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Post by Deleted on Jan 9, 2014 10:41:42 GMT -7
Would you say that bright, aggressive and in-your-face are inherent qualities of the Stangray? I love my Stangray but I'm finding it too aggressive and bright for the music I'm playing. I can tame it a bit with some more extreme eq and guitar settings but I'm starting to think I might look for a different amp. My first thoughts are for a Z28 or Antidote.
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Post by cap217 on Jan 9, 2014 13:05:09 GMT -7
Ill trade you for an RXES.
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Post by Brian on Jan 9, 2014 13:35:31 GMT -7
I tried one out for a while and got the same feeling. I play country on a tele, and it was too much for me. I like my Maz 18 and RxJr. Both are a little more mellow sounding to me. What kind of music are you playing? That will help others point you in a direction.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 9, 2014 14:02:41 GMT -7
If you get a chance, try out an EZG. Very versatile, great with pedals, great at any volume, BIG tone vs lower wattage amps.
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Post by John on Jan 9, 2014 14:44:37 GMT -7
Would you say that bright, aggressive and in-your-face are inherent qualities of the Stangray? I love my Stangray but I'm finding it too aggressive and bright for the music I'm playing. I can tame it a bit with some more extreme eq and guitar settings but I'm starting to think I might look for a different amp. My first thoughts are for a Z28 or Antidote. Yes, those are the qualities of the 'ray. The Z-28 has a LOT of mids on tap. It's definitely a lower mid focused amp, and voiced very different than the stangray. The 'ray has scooped mids. Very different amps. However they do share the ef86 in V1. So the dynamic feel of that ef86 is shared by both amps. (I had a Z-28 & a 'ray.) Antidote is also known for being mid heavy. (never played an Antidote.) By your signature, looks like your Stangray is a head. You could try it with a closed back cabinet. That might curb a bit of the brightness. You could also change pickups in the guitar. Some tele pickups are really bright. But yes, the 'ray is a rather bright amp. I miss mine. If you need something with as much clean headroom as the 'ray, you might consider the maz 38. Both the amps you mentioned are big bottle and and are mid focused amps. The Maz 38 will be closer to the 'ray, but with more tone control to get rid of the high end.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 9, 2014 18:16:04 GMT -7
Thanks guys. That's what I figured. I absolutely love the amp. I don't know if I'll actually get rid of it but I'm just starting the process of whether or not I want to change my number 1 amp of 5+ years. I think something a little less aggressive might fit the bill a little better. I'll keep the Ray for the time being. I might take it into the store and try it out with a Z-Best and see how that fares.
I'm trying to get rid of my Splawn amp (too much gain) and my acoustic guitar once it is fixed. Lately I've been gravitating more towards Bassman-ish tones. I tried out one of those new '68 Deluxe Reverb Custom that Fender has out and was pretty surprised by how much I like it. Especially the Bassman channel of the amp. Also had a good time with a low powered tweed Twin RI not too long ago.
As far as musical styles go I'm involved in an indie-pop type project right now. Aggressive rock and spanky country tones don't tend to blend all that well. I don't want to be so forward in the mix with my tone. Lathering on reverb can only go so far when the attack of the amp is so immediate and strong. Maybe something with a softer rectifier tube. I had a Ghia for a little while but I didn't bond with it as much as with the Ray. It was a great amp for lower volume stuff but I don't have to worry about that anymore.
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Post by drew on Jan 9, 2014 19:10:22 GMT -7
Yep, that's the nature of the Ray and since you've been playing it for 5 yrs you know it well. Two things I've learned over the years of my Ray fetish. 1) It's got a treble bleed cap on the volume control so the more you turn up the volume the less effect the treble bleed circuit has. i.e. less bright. 2) With your two blues that's gonna be room clearing loud but sounds righteous, IMHO. I really like the ray thru inefficient speakers with subtle highs. With that type of speaker I run my cut around 9:00, tone around 10:00 and volume 2:00 - 3:00 and an airbrake one or two notches. I get lots of compression so it's not so 'in your face' and it's not bright but still has a fender'ish sparkle. Different strokes for different folks and since you like the amp different speakers might do it for you. BTW: A Z-Best sounds great with the ray but it's loud and in your face. That's not a bad thing and cranked it's a Rock'in Rig.
