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Post by Rockerfeller on Jul 13, 2016 19:38:02 GMT -7
There is no other way to say this.....
I flat out caved. I'm talking complete and utter surrender to G.A.S.
I bought a new Z-Lux head from Brent over at Guitar Riot. Brent was terrific to deal with.
Over the past two months I almost bought a Wreck, then a Maz 38, both heads, but I stopped short. I love my Remedy, and it does everything I need it to do BUT it doesn't do country clean spectacularly well. It is OK, but not perfect. I paused on the Wreck because I thought it might not be versatile enough to cover everything I need it to, and I passed on the Maz 38 because, well I talked myself out of it.
Over the past two weeks, I have watched every video demo I could find on the Z-Lux. In the end, it wasn't a demo video that did it. It was the many excellent videos of BW playing his Z-lux live. To me, a gigging guitar player, the real test is how something sounds live and how it sits in the mix. Yesterday, watching another BW live video, I realized that the Z-Lux doesn't have a bad tone in it.at.all
So I pulled the trigger.
I hope all the excitement everyone has for this amp is accurate! I will get a couple of days with it before I gig her for the first time. I am hoping it is easy to dial in. Maybe some of you guys can give me some guidance on what your favorite settings are, and I can tweak it from there.
It is a black head to match my Z 1/12 cabs.
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Post by deltone on Jul 13, 2016 22:02:16 GMT -7
Congrats! I'm jealous.
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Post by markT on Jul 14, 2016 4:22:12 GMT -7
It was the many excellent videos of BW playing his Z-lux live. COngrats on your incoming Z-Lux!... My favorite Z to date. Question......where are you seeing the many video's of Buddy playing a Z-Lux??? I have not seen one. Please share.
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Post by Jaguarguy (Mike) on Jul 14, 2016 5:12:45 GMT -7
Congrats on a great amp - I don't think you will be disappointed!
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Post by Maddog on Jul 14, 2016 5:36:05 GMT -7
It was the many excellent videos of BW playing his Z-lux live. COngrats on your incoming Z-Lux!... My favorite Z to date. Question......where are you seeing the many video's of Buddy playing a Z-Lux??? I have not seen one. Please share. Here ya go, Mark:
ztalk.proboards.com/thread/72764/strat-335-boss-tu3-tuner
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Post by premiumplus (Dave) on Jul 14, 2016 5:49:14 GMT -7
Looking forward to your review of a fine, fine amp. It's my #1.
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Post by BritInvasion on Jul 14, 2016 6:40:28 GMT -7
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Post by Rockerfeller on Jul 14, 2016 6:46:04 GMT -7
It was the many excellent videos of BW playing his Z-lux live. COngrats on your incoming Z-Lux!... My favorite Z to date. Question......where are you seeing the many video's of Buddy playing a Z-Lux??? I have not seen one. Please share. There are several of him playing at the Dallas Guitar last month. Here's one: This is my favorite one at Stickyz in Texas, and there are several more on Youtube
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Post by pcns on Jul 14, 2016 6:53:46 GMT -7
It's an awesome amp
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Post by Maddog on Jul 14, 2016 9:39:55 GMT -7
Looking forward to your review of a fine, fine amp. It's my #1. + 1,000,000
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Post by Rockerfeller on Jul 14, 2016 10:56:11 GMT -7
Looking forward to your review of a fine, fine amp. It's my #1. + 1,000,000 I am going to gig with it a few times, both indoor and outdoor shows before I post my review. It took my 3 shows before I "got" the Remedy, and I don't think the Z-Lux would be any different.
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Post by Maddog on Jul 14, 2016 11:35:38 GMT -7
I am going to gig with it a few times, both indoor and outdoor shows before I post my review. It took my 3 shows before I "got" the Remedy, and I don't think the Z-Lux would be any different. Being the devil's advocate here, brother, I beg to differ..... I'm guessing you'll certainly "get it" in less than 3 gigs. The 'Lux is just that good. I took me 1/2 of a gig to realize what I already thought I knew from just messin' around with it in the "studio." She's a killer.....You're gonna love it....
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Post by Deleted on Jul 14, 2016 11:41:28 GMT -7
Yeah--very intuitive amp. Great with pedals or straight in (crank the V for the latter).
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Post by Righty on Jul 14, 2016 11:52:32 GMT -7
I'm also interested in the Z-Lux head. What speaker are you using in your Z cab?
Do you have a link to your band's website or a show schedule? IIRC you're somewhere here in CO. I'm in NW COS.
