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Post by kaseri on Jun 6, 2005 18:07:16 GMT -7
I've been trying to find some good info on this amp but I can't seem to come up with anything that can describe what this amp sounds like. Can anyone out there shed some light on the 6545 for me? I've been seriously considering one but I don't have any dealers near me that stock one. $1700 is a lot of $ to throw @ an amp that I have yet to even hear, you know? The only thing that I have heard is the soundclip on the ProGuitar site. Does anyone know if that sound clip is accurate? Even in the ballpark?
Any info / experience will be greatly appreciated.
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BigMike
Junior Member
The Mykkus Abides
Posts: 89
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Post by BigMike on Jun 6, 2005 21:17:41 GMT -7
Decay-o-caster on the gear page has one. Perhaps a thread there as well will help?
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Post by kaseri on Jun 8, 2005 19:24:13 GMT -7
Thanks. I posted on the gear page. Got some replies but the proof is in the hearing. I wish there was a Z dealer locally (or semi-local) that had a 6545 in stock.
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BigMike
Junior Member
The Mykkus Abides
Posts: 89
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Post by BigMike on Jun 8, 2005 22:16:14 GMT -7
Yeah, I've only heard the KT45 side myself. (Phenominal)
I'd like to hear one too. Decay is close to me, I need to arrange a tone fest.
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Post by myles on Jun 29, 2005 10:35:47 GMT -7
I've been trying to find some good info on this amp but I can't seem to come up with anything that can describe what this amp sounds like. Can anyone out there shed some light on the 6545 for me? I've been seriously considering one but I don't have any dealers near me that stock one. $1700 is a lot of $ to throw @ an amp that I have yet to even hear, you know? The only thing that I have heard is the soundclip on the ProGuitar site. Does anyone know if that sound clip is accurate? Even in the ballpark? Any info / experience will be greatly appreciated. First off .... $1700 is dirt cheap. Find a hand wired PTP channel switching amp in the first place. There are a few .... Mako, Matchless Independance. Maybe there are more but for either of these you will spend over two times the money. The 6545 is still a big secret for so many folks. The SRZ65 side will give you those 60s and 70s Marshall tones if you want. It can do much more than those tones as well. The 45 side can range from ultra clean to sounding like a cranked Hiwatt in some settings and a Vox AC50 (class A/B remember) in other settings. It is really a virtual three channel amp with a pedal or two.... Start clean on the 45 side The 65 side gives you those classic rock tones Then back to the 45 side, hit that EF86 with any ultra overdrive pedal and bury a Mesa Recto or Peavey XXX in gain BUT the gain is still defined and NOT squashed. Pretty amazing amps. Forget sound clips .... they are like taking a test drive in a new car from the back seat. It is how these amps that respond with the "driver" that is also a huge part of their magic. I know a lot of folks that have these and love them. Some are shown at www.guitaramplifierblueprinting.com/doctorzplayers.html
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Post by kaseri on Jun 29, 2005 10:52:26 GMT -7
Thanks Myles. I ended up getting a 6545 & I love it.
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Post by perryr on Jun 29, 2005 21:54:06 GMT -7
congrats!
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Post by kaseri on Jun 29, 2005 22:00:20 GMT -7
Thanks Perryr
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Post by myles on Jun 30, 2005 17:52:38 GMT -7
Thanks Myles. I ended up getting a 6545 & I love it. If you love it now you will probably grow to love it a lot more. That is one of the quirky aspects of Z amps .... all of them actually .... you are initially set with one area of thought but it is the amp over time that keeps growing on you. You will probably find yourself playing ther 6545 at times where it makes you think of another amp you have or a friend has. You fire up the other amp and find it is a great amp perhaps, but sort of misses the mark now. Your envelope of reference gets sort of trashed by man of the Z amps. Try this is you have a chance .... 6545 on the "65" side with a Marshall 4x12. Get what is considered a nice "50 watt" amp such as a Marshall 1987, or even a JCM800, 900 50 watter. Listen to the lack of "squash" compared to many other amps when they are turned past 7-8. At lower levels the "65" is still articulate. The master does not hose things up as most masters do as much. Then there is the "45" side and now you have a completely different amp altogether. Its not a typical multi channel amp where they just keep adding another stage of gain. If you cannot get a great clean sound out of an amp then to me the amp is pretty useless as it's driven tones will also be compromised. Try to find an amp with the cleans of the "45" side. It will keep up with my Fender Twin .... but ..... when a twin is pushed it will not sound as pretty or articulate as a KT-45 or the "45" side of a 6545. Why? The "45" has a pentode in it's first gain stage. The Fender has a dual triode (12AX7) and the amp was designed to run clean at "normal levels". Push the Fender too far and it gets pretty compressed and buzzed out. Congrats on the amp. I think in a few months you will like the amp even more. Happy playing.
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Post by kaseri on Jun 30, 2005 18:11:19 GMT -7
Funny you post that myles... I just got through doing lots of tweaking with the 65 side of my 6545. Every sound that came through was good & useable. Some of the tones I dialed in weren't my style but they still sounded great. Z amps for SURE change the way you hear an amps tone. I used to love the sound of a Shiva. Now when I play my friends Shiva it sounds muddy in the low mids & it has some weird harmonic thing going on, loses articulation.
Thanks again myles. As a matter of fact I spoke to you @ Groove one day via telephone about the 6545. Must have been about a month ago.
