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Post by zone47 on Feb 8, 2007 5:55:09 GMT -7
I've seen these as low as $1150 but I could never seem to get the color I wanted. I think I paid a little too much for this one but at least it is almost brand new ( 06 ) and it's RED which is exactly what I was looking for... I guess in that case spending a little extra is justified. New, they are $1549 but this one was $1,299 on ebay. The guy said it comes with the original footswitch too... which I am not sure what that is?.... as if Dr. Z makes footswitches for his amps? I have an original Prescription and I just love it !! It is a seriously great amp so I am excited to have something similar, yet different with that EF86 wide band front end. This should be interesting! I'll have a full tone comparison report later when I get it and spend some time between the two.
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Post by billyguitar on Feb 8, 2007 8:23:48 GMT -7
If I like a guitar or amp I never stroke if I think I paid $100 too much. It's all water under the bridge pretty quickly.
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Post by drew on Feb 8, 2007 9:16:25 GMT -7
Congrats on the new RXES. I'm sure you'll love it. I've got a non foot switch model. It's a great sounding amp! The footswitch is for the switching the overdose function on and off. I would prefer the footswitch. Enjoy your new amp...
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Post by zone47 on Feb 10, 2007 10:01:16 GMT -7
I got the amp yesterday and spent some time on it. The only thing I can say is HOLY CRAP !!1 ! what a great amp!! This thing is like a quality Hi-Fi amp compared to anything else I own. I was playing my Gibson P90 SG through it and it sounds utterly amazing. I've never heard such pure clarity in an amp. I had to A-B the EX with the Regular strength and it definately is a different tone. I was messing around with these both on the hi gain input and the regular strength had to have the bright 1 switch and expand switch engaged to sound close to the ES. The regular strength doesn't have nearly as much headroom ..... it starts getting down and dirty pretty fast. In a nutshell, I love the clean to mild overdrive of the ES, but I think the overdrive of the regular strength head sounds more tasty .... maybe more British sounding? ... I don't know what it is, but it is such a killer tone. Both heads are just great! I can imagine ever selling either one for quite a while A side note: The ES has Groove tube EL84s in it and JJ ECC83s. The EF86 has a big rubber band tightly shoved over it so I can't tell what the heck brand it is. The Regular strength has JJ EL84s and a JJ ECC83s in V1 and V3 with a Sovtek 12AX7LPS in V2 (I have no idea why I have the sovtek in there) ? I have a mullard 12AX7 laying around somewhere and a couple of Amperex bugle boy tubes .... I may have to slap those in place and see what happens.
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Post by dock66 on Feb 10, 2007 10:23:23 GMT -7
zone47,
Congrats on the RxES. A great amp indeed that needs to cranked and let it roar,I highly recommend an Airbrake to tame the BEAST though.
Happy playing.
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Post by kerryprotools on Feb 10, 2007 18:13:11 GMT -7
Good to have another fellow ES freak on board. This is my third Z and I love it to death . It is probably the last amp I will buy. The mysterious ef-86 is called a Miniwatt by Dario, a company out of Italy. Its a NOS, very powerful and bright-a little on the hissy side-but barely. Thats only because i've gottten used to my Telefunken ef-86 circa, mid 50's. In fact my v1 and v3 are also Telefunkens. They have a darker gainyey tone with more low-mid punch. Think Brad pasiley's tone on "Mud on the Tires". I believe he used the same config in the studio ."Funkens are VERY expensive and pretty hard to find, but if you can finad hook up- I would give em' a try. To me it made my ES go further into Du*** Territory. Congrats-You'll love - even at low volume, regardless of what some say. Find you a Zen drive and you don't need anything else IMHO.
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Post by anacephalic on Feb 12, 2007 14:39:30 GMT -7
speakin of miniwatts i have NOS Phillips el84 miniwatts in my original Rx and man are they sweet. Much smoother than the stockers.
As a buyer beware though i bought two sets from different folks and one wasn't so good (the good set came from Italy). Ebay for tubes is hit or miss. given the price i payed i got luck with the good set because they were a ton cheaper than NOS dealers would have charged
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Post by zone47 on Feb 19, 2007 20:28:22 GMT -7
I've put some time in on this amp now and over all it is great.... it's probably my best sounding amp. One thing I noticed that I am not real crazy about is when the overdose switch engaged, the treble seems to be boosted a bit too much ... at least on this particular amp. I wonder if swapping out tubes would make a difference or if it is something fixed in the circuit? I end up using an Ibanez TS808 tube screamer for my boost now to avoid the icepicks. Any suggestions ?
