bottom that the Doc promised that is often lacking in 6v6 amps.
So much TONE! Sensational amp. I love that it is 22 watts with so much headroom. The 5751 is a stroke of genius!
Cranked up with the volume and tones on 3 oclock wielded a very aggressive tone, dirtier and more gain than my 66 at the same setting. My favorite setting with the Z best was 3 Oclock volume and 12 oclock on both Bass and Treble. Great thumpy dirt tone that remained clear with clarity, and it cleaned up beautifully! Now remember, I'm playing a big Grosh Set Neck with Humbuckers! I can understand how the country guys would love this amp as it's pretty snappy and I'm sure ,twangy with a Tele, but I think it will do all the classic rock, brit/pop tones you want as well.
I've heard the Fender comparisons and the cranked with humbuckers, Marshall comparisons. To me, it sounds like a DR Z AMP!!! It's obviously related to the Rt 66 and I think the two amps are very compatible. Voice very similar. More on that later.
Plugged into the 4-10 cab, straight away I was pretty much struck by how much the volume decreased. The 4-10 sounded great, very focused, nice bottoms, but no where near the "body" of the Zbest, or the volume! I would say this leans more toward the Fender side and the Zbest sounds decidedly more British. The 4-10 would work great in smaller clubs if you needed to work the amp a little more, and it's pretty easy to lug, probably easier than the Zbest. Lighter anyway! (Disclaimer, the 4-10 only had 3 speakers working hence it's lack of volume, figured this out later when I thought it should sound better/louder.)
Comparing with the Route 66 was lots o fun!
Now bearing in mind, my 66 is loaded with a GEC EF86, Sovtek12ax7LPS, brown base GEC KT66's, and a 1954 Steel based Mullard GZ34.
I'm not sure where my bias is or whether the Z28 is biased "hot or cold" or what the 6v6's are rated at. This comparison is between these two particular amps and not necessarily Z28's and Route 66 in general.
Surprisingly with the same settings, the Z28 had more headroom than my 66 but once breaking up became "hotter" quicker. By 3 oclock, the Z28 is noticeably dirtier and gainier than the 66.
In comparison tonally, the Route 66 had more "girth" and body, a deeper bottom end and something a little more "even". To my ears they are very similarly voiced with the Z28 having more sparkle and a little less "Body" and a bit more "gritty" but never harsh. They are definitely related and sound quite similar, whilst retaining their own qualities and could be used in similar situations. To really change both amps tonal qualities, speakers and cabs will have the most drastic affect.
The Z28 was reasonably less loud than the Rt 66 although with the 66 into the 4-10 and the Z28 into the Zbest they were probably almost even.
With the Z28 into the 4-10 cab, the volume had to be pushed to around 1 oclock plus tone knobs on 1 oclock to be around the same volume as my Rt 66/Zbest at 10 oclock across the board.
I find 10 oclock on my 66 is my usual small club, coverband volume so it's a good reference point. At the same volume the Z28 into the 4-10 was "workin". Very nice. Pushing the amp into the 4-10 yields a really nice compression for lead work and aggressive blues and rock tones. Dirtier than the Zbest.
Into the Zbest the Z28 is still very loud with the settings above 1 oclock. Less loud than the Rt 66 but still maybe too loud for a small club. Maybe not a packed one though. I need to gig it to be sure. My gig was "double booked" Sat night so I haven't got to gig it yet.
Both take pedals extremely well although I found with the boost pedals I had to keep an eye on that top end in the Z28. Different pedals affected it differently. The Fulltone Fatboost remained quite neutral while I find the Compression Cut setting on the FFD2 adds a nice sparkle to the 66, it had to be watched not to get out of hand with the Z28. The Tonefactor Hellbilly sounds "Fat as" in both amps. Both love the germanium!
Running both amps in stereo was awesome, I would like to try this as my original set up. It was also a great way to compare the two amps as we could just hit the standby switch to compare.
I found I could get maybe a larger variety of tones from the Z28 playing with the tone controls while on the Rt 66 they have less affect. With the volume at 10 oclock, bass at 3 oclock and treble at 10, the Z28 yielded a pretty warm classic rock tone at a very useable volume. The same setting is not so great with my 66. It is much easier to get a useable lower volume overdrive than the 66. The tone controls on 3 oclock will overdrive with the volume on 9 and above. This doesn't really overdrive well on my amp till about 11 oclock and then we're getting pretty loud anyway!
