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Post by mmillernc on Dec 10, 2007 6:30:57 GMT -7
... and first-time Dr. Z owner. I picked up a GT from Fat Sound Friday and spent most of the weekend with it. Thanks to all those here that posted clips and wrote of their impressions - very helpful in steering me towards this amp. Their comments on the tone of this amp were right on, imo. Here are few comments of my own:
I consider myself a "dynamic" player in that I constantly ride the volume and tone knobs - always have. I don't channel-switch or boost leads. The GT is the only amp i have ever played that delivers the kind of dynamics I want to hear. In fact, it is so sensitive to volume changes I will have to refine my technique to better capture all the shades possible between 0 and 10.
As many have stated - This is a loud amp! The GT won't work for my typical gigs without an attenuator. I will be ordering a MiniMass soon.
I am undecided on the proper speaker and cab. I use a Two Rock 1-12 cab with EVM 12L - the Two Rock speaker didn't seem to handle the GT very well. I recently sold a G12H 30 (D'oh!), which some say is a good match. The EV does a decent job for now.
I tried a quality 12AT7 in V1 and it made a BIG difference in volume and tamed the highs a little bit. Also it gave the amp a wider sweet spot - 12:00 is the new 10:00, so to speak.
I am really looking forward to using this amp. I think there is a huge potential for players like me that spend their time moving between clean and dirty tones. I haven't even tried any pedals yet!
mike
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Post by benttop (Steve) on Dec 10, 2007 6:48:49 GMT -7
Welcome to the GT! I played mine through my Alinco Golds last weekend, but I'm going to try some other speakers before I make a firm decision.
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Post by Phil (aka Phil) on Dec 10, 2007 8:11:43 GMT -7
mmillernc, Welcome to the Z family, and even smaller club, Mazerati GT owners! You're right on when you say the the GT is the only amp that delivers the kind of dynamics we "guitar volume control riders" love! One observation, though. It's my opinion that 12AT7's make pretty bad tone generators. They're great as reverb drivers and phase inverters but they're not generally used in V1 positions. Try a 5751, a 12AY7, or even a 12AU7. Happy experimenting!
Phil
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Post by dock66 on Dec 10, 2007 8:26:05 GMT -7
I've tried GT and 2x12 Z cab open back with Greenbacks .
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Post by benttop (Steve) on Dec 10, 2007 8:35:38 GMT -7
I've tried GT and 2x12 Z cab open back with Greenbacks . I've been eyeballing ferguson's 2x12 cab he's selling with his RXES. Dang, that cab would work pretty nice, but it's not RED!
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Post by Curt on Dec 10, 2007 10:16:03 GMT -7
Greenback(s).......hard to beat with a GT.
50 watt Weber ceramic Blue Dog (med dope) is nice as well.
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Post by hogridr on Dec 10, 2007 10:19:48 GMT -7
Has anyone tried a set of blues? I was thinking about an open back cab with blues? Almost finished building my cab, trying to pick the speakers.
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Post by mmillernc on Dec 10, 2007 10:24:55 GMT -7
Thanks to all for the warm welcome. One observation, though. It's my opinion that 12AT7's make pretty bad tone generators. They're great as reverb drivers and phase inverters but they're not generally used in V1 positions. Try a 5751, a 12AY7, or even a 12AU7. Happy experimenting! Phil Thanks for the info Phil. Even though I have been playing for a long time, I am still a novice when it comes to tubes. I will try your suggestions. It seems the GT is pretty sensitive to tube changes - at least more so than other amps I am familiar with. I look forward to experimenting with both tubes and speakers. Mike
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Post by benttop (Steve) on Dec 10, 2007 10:35:37 GMT -7
Has anyone tried a set of blues? I was thinking about an open back cab with blues? Almost finished building my cab, trying to pick the speakers. I have a 2x12 with blues, but I'm worried about the power. I haven't really seen a pronouncement of output power yet for the GT, although it seems to share an Output Tranny with the Stang Ray. But the Doc could have upped the power a bit - I'm worried about blowing them up!
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Post by mmillernc on Dec 10, 2007 10:36:21 GMT -7
Has anyone tried a set of blues? I was thinking about an open back cab with blues? Almost finished building my cab, trying to pick the speakers. Mike A at Fat Sound is using a headswitcher between a HW AC30 (w/ Blues) and a GT head. I have not heard his rig, but judging from his comments (and his experience around nice gear) I tend to believe when he says it sounds incredible. mike
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Post by hogridr on Dec 10, 2007 10:39:28 GMT -7
Which GT did you get from Stu? Did you get the black with wood front? They told me it was on hold when I got mine. I went for Red serial #11(to match the RXES) and being the great buys they are they even switched the front panel to a salt and pepper to be an exact match.