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Post by JASON (aka jgleaton) on Feb 19, 2007 23:28:27 GMT -7
One thing I noticed that I am not real crazy about is when the overdose switch engaged, the treble seems to be boosted a bit too much ... at least on this particular amp. I wonder if swapping out tubes would make a difference or if it is something fixed in the circuit? I end up using an Ibanez TS808 tube screamer for my boost now to avoid the icepicks. Any suggestions ? I don't use the Overdose at all, Low input and pedals for me... but you might try the Overdose on through the LOW input instead of the high input... tubes ( see ask Myles section) would probably make a difference... in V1 I would think a 5751... may smooth out the highs, also a NOS rectifier can make a noticable difference in your head room, overall loudness and tone... I'd ask Mike at KCA or Myles on the forum about that.... another thing I'd look at is Speakers? what cab and speakers are you using?? If your using the Celestion G12-H30/ Vintage 30... in Z-best or other cab... they sound WONDERFUL in a z-best with the RX ES but I'd try some Beam blockers if I was having that problem with em... I've also found that Weber speakers really smooth out that high end ALOT without the need for the Beam blockers... and JMO but theres nothing wrong with using a great pedal in the front, thats how I use mine... ;D hope some of this helps... it is really an amazing sounding amp... Jason
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Post by zone47 on Feb 20, 2007 4:38:28 GMT -7
The set up was on the low input. I am playing a 68 Les Paul reissue with the stock Burstbucker 2 and 3 pups, you already know the pedals, ...and the cab is an avatar 2x12 with Celestion G12M - 20 Heritage speakers. I am beginning to wonder about the pickups in the guitar? I have a few other things I will try before I fiddle with the amp.
Back to the speakers, 2 of them are only rated for 40 watts... that too is a concern seeing this is a 45 watt amp. I never crank it past half way to be on the safe side, but those speakers sound great with this head.
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Post by JASON (aka jgleaton) on Feb 20, 2007 7:09:16 GMT -7
Ahhh, your already using the Low input... and an Avatar w/ heritage G12H-20's... I'd spring for a couple of beam blockers if ya like them speakers.... for about 30 bucks, slap em in and I bet it'd solve that for ya with the Bucker's... worked like a charm in both my Z 2x10 combos for the Icepicks, can point em straight at my head now, dial the EQ as I want it and no icepick... should work for you in your cab if ya can't mess w/ the pick-ups... worth a try, don't like em and somebody would buy em from ya around here, heck I'd prolly buy em from ya if ya got em and just didn't like em... Oh and I wouldn't worry about them speakers really unless your just flat out diming the amp all the time... they can probably handle a little more than rated and your probably NOT ever using all the power, Those speakers would probably be Farting out a little like the Greenbacks can with an RX if you really start pushing them to hard.... and just won't sound as good. They seem to have a happy zone where they sizzle but don't fart out yet. Cool cause you can get a great pushed driven sound at a little lower level... hope it helps, got me wanting to put those greenbacks I got back in one of my Z 2x12's... and I think I will.
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Post by prsnstrat on Feb 20, 2007 15:01:07 GMT -7
Will a hotplate get you to where an Airbrake will with the RXES?