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Post by DRem on Jul 14, 2016 12:35:35 GMT -7
id be very interested to see how you get one with this at a gig. I'm in the same boat! I have a remedy and thinking should I sell to get the z lux
look forward to hearing what you come back with
2x10 speaker cab?
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Post by benttop (Steve) on Jul 14, 2016 12:46:08 GMT -7
One thing you owe it to yourself to try - stick an Airbrake or Brake Lite on there and dime the master volume. When those power tubes come up to full throat you are going to know it, even when turned down via the brake. Seriously - try it.
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Post by premiumplus (Dave) on Jul 14, 2016 14:50:35 GMT -7
+10000 to all the above. This amp probably has the shortest learning curve I've ever encountered. It's so intuitive, and everything sounds so right. I mean, every time I write about the Z-Lux I start gushing like a teenager with his first crush on the pretty blond with the great legs! It's really that good. The first time I plugged into a Z-Lux was at Doc's shop in Cleveland, and he handed me a guitar and said, "Try this one, Dave"...and I was done. First note. I've got 6 other Z amps but this one is the one that I always go to. #1 Meat & Potatoes. I should probably say Steak & Lobster. You're going to love it, and I think you mentioned AC-DC tones earlier...put something like a Gain Changer in front of it and look out. The Z-Lux will rock your world.
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Post by markT on Jul 14, 2016 16:10:24 GMT -7
Frank....? Are you talking to yourself again??
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Post by Faze on Jul 14, 2016 16:16:23 GMT -7
Congrats you won't be disappointed.
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Post by Rockerfeller on Jul 15, 2016 7:21:02 GMT -7
I'm also interested in the Z-Lux head. What speaker are you using in your Z cab? Do you have a link to your band's website or a show schedule? IIRC you're somewhere here in CO. I'm in NW COS. HI Righty! We must know each other if you live here in the Springs. The band is Narrow Gauge and IluvPunz also plays in the band. We do a lot of corporate and private stuff, but we do have a public shows in Denver in September.
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Post by Rockerfeller on Jul 15, 2016 7:24:43 GMT -7
id be very interested to see how you get one with this at a gig. I'm in the same boat! I have a remedy and thinking should I sell to get the z lux look forward to hearing what you come back with 2x10 speaker cab? I have two of the Dr. Z convertible cabs, both with Creambacks in them. I only use both at the same time at outdoor festival type things, and that is mainly for show. Half the time I don't even plug the other one in! I am going to see how it sounds with the CB, but if I don't LOVE it, I will probably pick up the Z12. We played a big outdoor show last night, and my Remedy sounded SO GOOOOOD. I got a little sad, to tell you the truth. I don't think I can keep both, so on the way home from the show I was coming up with a strategy that allows me to keep them both!
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Post by benttop (Steve) on Jul 15, 2016 10:47:40 GMT -7
id be very interested to see how you get one with this at a gig. I'm in the same boat! I have a remedy and thinking should I sell to get the z lux look forward to hearing what you come back with 2x10 speaker cab? I have two of the Dr. Z convertible cabs, both with Creambacks in them. I only use both at the same time at outdoor festival type things, and that is mainly for show. Half the time I don't even plug the other one in! I am going to see how it sounds with the CB, but if I don't LOVE it, I will probably pick up the Z12. We played a big outdoor show last night, and my Remedy sounded SO GOOOOOD. I got a little sad, to tell you the truth. I don't think I can keep both, so on the way home from the show I was coming up with a strategy that allows me to keep them both! Since you have two cabs, the nice thing is to set up one head for your slightly-crunchy clean sound, and the other for your lead sound, and switch between them using an A/B/Y like the Radial JX-2. I ran my rig this way for a number of years, and it really adds to the flexibility. It also makes a pretty nice stack..
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Post by Rockerfeller on Jul 15, 2016 10:48:11 GMT -7
One thing you owe it to yourself to try - stick an Airbrake or Brake Lite on there and dime the master volume. When those power tubes come up to full throat you are going to know it, even when turned down via the brake. Seriously - try it. Well, I run my Remedy on 40 watts with the MV dimed, so I will do what you say WITHOUT the Airbrake. But where do you run your main volume?