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Post by hogridr on Dec 10, 2007 10:44:01 GMT -7
Mike at fat sound told me to try the blues, he doesn't think power will be an issue, he said the vox handwired with blues actually puts out about 32-33 watts. Plus most of us will always have some sort of attenuator running...unless my neighbors tick me off :-)
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Post by mmillernc on Dec 10, 2007 10:45:32 GMT -7
Which GT did you get from Stu? Did you get the black with wood front? They told me it was on hold when I got mine. I went for Red serial #11(to match the RXES) and being the great buys they are they even switched the front panel to a salt and pepper to be an exact match. I got the black with tan grille. You must be Scott - Mike A was on the phone with you when i was there and later mentioned switching the panel. I was nosy and asked who he was talking to. HA! AFAIK, the wood panel is still there. I tried it but I thought the one I bought was a bit less stiff. Did not run thru yours, though. He put it on the SOLD pile before I could try it! mike
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Post by hogridr on Dec 10, 2007 10:48:31 GMT -7
Guilty as charged... I am killing myself for not driving up to get it, but had to play Friday and Sat night and went riding sunday. Haven't figured a way to strap the amps and geetars on the bike (yet). So it looks like we can start a NC GT club.
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Post by hogridr on Dec 11, 2007 12:55:01 GMT -7
Here it is... ;D I drove home for lunch, my UPS man always hits me about lunch time. I hooked this bad boy up and went to town. I LOVE THIS AMP.. ;D ;D ;D I started it out with airbrake on bedroom, 4x12 V30's, and went up from there, then slid to a 4x12 with greenbacks The minute I hooked it up I was inspired to rip into some hatchet and skynyrd (at about 9:30 on the volume) I cranked it up to about noon and went into some Ozzy, VH, etc. I found out what that volume knob on the guitar is for, forgot that was there Then the sick inner child in me decided to remove the airbrake and crank it..(he he) This amp rocks, I was smart enough to throw in the wireless and go across the room. Did I mention I love this amp. Pedals, we don't need no stinking pedals... I will try to get some more intelligent posts about this amp later, in a few days when I am done exploring options, may even see how it cleans up, once I am deaf and fully sleep deprived.
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Post by benttop (Steve) on Dec 11, 2007 13:01:55 GMT -7
I have yet to try mine on my THD 4x12 - that sounds like a worthy experiment! Think I'm going to end up buying yet another cab though - just can't decide on what. Typical...
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Post by hogridr on Dec 11, 2007 13:16:36 GMT -7
I want to try it on some 2x12's but I don't have any at present. I do have a 1x12 with a Gold I am going to try later. It sounded best on the greenbacks, maybe because the lower wattage. It might be because I have always preferred GB's. I am thinking about a Zbest with V30 and GH12, or maybe 2 GB's. My buddy is bringing over a Zbest style cab with 2 GB's. I will let you know.
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Post by dock66 on Dec 11, 2007 14:49:38 GMT -7
I've tried ZBest with my Z amps,can't find any bad tone through that monster at all.
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Post by mmillernc on Dec 11, 2007 15:29:12 GMT -7
sweet..... looks like the GT is gonna fit in real well with your other cool amps. mike
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Post by Phil (aka Phil) on Dec 11, 2007 19:27:31 GMT -7
By the way, the GT loves relatively low output pickups like the Seymour Duncan '78 (a.k.a. the EVH). It doesn't clean up as well with JB's and Custom Customs (which are in the 14K ohm range).
Phil
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Post by benttop (Steve) on Dec 11, 2007 21:56:18 GMT -7
The GT just showed up on the Dr Z web page - 38 watts! I knew there was a good reason not to play it through my two Blues.
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Post by hogridr on Dec 12, 2007 7:54:37 GMT -7
You are right about the blues, glad you didn't. So far my fav guitars through this amp are both LP's. One with 57 classic PU's and one with Fralin PAF's (9k bridge, 8k neck). I liked the Gold but I am toying with a new idea, might start a thread in the speaker section about this. I have a 4x12 cab I got at a real steal. It has 4 V30's in it. I was thinking of pulling 2 of the V30's and replacing them with G12H's and rewiring the cab to split the speakers into pairs. Then run the RXES through one set and the GT through the other. Thoughts?
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Post by benttop (Steve) on Dec 12, 2007 9:32:20 GMT -7
You are right about the blues, glad you didn't. So far my fav guitars through this amp are both LP's. One with 57 classic PU's and one with Fralin PAF's (9k bridge, 8k neck). I liked the Gold but I am toying with a new idea, might start a thread in the speaker section about this. I have a 4x12 cab I got at a real steal. It has 4 V30's in it. I was thinking of pulling 2 of the V30's and replacing them with G12H's and rewiring the cab to split the speakers into pairs. Then run the RXES through one set and the GT through the other. Thoughts? Remember that old show, "Car 54 where are you?" and that idiot that used to say "OOOOH! OOOOH!"? You just made me into an idiot! If you're willing to hump a 4x12 to the gig, I don't think you'd find a better setup - bet it sounds killer.
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Post by hogridr on Dec 12, 2007 10:18:10 GMT -7
Well, I could take two 2x12's like many do, or roll one 4x12. I guess I am lucky, I play in the same 5-6 bars around here in rotation. No stairs ;D, pull up to the back of the bar and roll in. Two of them have elevated stages, but have ramps. Never saw Car 54 I don't know how it will sound, more of a hhmm I haven't "tim taylored" anything lately, what about this.... Still just a random "what if" at present.
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Post by mmillernc on Dec 12, 2007 13:24:04 GMT -7
... I play in the same 5-6 bars around here in rotation. (OT - sorry) Are you close to Raleigh? mike
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Post by hogridr on Dec 12, 2007 14:02:08 GMT -7
South of Greensboro, exit off of 85 and turn left on the second dirt road ;D
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