tonyc
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Post by tonyc on Apr 30, 2017 9:13:28 GMT -7
I recently purchased a Zlux 1X12 combo and I love it, but it can be a bit bright for my tastes. I find myself rolling the treble back to 2 to curb the brightness. I play in a cover band that does everything from country to rock and use a King of Tone pedal and a JHS Andy Timmons for overdrive. While I can control some of the brightness with the pedals, I was curious if anyone else has found this to be an issue and what they did to curb it.
The other thing is I use amp legs to kick the amp back to point up at me so I can mix the amp to give the FOH engineer the best tone possible to mix out front in the PA.
Thanks.
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Post by doctorice on Apr 30, 2017 10:53:55 GMT -7
When you mention "2" do you mean 2 o'clock or 2 out of 10, with 10 being full clockwise?
I tend to keep treble fairly low on my Z-Lux, usually below 12 or noon (clock setting analogy). Sometimes what I do to set the amp is to put both T and Bass all the way down, get the Mid where I like it and then fill in around the edges.
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Post by benttop (Steve) on Apr 30, 2017 12:45:19 GMT -7
If it sounds ok with the treble on 2 then you're there. Is there an issue with having that knob on 2?
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tonyc
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Post by tonyc on Apr 30, 2017 13:39:34 GMT -7
The speaker is well broken in. I bought this from a good friend of mine who used the amp a bit for a few months. He bought 2 and decided he didn't need both.
As far as on 2, it's 2 out of 10. I just didn't know if anyone had any other tips or tricks.
Thanks!
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Post by doctorice on Apr 30, 2017 13:54:23 GMT -7
Close your eyes while adjusting the eq knobs. Pay no attention to where they end up. If it sounds good to you, it is good
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Post by Rockerfeller on Apr 30, 2017 15:38:35 GMT -7
My Treble setting on the Z-Lux, is always set around 10'oclock and sometimes lower depending on the room. I boost the Mids and cut the Bass. I play Tele's which are already bright. Where do you set your mids?
Just to make sure the brightness isn't coming from the pedal board, try plugging the the guitar straight in and see how that sounds.
If you are use to setting your Treble at noon, I can see why cutting it so much might seem problematic. But Doctorice is right, if it sounds good, it sounds good, regardless of the settings. Sometimes it is the room you are playing in. Do you find you have to set it like that everywhere you play or just at home?
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Post by zpilot on Apr 30, 2017 19:54:52 GMT -7
You didn't say where you have the other tone controls and it is all relative. The mid control is really interactive. Also, if you are playing a Tele or Strat and run with the tone control pretty high I can see where you would want to keep the Z-Lux treble low.
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tonyc
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Post by tonyc on May 1, 2017 9:00:59 GMT -7
I'll have to look, but I had the Bass control up around 2 o'clock or so and the mids were around 1 o'clock. I quickly found out that cranking the mids adds brightness and so I adjusted them back.
I use a Tele and a Strat, so what I think I'm going to do is roll back the tone knobs on those when I'm on the bridge pup and that way i have a decent balance of tones using the other pickups.
Thanks everyone! I've only used the show once so far, so as I get more shows with it I should find that sweet spot.
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Post by Rockerfeller on May 1, 2017 9:11:00 GMT -7
I'll have to look, but I had the Bass control up around 2 o'clock or so and the mids were around 1 o'clock. I quickly found out that cranking the mids adds brightness and so I adjusted them back. I use a Tele and a Strat, so what I think I'm going to do is roll back the tone knobs on those when I'm on the bridge pup and that way i have a decent balance of tones using the other pickups. Thanks everyone! I've only used the show once so far, so as I get more shows with it I should find that sweet spot. I absolutely roll the tone back on my Tele when I am on the Bridge pup and the Zlux. If I don't, it is just way too bright. With my Zlux and a Tele, I typically start with the Treble at 10 o'clock, and the mid's at 2 o'clock and the bass starts at the off position and I bring it up till I can hear it impacting the tone. It is room dependent but usually ends up around 9-10 o'clock and never higher than that.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 1, 2017 11:19:15 GMT -7
I always roll the tone off on my Tele bridge pickup with just about any amp if I'm playing about the 5th fret or so, Strats, too--in fact I'm usually in the 2 position on a Strat (bridge/middle) and rarely use the bridge pickup by itself.
