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Post by bnads on Feb 10, 2017 13:16:47 GMT -7
After a major purge of gear due to being sold a lemon of a house, I'm rebuilding my rig. Among the amps I've long wanted to run, the Stang Ray sits high, and an opportunity has just presented itself for me to get a head for a reasonable price - if the seller is willing to meet me.
I play about 80% country live, 90% Blackberry Smoke at home ;-), and a general mix of southern rock, blues, etc. I've owned the Maz18 (NR and R), 38NR, and the M12. Loved them all. I used pedals for dirt (obviously with a Ray), and this will be my only amp for a while.
I know this will sound silly in this section, but go or no go?
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Post by Jaguarguy (Mike) on Feb 10, 2017 13:23:50 GMT -7
I love the Stangray. Sounds just like what you need for your country needs live. I've got a Stangray GT - half Stingray and half Maz GT - sure sounds pretty!
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Post by bnads on Feb 10, 2017 14:57:04 GMT -7
Nice.
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Post by captainron (Ron) on Feb 12, 2017 11:22:40 GMT -7
I'm a Ray fan! Hard to beat a Ray with a Cel- blue or gold for country...and dirt pedals for the rocking' country/southern rock/ BB-Smoke stuff. My Ray loves the green side DR. Z Z drive,JHS Angry Charlie, and Timmy pedal. I say DO IT!
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Post by telejas on Feb 12, 2017 22:14:36 GMT -7
I've had almost every EL84 Dr. Z has made to date..... Including the Z-Wreck. The Stingray/StangRay is my absolute favorite amp of all time! It's very unique, and classic all at the same time. Best cleans ever put in an amp, but also one of the best "hairy" clean tones as well. It takes pedals as well or better than most (if you keep the tone and cut below noon). Works great with single coil and humbucker guitars.
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Post by Rockerfeller on Feb 13, 2017 5:43:36 GMT -7
You are asking us if you should get a Stang Ray? I believe if you create a poll the answer will be obvious! Yes
The Stang Ray is on my list of amps to own at some point, though I have never played one. All the clips I hear of it make me want it SO BAD. If I had the opportunity to pick one up on a great deal, I believe I would do it. That thing is perfect for country!
Just to make myself clear...That is a GO
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Post by Norrin Radd on Feb 13, 2017 6:28:40 GMT -7
I'm a Ray fan! Hard to beat a Ray with a Cel- blue or gold for country...and dirt pedals for the rocking' country/southern rock/ BB-Smoke stuff. My Ray loves the green side DR. Z Z drive,JHS Angry Charlie, and Timmy pedal. I say DO IT! I've also had good success with ALL of those ^^^^^^ pedals into my Ray. I also have had luck with Rat style pedals (believe it or not) for getting some heavier tones as well. The Ray also handles TS type pedals extremely well due to it's inherent mid-scooped tone stack. I also use the loop in mine regularly for modulation effects. The Ray is a great amp and, IMO, more versatile than people generally give it credit for. And as noted above - perhaps the greatest clean tone ever. Not joking. It truly is heaven. Especially with a Strat. And if I can't convince you, listen to this guy:
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Post by Rockerfeller on Feb 13, 2017 7:16:20 GMT -7
The Ray is a great amp and, IMO, more versatile than people generally give it credit for. And as noted above - perhaps the greatest clean tone ever. Not joking. It truly is heaven. Especially with a Strat. And if I can't convince you, listen to this guy: This is the video that sells me on this amp, EVERY TIME I watch it. I need to stop watching it!
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Post by Righty on Feb 13, 2017 9:01:11 GMT -7
You are asking us if you should get a Stang Ray? I believe if you create a poll the answer will be obvious! Yes The Stang Ray is on my list of amps to own at some point, though I have never played one. All the clips I hear of it make me want it SO BAD. If I had the opportunity to pick one up on a great deal, I believe I would do it. That thing is perfect for country! Just to make myself clear...That is a GO Rockerfeller... Stang Ray is my main amp. I have a head and 3 different cabs. You're more than welcome to pop by to give it a whirl. The caveat is that you'd have to bring the Z-Lux . OP.. like everyone else here I'm obviously biased so my vote is yes. Personally, I like the versatility I have with the head and 3 cabs (Z 2x12 w/blues, Z 2x10, and Z shorty 1x12 w/Weber Silver Bell).
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Post by drew on Feb 13, 2017 10:22:57 GMT -7
I don't think you'll get many folks on the Stangray forum to say, "don't buy it". It's one of my fav Dr Z amps and I gigged with one for years playing top 40 rock and Americana (Southern Rock). It's great for on the edge of clean breakup as your base tone and let pedals do their thing. The Ray can rock with a ceramic speaker and even more with a closed back cab. Tight low end thud factor in spades. The Z Best sounds great with a Ray, loud and proud and may require an airbrake 1 or 2 clicks in since I preferred the volume control at Noon to 2:00. It sounds great thru a couple greenbacks, no airbrake required, in a closed back 2x12 cab. For pedals I used Tim for boost, xotic BB for OD and a Barber Direct Drive + for high gain, i.e. Journey type of tunes. (But I might be a cavemen as I've been using those 3 pedals for what seems like an eternity). I've not played an EMS or DB-4 but the SRZ 65 RC bumped the ray out of my #1 goto gigging amp. I would be very happy if the Ray was my only amp. Good luck with the purchase and finding someone on the Ray section to say, "dude don't do it".
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Post by John on Feb 14, 2017 10:09:53 GMT -7
The 'ray is the only Z amp where I would say 'play it first'.
It is a WONDERFUL amp....I've had two of them.
But they ARE different. It pretty much comes down to this:
1) It's a CLEAN amp. If you're playing a tele, it's hard to get it to break up for any kind of southern rock, classic rock, or even a lot of modern country. It's CLEAN! If you get your crunch from pedals only....then it may be alright for you.
2) It's a mid scooped amp. The mids are very recessed. Lots of bass and treble, but not much mids. And this can cause problems when you want to play rock music.
But the 'ray does that poppin' clean country VERY well. The tone, the harmonic content, the powerful low end, the sensitivity...it's fantastic.
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Post by muzacman02 "Jamie" on Feb 23, 2017 23:00:03 GMT -7
drew if you can live with just the RAY I'll take that old SRZ off your Hands! The Ray has nice punchy cleans but with stackable ODs it can become a Raging Marshally sounding amp, GREENS/GOLDS !!! All the way with the RAY!!!
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