Post by osostrings on Sept 13, 2006 20:24:58 GMT -7
I've already posted this over at the Gear Page, but I thought it would probably be a nice addition to have another full review in this forum:
Amp hype works in understandably strange ways, but I've been frequently perplexed by the (perceived/comparative) lack of hype over Dr. Z's Prescription ES. So, I figured I'd post a review/rave to get some more discussion going.
I've had the head version for about a year now and it seems to me to be an absolutely stunning amp - astoundingly versatile but not a "jack of all trades, master of none" sort of thing - I can achieve a variety of amazing tones and it seems to me that they are all achieved through the amp's incredible balance rather than some of the indiscriminate blandness that some versatile amp's offer.
I'm using a Fender CS Tele Jr with Lollar P90s, no boosts or ODs, and a Z-Best 2x12" cab with an Eminence Red Fang and a Celestion G12H30. I have a small project recording studio and I frequently record the amp in a number of contexts - it has done everything thing from alt-country to indie rock to even hardcore punk/metal and the amp does them all well. At lower volumes, I've coaxed gorgeous, jangly, and nuanced clean tones without any of the overt crispy high-end that some EL84 amps are guilty of. And at higher volumes, there is really no limit to the amount of gigantic overdrive this amp can dish out. At these levels, I totally concur with some of the comparisons that others have mentioned about the amp, such as the "marshall crunch meets vox chime," but I think it adds up to even more than that. It's as if every frequency section of the amp, especially in overdriven situations, has been carefully tweaked to my ear's desires. The low-end is tight and commanding, without lacking warmth - excellent amp for a one guitar band because it fills out so much. The midrange is chewy, textured, and tremendously articulate - complex chord voicings and quick single-note passages lose none of their coherency even amidst heavy overdrive. The high-end is equally impressive with refined glassy grind and plenty of sparkle. The compression is such to allow lots of dynamic response - for most situations, I roll the volume to '6' and control clean-to-crunch with pick attack - but it is not clinically tight, probably thanks to tube rectification and the elegance of the design. The overall voicing on the amp has some moderate influence from past amps (I hear some early plexi, vox, and actually a lot of the juicy harmonic rich tones of the Ken Fischer lineage), but it is one of the most uniquely designed amps I've ever heard.
The only things I still want to tweak about my amp setup are the speakers and actually I just want more options because I think the amp can shine in so many situations. Eventually, I would like to get a nicely done old school marshall style 4x12" cab with some of the Heritage Celestion G12M speakers - I've heard this amp really shines with Greenbacks and it's frequently been a dream of mine to get it really fired up through a 4x12". I'd also like to pick up a open-back 2x12" with some alnico speakers to accentuate some of its chimier, jangly clean leanings. If any of you have some experience with the RxES though different speaker setups, I'd appreciate input.
For soundclips, download the first two songs on my band's myspace: www.myspace.com/thebrightlightsocialhour - both tracks were recorded at home with the above mentioned setup. I would recommend downloading instead of the streaming the songs, because of the poor streaming quality. Let me know what you think!
Thanks for reading my lengthy review - I'd encourage many of you from all sorts of playing styles to try out this amp (and other Z's - I've also owned the Route 66 - which I never should have gotten rid of! - and the Carmen Ghia).
Amp hype works in understandably strange ways, but I've been frequently perplexed by the (perceived/comparative) lack of hype over Dr. Z's Prescription ES. So, I figured I'd post a review/rave to get some more discussion going.
I've had the head version for about a year now and it seems to me to be an absolutely stunning amp - astoundingly versatile but not a "jack of all trades, master of none" sort of thing - I can achieve a variety of amazing tones and it seems to me that they are all achieved through the amp's incredible balance rather than some of the indiscriminate blandness that some versatile amp's offer.
I'm using a Fender CS Tele Jr with Lollar P90s, no boosts or ODs, and a Z-Best 2x12" cab with an Eminence Red Fang and a Celestion G12H30. I have a small project recording studio and I frequently record the amp in a number of contexts - it has done everything thing from alt-country to indie rock to even hardcore punk/metal and the amp does them all well. At lower volumes, I've coaxed gorgeous, jangly, and nuanced clean tones without any of the overt crispy high-end that some EL84 amps are guilty of. And at higher volumes, there is really no limit to the amount of gigantic overdrive this amp can dish out. At these levels, I totally concur with some of the comparisons that others have mentioned about the amp, such as the "marshall crunch meets vox chime," but I think it adds up to even more than that. It's as if every frequency section of the amp, especially in overdriven situations, has been carefully tweaked to my ear's desires. The low-end is tight and commanding, without lacking warmth - excellent amp for a one guitar band because it fills out so much. The midrange is chewy, textured, and tremendously articulate - complex chord voicings and quick single-note passages lose none of their coherency even amidst heavy overdrive. The high-end is equally impressive with refined glassy grind and plenty of sparkle. The compression is such to allow lots of dynamic response - for most situations, I roll the volume to '6' and control clean-to-crunch with pick attack - but it is not clinically tight, probably thanks to tube rectification and the elegance of the design. The overall voicing on the amp has some moderate influence from past amps (I hear some early plexi, vox, and actually a lot of the juicy harmonic rich tones of the Ken Fischer lineage), but it is one of the most uniquely designed amps I've ever heard.
The only things I still want to tweak about my amp setup are the speakers and actually I just want more options because I think the amp can shine in so many situations. Eventually, I would like to get a nicely done old school marshall style 4x12" cab with some of the Heritage Celestion G12M speakers - I've heard this amp really shines with Greenbacks and it's frequently been a dream of mine to get it really fired up through a 4x12". I'd also like to pick up a open-back 2x12" with some alnico speakers to accentuate some of its chimier, jangly clean leanings. If any of you have some experience with the RxES though different speaker setups, I'd appreciate input.
For soundclips, download the first two songs on my band's myspace: www.myspace.com/thebrightlightsocialhour - both tracks were recorded at home with the above mentioned setup. I would recommend downloading instead of the streaming the songs, because of the poor streaming quality. Let me know what you think!
Thanks for reading my lengthy review - I'd encourage many of you from all sorts of playing styles to try out this amp (and other Z's - I've also owned the Route 66 - which I never should have gotten rid of! - and the Carmen Ghia).