Post by vanceen on May 8, 2013 17:04:45 GMT -7
Permit me to rave a bit...
This is way beyond my expectations.
The PPIMV was the main thing I was looking forward to, in order to be able to use the Remedy more flexibly without an attenuator. And it does exactly what it says on the tin. Cranked tones come through just great with the Master set about 12:00. I won't say it sounds exactly the same as full volume, because it doesn't; the speakers simply aren't moving as much air, and that affects the listening experience. But it sounds very close, with no loss of presence and dynamics like you get with an attenuator. Fantastic. I can use this amp anywhere without compromising (especially with my 2x12 Creamback cabinet). And it's not as if I'm a fan of master volumes; even on my Mesa Lone Star Special (which is no slouch of an amp - I'm keeping it), turning the master down (and the gain up) sounds nowhere near as good as letting the rear end of the signal cook a bit. On the modded Remedy it makes very little difference.
What I didn't expect was how good the tone stack bypass sounds. Oh my gosh. It's like a testosterone injection into the tone. I thought the Remedy could get pretty nasty without the bypass, but with it, it really snarls. It kind of hurts to put the tone stack back into the loop after playing for a while with it out, but pragmatically it's handy for cleaner stuff.
All this for less than $300.
And another thing! For reasons not worth going into, the amp got shipped back to the house I lived in about a year ago instead of to my current address. Don was very responsive and ready to jump all over it, but as it turned out I just went to the old house and picked it up. Given that the guy must be up to his ears in work with these mods, I'm extremely impressed with how professional he was.
I've come around to Dr. Z amps a little reluctantly. That's partly because their dealer here lacks a bit in the salesmanship department. I went in looking for a particular amp, and they tell me "Why do we need Mesa when we have Dr. Z?" Great, thanks a lot. Very off-putting and snobbish. But with the quality of the Remedy, the value of the mod, and the customer service they've shown, I will always be looking at the Dr Z lineup now first when I'm looking to expand my range of amps.
This is way beyond my expectations.
The PPIMV was the main thing I was looking forward to, in order to be able to use the Remedy more flexibly without an attenuator. And it does exactly what it says on the tin. Cranked tones come through just great with the Master set about 12:00. I won't say it sounds exactly the same as full volume, because it doesn't; the speakers simply aren't moving as much air, and that affects the listening experience. But it sounds very close, with no loss of presence and dynamics like you get with an attenuator. Fantastic. I can use this amp anywhere without compromising (especially with my 2x12 Creamback cabinet). And it's not as if I'm a fan of master volumes; even on my Mesa Lone Star Special (which is no slouch of an amp - I'm keeping it), turning the master down (and the gain up) sounds nowhere near as good as letting the rear end of the signal cook a bit. On the modded Remedy it makes very little difference.
What I didn't expect was how good the tone stack bypass sounds. Oh my gosh. It's like a testosterone injection into the tone. I thought the Remedy could get pretty nasty without the bypass, but with it, it really snarls. It kind of hurts to put the tone stack back into the loop after playing for a while with it out, but pragmatically it's handy for cleaner stuff.
All this for less than $300.
And another thing! For reasons not worth going into, the amp got shipped back to the house I lived in about a year ago instead of to my current address. Don was very responsive and ready to jump all over it, but as it turned out I just went to the old house and picked it up. Given that the guy must be up to his ears in work with these mods, I'm extremely impressed with how professional he was.
I've come around to Dr. Z amps a little reluctantly. That's partly because their dealer here lacks a bit in the salesmanship department. I went in looking for a particular amp, and they tell me "Why do we need Mesa when we have Dr. Z?" Great, thanks a lot. Very off-putting and snobbish. But with the quality of the Remedy, the value of the mod, and the customer service they've shown, I will always be looking at the Dr Z lineup now first when I'm looking to expand my range of amps.