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Post by JebusCrebus on Jan 12, 2007 8:47:31 GMT -7
Got my new to me Air Brake last night (thanks ZdogMa, for the great deal!! . First impressions; It seems to be very transparent in all settings, as many of you have verbalized on this forum. I even like the bedroom setting with the level about half way up may need to increase the Treb a little here, but the jury is still out for sure. I will update the thread once I have a few more hours on the Brake (darn another excuse to play more guitar ). The thing I am finding is that the amp responds very differently when you crank up the volume controls, so there is a new learning curve for the responsiveness that you don't get at lower settings. This is way to fun for one guy to have with an amp, I'm lovin it! ;D ;D Through this experimentation I have found some really great Strat tones with the Master maxed and the Volume about noon, Kick in the Maxon OD and the tone is to die for. More to follow, stay tuned! [glow=limegreen,2,300]-J-[/glow]
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Post by lowwatt on Jan 12, 2007 9:12:23 GMT -7
Anything for details is appreciated. I've got my Maz Jr and airbrake on order right now. I'm getting the airbrake for more than just the Maz, but I'm really curious about using these together too.
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Post by JebusCrebus on Jan 12, 2007 9:20:49 GMT -7
Hey Lowwatt, No Problem, as I log more time on it I will update the thread. I never even thought about using it on my other amps (I guess that's because since I got Jr I haven't ever took the cover off the others! ) I use a 16ohm THD on my JTM 45 that I'm not entirely happy with the sound of, the Air Brake would be interesting ...hmmmm.... I will give it a try sometime in the future, if I can tear myself away from that Beautiful blond I'm sure you will love the Z as much as we all seem to on this forum. Welcome to the group! [glow=limegreen,2,300]-J- [/glow]
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Post by zdogma on Jan 14, 2007 13:44:32 GMT -7
Got my new to me Air Brake last night (thanks ZdogMa, for the great deal!! . [glow=limegreen,2,300]-J-[/glow] Hey, no problem. Just happy to keep it in the Z family.
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Post by JebusCrebus on Jan 16, 2007 11:33:10 GMT -7
Hey Guys, just a quick update on the Air Brake, I spent a few good hours with it on the weekend. What I am primarily using it for is personal practice (I have yet to take my Z to a gig or a full band practice). I typically sit in front of my amp with the speakers pointing directly at me and I found even at 18watts (one of my lowest wattage tube amps) the Jr was way too loud. The sound was great but I needed Pedals to get the crunch I was looking for at lower volume settings (this is typical of my Fender and Marshall amps as well, most are at or above 40watts). With the Air Brake I can turn the Volume controls wherever I want, and I can leave the pedals off if I choose to. The amp behaves completely different at these higher volume settings. I find I am usually attenuating the signal either at the number 4 position or at the Bedroom level (practice level for me) Volumes can be anywhere from 12 noon to full out. I do find at bedroom levels the tone may be slightly altered but it is not that significant (to my ear), I have been able to dial out any tone losses easy enough with the amps internal tone stack. I would classify the Air Brake as extremely transparent, I doubt someone in an audience would ever know the difference. I have used a THD Hotplate with my Marshall JTM 45 and 4X12 Cab that I don't think sounds as transparent as the Z. I find it really changes the tone of the Marshall the more you raise the attenuation and especially at bedroom levels. I have not as of yet tried the Z Brake on any other amp in my collection so I cannot comment on the performance with these, but from what I have heard with the Z I'm sure it will work flawlessly. I hope this information is helpful to someone! Cheers, [glow=limegreen,2,300]-J-[/glow]
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Post by mward on Jan 16, 2007 12:20:37 GMT -7
It's posts like this that led me to buy an air brake yesterday when it was listed in the classifieds. Originally I wanted a hotplate but everyone says the airbrake is the real deal. I've got a route66 and with the volume anywhere above the lowest setting it's unbearable in the house. Can't wait to try it on the Valve Junior either.
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Post by soulcall on Jan 25, 2007 21:55:58 GMT -7
Played my first gig with my Maz 18 210 and airbrake. The owner who is a good guitarist came up to me after the first set and said he couldn't believe how much thicker the tone was from the last time he heard me. Getting that master volume up to around 2:00 seems to be essential for the magic to happen. I am considering trying to find a mini z so I can get this sound without the airbrake. It is
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Post by Dr.T on Feb 4, 2007 13:33:23 GMT -7
In first two steps of attenuation guitar tone is very similar to not-attenuated. If you attenuate more your speakers aren't so crancked up so sound begins to change. At "room" level it's obviously different but still better than no attenuation and volume at 0,0005%!! (expecially with my R66...) But... c'mon, in the evening, in your room, it's a great compromise.
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Post by cheycaster on Feb 16, 2007 4:57:50 GMT -7
Man< I have been wanting to try a Z brake. I owned a THD Hotplate and used it with my Mesa MKIIC+. I did not like it at all. Thinking back tho, I didn't know how to use it. I ended up trading it for an original Klon with the horse dude on it! But I talked to Mike Z about the air brak and he said that he likes them a whole lot better with non-master volume amps. SO I'm thinking , turn down the gain on my Maz Junior and turn up the master to use a Z brake with good results? I'd love to try one, thats why I have offered up gear for trade for one but, nobody has shown me the love yet! heheee
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Post by jb on Feb 16, 2007 7:04:16 GMT -7
The airbrake works great with my 66. At level 4 it makes a very noticeable difference without, to my ears, affecting the tone. As Dr. T says, the bedroom level does what it is designed to do, which is great for practicing at home or when you really need to keep the volume down. It's built like a tank and I couldn't do without it.
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Post by Telemanic on Feb 18, 2007 9:03:28 GMT -7
Cheycaster, i think you'll dig it! I liked my MAZ the same way, not so much pre-fizz, just crank up the master. The Brake should do ya righteous. I seem to recall that there is JUST enough speaker lead length to reach the brake sitting on top, other wise ya might have to extend that to be a little more comfortable.
With the brake and my 66, i dont think it's so much that the tone changes per say, with increasing attenuation, it's that as it squashes down on the volume you start to lose dynamics, ie. the fast, full freq. bandwidth transients. Some might refer to it as AIR or openess. But i have to say that for my purpose "tone" isnt referencing gain or texture, just the, .... well,... tone! At 4 to my ears, the "inherent" tone is there but the sound has become gainy-er and obviously compressed. ( loss of transients- clean lows and highs ). Some guys probably like that greatly and incorporate it into there sound style. I think it depends largely on your music style and how you present it on stage. In studio, i think its a whole other beast cause you can replace that live impact, or lack there of, and substitute mike and recording techniques and make it sound huge. Bedroom mode comes to mind here. Of course "tone" is really fun to see how many different ways people describe it, and what it includes! - Peace
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