More thoughts on the Cure
Jan 29, 2017 12:13:56 GMT -7
mickey, Pete aka shouldb, and 12 more like this
Post by Russell B on Jan 29, 2017 12:13:56 GMT -7
I would like to add some more of my thoughts about the Cure. I hope to capture here in words what this amp is like to both those who have Dr. Z amps and who don't.
I'm still amazed at the Level control. I would love to have that in my Maz Jrs. Speaking of Maz's, I can tell that there is a little Maz in the Cure. I haven't done any comparisons to the Maz yet as I've been traveling, but I will soon. I hope to do that next weekend.
I did compare the Cure with my Carmen Ghia 25th Anniversary as I had it out. I used the Cure cabinet for the comparison. The first thing that I noticed was that the Carmen Ghia had a little more gain than the Cure. No surprise there. Also, to match the CG's bass, I had to put the bass on the Cure to 12 o'clock. I think the Cure's overdrive is smoother than the CG's, but as I said, the CG has more gain. BTW, I thought the CG sounded great through Doc's 12" speaker. The speak is still a little stiff, but it will soon break in and smooth out.
I think the clean tones on the Cure can be very "Blackface" without the extreme treble found in some Fender amps. I had a real '65 Super Reverb once, and I think you can get clean tones like that out of the Cure. By far, the Cure overdrives better/smoother than the Super Reverb. I also had a Fender Vibrolux in the '90's and I think the Cure can get those clean tones as well.
I should state that I don't uses many effects pedals. I use a tuner, a wah, and chorus and I only use the wah and the chorus is I really have to. If the song list doesn't call for the effects, I don't even plug them up. I love to crank my amps for their natural overdrive and use my volume on my guitar to get clean tones. As I've said in another thread, the Cure has smooth overdrive. It's clear as well. I know that the overdrive has been compared to the Therapy and that the overdrive has a "tweed" sound. That may be true, but I also get some "blackface" out of that overdrive as well, especially on neck pickups of my teles. The difference is that there's no trebly high-end overdrive that is displeasing to the ears. There is also no flub with the 6V6's. I had a Victory Deluxe one time and that amp would completely flub out at high volumes. The bridge pickup on my teles are not too trebly either through this amp. I've been running the volume at 3 to 3:30 and the master at 3. T:1, M:1, B:12 for now.
Now, I'm going to make a big statement here. To my ears, the overdrive of this amp reminds me of Robbin Ford's Dumble overdrive tone. I don't want people to go over the cliff with that statement. I just feel that this overdrive is as smooth and dynamic and "clear" as his tone. Maybe that's the Therapy coming out in this amp as it's overdrive has been described as Dumble-esque. I don't know. It sounds good!
I don't have any amps with the Tone by-pass. I have older model Maz Jr's. I was always scared that the tone by-pass would cause too much bass and too much treble. I was very wrong in this. The by-pass makes the amp sound "bigger" and it is "balanced". I really didn't expect that. Now, from the videos that I've seen for the Z-Luz in tone by-pass, the Cure seems to be very similar when the tone by-pass is engaged. The overdrive still remains very smooth. I look forward to using this feature in my upcoming gigs.
All, this amp is light. The older I get, the less I want to take to a gig. The lighter the amp, the better! This will not disappoint!
That's all for now. I'm very pleased. I will pull out my Strat soon and report on that. I'll also get my 20th anniversary Maz Jr. head out and compare that soon. I hope others will chime in with more of their thoughts.
I'm still amazed at the Level control. I would love to have that in my Maz Jrs. Speaking of Maz's, I can tell that there is a little Maz in the Cure. I haven't done any comparisons to the Maz yet as I've been traveling, but I will soon. I hope to do that next weekend.
I did compare the Cure with my Carmen Ghia 25th Anniversary as I had it out. I used the Cure cabinet for the comparison. The first thing that I noticed was that the Carmen Ghia had a little more gain than the Cure. No surprise there. Also, to match the CG's bass, I had to put the bass on the Cure to 12 o'clock. I think the Cure's overdrive is smoother than the CG's, but as I said, the CG has more gain. BTW, I thought the CG sounded great through Doc's 12" speaker. The speak is still a little stiff, but it will soon break in and smooth out.
I think the clean tones on the Cure can be very "Blackface" without the extreme treble found in some Fender amps. I had a real '65 Super Reverb once, and I think you can get clean tones like that out of the Cure. By far, the Cure overdrives better/smoother than the Super Reverb. I also had a Fender Vibrolux in the '90's and I think the Cure can get those clean tones as well.
I should state that I don't uses many effects pedals. I use a tuner, a wah, and chorus and I only use the wah and the chorus is I really have to. If the song list doesn't call for the effects, I don't even plug them up. I love to crank my amps for their natural overdrive and use my volume on my guitar to get clean tones. As I've said in another thread, the Cure has smooth overdrive. It's clear as well. I know that the overdrive has been compared to the Therapy and that the overdrive has a "tweed" sound. That may be true, but I also get some "blackface" out of that overdrive as well, especially on neck pickups of my teles. The difference is that there's no trebly high-end overdrive that is displeasing to the ears. There is also no flub with the 6V6's. I had a Victory Deluxe one time and that amp would completely flub out at high volumes. The bridge pickup on my teles are not too trebly either through this amp. I've been running the volume at 3 to 3:30 and the master at 3. T:1, M:1, B:12 for now.
Now, I'm going to make a big statement here. To my ears, the overdrive of this amp reminds me of Robbin Ford's Dumble overdrive tone. I don't want people to go over the cliff with that statement. I just feel that this overdrive is as smooth and dynamic and "clear" as his tone. Maybe that's the Therapy coming out in this amp as it's overdrive has been described as Dumble-esque. I don't know. It sounds good!
I don't have any amps with the Tone by-pass. I have older model Maz Jr's. I was always scared that the tone by-pass would cause too much bass and too much treble. I was very wrong in this. The by-pass makes the amp sound "bigger" and it is "balanced". I really didn't expect that. Now, from the videos that I've seen for the Z-Luz in tone by-pass, the Cure seems to be very similar when the tone by-pass is engaged. The overdrive still remains very smooth. I look forward to using this feature in my upcoming gigs.
All, this amp is light. The older I get, the less I want to take to a gig. The lighter the amp, the better! This will not disappoint!
That's all for now. I'm very pleased. I will pull out my Strat soon and report on that. I'll also get my 20th anniversary Maz Jr. head out and compare that soon. I hope others will chime in with more of their thoughts.