Post by telejas on Mar 4, 2007 13:45:09 GMT -7
I played 2 shows this weekend... One acoustic/semi acoustic show with my lead singer and then the whole band the next night.
(Acoustic Show)
In the acoustic shows, I do play electric on about 15-20 out of about 50 songs we do and I figured it'd be over-kill but I used the RX-ES. As you would expect, I couldn't turn the volume up over 1 1/2 to 1 3/4, but the cleans were absolutely beautiful and I got compliments from a few "old timer" musicians in the crowd on my tone. I also used my Tubescreamer (TS-10) for a few songs and it sounded great with the RX-ES. Over all, I was pretty happy with the amp for the acoustic show, but I could tell I'd need an attenuator to get the tone I want at the lower volumes.
(Whole Band show)
I used all my pedals this time: two TS-10's, Jekyll & Hyde, Delay, Wah, booster, and I think that was it. I still don't have an attenuator, so I called my soundman and asked him if he had one - and he did, so he brought his THD HotPlate.. Ok, I had it set on the 8db cut and the RX-ES on about 6 1/2 and it sounded REALLY sweet!! The bad thing is, that it was a big place, but the stage area I was in was pretty small and the amp was only 2 feet behind me pointing at my Knees, so I couldn't really hear what it sounded like but from what I did hear and what the other guitar player said, it sounded pretty dang good! The soundman said it sounded better than my AC30cc1 and he was really impressed with it. He did say my amp was a bit bright, but the speakers only have about 5 hours of play time on them and I'm sure they'll warm up some.
For the harder rock stuff, the RX-ES sounded much better using my Tubescreamers and J&H pedals than the AC30 because of the lower mid-range frequency (when compared to the AC30), but it still has more mids than most other amps so it cuts through pretty good but it doesn't sound out of place either. I actually had to turn down the Bass some because I could feel it rattling the sub-woofers when I would chug on the low E string (on clean and distortion).
The top end of the amp is much smoother than my AC30 too. The AC30 I have tends to sound a bit "bittier" on high notes, where the RX-ES is more smooth and maintains that "spongy" feel when playing.
Over-all I was EXTREMELY pleased with the performance of my new Z this weekend and I'm really looking forward to next weekend where we play two nights in the same club with a bigger stage (so I can actually hear the amp). When compared th the AC30, the RX-ES can sound really close.... but as I mentioned above, the mid frequency is a bit lower voiced than the AC30, so with pedals that increase your mid range, the RX-ES still sounds "beefy" and not as abrassive as my AC30. I've also got an Attenuator on order that should be here mid week. it's one of the Weber attenuators with the actual speaker motor inside of it. I'll have a review of that after next weekend too if anyone is interested.
Just thought I'd throw that quick review at you guys (and girl).
(Acoustic Show)
In the acoustic shows, I do play electric on about 15-20 out of about 50 songs we do and I figured it'd be over-kill but I used the RX-ES. As you would expect, I couldn't turn the volume up over 1 1/2 to 1 3/4, but the cleans were absolutely beautiful and I got compliments from a few "old timer" musicians in the crowd on my tone. I also used my Tubescreamer (TS-10) for a few songs and it sounded great with the RX-ES. Over all, I was pretty happy with the amp for the acoustic show, but I could tell I'd need an attenuator to get the tone I want at the lower volumes.
(Whole Band show)
I used all my pedals this time: two TS-10's, Jekyll & Hyde, Delay, Wah, booster, and I think that was it. I still don't have an attenuator, so I called my soundman and asked him if he had one - and he did, so he brought his THD HotPlate.. Ok, I had it set on the 8db cut and the RX-ES on about 6 1/2 and it sounded REALLY sweet!! The bad thing is, that it was a big place, but the stage area I was in was pretty small and the amp was only 2 feet behind me pointing at my Knees, so I couldn't really hear what it sounded like but from what I did hear and what the other guitar player said, it sounded pretty dang good! The soundman said it sounded better than my AC30cc1 and he was really impressed with it. He did say my amp was a bit bright, but the speakers only have about 5 hours of play time on them and I'm sure they'll warm up some.
For the harder rock stuff, the RX-ES sounded much better using my Tubescreamers and J&H pedals than the AC30 because of the lower mid-range frequency (when compared to the AC30), but it still has more mids than most other amps so it cuts through pretty good but it doesn't sound out of place either. I actually had to turn down the Bass some because I could feel it rattling the sub-woofers when I would chug on the low E string (on clean and distortion).
The top end of the amp is much smoother than my AC30 too. The AC30 I have tends to sound a bit "bittier" on high notes, where the RX-ES is more smooth and maintains that "spongy" feel when playing.
Over-all I was EXTREMELY pleased with the performance of my new Z this weekend and I'm really looking forward to next weekend where we play two nights in the same club with a bigger stage (so I can actually hear the amp). When compared th the AC30, the RX-ES can sound really close.... but as I mentioned above, the mid frequency is a bit lower voiced than the AC30, so with pedals that increase your mid range, the RX-ES still sounds "beefy" and not as abrassive as my AC30. I've also got an Attenuator on order that should be here mid week. it's one of the Weber attenuators with the actual speaker motor inside of it. I'll have a review of that after next weekend too if anyone is interested.
Just thought I'd throw that quick review at you guys (and girl).