|
Post by Danny on Dec 21, 2007 21:18:59 GMT -7
I had been playing through an RxES for the past year, but this past September or October I bought a Stang Ray head and Celestion Alnico Blue-loaded 2x12 cab. At about the same time I moved into a new apartment and started a new job, so I really haven't had a chance to take the SR through its paces.
I'm scheduled to get together with some guys down at UltraSound Studios and jam, with an eye to maybe forming a 60s-oriented cover band, so tonight I thought I'd run through a few Who songs. I brought out my Ric 360-12 and 330-6. I'm running them through a JangleBox compressor and RC Booster. I grabbed the 12-string (vintage 'toaster' pickups and Pyramid flat-wounds) and hit the first 3 bar chords of "I Can't Explain" and was in heaven!! Then I grabbed the 330 (Ric high gain 'toasters' and Pyramid flat-wounds) and played through "The Kids Are Alright" and "Substitute" and I sprouted a grin that hasn't left my face yet!
This is a magic combination: Rickenbackers, Pyramid flat-wounds, JangleBox, Stang Ray, Celestion Alnico Blues. Absolutely magic. I am SO restless to get this Stang on stage somewhere. What a gorgeous amp.
Then ... I started in playing some songs by the Jam: "In the City", "In The Crowd", "It's Too Bad" ...
Paul Weller, eat your heart out!
|
|
|
Post by benttop (Steve) on Dec 21, 2007 21:35:35 GMT -7
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
|
|
|
Post by Bill on Dec 22, 2007 5:47:51 GMT -7
The 'Ray continues to knock out every competitor I bring into the house. ;D I just went two weeks without turning it on, playing my new Mazerati every night. Yesterday I fired the 'Ray back up and, once again, discovered how utterly awesome this amp is! I can only imagine how cool the Janglebox would sound with it.
|
|
|
Post by benttop (Steve) on Dec 22, 2007 7:51:54 GMT -7
And Rickenbacker git-tars... oh my!
|
|
|
Post by Jones'n for Tone on Dec 22, 2007 8:21:26 GMT -7
Ray's are awesome! Still my favorite amp.
|
|
|
Post by Fiestared69 on Dec 22, 2007 8:58:22 GMT -7
I got a brand new Rxjr this week and have played it alot,then I plug into the Ray and wow !! Great amp !!! Just goes well with everything I do!!!
|
|
|
Post by telejas on Dec 22, 2007 13:04:15 GMT -7
Nothing beats a Ray in my book.
|
|
|
Post by eschak on Dec 28, 2007 0:29:53 GMT -7
The more I play it the more I like it. I purchased a Galaxie after I played one ...earlier this year.. am drifting back to the Stang-Ray more often again. I have the head...Glad I did..That sucker is heavier than it looks! Can't imagine totin' a 2 x12 combo up and down stairs!!
Ed
|
|
|
Post by benttop (Steve) on Dec 28, 2007 9:35:26 GMT -7
Yep. The "perfect" amp would be a Stang Ray 2x12 combo with Blues that weighed fifteen pounds...
|
|
|
Post by drew on Dec 28, 2007 10:52:54 GMT -7
Yep. The "perfect" amp would be a Stang Ray 2x12 combo with Blues that weighed fifteen pounds... +1 !!!!
|
|
|
Post by dock66 on Dec 28, 2007 16:10:35 GMT -7
Best clean amp I've owned.
|
|
|
Post by combo800 on Dec 30, 2007 22:39:16 GMT -7
I know what you mean, ferguson. Although I don't have a Janglebox, I've got 7 Rickenbackers... toasters, high gains, humbuckers... even 1 with a dual-coil "horse shoe" pickup... magical, indeed!
|
|
|
Post by Danny on Dec 31, 2007 8:21:55 GMT -7
I know what you mean, ferguson. Although I don't have a Janglebox, I've got 7 Rickenbackers... toasters, high gains, humbuckers... even 1 with a dual-coil "horse shoe" pickup... magical, indeed! Man, with 7 Rics you NEED a JangleBox. It's better for Rics, and especially 12 strings, than any other compressor. It honestly makes your guitar sound like all the famous Ric recordings, from the Beatles and Byrds to Petty and the Jam. It gives the sound an incredible sparkle and makes it jump right out of the amp at you. It has a 3-way dark/normal/bright switch (which, so far, has been overkill for my needs) and both gain and attack controls that allow you to dial in as much or as little squish and sustain as you need. A very fine pedal!
|
|
|
Post by Danny on Mar 7, 2008 6:56:03 GMT -7
Dang! I did it again! I plugged my Ric 330 clone through the JangleBox and either the ZenDrive or Keeley BD2 and into the slightly attenuated 'Ray and ...
