Post by skinvoyager on Feb 19, 2014 9:01:04 GMT -7
I've been playing Zs off and on for years. My first was a Route 66, then a Maz 18 combo (original), then recently an M12. I sold the M12 and went through a Bad Cat Hot Cat 30 R and Black Cat 30R (both combos). Along the way I've used an Alessandro Rottweiler, a 65 Amps Ventura head, a 65 Amps Little Elvis, a Bad Cat Classic Cat, a Fender DRRI and a few others.
I've been all over the place as you can see. I'm trying to find the amp that has the right tone for me, but more importantly the right feel. Almost all of these amps sounded great at home, but live they were missing something.
I thought I had found it with the M12. I get all my drive from pedals, and I've tried dozens and finally have the ones I love. I really like combo amps, but I was starting to wonder if I was compromising tone for portability. In any case, the M12 sounded good, if not a little sterile and flat. I picked up a Peavey Classic 30 combo for a practice amp, and I was amazed how much i liked the tone of this cheap amp. It wasn't very refined, but side-by-side with the M12, I actually preferred the Peavey. It kinda made me mad, given how much money I spent on the M12. The Peavey just had more umph, more bass, and more balls. It wasn't as stiff sounding as the M12, and it had a lot more clean headroom. Noting that the Peavey has four EL84s as opposed to two in the M12, I began to check out other amps, deciding I need more power. Up until that point, I talked myself into thinking 12-15 watt amps were fine. Turns out for me, they're not.
I went to a dealer in town that had a few Zs. I brought in my M12 combo and compared it with the Maz 18, Maz 38, Prescription, and Stang Ray (all were combos except the Prescription). Honestly, the M12 couldn't compete with any of them. Even though it's billed as a pedal platform, it just lacked the dimension of the others. It was eliminated.
I then decided I didn't like the Prescription. It was ok, but...meh. It was down to the Maz 38 and the Stang Ray. The Maz had reverb, which I think would be nice to have, but I turned it off to keep the comparison fair. While the Maz sounded great and was more versatile, I couldn't get over how magical the Stang Ray's clean tone was. It was SO dimensional, and after messing with the controls (which have a lot more versatility than one would think on the surface), it began to blow the Maz away. It was the first 1x12 combo that didn't sound boxy or small to me (maybe it's the Celestion Gold).
I had brought my favorite high gain pedal, the Carl Martin Plexitone single. I played it through both the Maz and the Ray. The three salesmen and I universally agreed the Stang Ray was the clear winner.
I am going to gig with it this weekend, and I hope it's the ONE. I just love the chimey tone, and the percussive attack. It's so sensitive, I really feel like it's an extension of my guitar, which is something I never experienced with the M12.
Fingers crossed!
I've been all over the place as you can see. I'm trying to find the amp that has the right tone for me, but more importantly the right feel. Almost all of these amps sounded great at home, but live they were missing something.
I thought I had found it with the M12. I get all my drive from pedals, and I've tried dozens and finally have the ones I love. I really like combo amps, but I was starting to wonder if I was compromising tone for portability. In any case, the M12 sounded good, if not a little sterile and flat. I picked up a Peavey Classic 30 combo for a practice amp, and I was amazed how much i liked the tone of this cheap amp. It wasn't very refined, but side-by-side with the M12, I actually preferred the Peavey. It kinda made me mad, given how much money I spent on the M12. The Peavey just had more umph, more bass, and more balls. It wasn't as stiff sounding as the M12, and it had a lot more clean headroom. Noting that the Peavey has four EL84s as opposed to two in the M12, I began to check out other amps, deciding I need more power. Up until that point, I talked myself into thinking 12-15 watt amps were fine. Turns out for me, they're not.
I went to a dealer in town that had a few Zs. I brought in my M12 combo and compared it with the Maz 18, Maz 38, Prescription, and Stang Ray (all were combos except the Prescription). Honestly, the M12 couldn't compete with any of them. Even though it's billed as a pedal platform, it just lacked the dimension of the others. It was eliminated.
I then decided I didn't like the Prescription. It was ok, but...meh. It was down to the Maz 38 and the Stang Ray. The Maz had reverb, which I think would be nice to have, but I turned it off to keep the comparison fair. While the Maz sounded great and was more versatile, I couldn't get over how magical the Stang Ray's clean tone was. It was SO dimensional, and after messing with the controls (which have a lot more versatility than one would think on the surface), it began to blow the Maz away. It was the first 1x12 combo that didn't sound boxy or small to me (maybe it's the Celestion Gold).
I had brought my favorite high gain pedal, the Carl Martin Plexitone single. I played it through both the Maz and the Ray. The three salesmen and I universally agreed the Stang Ray was the clear winner.
I am going to gig with it this weekend, and I hope it's the ONE. I just love the chimey tone, and the percussive attack. It's so sensitive, I really feel like it's an extension of my guitar, which is something I never experienced with the M12.
Fingers crossed!