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Post by sultan59 (Tim) on Mar 30, 2007 16:04:43 GMT -7
I see them on there more than any other Z amp. Are they too loud, or what? Too fuzzy?
I watched Beckannon's vids and it sounded pretty sweet....
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Post by billyguitar on Mar 30, 2007 20:00:36 GMT -7
They really are loud so that may be a part of it.
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Post by sultan59 (Tim) on Mar 30, 2007 20:12:58 GMT -7
only 32 watts, though....louder than a Stang Ray? ghost notes, maybe?
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Post by iggs on Mar 30, 2007 22:58:11 GMT -7
only 32 watts, though....louder than a Stang Ray? ghost notes, maybe? The amp wattage is always misleading ... heck, the difference between a 50W and a 100W is only a few decibels for that matter. I don't think it's ghost notes either ... Personally, I find Dr.Z amps are just not for everybody, they do not fall in the generic and somewhat "comfortable" Marshall/Fender zone and most people tend to gravitate to familiar things rather then something new and different. Whatever it is, it's definitely not because there's anything wrong with the RT66 ... because it one of the best amps I have ever heard and for me, it only took about 5 min in the store to decide that I had to have it.
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Post by iggs on Mar 30, 2007 22:59:12 GMT -7
p.s. mine is not going up on eBay anytime soon ...
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Post by sultan59 (Tim) on Mar 30, 2007 23:30:30 GMT -7
I need to test drive one of them babies!
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Post by billyguitar on Mar 31, 2007 7:16:25 GMT -7
I have a Stang Ray and a Route 66. I haven't compared them for this but The 66 feels louder. Maybe because of those thick low mids. It cuts like a giant machete thru tall weeds!
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Post by Curt on Mar 31, 2007 7:40:37 GMT -7
I personally LOVE Route 66's. Why so many on ebay?
My opinion is they are touted as sounding like a great Marshall, and they do but better, but the Marshall they sound like is a JTM 45 that most have never played, it's more akin to a Bassman than the gainy master volume drive monsters that many associate with a Marshall.
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Post by mward on Mar 31, 2007 9:06:57 GMT -7
I think it takes a while to get used to the sonic palate (sp) of a route66. I can get mine to do almost anything except really clean fendery chimes but it took me a while to figure out how to get it to do all that. Couple that with it being incredibly loud when you get into overdrive and ... well, it's like a pet lion. Sure it sounds cool, but once you get it, the reality might be more than you bargained for. I love my pet lion (route66) but I think there are probably a lot of people out there who didn't figure on how loud it was. Ya know? Owning a airbrake is the magic item for this amp, for me anyhow. If more people knew how versatile it made the amp you'd see less on ebay, I bet.
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Post by jb on Mar 31, 2007 10:19:40 GMT -7
+1 on the Airbrake. You need to have one with this amp. It really makes a difference.
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Post by sultan59 (Tim) on Mar 31, 2007 10:41:36 GMT -7
pet lion... I like that!
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Post by billyguitar on Mar 31, 2007 13:50:11 GMT -7
The Route 66 could be compared to a JTM 45, roughly like the normal channel, not the bright channel. I think they're quite different myself but people want comparisons. People that buy them thinkig they're going to sound like more recent Marshalls would be disappointed and resell pretty quick.
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Post by LeftyLang on Mar 31, 2007 16:09:41 GMT -7
I think that a lot of "Bedroom" players buy this amp and it is too loud for them. The 66 likes to be played loud .....it was built to be played in a band & cut through. It does this very well IMO. Also there are quite a few out there, so you will see them pop up on ebay more often.
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Post by groovergeorge on Mar 31, 2007 18:03:25 GMT -7
I think that a lot of "Bedroom" players buy this amp and it is too loud for them. The 66 likes to be played loud .....it was built to be played in a band & cut through. It does this very well IMO. Also there are quite a few out there, so you will see them pop up on ebay more often. That suits me just fine as it keeps a lid on the 2nd hand prices. I'm still undecided on which way I am going when I get my next "Z" by late June. I yearned for the KT45's big openess for a long time but have put that G.A.S as a lower priority for something a little more versatile and gig-able. On the one hand I do love the sound of a good Fender and the Z28 is a real Fender killer with lots of sparkle thrown in. I've seen lots of players here who have had both the 66' and 28' and have sold either one or the other. Some have even compared the 28' to the 66's little brother? I used to own an old JTM 45 head and I did really love that sound and had more than my fair share of Fenders over the years but never a deluxe as I found them a bit too farty and compressed. I'm still no closer to deciding which way I am going to go but like I said, do yearn for some Fender type tones considering both my "Z's" and only amps I have now are both EL 84 driven. Anyones thoughts? My styles BLUES,BLUES,BLUES, swamp rock,rooots,folk and some pop funky stuff occasionally........hardest I ever get is classic rock styles ala Zep,Stone Roses etc...
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Post by billyguitar on Mar 31, 2007 18:54:44 GMT -7
The Maz series are the best all around Dr Z amp, IMO.
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Post by sultan59 (Tim) on Mar 31, 2007 19:21:26 GMT -7
I think the Doc oughta build a 4 6V6 Z28.