The Rt 66 definitely wins the "Since I've been loving you" contest though!
So in conclusion, the Z28 is just an awesome amp. I love the power rating, it's versatility, it's clean and dirty sound, and that sparkle is kinda addictive! I think with a variety of cabs you could cover just about anything and any stage. I don't like it less or more than the 66. It just is what it is, and it's a world class amp!
Favorite setting? Volume: 3 oclock, Bass: 12 oclock, treble: almost 1 oclock. into the Z-Best cab.
Given the choice I might run the Z28 as a clean sound and my Rt 66 as my overdrive. For me, the overdriven sound wasn't quite what the 66 is, but then, what is ;D. I personally love the clean and rolled back tones the 28 provides. So full and sparkly!
This forum must be a pretty good source because it really did sound how I expected it to from the information available here and from Doc's description.
Also, the mini sounds great into the 4-10 cab as does the Rt 66. Again probably a better cab for a small club with the 66 if you want the break up. I guess the 2-10 cab would be less volume again. The tone was still very warm and even, just less.
I would still like to try my GEC ef86 into the Z28 front end, maybe try my GT12ax7MPI in the phase inverter slot into the Zbest for quicker breakup, just to hear the differences.
I did also try both amps into an open back 1-12 cab with a Celestian G12M70 and both still sounded great although I would prefer the 4-10 or Zbest. I would like to hear a greenback in a 1-12.
Makes me realize what a killer cab the ZBest is. Definitely my favorite cab out of any I have tried. But it is loud.
I think I'd rather give up some dirt and gain to get that "body". The Z28 really liked having the V30 on top to accentuate the sparkle.
So there you have it. The bad news is it validated all the reasons I was gassing for it. The good news is, I'll have access to one once in a while. Still want my own though, and looking forward to trying it on a gig. The "real" test.
So...who wants to send me a Ghia, or Delta to try? ;D
Stangray?
Too Cool.
The Z28 came with an NOS Amperex EF86 from France and everything else is stock.
(5751, EH 6v6's and JJ Gz34) not sure about the 6v6 ratings.
Bear in mind, I am coming from a rock/pop/alt/British R and B background and mostly judge amps on how well they will work with my original music. Although, I often crank them, roll back the volume and play the intro to "Since I've been loving you". Always seems a good reference. The closest I have come to playing country is "Sweet Home Alabama" and the Eagles. ;D
So straight up I plugged into my Z-Best (stock). My very first impression is that it sounds exactly like I thought it would!
It has that thick 6v6 tone with the sparkly top end and the tight bottom that the Doc promised that is often lacking in 6v6 amps.
So much TONE! Sensational amp. I love that it is 22 watts with so much headroom. The 5751 is a stroke of genius!
Cranked up with the volume and tones on 3 oclock wielded a very aggressive tone, dirtier and more gain than my 66 at the same setting. My favorite setting with the Z best was 3 Oclock volume and 12 oclock on both Bass and Treble. Great thumpy dirt tone that remained clear with clarity, and it cleaned up beautifully! Now remember, I'm playing a big Grosh Set Neck with Humbuckers! I can understand how the country guys would love this amp as it's pretty snappy and I'm sure ,twangy with a Tele, but I think it will do all the classic rock, brit/pop tones you want as well.
I've heard the Fender comparisons and the cranked with humbuckers, Marshall comparisons. To me, it sounds like a DR Z AMP!!! It's obviously related to the Rt 66 and I think the two amps are very compatible. Voice very similar. More on that later.
Plugged into the 4-10 cab, straight away I was pretty much struck by how much the volume decreased. The 4-10 sounded great, very focused, nice bottoms, but no where near the "body" of the Zbest, or the volume! I would say this leans more toward the Fender side and the Zbest sounds decidedly more British. The 4-10 would work great in smaller clubs if you needed to work the amp a little more, and it's pretty easy to lug, probably easier than the Zbest. Lighter anyway! (Disclaimer, the 4-10 only had 3 speakers working hence it's lack of volume, figured this out later when I thought it should sound better/louder.)
Comparing with the Route 66 was lots o fun!
Now bearing in mind, my 66 is loaded with a GEC EF86, Sovtek12ax7LPS, brown base GEC KT66's, and a 1954 Steel based Mullard GZ34.
I'm not sure where my bias is or whether the Z28 is biased "hot or cold" or what the 6v6's are rated at. This comparison is between these two particular amps and not necessarily Z28's and Route 66 in general.
