Post by gotmojo on Jul 7, 2010 5:03:48 GMT -7
Gonna admit something here, just tell the truth, even though it's not really very nice. I know, it shows what a small thinker I am. An old poop, really. Here it is: I seriously wondered about you people. I thought you were a bunch of losers and geeks. I mean, who spends so much time blogging on and on about an amplifier, unless you are a loser and have nothing else really to do?
Oh sure, I was reading the blogs, but I felt justified as I had just bought two Z heads (a Mas 18NR and a Remedy) from Fat Sound in N.C. (I had read a few good things about the Z amps in a Steve Miller article, and decided I better give 'em a try) and was waiting the 5 days for them to arrive - what with the July 4th holiday slowing down shipping, pretty agonizing to know my new gear was sitting at UPS over a long weekend. Reading your blogs, I thought, might give me a little insight into the cash I'd just spent, and help stem the excitement of waiting for new gear to feed my addiction. And after reading all this tripe, I'd become convinced that these amps couldn't be as good as you all were raving, and, again, that you all were total geeks and couldn't possibly be hip to good gear. You were blogging, for gawds sake! And sure, I read the guitar rag reviews of these amps 4 or 5 times each to see if they really had raved that strongly, but I still figured "How can these relatively cost efficient amps ever sound as good as all the vintage amps I'd been acquiring over the years?" And they are light weight and might save my old back?! Yeah, right.
The UPS guy drops 'em off as I'm having a pretty big time with a Telecaster switching back and forth from a '64 AC30, a '59 Bassman, a '53 Twin (low, low power Twin - the best!), and a Matchless Clubman through 2-12 cab (Voodoo Lab amp switcher -great for comparing amps!). Pretty good assortment of tone, and all sounding pretty sweet for an afternoon of blowing off work. So, I plugged these two Z heads into 2-12 cabs and ...... Jeeze.
I was stunned. These amps both sound stellar. Hard to believe how good the tone is at just about any setting of the twisty dials. Hard to believe how loud the Mas 18 is! How could I have not known someone who had one of these amps? How could I have never plugged into one of these amps in a store somewhere? How come I never saw anyone playing through one of these in local clubs, or big stage acts for that matter? How come Petty and Campbell are never using these things? I musta played these amps for 3 hours or more, switching back and forth, and trying a Strat, Tele, and Les Paul. All sounded superb. These amps sing! Plenty of great tone at lower volume around the house, and both have plenty of headroom for live gigs - can't wait to try 'em both in clubs. Then I plugged in the '67 Rick 12-string. Gawd! Sweet Byrds tone for miles. Then I A-B'ed 'em against the AC30, Bassman, Tweed Twin and the Matchless. These amps compared extremely nicely up against the best of vintage gear! Like every amp, they are all a little different from each other, but these Z's are so much more versatile, getting "the tone" at a myriad of volumes. And tough as nails (can't say that about an old AC30, nor can I carry an old AC30 anymore!). My old plexi Marshall is in for a tune up, but can' wait to see how the Remedy stacks up against that bad boy. Looks like I'll be selling some vintage gear on eBay soon.
So, ...... I'm a doubter no more. You guys were right, these amps are something! And look at me: I'm blogging. So I'm either a loser and a geek, or these amps really are something to rave about. Just for my own self image, I'm gonna lean towards the latter. Which bodes well for you guys, too. At least in my mind.
Oh sure, I was reading the blogs, but I felt justified as I had just bought two Z heads (a Mas 18NR and a Remedy) from Fat Sound in N.C. (I had read a few good things about the Z amps in a Steve Miller article, and decided I better give 'em a try) and was waiting the 5 days for them to arrive - what with the July 4th holiday slowing down shipping, pretty agonizing to know my new gear was sitting at UPS over a long weekend. Reading your blogs, I thought, might give me a little insight into the cash I'd just spent, and help stem the excitement of waiting for new gear to feed my addiction. And after reading all this tripe, I'd become convinced that these amps couldn't be as good as you all were raving, and, again, that you all were total geeks and couldn't possibly be hip to good gear. You were blogging, for gawds sake! And sure, I read the guitar rag reviews of these amps 4 or 5 times each to see if they really had raved that strongly, but I still figured "How can these relatively cost efficient amps ever sound as good as all the vintage amps I'd been acquiring over the years?" And they are light weight and might save my old back?! Yeah, right.
The UPS guy drops 'em off as I'm having a pretty big time with a Telecaster switching back and forth from a '64 AC30, a '59 Bassman, a '53 Twin (low, low power Twin - the best!), and a Matchless Clubman through 2-12 cab (Voodoo Lab amp switcher -great for comparing amps!). Pretty good assortment of tone, and all sounding pretty sweet for an afternoon of blowing off work. So, I plugged these two Z heads into 2-12 cabs and ...... Jeeze.
I was stunned. These amps both sound stellar. Hard to believe how good the tone is at just about any setting of the twisty dials. Hard to believe how loud the Mas 18 is! How could I have not known someone who had one of these amps? How could I have never plugged into one of these amps in a store somewhere? How come I never saw anyone playing through one of these in local clubs, or big stage acts for that matter? How come Petty and Campbell are never using these things? I musta played these amps for 3 hours or more, switching back and forth, and trying a Strat, Tele, and Les Paul. All sounded superb. These amps sing! Plenty of great tone at lower volume around the house, and both have plenty of headroom for live gigs - can't wait to try 'em both in clubs. Then I plugged in the '67 Rick 12-string. Gawd! Sweet Byrds tone for miles. Then I A-B'ed 'em against the AC30, Bassman, Tweed Twin and the Matchless. These amps compared extremely nicely up against the best of vintage gear! Like every amp, they are all a little different from each other, but these Z's are so much more versatile, getting "the tone" at a myriad of volumes. And tough as nails (can't say that about an old AC30, nor can I carry an old AC30 anymore!). My old plexi Marshall is in for a tune up, but can' wait to see how the Remedy stacks up against that bad boy. Looks like I'll be selling some vintage gear on eBay soon.
So, ...... I'm a doubter no more. You guys were right, these amps are something! And look at me: I'm blogging. So I'm either a loser and a geek, or these amps really are something to rave about. Just for my own self image, I'm gonna lean towards the latter. Which bodes well for you guys, too. At least in my mind.