Z28: Where have you been all my life??!!
Feb 27, 2014 22:47:55 GMT -7
Buzz Fretwear (Ignatius), Joey Beverages, and 4 more like this
Post by skinvoyager on Feb 27, 2014 22:47:55 GMT -7
Seriously.
Just got the stock 1x12 combo (Greenback)from Humbucker today, and I almost cried. It was that good. (OK, I'm exaggerating.)
I've been on a journey (as many of us are). I get my overdrive from pedals, and I just wanted a simple, reliable, big-sounding combo amp that sounded alive and sits well in the mix. I think I've found it. Here's my recent (18-month) history. Keep in mind I play mostly covers when I gig and we always mic the guitars through a big PA.
1. 65 Amps Lil Elvis. Nice EL84 amp, although I found the tremolo useless. Seriously, a $50 pedal sounded better. But the amp was pretty nice. Just a little thin sounding for me.
2. 65 Amps Ventura. Again, nice amp, loved the simplicity. Probably could have made it work if I gave it more time. A bit too honky in the midrange and limited palette of tones.
3. Bad Cat Hot Cat 30R. This is when I decided I should be a purist and get my OD from the amp. I know lots of guys rave about this amp, but no thanks. Pretty good clean, uninspiring overdrive. Noise issues.
4. Bad Cat Black Cat 30R. Better than the Hot Cat, but totally not worth the money. Way too many knobs, too easy to get a bad sound from the over-sensitive controls. The two channels were more similar than different.
5. Dr. Z M12. My second time around with this amp. I thought it was the "one" for some time, until I bought a Peavey Classic 30 for a practice amp and found it more musical. In comparison the M12 sounded anemic. My search continued.
6. Black Cat Fat Cat 50. Thought I might benefit from the 6L6s. Maybe an EZG would do it, but this was the worst of the bunch. Broke up WAY too soon in a most unappealing way. Of all these amps, I can't see why anyone would want this.
7. Fender DRRI. Just wanted to try it to hear what the hype was about. Not a bad amp, definitely THE Fender sound. A little boxy sounding. Great reverb if you're into that. It broke up WAY to early though, and just didn't have enough low end.
8. Dr. Z Stang Ray. Gorgeous clean tones. Stellar. But had a top end that was hard to dial out, and made my pedals sound fizzy and artificial. I think it would be great for country, but it was like playing through a Twin --TOO clean for pedals. Also found it had a very narrow sweet spot. Turn the knobs just a hair and the amp sounded extreme. Would drive me nuts live.
9. Dr. Z Maz 18. Very, very close. Honestly, I could have lived with this amp. Very versatile. Just a little stiff sounding, but not too bad. And a bit too many knobs. Lackluster reverb, which I don't need anyway. Actually liked the EQ bypass mode a lot. Took pedals well, played live twice and no complaints, other than it didn't have that magical musical quality, that extra 10% I was looking for.
Enter the Z-28. I sent back the Maz 18 to Humbucker, just to satisfy my curiosity about the Z-28 since I'd never played one. I figured I could always swap again and return to the Maz and just be out the shipping costs (Humbucker rules). I just wanted a musical, vintage-sounding amp that sounds great on its own or with pedals. Now I haven't gigged with it yet, but the Z-28 has already blown me away. I was concerned it might not be clean enough for pedals, but it is. And the more you push it, the more the pedals come alive. It's very dynamic. It has that certain liveliness that the Stang Ray had but the Maz and M12 were missing. The Stang Ray was bit too responsive for me, the M12 was cold and sterile, and the Maz was somewhere in between.
One of the biggest advantages I see to the Z-28 is that there's not a bad sound on the amp. I tried diming the volume, reducing the bass and treble, vice versa, and all points in between. Some settings were better than others, but they were all usable. I couldn't say that about the Stang Ray. Those tone and cut knobs made HUGE differences. The Bad Cat amps were like that too. I guess that's why a lot of people like the Carmen Ghia. It's hard to screw it up. Just give me a killer base tone and the ability to tweak within reason, and I'm happy.
That's not to say the Z-28 doesn't have a lot of voices. With those three controls theres a wide variety of tones, from burnished to snappy, from clean to growling. The volume seems perfect too. Frankly, it's everything I wanted the M12 to be. No offense to M12 owners (I was one for a year) but I think the Z-28 smokes it. Same front end and a more musical power section (just my experience, of course).
I can't understand why this amp doesn't get more love. To me, it's the darling of the lineup. It has the perfect amount of volume, the vintage 6V6 vibe, the versatile but idiot-proof preamp, and takes pedals as good as anything. The only thing it won't do is higher gain, but my pedals take care of that anyway.