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tonyc
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Post by tonyc on May 1, 2017 12:20:45 GMT -7
I have the Scott Henderson wiring mod from the Suhr guitars on my Strat. In the bridge position, the 2nd tone knob is engaged. When you switch from bridge to bridge-middle, the tone knob is bypassed. When you switch to the middle position, the 1st tone knob is engaged. When you switch to middle-neck, the tone knob is bypassed and then in the neck position, the 1st tone knob is engaged again. Required one of those super switches. I also run a Dimarzio tone zone in the bridge with a push-pull volume pot to split the coil.
On my Tele, I run the Tone Zone tele in the bridge and a 3 way toggle. In the middle, it's coil split. Switched to the up position, it's humbucker. Switched down, it's out of phase with the neck when you switch the 3-way to the bridge-neck position.
I have been using a Fuchs Train II for a few years and it's a 50 watt amp and quite loud. I was going to get an attenuator, like the Rivera Rock Crusher recording, and then my friend told me he was selling his Dr. Z Zlux instead. I've been wanting one for a while.
I have never thought of adjusting the bass on the Zlux like that, but I'll try it. The show I just did was outdoors for one of the KY Derby Festival shows and that likely contributed to the tone being more trebly than usual.
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Post by Rockerfeller on May 1, 2017 12:59:32 GMT -7
I have never thought of adjusting the bass on the Zlux like that, but I'll try it. The show I just did was outdoors for one of the KY Derby Festival shows and that likely contributed to the tone being more trebly than usual. I picked up that trick here on this forum and it really works well.
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Post by doctorice on May 1, 2017 13:41:58 GMT -7
I have never thought of adjusting the bass on the Zlux like that, but I'll try it. The show I just did was outdoors for one of the KY Derby Festival shows and that likely contributed to the tone being more trebly than usual. I picked up that trick here on this forum and it really works well. It comes from Buddy Whittington, I believe. Buddy was using a MAZ 38 regularly and described this approach when asked about his amp settings. (MAZ and Z-Lux front ends are quite similar.)
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Post by ash on May 1, 2017 14:23:55 GMT -7
Yup, honestly I keep all the tone controls below 12 unless Im pushing the amp into distortion. For clean tones as a pedal platform its a powerful beast to tame. It is a very forward amp, which I like. Its punchy even when its clean. But to warm it up you have to back down the tone controls. It goes against conventional wisdom but thats the way it works.
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Post by Deleted on May 1, 2017 15:00:16 GMT -7
Yup, honestly I keep all the tone controls below 12 unless Im pushing the amp into distortion. For clean tones as a pedal platform its a powerful beast to tame. It is a very forward amp, which I like. Its punchy even when its clean. But to warm it up you have to back down the tone controls. It goes against conventional wisdom but thats the way it works. That's pretty close to my approach. T at 10:00, M at 1:00, B at 12:00 are my "normal" settings. If used as a clean-ish platform, you want to select dirt pedals that don't have a real hot upper mid hump, and preferably no spiky highs, or at least the ability to roll off/round off the top end.
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Post by bgkyt1 on May 3, 2017 11:27:01 GMT -7
if you are tipping the amp back and the speaker is pointed directly at your head, that might not help. i ended up putting something in front of the speaker center to block the highs (like a beam blocker), or i would make sure that the speaker isn't pointed directly at my head.
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Post by Easyrom on May 3, 2017 12:33:21 GMT -7
It's funny I don't find the Z-Lux to be on the bright side. At all. It's not what I would call a dark amp neither, for sure, but I've had a lots of brighter amps. The MaZ 8 for a start, which I loved, but I have found it too bright or even a little bit harsh in certain situations. I find the Z-Lux rounder and softer and the 3 bands EQ just great to dial exactly what you want from the amp (T on 10 o'clock to 11 – depends on the guitar, M around 1 and B on 10 (Gretsch) to 1 (Tele)).
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Post by Rockerfeller on May 3, 2017 12:35:28 GMT -7
It's funny I don't find the Z-Lux to be on the bright side. At all. It's not what I would call a dark amp neither, for sure, but I've had a lots of brighter amps. The MaZ 8 for a start, which I loved, but I have found it too bright or even a little bit harsh in certain situations. I find the Z-Lux rounder and softer and the 3 bands EQ just great to dial exactly what you want from the amp (T on 10 o'clock to 11 – depends on the guitar, M around 1 and B on 10 (Gretsch) to 1 (Tele)). I couldn't agree more.
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