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Post by rcrecelius on May 3, 2006 11:48:07 GMT -7
Just out of curiosity...since both of these amps have the EF86 preamp tube and V/T/B controls...how do they compare?
I would assume the KT45 would be louder with more clean headroom but does it have the "Fendery chime" that the Z28 has?
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Post by tiptone on May 3, 2006 12:30:44 GMT -7
I had a a KT-45 for a couple of years, played it through an open-back 1x12 with a G12H30. Loads of clean headroom, it will overdrive but it is very loud when it does.
While not what I would call Fendery, it was the first non-Fender amp that I really bonded with the clean sound of. I used it to play with a country/rock band for year or so using pedals for my dirt. Before the KT-45 I had never played an amp, Fender or otherwise, that I didn't feel reverb was missing if it wasn't present. I had been playing the KT-45 for about a month before it dawned on me one day that I wasn't even missing the lack of reverb, very harmonically rich amp.
Z's 2-knob tone stack + EF86 amps that I've played (Z28, KT45) have a scooped-mid feel to them like a blackface Fender when clean, without sounding like a Fender clone.
I'm head-over-heels in love with my Z-28 with open-back 1x12, even more now that I replaced the Anniv. G12H30 with a Scumback greenback clone. However if I were ever looking again for a clean amp to use pedals with the KT-45 would be my choice hands-down.
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Post by rcrecelius on May 3, 2006 13:04:57 GMT -7
Thanks for the reply. I love my Z28 also and was wondering if the KT45 would be a good amp for me for when I need max clean headroom.
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Post by tiptone on May 3, 2006 14:46:10 GMT -7
KT-45 is all about max clean headroom, with tone to spare. I would take the KT-45 over a Twin Reverb anyday, even if my skinny arms didn't already make that decision for me.
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Post by cementman on May 3, 2006 14:55:04 GMT -7
my kt 45 (6545) played through a z best 2/10 cab has tremendous sustain, and really rich with a tele or any other guitar. i really like the tele bridge pup with this amp played clean. it has a country tone without a compressor. now i dont mean a bad country tone but like you have said, a twin reverb sound. without reverb. i wasnt enthralled w/theamp untill i biased it a certain way.with worn out tubes it sounded fine but even better with biased new tubes. the right bias is as myles rose says about it. through the 2/10 cab you can crank it all the way and it doesnt seem to kill my ears,, not so with the other cabs i tried (12's)
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Post by rcrecelius on May 3, 2006 15:15:07 GMT -7
About the tone controls...do they act like the Z28's controls? For example, if you want a little hair on the 45 at a lower volume, can you crank the Treble/Bass and leave the volume down to get some hair on it? I use this technique with the Z28 in low volume situations and it works great.
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Post by cementman on May 3, 2006 15:54:21 GMT -7
they just arent the same. my z 28 really had a great overdriven roar to it that the kt45 just does not have. if you have a z-28 you might be underwhelmed with the kt45. some would say the kt45 is flat at lower volumes. some would say it has too much bass. with the right speaker set up it really has a sustain and overall presence that works for me. it does not overdrive like the 28. sometimes i wish the kt45 sounded more like the z 28. but they are just different animals. i/we dont understand why you cant just put 6L6's or 6V6s in a kt45 and get it to sound like a z 28,,, the clean side of the z 28 stacks right under the clean of the kt45, but the overdrive on them are way too different. i heard one guy biased his z 28 with 6L6 tubes and got more output,, not sure about the tone, but i am sure it can be done, if that is what you are wanting. i know that i wanted a bit more headroom out of my z 28, but i really had plenty and just didnt realize it. now i miss it. now my antidote for another z amp is go play one of the ones (of two now) that i that i have. seems to work.
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Post by tiptone on May 3, 2006 16:36:59 GMT -7
Agree with cementman, it's just not going to overdrive like the Z-28. The tone controls are still interactive, with the Treble and Bass up the overdrive comes on sooner but it's still _loud_ when it does.
It has a nice sounding overdrive, just not like the Z-28's.
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Post by Jim Fairbairn on May 4, 2006 3:56:59 GMT -7
I have both. The KT45 does have a lot of clean headroom, much more than I anticipated. It can get VERY loud. I think the Z28 actually has more low end, but doesn't have the krrraaaaannngggg factor that the 45 does. I had a Route 66, but the milkshake type tones were a little to thick for my taste. The KT45 sounds good in my open back cab with 2 G12H30's, but if you can unleash it at an outdoor event, it really sounds good with the Z best.
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