1st Gig w/ the Z-Lux. Here's What I Can Tell You About it
Jul 26, 2016 6:41:29 GMT -7
thatstatuemoved, BritInvasion, and 5 more like this
Post by Rockerfeller on Jul 26, 2016 6:41:29 GMT -7
One gig under the belt with ZLux and I can report that there wasn’t a bad tone in her! I paired the head with a Z 1/12 convertible cab and a creamback. Indoor gig in a weird room.
The guitar players didn’t get a real sound check (the bass and drums did though!), just a line check, so I went in to the show flying a little blind. Up until the first song, I hadn’t really opened her up and played her at gig volume, so I didn’t know what was going to happen. I set it at half power and had the master at 3 and the volume around 12, but quickly flipped it over to full power and ran it that way all night. The volume ended up around 10:30 with the MV around 2. I have to admit, it was loud
I can honestly say that the amp worked great. It was only the first gig with it, but I can tell that she can cover everything I need with only one dirt pedal (Greer Lightspeed OD).
The cleans were exactly as I hoped they would be, and the dirt was better than I had hoped it would be. It was great on AC/DC, Zep and GNR stuff. It wasn’t Angus or Malcom tone, but my take on that with a Tele. I couldn’t tell the difference between it and the Remedy on the Rhythm parts with a dirt pedal.
I could tell the difference on the lead parts. During one of the slower lead parts, on “Sweet Child of Mine” I had ventured out into the crowd. I couldn’t get back in time to hit the EQ boost, so I had to do the solo without it. It was just the amp with no pedals and I could hear it fine, but it lacked the hair and sustain I wanted. I did that again on a Zep song at the end of the night, but this time I stepped on the EQ boost before leaving the stage, and it was perfect. The EQ bypass is exceptional in every way.
Now let me tell you what I DON’T like about the amp: The footswitch. Don’t get me wrong, it works fine. However, I need idiot lights on all my pedals, so it is a preference type thing. A footswitch without an LED to tell me it is on or off just messes with my brain all night long. “Is the Reverb on or off, I don’t remember and I can’t tell if it is and I don’t want reverb AND delay on this part!” So I am building a new surf green footswitch for it, and installing LED’s and a 9v battery clip. That is the only thing I don’t like about it, and technically that isn’t even part of the amp!
The jury is still out on this one. I have a bigger outdoor gig coming up next week which will be the final test. However, at this
point, it looks like the Z-Lux can cover all my rock tones AND give me those clean country tones I need. That means it beats out the Remedy as my amp of choice to gig with.
The guitar players didn’t get a real sound check (the bass and drums did though!), just a line check, so I went in to the show flying a little blind. Up until the first song, I hadn’t really opened her up and played her at gig volume, so I didn’t know what was going to happen. I set it at half power and had the master at 3 and the volume around 12, but quickly flipped it over to full power and ran it that way all night. The volume ended up around 10:30 with the MV around 2. I have to admit, it was loud
I can honestly say that the amp worked great. It was only the first gig with it, but I can tell that she can cover everything I need with only one dirt pedal (Greer Lightspeed OD).
The cleans were exactly as I hoped they would be, and the dirt was better than I had hoped it would be. It was great on AC/DC, Zep and GNR stuff. It wasn’t Angus or Malcom tone, but my take on that with a Tele. I couldn’t tell the difference between it and the Remedy on the Rhythm parts with a dirt pedal.
I could tell the difference on the lead parts. During one of the slower lead parts, on “Sweet Child of Mine” I had ventured out into the crowd. I couldn’t get back in time to hit the EQ boost, so I had to do the solo without it. It was just the amp with no pedals and I could hear it fine, but it lacked the hair and sustain I wanted. I did that again on a Zep song at the end of the night, but this time I stepped on the EQ boost before leaving the stage, and it was perfect. The EQ bypass is exceptional in every way.
Now let me tell you what I DON’T like about the amp: The footswitch. Don’t get me wrong, it works fine. However, I need idiot lights on all my pedals, so it is a preference type thing. A footswitch without an LED to tell me it is on or off just messes with my brain all night long. “Is the Reverb on or off, I don’t remember and I can’t tell if it is and I don’t want reverb AND delay on this part!” So I am building a new surf green footswitch for it, and installing LED’s and a 9v battery clip. That is the only thing I don’t like about it, and technically that isn’t even part of the amp!
The jury is still out on this one. I have a bigger outdoor gig coming up next week which will be the final test. However, at this
point, it looks like the Z-Lux can cover all my rock tones AND give me those clean country tones I need. That means it beats out the Remedy as my amp of choice to gig with.