[glow=red,2,300]tonal bliss!!![/glow]
AGAIN!
Man, I gotta stop that. I'm getting spoiled. I keep sounding like all my heroes and all my favorite music and it keeps convincing me that maybe I too can be a famous guitar hero.
Thanks Ray. Thanks Doc.
|
|
|
Post by taswegian on Mar 9, 2008 19:39:00 GMT -7
That sounds awesome Fergy. I'd love to get a 'ray but don't think I could afford the 2x12 blues to go with it for a while. Anyone know how it sounds with a greenback style speaker? I know it wouldn't be be best but would it suffice till I could afford the blues?
|
|
|
Post by brad737 on Mar 12, 2008 12:01:21 GMT -7
Tas, I spent about 4 hours at a friend's house trying every conceivable combination of Z amp, and different speaker/ cab combos. We both loved the Celestion Blues and Golds with the Ray. But we both thought the Ray sounded best with a G12H30 and a closed-back 1x12. We were both kind of surprised to be honest. But with two sets of ears, it was pretty obvious.
|
|
|
Post by Bill on Mar 12, 2008 13:09:05 GMT -7
That sounds awesome Fergy. I'd love to get a 'ray but don't think I could afford the 2x12 blues to go with it for a while. Anyone know how it sounds with a greenback style speaker? I know it wouldn't be be best but would it suffice till I could afford the blues? I've been using a single G12H-30 with the 'Ray and love it. Unlike Brad, I prefer an open back though. I have an unloaded THD waiting on 2 greenbacks, will let you know once I get them. I did use a single greenback last summer and it was quite good, nice and chimey, good mids, and not so boomy or bassy on the bottom.
|
|
|
Post by jwr on Mar 13, 2008 10:13:42 GMT -7
That sounds awesome Fergy. I'd love to get a 'ray but don't think I could afford the 2x12 blues to go with it for a while. Anyone know how it sounds with a greenback style speaker? I know it wouldn't be be best but would it suffice till I could afford the blues? Get the amp first Taz and worry about the speakers and cab later. The Blues are nice and are an important part to the puzzle for sure. But the magic is in the amp It sounds good with a Z-Best and a Keeley BD-2 ;D Sure would be a nice addition to a Route 66 rig
|
|
|
Post by taswegian on Mar 13, 2008 22:50:16 GMT -7
Thanks everyone for the info, it sure helps. Jwr, you sure are pushing me hard! But that's the kind of reply I was looking for. If I end up ordering one, you'll have to deal with my partner cause I'm blaming you! ;D...And Phil. And Don. And Curt. May as well throw Doc in that group too. He invented the danged thing! Well over 100 degrees here today. We knocked off an hour early and drank beer for the rest of the afternoon (very Australian) so I'm totally in the " I'm gonna buy a ray" mood. Just gotta figure out how to get a GT as well. The beer is talking now...I'm gonna stop typing.
|
|
|
Post by dougeds on Mar 15, 2008 8:10:23 GMT -7
i tried this amp briefly, before deciding on the maz jr. it seemed very loud, but i did love the tone. do you guys find that this amp is usable live w/out any kind of attenuator?
|
|
|
Post by jwr on Mar 15, 2008 13:00:55 GMT -7
i tried this amp briefly, before deciding on the maz jr. it seemed very loud, but i did love the tone. do you guys find that this amp is usable live w/out any kind of attenuator? I like the amp to be perfectly clean, so I'd never, ever attenuate the Ray. It's a very pure sounding amp and adding a device in between the amp and cab seems to be a real detriment to the overall tone of a perfect sounding piece of gear. If you want an amp that breaks up I'd look else where. It's a great platform for pedals though.
|
|
|
Post by jwr on Mar 15, 2008 13:25:08 GMT -7
Thanks everyone for the info, it sure helps. Jwr, you sure are pushing me hard! But that's the kind of reply I was looking for. If I end up ordering one, you'll have to deal with my partner cause I'm blaming you! ;D...And Phil. And Don. And Curt. May as well throw Doc in that group too. He invented the danged thing! Well over 100 degrees here today. We knocked off an hour early and drank beer for the rest of the afternoon (very Australian) so I'm totally in the " I'm gonna buy a ray" mood. Just gotta figure out how to get a GT as well. The beer is talking now...I'm gonna stop typing. Dude, I truly think that the Route 66 and a Ray are about as powerful combination of tones as you can get from Z. Add a Ghia and you own the best of the best from the Doc. JMO I can only imagine what you'll be able to do with a Ray. That will be worth any blame that comes my way brotha ;D Besides I owe ya, it's your clips that got me into a Route 66 in the first place Pull the trigger man, your not gonna regret it
|
|
|
Post by dougeds on Mar 15, 2008 13:29:36 GMT -7
jwr - i didn't mean in terms of breaking up. i just wondered if the ray held its great tone at lower volumes. my blackface super is a great amp, but at low volumes it gets thin sounding. so ultimately to get it sounding good i had to run it pretty loud.
