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Post by ss "Shane" on Sept 1, 2017 15:56:44 GMT -7
I've been craving a ZWreck for sometime now. When I ever get ready for one I'll be asking which single 12 speaker is a good choice. That's entirely a whole other thread though (and possibly a huge can of worms).
Right now I need to know if this thing will be usable or just too much. I don't play arenas just venues with about 100-300 people...sometimes even less in numbers.
For reference, I currently use my Therapy (which I LOVE) with the master anywhere from 11:00 to 3:00 and volume sits at about 9:00-10:00. Hopefully somebody can tell me how these volume settings compare to the volume of the wreck.
If whoever is feeling wordy I wouldn't mind tone description compared to my Therapy. I hate trying to figure out tone from online demos.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 1, 2017 17:13:43 GMT -7
I can tell you, having played a Wreck a few times, it's definitely perceptively louder than the Therapy. Has a lot to do with where the highs and upper mids sit. It's a much brighter amp.
The main difference is having an NMV amp vs. an MV amp. The Therapy is much more controllable, whereas the Z Wreck comes on strong, maxes out on volume around 5 on the dial, and then just gets dirtier from there. When the Therapy is at 5 on the dial, there's still much more volume and gain to be had.
I want to own a Wreck someday, but without the PowerStation, I probably could never properly utilize it. Still haven't played one with the half power switch. I can tell you, the half power switch on the DB4 makes a world of difference for me. ~20 watts is my happy place.
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Post by simpleton on Sept 1, 2017 18:51:10 GMT -7
The ZWreck can be had with a half power switch now.....I'm pretty sure with that and a Brake Lite you would be a happy amp owner. But I also haven't played a Wreck yet. I've always thought of the Z Wreck as a pinnacle amp.
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Post by ss "Shane" on Sept 1, 2017 20:07:22 GMT -7
The ZWreck can be had with a half power switch now.....I'm pretty sure with that and a Brake Lite you would be a happy amp owner. But I also haven't played a Wreck yet. I've always thought of the Z Wreck as a pinnacle amp. I think the half power switch would allow me to love this amp. I'm a weirdo and not much of a brake light guy.
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Post by sharkboy on Sept 1, 2017 22:47:19 GMT -7
An attenuator helps. They sure sound good loud, however. I think I prefer having the original switch and an attenuator to getting the half power mod.
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Post by Rockerfeller on Sept 2, 2017 9:01:21 GMT -7
I've been craving a ZWreck for sometime now. When I ever get ready for one I'll be asking which single 12 speaker is a good choice. That's entirely a whole other thread though (and possibly a huge can of worms). Right now I need to know if this thing will be usable or just too much. I don't play arenas just venues with about 100-300 people...sometimes even less in numbers. For reference, I currently use my Therapy (which I LOVE) with the master anywhere from 11:00 to 3:00 and volume sits at about 9:00-10:00. Hopefully somebody can tell me how these volume settings compare to the volume of the wreck. If whoever is feeling wordy I wouldn't mind tone description compared to my Therapy. I hate trying to figure out tone from online demos. I have gigged the Wreck for 25+ shows. I always use my brakelite on either 1 or 2 and sometimes I switch it off. With the BL, it is never too loud ON STAGE, but it isn't quiet either. I play in a loud band with a loud drummer and we seldom get told to turn down. I can tell you I don't think I could play it like that in a church setting, but at a corporate event, wedding, or any other party type atmosphere where alcohol is being served and people are dancing, it isn't too loud. ILuvPunz is also in the band and he plays a Therapy and my perception, along with our drummer, is that he is WAY louder than me! So you might ask him how he runs his Therapy for a reference. I run the Wreck two ways live and each gig I do both: I run her at about noon with the stand alone BL on 2 for rock tones. I cut it down to around 9-9:30, just where the volume jump is, with the BL on 1 for cleaner country stuff. I find that between those two settings and the volume knob on my guitar, I can get pretty much every tone I need from classic country to Zeppelin without an overdrive pedal. I have the head and 1x12 cab with a Gold in it.
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Post by markT on Sept 2, 2017 9:46:24 GMT -7
I've been craving a ZWreck for sometime now. When I ever get ready for one I'll be asking which single 12 speaker is a good choice. That's entirely a whole other thread though (and possibly a huge can of worms). Right now I need to know if this thing will be usable or just too much. I don't play arenas just venues with about 100-300 people...sometimes even less in numbers. For reference, I currently use my Therapy (which I LOVE) with the master anywhere from 11:00 to 3:00 and volume sits at about 9:00-10:00. Hopefully somebody can tell me how these volume settings compare to the volume of the wreck. If whoever is feeling wordy I wouldn't mind tone description compared to my Therapy. I hate trying to figure out tone from online demos. I have a Therapy and Z Wreck combo and these are my two favorite Z amps....and I've had most. Completely different amps. Both awesome. Therapy is thick & chewy, but the Wreck can get thick & chewy too...but with a silvery sparkle on top that's never harsh. I have never thought the Z Wreck is any louder than any other 30-40 watt amp. Not sure where that came from and I'm sure it's scared people away. It's a Z...so yeah...it's plenty loud, but never too loud. I'd say the Gold is THE speaker for the ZW and you'd be doing yourself a disfavor not trying the Brake-Lite with this amp. Its like a Master Volume without having a Master Volume. Also, the combo has been my favorite Z Wreck. I've owned the original silver stack, a head with multiple speaker cab's, the blue combo, now the black combo. The sound is more 3D...tone coming from every angle and not as loud as the 2-12 stack. Plenty of resonant low end too. Good luck!~ ps...just do it!