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Post by myles on Jul 1, 2005 12:34:40 GMT -7
Funny you post that myles... I just got through doing lots of tweaking with the 65 side of my 6545. Every sound that came through was good & useable. Some of the tones I dialed in weren't my style but they still sounded great. Z amps for SURE change the way you hear an amps tone. I used to love the sound of a Shiva. Now when I play my friends Shiva it sounds muddy in the low mids & it has some weird harmonic thing going on, loses articulation. Thanks again myles. As a matter of fact I spoke to you @ Groove one day via telephone about the 6545. Must have been about a month ago. I don't remember the call as I have been doing a lot of 6545 stuff with people that have them. I have to look into getting one of my own as I am trying to develop tube kits for them and sending folks to look into them. I think I have "sold" at least two or three in the last week alone in a manner of speaking. I have a kit for the "65" side of the amp that I developed for a few folks. They are selected ECC83S tubes with a very fast rise time. Current at spec voltages is 1.6mA or higher (1.2mA is spec but most 12AX7s today come in at around 0.7-1.0mA). Spec transconductance is supposed to be 1600 (most tubes today are 1000-1400 at best). These are over 1900. Then I trace the output tubes (typically GT-E34LS #6) on a tracer and then match the phase inverter (matched itself) to compliment the rise time of the output tubes. I did a demo of this to Dan Boul over at 65 amps and he was floored. He and his partner (Peter Stroud - Sheryl Crow etc) are now converts of hand selecting traced tubes for certain applications. I am also working on a set using a Raytheon NOS 12AX7 in V1. This will be more for sixties rock and blues tones on the 65 side of the 6545. This is going slow as I do not have an amp at hand to keep this development going smoothly but I am getting there. You can feel free to get me at GT M-F from about 8am until about noon. You are also free to call me at home later in the day, weekends, and evenings. If you are ever in Los Angeles (West Hills 91307 area actually) I would be more than happy to give you a set of output tubes, matched phase inverter, and some tubes for V1 (maybe 3-5+ different ones for different tone and player response) as no charge as you are doing a great job at moderating this cool forum.
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Post by kaseri on Jul 1, 2005 13:11:35 GMT -7
Myles... Thanks for the offer! I wish that I were able to get to LA but I'm on the other side of the country so I'll have to just stick to the stock tubes & wonder what my 6545 could sound like. Great forum indeed!
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Post by jzguitar on Jul 1, 2005 13:31:43 GMT -7
Hey Myles
I'm intrigued by the whole "rise time" thing. Could you sum up the impact of this on the tone and feel of an amp? I'm running my Mazerati fairly clean and getting my overdrive from pedals. I'm always fooling around with tubes to see how they interact with the pedals. Thanks for the info! It is fantastic to have someone with your expertise who is willing to share their knowledge with the others on this board.
Take care,
jz
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Post by real oldster on Jul 5, 2005 1:18:39 GMT -7
I'd LOVE to help you out. Which way did you come in?
<ba-DUMP-bump>
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Post by myles on Jul 5, 2005 11:55:00 GMT -7
Hey Myles I'm intrigued by the whole "rise time" thing. Could you sum up the impact of this on the tone and feel of an amp? I'm running my Mazerati fairly clean and getting my overdrive from pedals. I'm always fooling around with tubes to see how they interact with the pedals. Thanks for the info! It is fantastic to have someone with your expertise who is willing to share their knowledge with the others on this board. Take care, jz jz Basically, the rise time of V1 .... .... with a given imput signal burst, how long it takes the tube to hit it's rated output .... and how much it starts to compress past it's rated output.... are some of the factors. For blues as an example, it seems folks prefer a tube that compresses more easily and is softer. If this were an output tube it would have a "low rating" as an example. But speed metal players, folks that do a lot of harmonics and play 64th note tripplets at a tempo of 240+ seem to love fast and crisp rise times. I have a little demo that I do where I have two of the same type and make of a 12AX7C. One is what I use in a kit called the FST (Fender Soft Touch) kit. The other is for the FHG (Fender High Gain kit). Even though everything should be equal, especially when many think that a cathode biased preamp should allways just seek it's nominal level, in practice there is a big difference. I can also alter things playing with the current output of a phase inverter so things go over the top more quickly or hold together longer. Many folks don't realize that it may be less your output distorting and more that your phase inverter is distorting and passing this on to the output tubes. The way a PI distorts can make a pretty interesting difference. A 12AX7M will sound and feel different than a 12AX7R2 as an example. The Doctor uses both in PI positions but has preferences on what he likes for Teles, Strats, and Les Pauls as an example.
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Post by rrajo on Jul 19, 2005 12:32:43 GMT -7
This 6545 head is killer. This head is a must if you are going to cover a lot music styles: 1. Great Fender Bassman/ SuperReverb. Run the 45 side into a 2x12 or a 4x10 respectively for thier unique sounds. 2. Killer Angus sound. Send that 65 side into a 4x12 w/vin30's and you really have something. This is the next head I am going to buy. But then again there is the Delta 88, RX..............
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Post by kaseri on Jul 19, 2005 12:46:45 GMT -7
rrajo....
I got a 6545 & I am completely satisfied with it. This is the first time I have ever been really happy with my tone.
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Post by rrajo on Jul 20, 2005 14:30:17 GMT -7
Agreed, and I hate everything. I have to buy it from the dealer as I have pestered him too much not to. I can't find anything wrong with it ...that in itself is amazing.
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Post by terryg on Aug 12, 2005 5:38:14 GMT -7
Hi, I'm a little late to this thread, but I just wanted to throw in a thumb's up on the 6545. I haven't been using mine lately as it's so powerful, but in the past week I've totally rekindled my affair with it. Great amp, no question about it. I'm in a quandary as to what amp to use this weekend; what a great problem to have Cheers, Terry
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