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Post by JASON (aka jgleaton) on Feb 20, 2007 18:57:20 GMT -7
Well, I SAY I wouldn't worry too much about it but then Myles and Jayson said this on the ask the experts... I'm sure there will be a couple of trains of thought here... But if I were you, I'd keep those 20 watter's in a lower powered amp. Something like the Heritage speakers or Webers will give you just as much tone and more peace of mind. The Extra Strength will certainly put out peak wattage of more than it's rated if you are pushing it. Just an observation .... The RxES may have a 45 watt "rating" but I have seen the amp exceed 50 watt peaks on the bench with a signal generator and a power chord can perhaps go higher. I would personally not subject your speakers to that. and they ARE experts so... might lean towards changing them based on their comments. But my take is still, If I liked them... and they don't sound like they are about to blow up... using the Low input, and not cranking it past 11:00 or so/ OR using an Airbreak... and they aren't Blue/ Gold expensive... I'd just play em... but thats just me/ MHO and if they were Celestion BLUES or something, then No I wouldn't use em... too expensive to risk blowing. but even green backs are only rated at 25 watts each and I Don't think thats conservative cause I could easily see blowing those I have... they can fart out pretty quick, so I take it easy even with those... but they sound great in their sweet spot?? Oh well... let us know what you decide and what works to solve your Ice pick highs with Humbuckers. Jason
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Post by zone47 on Feb 20, 2007 20:12:00 GMT -7
Hmmm, beam blockers huh? They just basically block off the dust cap area, right? I guess I may have to try that. It looks like running the Heritage speakers may not be the greatest idea after all. They do get slightly farty if I push it ,but that was only about half way cranked. I have some G12H30s 70th year anniversary speakers I could try... supposedly they sound pretty good. I really doubt I would blow the Heritage speakers up playing or practicing at home, but you know how it goes jamming in a band sometimes .... everyone slowly starts cranking it up louder and louder. I have another Les Paul with Antiquities in it that I may try but I have to do a set up on it first before I can really try it out. It will be interesting to see what the difference pickups will make. Anyway, I am just nit picking... this amp sounds really good. I think it's going to become my main gigging amp, I just need to refine the tone and effects a bit. Thanks for your input and ideas I'll update in a few days once I try a few more things.
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Post by zone47 on Feb 20, 2007 20:15:41 GMT -7
Will a hotplate get you to where an Airbrake will with the RXES? I have both and think the Airbrake is superior. The hotplate looks cooler, but the dynamics seem to suffer after 2 or 3 clicks. It's a bummer too that you have to buy a different hotplate to match a different cab impedence. The tone seems to stay more transparent with the Airbrake.
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Post by skydog958 on Feb 20, 2007 20:53:37 GMT -7
Just to say it, I've got two 70th anny G12H30s in my combo, and I find the high end a bit harsh. I'm going to get some beam blockers for them soon.
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Post by Tom the Guitar Guy on Feb 20, 2007 22:03:59 GMT -7
I've put some time in on this amp now and over all it is great.... it's probably my best sounding amp. One thing I noticed that I am not real crazy about is when the overdose switch engaged, the treble seems to be boosted a bit too much ... at least on this particular amp. I wonder if swapping out tubes would make a difference or if it is something fixed in the circuit? I end up using an Ibanez TS808 tube screamer for my boost now to avoid the icepicks. Any suggestions ? Congrats on the RxES. As you've experienced, this is such a great sounding amp. Are you experiencing the "ice-pick" while just playing the amp alone, or in a band situation? I ask, because - again as you probably know - frequencies "change" (or at least our perception of them) when more instruments are put into the mix. What I thought was a tad bit too much high while playing alone, actually sounded quite in place when playing with the whole band. Just wanted to interject that idea. tomtheguitarguy
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Post by zone47 on Feb 21, 2007 10:57:40 GMT -7
It was playing the amp in my living room... I was thinking about that and the sound is bouncing off hard walls. It would be interesting to take the amp out to an open area and try it again.
I guess if the problem continues, beam blockers may be a fix and / or different pickups in the guitar may help. I'll have some time to mess with it more tonight.
I know what you are saying; many times that high end is what cuts through the mix in a band... especially for solo work.... it's quite possible the amp is perfect as is, but in the right environment.
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Post by Tom the Guitar Guy on Feb 21, 2007 14:30:24 GMT -7
On another note, I did put in beam blockers and I really like the way that they disperse the high end.
tomtheguitarguy
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Post by anacephalic on Feb 22, 2007 10:56:48 GMT -7
Playing in the living room can get a bit edgy. for my home stereo rig i have the wall behind my head treated for reflections and spent days setting up the speakers to minimize reflections and take the edge off the top. if you have a lot of glass in the room it only gets worse. before you try to smooth things out for close range listening remember that the highs and high mids are giving you your cut in the mix. smooth it out too much and you risk getting lost in the mud, not that i think that could really be possible with a z. If you want to try beam blockers on the cheap by yourself a couple of dust covers for a 12 in speaker (less than 2 bucks ea @ www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&Partnumber=260-381) and put em on the grill cloth with the dome to the speaker. I'm getting a set and plan on just using some heavy thread and sewing them into the grill. might want to put some heavy const paper on the back for some support.
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Post by frank4001 on Feb 22, 2007 11:11:42 GMT -7
Or try some duct tape...A little tacky but...
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