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Post by Deleted on Sept 2, 2017 10:03:44 GMT -7
Speakers are going to play a huge role, too.
With the Z Wreck, you almost have to go with the Gold, it's blasphemy to suggest otherwise. The Therapy plays well with a lot of different speakers, and you could easily drop down to a 97 dB or 98dB speaker to shelve some volume.
I'm not sure there are any less efficient Gold alternatives aside from the 98 dB Alnico Elegante.
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Post by nicholas on Sept 2, 2017 12:59:14 GMT -7
I had a ZWreck combo with a gold. From some of the talk I was worried it might be crazy loud. I didn't find that to be the case. I had a brakelite I was going to put in it, but I never did. It just didn't need it. That was before the half power switch. It's an amp I wish I kept. I might have to revisit that one some day.
What blew my mind most on the ZWreck was how you could go from clean to crunch just by picking. Sure every amp does to some degree. My Ghia does it pretty well, but the ZWreck is something special in that regard.
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Post by bryan0418 on Sept 2, 2017 14:39:35 GMT -7
+1 on using the Fryette Power Station with the Z Wreck. Mine does not have the half power mod so the Power Station is the only way to go live. I would think the 1/2 power mod with a Brake Lite would be very useable as well.
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Post by gtrfxr on Sept 5, 2017 7:41:26 GMT -7
Not to be disrespectful of anyones opinion but to attenuate the Z Wreck is like hobbling a thoroughbred. The Doc built this amp to breathe tone unshackled and 'that' it does! I pulled the brakelite from my blue combo the first day I got it. All it takes is right hand discipline (or left if that's your picking hand). I've done gigs with a Wreck in bars with 6 people in the room with the volume at 12:00. You just need to lay back with your picking attack. I'd hate to see the Wreck go by way of the StangRay (which still doesn't get the respect it deserves) because players could not control their picking hand. Maybe we should consider less hardware in the signal chain and let our flesh and bone and heart and soul determine what the audience hears out front. Dr. Z builds the most touch sensitive amps on the planet. We should not disrespect him by trying to re-invent "His" wheel...
Sorry for the rant.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 5, 2017 8:10:29 GMT -7
Not to be disrespectful of anyones opinion but to attenuate the Z Wreck is like hobbling a thoroughbred. The Doc built this amp to breathe tone unshackled and 'that' it does! I pulled the brakelite from my blue combo the first day I got it. All it takes is right hand discipline (or left if that's your picking hand). I've done gigs with a Wreck in bars with 6 people in the room with the volume at 12:00. You just need to lay back with your picking attack. I'd hate to see the Wreck go by way of the StangRay (which still doesn't get the respect it deserves) because players could not control their picking hand. Maybe we should consider less hardware in the signal chain and let our flesh and bone and heart and soul determine what the audience hears out front. Dr. Z builds the most touch sensitive amps on the planet. We should not disrespect him by trying to re-invent "His" wheel... Sorry for the rant. You talk about throttling back the amp, why throttle back your playing??? Dynamics are important, but I'd never want to hold back from digging in because I'm afraid of a volume spike. Attenuators are invaluable tools for maintaining your tone/breakup characteristics across needed volume levels. The Z Wreck isn't going anywhere.
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Post by gtrfxr on Sept 5, 2017 9:18:20 GMT -7
I knew I would grate someone's nerves with my post... l'm just trying to stress the fact that the ZWreck can be very versatile in all venues without attenuating it. I'm not against using other hardware in the signal path, but my point is this amp is very usable without having to give it a tranquilizer. Also, my apologies to the OP for kind of derailing his thread.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 5, 2017 10:41:16 GMT -7
You'll have to try harder if you want to grate my nerves...
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Post by Maddog on Sept 5, 2017 10:56:44 GMT -7
I've played many small gigs with the Z-Wreck. As I've said before, the Wreck has such a wholesome and pleasing tone, you can get away with playing it louder than most amps....I use either a single Celestion Gold or Creamback with mine these days....Awesome amp!
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Post by LT on Sept 6, 2017 5:54:46 GMT -7
I have also used the Wreck in a variety of gig situations....with and without a BL (I've sold mine since though). I go against the grain in speaker selection. I use an EV 12L. Fantastic sound, but that speaker is heavy!
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Post by ss "Shane" on Sept 6, 2017 14:23:25 GMT -7
I knew I would grate someone's nerves with my post... l'm just trying to stress the fact that the ZWreck can be very versatile in all venues without attenuating it. I'm not against using other hardware in the signal path, but my point is this amp is very usable without having to give it a tranquilizer. Also, my apologies to the OP for kind of derailing his thread. There's no need to apologize! I read every comment and am highly appreciative of forum members thoughts and opinions. I'm a small town country boy and have no real chance to give Z amps a proper test drive. This is why I appear to be too inquisitive at times. Many thanks to all who help me out!
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Post by Rhythmark on Sept 6, 2017 14:24:13 GMT -7
To me it all depends on what tone you want out of it. Breaking up for me is past noon. And loud. But not too loud in the band. Every thing else below noon and usable Completely.. But it depends on the band and how loud the over all sound is. I love my wreck and can't see ever letting it go.
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Post by mudman on Nov 1, 2017 20:02:15 GMT -7
I got to try a wreck finally! Used one at my local shop. I used it with a brakelite in the practice area and a ‘55 heavy relic custom fender tele. I literally had three people stop, open the practice door and ask what I was trying out. Beautiful amp. With the brakelite no issues with loudness. The cut control worked well to offset any treble loss and compression from the attenuator.
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