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Post by mward on Mar 31, 2007 20:15:58 GMT -7
Groover: wait for the Evan, it's gonna have everything you're lookin for, or so I heard.. through the grapevine.
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Post by skydog958 on Mar 31, 2007 21:44:04 GMT -7
I think it's because they don't figure out how the tone stack works.
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Post by 5sonic on Apr 1, 2007 12:56:55 GMT -7
I think the non-availabiity of good tubes is another reason why people are selling them left and right. Opinions on the russian and chinese KT66 vary. Some people say they sound alright but are not reliable. Others say they sound like crap. I just spent $150 on a pair of 7581A thinking they were KT66. Wrong. If you want NOS or even good used tubes for these amps, it's quite expensive. [edit] I might spend $250-$295 on some used or NOS Genalex or GEC.
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Post by billyguitar on Apr 1, 2007 14:51:09 GMT -7
Well that's a shame. You probably just don't like the circuit. I was just playing my 66 and thought it sounded great! Nobody on here has reported tube troubles.
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Post by mward on Apr 1, 2007 16:10:01 GMT -7
I'm with Billy. With the russian tubes it sounds awesome and supposedly JJ is going to be putting out some really nice KT66s soon. There are NOS ef86s and used ef86s all over ebay, and the svetlana it came with sounds pretty good as well. If you think you are required to have NOS tubes to make this amp shine - think again.
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Post by LeftyLang on Apr 1, 2007 20:47:38 GMT -7
You can still find GT KT66HP tubes if you look around & the GT KT66C tubes sound pretty good as well IMO. I just put a new set of HP's in my 66 and it sounds so good!!
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Post by drew on Apr 1, 2007 22:41:04 GMT -7
Anyones thoughts? My styles BLUES,BLUES,BLUES, swamp rock,rooots,folk and some pop funky stuff occasionally........hardest I ever get is classic rock styles ala Zep,Stone Roses etc... Hey GroverG..., Sorry to make your GAS more complicated... but the 6545 is a happening amp. The SRZ rocks hard when pushed and cleans up nicely when rolling the guitar volume back. The KT45 side just flat out kicks butt, but with a different flavor than the SRZ. My Maz Sr has been quiet since I picked up the 6545 and that's a shame cause good old EL Sr is made to be played.
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Post by 5sonic on Apr 2, 2007 3:54:13 GMT -7
Well that's a shame. You probably just don't like the circuit. I was just playing my 66 and thought it sounded great! Nobody on here has reported tube troubles. I was probably being overly negative about the amp. The tubes are working fine, no problems. It's just that I bought the amp used, and it's an older Interstate model. So I figured it could use some fresh tubes. I've got an Amperex Bugle Boy EF86 that I'll try tomorrow, and a Telefunken. I also scored an old RCA 12AX7 for the phase inverter. As for power tubes, they're groove tubes, #4 rating. Since these 7581 I bought are not KT66, it looks like I might sell them and spend $250-$295 for some used or NOS Genalex KT66. A respected amp builder says that the new production chinese and russian KT66 have reliability problems. Hopefully the new JJ is going to be a real KT66 that sounds good and is reliable.
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Post by mward on Apr 2, 2007 4:32:50 GMT -7
I didn't notice much of a difference with the Amperex EF86, the mullard was more noticable to me. The phase inverter should be balanced, that old rca probably isn't, so you might not notice it sounding better. At least, that's what they tell me.
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Post by billyguitar on Apr 2, 2007 8:06:01 GMT -7
I tried a GEC EF86 in mine. I couldn't tell any diffierence from the Dario so I put it back. The GEC sounds nice in my Stang Ray so I'll leave it there. I also tried a balanced PI. It didn't sound any better than the 12AX7LPS that it came with. I think different preamp tubes make more of a difference with amps that have more top end extension. Myles said the output tubes can last a very long time in the Route 66 so that's not a bad investment but the improvement may be marginal. Some say a NOS rectifier will stiffen it up.
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Post by mward on Apr 2, 2007 9:16:30 GMT -7
The NOS recti did stiffen mine up - good word choice too, that's exactly how I would describe it but didn't have the words for it before. The difference is noticable and probably the best tube change you can make in this amp. The mislabeled 5v4 for KCA is the one I got.
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Post by dock66 on Apr 2, 2007 9:31:13 GMT -7
Rt 66 is on my radar for a while now,would love to own a Red one some days.
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Post by 5sonic on Apr 2, 2007 12:42:45 GMT -7
I didn't notice much of a difference with the Amperex EF86, the mullard was more noticable to me. The phase inverter should be balanced, that old rca probably isn't, so you might not notice it sounding better. At least, that's what they tell me. The 1960's RCA 12AX7 that I bought is a matched triode. These are supposedly even better than the JAN Philips. My amp shipped with a small Amperex world logo EF86. I read a post where the doc said that these sound very sterile and boring. I had some russian EF86, so I put one of those in there. It sounds pretty good, but the Bugle Boy should be better. The rectifier is a beautiful NOS Mullard GZ34 that I got years ago from VTV.
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gimik
Junior Member
Peace, Love & Music
Posts: 58
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Post by gimik on Apr 17, 2007 10:49:33 GMT -7
"so many"? I really would like to find one to "buy now".
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