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Post by tele81 on Jan 17, 2017 13:26:38 GMT -7
Well after wanting one of these forever I finally decided to trade into a Zlux! I went on a bit of a Dr Z hiatus for a while while trying out different brands. I currently own a Friedman Dirty Shirley and a Friedman Runt; I'll be trading off the Runt and a Bogner OS 2x12 tonight for the Zlux. I'm hoping this will be the "fender" I always wanted but was never quite there. For reference I've owned the Maz 18, Maz 38, galaxie, Carmen ghia, Stang Ray and the Z28. I'll probably own another Maz 38 if I get a great deal on one. Anyhow back to the Zlux! Any quick tips or instant gratification settings I should try? I know Zs in general can be pretty versatile on the tone knobs; bass all the way up or all the way down etc all seems to work in different ways. I'll be running Tele's and an albert lee HH music man through this bad boy.... I'm hoping to get full gorgeous sounding clean to edge of breakup tones this amp will be my "clean" amp and I'll be ab'ing with the dirty Shirley taking on the high gain duties. Any and all tips appreciated and thanks in advance!
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Post by Faze on Jan 17, 2017 13:47:09 GMT -7
Congratulations on your Z-lux! I like to run mine live at 40 watts Volume at about ten oclock to twelve master at about one treble at 11 oclock mids and bass at 2 reverb to taste for the room Im in. I always have the variable boost engaged and its at about half way. That way I can get my clean tone by rolling back on my guitar volume. I also have a treble bleed in my guitars so that is also a factor in enabling me to get that clean tone and then roll back up for lead and edge of break up tones.
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Post by Don on Jan 17, 2017 15:27:19 GMT -7
Welcome aboard Sean. Good to finally have you here. Give me a shout if you need anything.
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Post by benttop (Steve) on Jan 17, 2017 15:37:35 GMT -7
The only control that you must activate for ultimate gratification is to make sure the power switch is ON. That said, I love this amp with the mid control dimed. Really - try it.
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Post by Rockerfeller on Jan 17, 2017 18:19:21 GMT -7
The only control that you must activate for ultimate gratification is to make sure the power switch is ON. . Truer words were never spoken! I have the head, and when I first got it I was using it with a creamback and a Tele. I found that I really had to cut the highs. Not so much with the Z12. Turn the tremolo on and play it until you come up with a cool riff. It won't take long.
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Post by tele81 on Jan 17, 2017 18:31:46 GMT -7
Well I received the amp tonight. Amp sounds great but somehow in transport a problem popped up with the reverb. The reverb when engaged with the foot switch hums very loud and gets louder as you turn it up. Not just a faint hum a very loud audible hum. Disengage reverb and its dead quiet. Unplugging the footswitch and using amp with out the footswitch at all there is a very faint hum nowhere near as loud as it was but still present. Ideas? I played amp at the guy I traded to's house and no issues and he says he tested before he came over. I've traded several times with him and he's a straight ahead guy. Anyhow I owed him about $300 on the trade and I kept the cash until we get the issue resolved. I'm hoping it's something minor as from what I've heard so far this is going to be my favorite Z yet..
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Post by Rockerfeller on Jan 17, 2017 19:03:52 GMT -7
Tele81....is it the stock Dr. Z footswitch?
Also did you have a wireless receiver sitting on the amp at the time? I had that exact thing happened to me and it turned out it was because I had a wireless mic receiver sitting on top of the amp.
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Post by simpleton on Jan 17, 2017 19:13:45 GMT -7
Tele81....is it the stock Dr. Z footswitch? Also was your phone sitting on the amp at the time? I had that exact thing happened to me and it turned out it was because my cell phone was sitting on my amp. Great post. Good idea. Also the reverb tube could of failed.