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Post by nocasterman on Jan 9, 2014 22:14:12 GMT -7
Matt,
Are you using reverb with your Ray? When I first got mine I found it a little too in your face as well until I got a Z-Verb. That made a huge difference even though I do not use a lot of reverb, just enough to give the amp some breathing room.
If you get a chance take your head in and try a Z-Best, I don't think you will be disappointed. I have been playing my Ray with a Z-Best for 4 years now and absolutely love it. Right after I bought my Ray, I took it to a friends house who has a Ray combo with 2x12 blues and one with a single 12 gold. We lined them up side by side and spent probably 6 hours with 10 different guitars, teles, strats, lp's, PRS, Collings and both liked the Z-Best the most. The 12 gold was VERY surprising in how big it sounded, I was really impressed with it. Neither of us cared for the blues at all. I know a lot of the forum members like blues with the Ray, but for us they didn't ring the bell so to speak. I love the fact we have so many choices to find our own unique tone and everyone here tries to help each other find it.
Drew is right, the Z-Best is LOUD. My only complaint about the Z-Best is the fact I have trouble hearing it on stage if I stand to close to the cab as it is a long throw cabinet. I find anything I plug into a Z-Best sounds better, my Mesa, Soldano, JAZ and EZG. I am really curious to hear your thoughts on the Z-Best.
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Post by BradPaisleyFan (Pat) on Jan 10, 2014 4:58:37 GMT -7
Matt, Are you using reverb with your Ray? When I first got mine I found it a little too in your face as well until I got a Z-Verb. That made a huge difference even though I do not use a lot of reverb, just enough to give the amp some breathing room. If you get a chance take your head in and try a Z-Best, I don't think you will be disappointed. I have been playing my Ray with a Z-Best for 4 years now and absolutely love it. Right after I bought my Ray, I took it to a friends house who has a Ray combo with 2x12 blues and one with a single 12 gold. We lined them up side by side and spent probably 6 hours with 10 different guitars, teles, strats, lp's, PRS, Collings and both liked the Z-Best the most. The 12 gold was VERY surprising in how big it sounded, I was really impressed with it. Neither of us cared for the blues at all. I know a lot of the forum members like blues with the Ray, but for us they didn't ring the bell so to speak. I love the fact we have so many choices to find our own unique tone and everyone here tries to help each other find it. Drew is right, the Z-Best is LOUD. My only complaint about the Z-Best is the fact I have trouble hearing it on stage if I stand to close to the cab as it is a long throw cabinet. I find anything I plug into a Z-Best sounds better, my Mesa, Soldano, JAZ and EZG. I am really curious to hear your thoughts on the Z-Best. I personally think that alnico speaks always sound best in an open cab. They need more air to get them moving. Good to hear how they sound In a z best though.
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Post by John on Jan 10, 2014 13:53:36 GMT -7
Lately I've been gravitating more towards Bassman-ish tones. You like Bassman tones? Get a Remedy! They are close in tone and feel. The short version: Fender bassman amps were very expensive in England in the late 50's, early 60's (because of tarrifs and taxes). Jim Marshall (yes, THAT "Marshall") copies the bassman amp and puts it on top of a closed back 4x12. Jim copied it component for component...he didn't even change the layout inside. (He had to make a few concessions like using British EL34's instead of American 6L6....and a few minor things) So the amps sound very close. The speakers and cabinets had more to do with tone change than the amps. Fender changed to the Blackface amps in the early 60's (with tone change too)....but the bassman/Marshall didn't change for many years. The point is, the Remedy has a LOT in common with Bassman tones.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 10, 2014 17:33:13 GMT -7
Thanks guys. You've been lot of help. Looks like I will have a lot of "work" to do. I guess amp shopping isn't so bad. I do use a lot of different reverb and delay tones from my Eventide stuff so I will need something that will those running out front if it doesn't have a loop.
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Post by telejas on Jan 11, 2014 10:11:49 GMT -7
This may sound stupid, but have you tried rolling the tone back on your guitar?