There are very few videos on this amp. And the reviews I read just caused more confusion, especially about the headroom (it has plenty!) I'll try to not be a complainer and be a contributor, and get some videos as soon as I can. This amp deserves them!
Just got the stock 1x12 combo (Greenback)from Humbucker today, and I almost cried. It was that good. (OK, I'm exaggerating.)
I've been on a journey (as many of us are). I get my overdrive from pedals, and I just wanted a simple, reliable, big-sounding combo amp that sounded alive and sits well in the mix. I think I've found it. Here's my recent (18-month) history. Keep in mind I play mostly covers when I gig and we always mic the guitars through a big PA.
1. 65 Amps Lil Elvis. Nice EL84 amp, although I found the tremolo useless. Seriously, a $50 pedal sounded better. But the amp was pretty nice. Just a little thin sounding for me.
2. 65 Amps Ventura. Again, nice amp, loved the simplicity. Probably could have made it work if I gave it more time. A bit too honky in the midrange and limited palette of tones.
3. Bad Cat Hot Cat 30R. This is when I decided I should be a purist and get my OD from the amp. I know lots of guys rave about this amp, but no thanks. Pretty good clean, uninspiring overdrive. Noise issues.
4. Bad Cat Black Cat 30R. Better than the Hot Cat, but totally not worth the money. Way too many knobs, too easy to get a bad sound from the over-sensitive controls. The two channels were more similar than different.
5. Dr. Z M12. My second time around with this amp. I thought it was the "one" for some time, until I bought a Peavey Classic 30 for a practice amp and found it more musical. In comparison the M12 sounded anemic. My search continued.
6. Black Cat Fat Cat 50. Thought I might benefit from the 6L6s. Maybe an EZG would do it, but this was the worst of the bunch. Broke up WAY too soon in a most unappealing way. Of all these amps, I can't see why anyone would want this.
7. Fender DRRI. Just wanted to try it to hear what the hype was about. Not a bad amp, definitely THE Fender sound. A little boxy sounding. Great reverb if you're into that. It broke up WAY to early though, and just didn't have enough low end.
8. Dr. Z Stang Ray. Gorgeous clean tones. Stellar. But had a top end that was hard to dial out, and made my pedals sound fizzy and artificial. I think it would be great for country, but it was like playing through a Twin --TOO clean for pedals. Also found it had a very narrow sweet spot. Turn the knobs just a hair and the amp sounded extreme. Would drive me nuts live.
9. Dr. Z Maz 18. Very, very close. Honestly, I could have lived with this amp. Very versatile. Just a little stiff sounding, but not too bad. And a bit too many knobs. Lackluster reverb, which I don't need anyway. Actually liked the EQ bypass mode a lot. Took pedals well, played live twice and no complaints, other than it didn't have that magical musical quality, that extra 10% I was looking for.
Enter the Z-28. I sent back the Maz 18 to Humbucker, just to satisfy my curiosity about the Z-28 since I'd never played one. I figured I could always swap again and return to the Maz and just be out the shipping costs (Humbucker rules). I just wanted a musical, vintage-sounding amp that sounds great on its own or with pedals. Now I haven't gigged with it yet, but the Z-28 has already blown me away. I was concerned it might not be clean enough for pedals, but it is. And the more you push it, the more the pedals come alive. It's very dynamic. It has that certain liveliness that the Stang Ray had but the Maz and M12 were missing. The Stang Ray was bit too responsive for me, the M12 was cold and sterile, and the Maz was somewhere in between.
One of the biggest advantages I see to the Z-28 is that there's not a bad sound on the amp. I tried diming the volume, reducing the bass and treble, vice versa, and all points in between. Some settings were better than others, but they were all usable. I couldn't say that about the Stang Ray. Those tone and cut knobs made HUGE differences. The Bad Cat amps were like that too. I guess that's why a lot of people like the Carmen Ghia. It's hard to screw it up. Just give me a killer base tone and the ability to tweak within reason, and I'm happy.
That's not to say the Z-28 doesn't have a lot of voices. With those three controls theres a wide variety of tones, from burnished to snappy, from clean to growling. The volume seems perfect too. Frankly, it's everything I wanted the M12 to be. No offense to M12 owners (I was one for a year) but I think the Z-28 smokes it. Same front end and a more musical power section (just my experience, of course).
I can't understand why this amp doesn't get more love. To me, it's the darling of the lineup. It has the perfect amount of volume, the vintage 6V6 vibe, the versatile but idiot-proof preamp, and takes pedals as good as anything. The only thing it won't do is higher gain, but my pedals take care of that anyway.
There are very few videos on this amp. And the reviews I read just caused more confusion, especially about the headroom (it has plenty!) I'll try to not be a complainer and be a contributor, and get some videos as soon as I can. This amp deserves them!