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Post by tele81 on Jan 17, 2017 20:05:37 GMT -7
Tele81....is it the stock Dr. Z footswitch? Also was your phone sitting on the amp at the time? I had that exact thing happened to me and it turned out it was because my cell phone was sitting on my amp. Great post. Good idea. Also the reverb tube could of failed. I believe it is the stock pedal. Looks like an old Fender footswitch and the ends are color coded to match inputs on the amp. I'm hoping it's a tube or something simple. I've had reverb tanks springs get tangled or break when amps have been moved around in the past that's a pain.
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Post by nmz on Jan 17, 2017 20:31:56 GMT -7
I would inspect the tank. Maybe a bad spring in transport. Happened to me a couple of times.
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Post by deltone on Jan 17, 2017 20:44:57 GMT -7
Possibly a tube came loose during transport. Try re-seating each tube.
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Post by meanslide on Jan 17, 2017 21:47:01 GMT -7
Welcome aboard! Don't know much about the reverb...you can be assured though that the Doc can make it right, if need be.
Back to settings. Try it at full power with all knobs at noon and kick in the EQ bypass/boost. If you can play that LOUD. But man does it ever sing. I use my guitar volume to adjust from there.
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Post by tele81 on Jan 18, 2017 9:05:48 GMT -7
Well I got the issue worked out. Not sure what happened between last nigt and today but I tried reversing the rca plug ins on the pedal. So plugged the trem into reverb and reverb into trem same thing very loud noise didn't work. I plugged it back in the proper way and PRESTO! It works normal now. Very strange maybe a dirty connection jack or?... anyhow is working fine now. On to the amp it sounds great! Only weak point (for me) is the reverb is a little subtle for my liking (I like a super deep washy classic F style surfy verb). The trem may be one of the best I've heard. I had a savage macht 12x that's trem was stunning and this is on par with that. So far I'm finding I like keeping the volume around 1:00 and master to control over all volume. I have no idea where the knobs will end up as they sound good everywhere lol.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 18, 2017 9:23:22 GMT -7
Yeah--I was just going to say--haven't found a setting that doesn't sound good. I like the reverb fine but I don't surf and provides just the right kind of ambient space for me. I hear you, though--would be nice to have more splash at the highest setting.
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Post by benttop (Steve) on Jan 18, 2017 9:26:27 GMT -7
Try your mid control dimed. That's where mine is, rain or shine, clean or crunchy.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 18, 2017 10:42:35 GMT -7
Try your mid control dimed. That's where mine is, rain or shine, clean or crunchy. Tried it--yeah. Very punchy--I see why you dig it!
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Post by renegade44 on Jan 19, 2017 7:47:52 GMT -7
"Noon" the knobs and start having fun!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 19, 2017 8:09:16 GMT -7
I took my Tele Thinline to band practice last night and as usual it sounded a bit thin compared to my chambered R7--so I took Steve's advice and cranked the Z-Lux's mids (to about 3:00). The Thinline fattened up nicely--what a great amp!
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Post by ampedup on Feb 13, 2017 15:54:03 GMT -7
Settings on mine: Volume: 3:00 Treble: noon Mid: 11:00 Bass: 3:30 Master: Almost off (home practice) to 9:30 (gigs)
I'm playing a Les Paul on the middle position with Z-drive occasionally on and boost almost always on. Tone stack settings depend on so many variables but with the boost on it shouldn't matter. Oh and power on half 95% of the time.
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Post by Rockerfeller on Mar 9, 2017 6:02:07 GMT -7
Try your mid control dimed. That's where mine is, rain or shine, clean or crunchy. I was messing around with this the other day. What I found is that you can get a very convincing Pete Anderson tone from his Dwight Yoakam days (which is hard to capture) out of the ZLux WHEN: A. You play a Tele B. You run it on the cleaner side C. Cut the Bass out completely or around 8-9 'clock and back the Treble off D. Crank the Mid's full on. It is amazing what a difference cranking the mid and cutting the bass does. Add a little bit of compression, put on a hat and boots and your ready to cover Dwight Yoakam tunes.
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