Surprisingly with the same settings, the Z28 had more headroom than my 66 but once breaking up became "hotter" quicker. By 3 oclock, the Z28 is noticeably dirtier and gainier than the 66.
In comparison tonally, the Route 66 had more "girth" and body, a deeper bottom end and something a little more "even". To my ears they are very similarly voiced with the Z28 having more sparkle and a little less "Body" and a bit more "gritty" but never harsh. They are definitely related and sound quite similar, whilst retaining their own qualities and could be used in similar situations. To really change both amps tonal qualities, speakers and cabs will have the most drastic affect.
The Z28 was reasonably less loud than the Rt 66 although with the 66 into the 4-10 and the Z28 into the Zbest they were probably almost even.
With the Z28 into the 4-10 cab, the volume had to be pushed to around 1 oclock plus tone knobs on 1 oclock to be around the same volume as my Rt 66/Zbest at 10 oclock across the board.
I find 10 oclock on my 66 is my usual small club, coverband volume so it's a good reference point. At the same volume the Z28 into the 4-10 was "workin". Very nice. Pushing the amp into the 4-10 yields a really nice compression for lead work and aggressive blues and rock tones. Dirtier than the Zbest.
Into the Zbest the Z28 is still very loud with the settings above 1 oclock. Less loud than the Rt 66 but still maybe too loud for a small club. Maybe not a packed one though. I need to gig it to be sure. My gig was "double booked" Sat night so I haven't got to gig it yet.
Both take pedals extremely well although I found with the boost pedals I had to keep an eye on that top end in the Z28. Different pedals affected it differently. The Fulltone Fatboost remained quite neutral while I find the Compression Cut setting on the FFD2 adds a nice sparkle to the 66, it had to be watched not to get out of hand with the Z28. The Tonefactor Hellbilly sounds "Fat as" in both amps. Both love the germanium!
Running both amps in stereo was awesome, I would like to try this as my original set up. It was also a great way to compare the two amps as we could just hit the standby switch to compare.
I found I could get maybe a larger variety of tones from the Z28 playing with the tone controls while on the Rt 66 they have less affect. With the volume at 10 oclock, bass at 3 oclock and treble at 10, the Z28 yielded a pretty warm classic rock tone at a very useable volume. The same setting is not so great with my 66. It is much easier to get a useable lower volume overdrive than the 66. The tone controls on 3 oclock will overdrive with the volume on 9 and above. This doesn't really overdrive well on my amp till about 11 oclock and then we're getting pretty loud anyway!
The Rt 66 definitely wins the "Since I've been loving you" contest though!
So in conclusion, the Z28 is just an awesome amp. I love the power rating, it's versatility, it's clean and dirty sound, and that sparkle is kinda addictive! I think with a variety of cabs you could cover just about anything and any stage. I don't like it less or more than the 66. It just is what it is, and it's a world class amp!
Favorite setting? Volume: 3 oclock, Bass: 12 oclock, treble: almost 1 oclock. into the Z-Best cab.
Given the choice I might run the Z28 as a clean sound and my Rt 66 as my overdrive. For me, the overdriven sound wasn't quite what the 66 is, but then, what is ;D. I personally love the clean and rolled back tones the 28 provides. So full and sparkly!
This forum must be a pretty good source because it really did sound how I expected it to from the information available here and from Doc's description.
Also, the mini sounds great into the 4-10 cab as does the Rt 66. Again probably a better cab for a small club with the 66 if you want the break up. I guess the 2-10 cab would be less volume again. The tone was still very warm and even, just less.
I would still like to try my GEC ef86 into the Z28 front end, maybe try my GT12ax7MPI in the phase inverter slot into the Zbest for quicker breakup, just to hear the differences.
I did also try both amps into an open back 1-12 cab with a Celestian G12M70 and both still sounded great although I would prefer the 4-10 or Zbest. I would like to hear a greenback in a 1-12.
Makes me realize what a killer cab the ZBest is. Definitely my favorite cab out of any I have tried. But it is loud.
I think I'd rather give up some dirt and gain to get that "body". The Z28 really liked having the V30 on top to accentuate the sparkle.
So there you have it. The bad news is it validated all the reasons I was gassing for it. The good news is, I'll have access to one once in a while. Still want my own though, and looking forward to trying it on a gig. The "real" test.
So...who wants to send me a Ghia, or Delta to try? ;D
Stangray?
Too Cool.