Post by Telemanic on Nov 6, 2007 0:52:09 GMT -7
Well, it's here!!! # 007 in Red/Red!!! Came friday early evening, and ive since had a few long sessions at home to evaluate it. I wanted to be cautious about my initial impressions because they so often change after a few days, .... but all i can say right now is Whoa! OMG! This thing is a rockin beast! But "OLD SCHOOL" rockin. It seems to be sounding better and better as it breaks in and i learn how to tweak it's ultra simple but perfectly effective 2 knobs! There is a gold mine of small but mighty shades of change on the volume knob. It comes on VERY quickly and by 9:00 on the knob, it is LOUD, THICK but not even close to being congested sounding, and super punchy! It has a very unique voice to it, and i cant quite put my finger on it yet, but i CAN say that it is WAYYY "OLD" marshall-y! Only like the most perfectly voiced and balanced one youve ever heard. In fact i have a hard time believing that there are EL84's in there, .... they just sound and FEEL so big, as if they were 34's or 6L6's. Major chunk available, ..... this is a killer stage amp folks, and it does not get squishy and cave in like most el84's. If you have the nerve to crank it further it does then and only then start to compress more easily, ..... nice! It has awakened a more rock side of me that has been out for a long time, but again, in that old school classic rock/ blues kind of way. Not to say that it could not be a blues amp, but it is definitely a more aggressive beast.
With my Tele into the GT - airbrake - Zbest, it was nearly religious! Even while for some things it can get away from you and be TOO aggressive, it retains this clarity and articulation that too often result in a non Z amp being harsh, thin or overly bright. Open bright, but never harsh highs, Snarling mids, and this incredible tight punchy low end, that has just the right amount of looseness. By my last run with it, i was discovering these wonderful shades of gain availible by small tweaks of the volume knob along with my guitars volume and tone controls. Hard blues to blues rock, to all out old rock, this is a VERY cool amp. The tone control is really more of a cut knob and works in reverse getting brighter as you turn it to the left. The range is fairly subtle or gradual, but Doc. just nailed it on the voicing because it is really effective for beefing up the tone or thinning it just a little. At home it is way too loud for long sessions so i pluged it thru my airbrake and that really did the trick. Now i can get control of the volume and have just a little more touch sensitivity and compression for perhaps studio? Practice etc? Then as necessary on stage back click the brake and step wise get more and more firm while getting bigger and a little cleaner as you go. I think this amp sounds so good that i dont want to mess with the tubes, but i have so many awesome NOS12ax's and a few really nice 5751's so i do believe that this amp is also ripe for some personal tweaking. Ok so i gotta go now and think about all of this, ..... i'll throw down some more thoughts on it soon, Thanx
With my Tele into the GT - airbrake - Zbest, it was nearly religious! Even while for some things it can get away from you and be TOO aggressive, it retains this clarity and articulation that too often result in a non Z amp being harsh, thin or overly bright. Open bright, but never harsh highs, Snarling mids, and this incredible tight punchy low end, that has just the right amount of looseness. By my last run with it, i was discovering these wonderful shades of gain availible by small tweaks of the volume knob along with my guitars volume and tone controls. Hard blues to blues rock, to all out old rock, this is a VERY cool amp. The tone control is really more of a cut knob and works in reverse getting brighter as you turn it to the left. The range is fairly subtle or gradual, but Doc. just nailed it on the voicing because it is really effective for beefing up the tone or thinning it just a little. At home it is way too loud for long sessions so i pluged it thru my airbrake and that really did the trick. Now i can get control of the volume and have just a little more touch sensitivity and compression for perhaps studio? Practice etc? Then as necessary on stage back click the brake and step wise get more and more firm while getting bigger and a little cleaner as you go. I think this amp sounds so good that i dont want to mess with the tubes, but i have so many awesome NOS12ax's and a few really nice 5751's so i do believe that this amp is also ripe for some personal tweaking. Ok so i gotta go now and think about all of this, ..... i'll throw down some more thoughts on it soon, Thanx