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Post by benttop (Steve) on Jul 15, 2016 10:49:39 GMT -7
One thing you owe it to yourself to try - stick an Airbrake or Brake Lite on there and dime the master volume. When those power tubes come up to full throat you are going to know it, even when turned down via the brake. Seriously - try it. Well, I run my Remedy on 40 watts with the MV dimed, so I will do what you say WITHOUT the Airbrake. But where do you run your main volume? I've always liked the preamp set to around 1 to 2 o'clock for "just getting into hair" types of tones. Then with the power amp getting all throaty, it starts sounding pretty amazing. OH! That's going to depend on your guitar pickups though. Hotter might need less, or weaker might need more.
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Post by Rockerfeller on Jul 15, 2016 10:56:10 GMT -7
I am going to gig with it a few times, both indoor and outdoor shows before I post my review. It took my 3 shows before I "got" the Remedy, and I don't think the Z-Lux would be any different. Being the devil's advocate here, brother, I beg to differ..... I'm guessing you'll certainly "get it" in less than 3 gigs. The 'Lux is just that good. I took me 1/2 of a gig to realize what I already thought I knew from just messin' around with it in the "studio." She's a killer.....You're gonna love it.... It's funny, but I couldn't dial the Remedy in at home. It wasn't until I got it out in a band context that I "got it". It took three gigs to finally figure out where I liked to run the MV (wide open) and the Hi Lo 11 and 10 o'clock, with the mids boosted. It sounds like the ZLux is quicker to figure out and that is great!
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Post by Righty on Jul 15, 2016 11:56:18 GMT -7
I'm also interested in the Z-Lux head. What speaker are you using in your Z cab? Do you have a link to your band's website or a show schedule? IIRC you're somewhere here in CO. I'm in NW COS. HI Righty! We must know each other if you live here in the Springs. The band is Narrow Gauge and IluvPunz also plays in the band. We do a lot of corporate and private stuff, but we do have a public shows in Denver in September. Hey Rockerfeller... I'm familiar with Narrow Gauge. Met Jim(?) maybe 10 years ago and wound up playing in a band with some former Narrow Gauge members (singer, bass player) called Buckskin Run for a few years. If I hadn't actually met Lefty here in town first, I probably would have never crossed paths with these guys. I currently play guitar for my wife, Sandy Wells, ( www.sandywellsonline.com ) or www.facebook.com/sandywellsonlineor www.facebook.com/sandy.wells We play up and down the front range. Mostly Denver these days. I play through a Stang Ray head and whatever cab(s) fit the venue. There's a 1x12 shorty cab with a Weber speaker that came out of a Top Hat cab. It's really a Silver Bell. A Z 2x10 convertible and a Z 2x12 w/blues so if you ever want to try your Z-Lux through any of these just let me know. I'll keep an eye out for any public Narrow Gauge shows I can catch. We took a couple of weeks off after the 4th but we're booked most every weekend for the next couple of months.
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Post by Rockerfeller on Jul 16, 2016 20:49:55 GMT -7
Amp arrives on Tuesday. It really is hard to wait.
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Post by tubetone74 on Jul 17, 2016 7:00:06 GMT -7
I met Buddy around 2003-04 when he was playing for John Mayall. What a nice, humble guy and a hell of a player!!!!
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Post by Rockerfeller on Jul 19, 2016 4:00:11 GMT -7
Hey Rockerfeller... I'm familiar with Narrow Gauge. Met Jim(?) maybe 10 years ago and wound up playing in a band with some former Narrow Gauge members (singer, bass player) called Buckskin Run for a few years. If I hadn't actually met Lefty here in town first, I probably would have never crossed paths with these guys. I know that Jim guy You played with Randy and Dave? Whose Dave playing with these days? I sooooo much want to try out the Stang Ray. I'm going to try and check you guys out to hear how it sounds in person.
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Post by Righty on Jul 19, 2016 8:11:03 GMT -7
I know that Jim guy You played with Randy and Dave? Whose Dave playing with these days? I sooooo much want to try out the Stang Ray. I'm going to try and check you guys out to hear how it sounds in person. Yeah... Played with Randy and Dave. I think at the time they were doing some kind of spin-off to record and perform originals and somehow I got involved in that. That led to Buckskin Run. Dave went through some health issue that affected his hearing in one ear. Was a complete nightmare for him. Didn't sing for a couple of years or so. He's recently recovered enough to pick it back up although I'm not sure what he has planned. He came up and sang a few tunes with a a couple of months ago when we played the final gig at The Carey-On Saloon. Sounded fine. Not sure what Randy is into musically these days. He's been concentrating on photography lately. You're more than welcome to get in touch and come by my place to check out the Stang Ray. Only prerequisite is that you bring the Z-Lux! Would be nice if you could catch a show. Sandy's an incredible singer.
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