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Post by Deleted on Jun 28, 2012 9:17:07 GMT -7
Perfect, for me. Much warmer than the 5AR4, but still with the same great drive and early breakup. More warm semi-clean tones. Plays nicer with the Brakelite. It's more MAZ-like, which is a good thing IMO, although still a lot ballsier than the MAZ 18. You could easily gig it straight in, no pedals, which is what I hoped for. Gets pretty mid-scooped with the V up and the MV down, which I'm not crazy about (can't remember if it does the same thing with the stock rectifier tube or not), so for me the best tones are around Lee's settings: v 10:00, D 2:00, T 11:00, MV 2:00, BL as needed. Great, great little amp--this one's going to our outdoor 4th of July gig (supposed to be 92 and sunny--ack!).
Seriously--if you're a Monza owner who hasn't bonded because you're hearing the treble as a bit too spiky/aggressive, try switching out the 5AR4 for a GZ34. You'll end up with kind of a MAZ/Monza hybrid--the Manza, or the Moz. Awesome--my favorite amp now.
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Post by boptometrist on Jun 28, 2012 9:47:25 GMT -7
Interesting observations flea. Can you categorically say a GZ34 will warm up any amp or is it just that the 2 tubes you swapped in your Monza sound different? Maybe we are getting into Ask the Experts territory.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 28, 2012 9:55:02 GMT -7
Well, I can categorically say that in this amp at those settings, the GZ34 is a much warmer tube than the 5AR4, which is more aggressive and scooped. I also swapped the stock JJ power tubes for EHs, which made a difference, too. I'm playing it straight in and getting a really ballsy, crunchy tone with nice warm mids and without the brittle top end the stock tubes produced. It's less Monza-like, but in a good way, for me. Love it!
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Post by Maddog on Jun 28, 2012 10:24:00 GMT -7
Oh wow.... That's interesting, Jon.....So yer telling me my fave amp can get even better? I just happen to have a NOS W. German Telefunken GZ sitting all lonely in its box....and band practice tonight.... Yahoo!!!! Thanks for the heads up!!!
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Post by Deleted on Jun 28, 2012 10:41:10 GMT -7
Try it, Lee--it made a big difference to my ear, but YMMV, of course.
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Post by Russell B on Jun 28, 2012 11:21:38 GMT -7
I have a couple GZ34s sitting around as well. I thought they were basically the same tube, but I guess not. I'll stick the GZ34 in there and see! Myles also recommended to me to try a 12AY7 in V1 to reduce the gain if I wanted to do that, but I'm liking the gain today.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 28, 2012 11:26:22 GMT -7
I like the gain, just not the spiky artifacts. I even got it sounding good with my Tele. Straight in for rhythm, red side of my KoT for leads--bam!
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Post by Deleted on Jun 28, 2012 11:43:47 GMT -7
Lee--the difference is that with the GZ I can turn up the V a bit and get the amp's own breakup in a useable dose without any pedals. On a Strat I can just use the guitar volume for rhythm/leads, which is what I hoped for. With a Tele a clean boost seems to work best for leads, or an OD with the gain set low.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 28, 2012 13:27:30 GMT -7
Trying it out with a Greenback. A little sloppy on the bottom, but I guess that's to be expected. Also the speaker's not broken in, so a bit scratchy treble-wise. I like it that it's a less efficient speaker, though, so the volume's a bit more manageable with less BL. And the mids sound good. Hmmm....
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Post by Deleted on Jun 28, 2012 14:05:26 GMT -7
A bit too light/thin with the Greenie, even with the back closed. Back to the G12H30 we go.
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Post by Russell B on Jun 28, 2012 14:38:01 GMT -7
I tried the GZ34 and I'm not sure if it made a difference. Maybe a small change in the feel on the amp? Perhaps a little softer with the GZ34? I don't know.
Lee?
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Post by Deleted on Jun 28, 2012 15:25:13 GMT -7
It may have been the combo of the GZ34 and the EH power tubes, but it's definitely different, at least to my ear. But again, YMMV.
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Post by Russell B on Jun 28, 2012 16:19:32 GMT -7
When I get some more time, I'll try the Rectifier switch again. I've not had any trouble using the Monza with my Air brake. I like having the MV up to noon. I think the 10" Red Fang combined with the 12" G12H go well together!
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Post by Deleted on Jun 30, 2012 11:04:03 GMT -7
I've been A/Bing the Monza and the MAZ 18--Monza straight in, MAZ with some OD. They're pretty close--the Monza's still a lot more aggressive; it wants to overwhelm the G12H30 at times (if that thing isn't broken in by now, it will be by the time our gig on the 4th is over). The MAZ is warmer, maybe a bit more soulful, if that makes any sense. The Monza's just 30 watts of badass: loud, proud and nasty. Love 'em both!
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Post by Maddog on Jun 30, 2012 15:57:43 GMT -7
I tried the GZ34 and I'm not sure if it made a difference. Maybe a small change in the feel on the amp? Perhaps a little softer with the GZ34? I don't know. Lee? Sorry Russell.... I've been working on my old Bassman and not gotten to the Monza yet....probably tomorrow....I'll let you know....Sounds like it really enhanced Jon's tone!
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Post by 4eveR8 on Jul 6, 2012 13:03:39 GMT -7
What brands of rectifier did you switch to/from? Modern/NOS?
FWIW... I like the "softer" feel of the Sovtec 5ar4 rectifier in my Monza better than a "stiffer" one (JJ gz34 which sounds better in my brown deluxe than the Sov)
5AR4 is to GZ34 as 12ax7 is to ecc83, no?
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Post by Deleted on Jul 6, 2012 14:41:51 GMT -7
It's a new Sovtek. Funny--seemed to me that the GZ softened the attack somewhat. YMMV.
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Post by digiTED aka 'Ted' on Jan 16, 2013 10:10:20 GMT -7
It may have been the combo of the GZ34 and the EH power tubes, but it's definitely different, at least to my ear. But again, YMMV. Did you swap everything at once or just the Recto first? I've found EHX 12AX7s warmer and smoother than JJs in other amps. I swapped the Sovtek 5AR4 mine came with (used) for a new JJ GZ34 and didn't hear or feel anything, but yeah YMMV! :beer
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