|
|
|
Post by jwr on Mar 15, 2008 15:16:53 GMT -7
jwr - i didn't mean in terms of breaking up. i just wondered if the ray held its great tone at lower volumes. my blackface super is a great amp, but at low volumes it gets thin sounding. so ultimately to get it sounding good i had to run it pretty loud. I guess it really depends on the situation then. If your playing a tiny bar and in order to get your sound you may have to attenuate. Depends on your individual needs. Personally I think the amp sounds amazing no matter what volume the amp is set at. To me it seems the output tubes are cooking right out of the gate. But that's also due to the fact that the amp runs 4xEL-84's vs. your Super with 6L6's. Big bottle amps have to be cranked more to get "the tone". One thing is for sure, the Ray never sounds thin
|
|
|
Post by dougeds on Mar 15, 2008 16:33:21 GMT -7
that was the first thing i realized was so cool about the maz. at any volume there's still really good tone. thanks. i'm seriously thinking of selling the super and getting a ray. then i can use the 2x12 w/blues with either head.
|
|
|
Post by taswegian on Mar 15, 2008 17:15:32 GMT -7
Thanks everyone for the info, it sure helps. Jwr, you sure are pushing me hard! But that's the kind of reply I was looking for. If I end up ordering one, you'll have to deal with my partner cause I'm blaming you! ;D...And Phil. And Don. And Curt. May as well throw Doc in that group too. He invented the danged thing! Well over 100 degrees here today. We knocked off an hour early and drank beer for the rest of the afternoon (very Australian) so I'm totally in the " I'm gonna buy a ray" mood. Just gotta figure out how to get a GT as well. The beer is talking now...I'm gonna stop typing. Dude, I truly think that the Route 66 and a Ray are about as powerful combination of tones as you can get from Z. Add a Ghia and you own the best of the best from the Doc. JMO I can only imagine what you'll be able to do with a Ray. That will be worth any blame that comes my way brotha ;D Besides I owe ya, it's your clips that got me into a Route 66 in the first place Pull the trigger man, your not gonna regret it Well if I made you get a 66, then I guess I need to even up the ledger ;D I think it would work great for me as I want/need a sweet clean in my arsenal. I loved the Maz jr clean and the RXES so I know the 'Ray would be worth having. Sorry Ferguson for hijacking your thread, I can only imagine a Ric 12 string and Stangray...actually my producer has a 12 string Ric. I've just remembered I used it on a track on my first album and would have used it more but I had trouble keeping it in tune. So if I get a 'Ray, I might just get to hear that combination after all!
|
|
|
Post by Danny on Mar 16, 2008 6:00:53 GMT -7
Sorry Ferguson for hijacking your thread, I can only imagine a Ric 12 string and Stangray...actually my producer has a 12 string Ric. I've just remembered I used it on a track on my first album and would have used it more but I had trouble keeping it in tune. So if I get a 'Ray, I might just get to hear that combination after all! If you use Pyramid nickel flat wounds it'll stay in tune much better. Still, what they say about harpists can be said about 12 string players: They spend half their lives tuning up and the other half playing out of tune.
|
|
|
Post by Hohn on Mar 21, 2008 10:32:19 GMT -7
i tried this amp briefly, before deciding on the maz jr. it seemed very loud, but i did love the tone. do you guys find that this amp is usable live w/out any kind of attenuator? I like the amp to be perfectly clean, so I'd never, ever attenuate the Ray. It's a very pure sounding amp and adding a device in between the amp and cab seems to be a real detriment to the overall tone of a perfect sounding piece of gear. If you want an amp that breaks up I'd look else where. It's a great platform for pedals though. I have a Hot Plate but even at -4dB, I notice that a lot of the 3-d magic in teh high end goes away. The only time I attenuate is when I want a thicker, more mid-heavy sound. I run it at -8dB. But almost every case, I prefer a Ray uninhibited.
|
|
|
Post by Norrin Radd on Mar 21, 2008 13:03:46 GMT -7
Yep. The "perfect" amp would be a Stang Ray 2x12 combo with Blues that weighed fifteen pounds... +1 !!!! What!?!? You guys are crazy! Everyone knows the premium target weight for a combo is 12 pounds. ;D
|
|