I HATE it when I have people tell me this and here I am giving this advice.....It may not be the way you are looking for, but I know it tames the Ray. I found out by having one of those blonde-panic attack moments. My amp sounded great at sound check, but an hour later on the first song, it sounded totally different.... Not bad, but not as bright and not as "in your face" as I like it to be. I did the normal stuff: Turned of/on the amp, tried a different cable, bypassed my pedal board (all during the first song) and then checked the thing I usually ALWAYS check, my tone control on my guitar - it was about 1/3 the way down. This is really odd that I didn't check this, because I'm almost OCD about checking it, probably about 5 times during a song.... But I had just added two pedals to my board, that I had just rewired between sound check and the show, and I was playing a brand new guitar so my head wasn't working normal.
Also, have you tried the low input on the Ray?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 11, 2014 10:44:16 GMT -7
This is all making me really want to own a Ray.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 11, 2014 10:59:23 GMT -7
This may sound stupid, but have you tried rolling the tone back on your guitar? I HATE it when I have people tell me this and here I am giving this advice.....It may not be the way you are looking for, but I know it tames the Ray. I found out by having one of those blonde-panic attack moments. My amp sounded great at sound check, but an hour later on the first song, it sounded totally different.... Not bad, but not as bright and not as "in your face" as I like it to be. I did the normal stuff: Turned of/on the amp, tried a different cable, bypassed my pedal board (all during the first song) and then checked the thing I usually ALWAYS check, my tone control on my guitar - it was about 1/3 the way down. This is really odd that I didn't check this, because I'm almost OCD about checking it, probably about 5 times during a song.... But I had just added two pedals to my board, that I had just rewired between sound check and the show, and I was playing a brand new guitar so my head wasn't working normal. Also, have you tried the low input on the Ray? I have actually been rolling my guitar tone control down to about 5, turning the cut to about 10:00 and the tone knob on the Ray to about 2:00 and I get great tone there but I feel like it's not using the Ray for what it was made for.
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Post by telejas on Jan 11, 2014 16:48:31 GMT -7
This may sound stupid, but have you tried rolling the tone back on your guitar? I HATE it when I have people tell me this and here I am giving this advice.....It may not be the way you are looking for, but I know it tames the Ray. I found out by having one of those blonde-panic attack moments. My amp sounded great at sound check, but an hour later on the first song, it sounded totally different.... Not bad, but not as bright and not as "in your face" as I like it to be. I did the normal stuff: Turned of/on the amp, tried a different cable, bypassed my pedal board (all during the first song) and then checked the thing I usually ALWAYS check, my tone control on my guitar - it was about 1/3 the way down. This is really odd that I didn't check this, because I'm almost OCD about checking it, probably about 5 times during a song.... But I had just added two pedals to my board, that I had just rewired between sound check and the show, and I was playing a brand new guitar so my head wasn't working normal. Also, have you tried the low input on the Ray? I have actually been rolling my guitar tone control down to about 5, turning the cut to about 10:00 and the tone knob on the Ray to about 2:00 and I get great tone there but I feel like it's not using the Ray for what it was made for. I think you're using it exactly what it was made for.... To amplify a guitar Seriously, if you like it and think it sounds good then keep using it that way..... But if you're not happy, life is too short to be unhappy with your tone and it may be time to try a different flavor. I'd hate to see you trade it off and then spend the next 5 years trying to get that tone back, but sometimes the fun is in the chase!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 11, 2014 17:48:03 GMT -7
I'll keep the Ray for at least a couple months or so. My band is recording our first album in February so that should give me a good opportunity to really dial it in and see if I want to keep it or not.
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Post by Danny on Jan 13, 2014 20:03:17 GMT -7
Ill trade you for an RXES. cap217: What color is your ES? Any photos?
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Post by BradPaisleyFan (Pat) on Jan 13, 2014 20:20:15 GMT -7
Ill trade you for an RXES. cap217: What color is your ES? Any photos? It's black. I seen it in a YouTube video.
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Post by cap217 on Jan 13, 2014 21:13:08 GMT -7
It was black w salt and pepper grill but I just swapped it for a surf green head cab.
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