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Post by aurules22 on Nov 13, 2014 10:17:05 GMT -7
Hi all! First Time Dr. Z owner here. Picked up a used Stang Ray 2x12 from Guitar Center's website. Sounds wonderful as expected.
However, the built in fan is extremely noisy. It sounds like there's a lawnmower outside struggling to start. Very bad rattling/buzzing noise that starts as soon as I power the amp on and keeps on going. Obviously something is wrong with the fan. Wanted to see if any of you have dealt with something similar to this? I'm planning on taking it to my local guitar center and having them fix it.
Oh yeah... here's a pic
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Post by Maddog on Nov 13, 2014 12:14:40 GMT -7
Probably easier and cheaper to just get a new one. Easy to install if you have some minor electrical skills....
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Post by John on Nov 13, 2014 14:43:18 GMT -7
When I had my 'ray combo, the fan was silent. Can you show us a picture of the fan? Are the blades rattling against the side of the fan frame?
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Post by Jaguarguy (Mike) on Nov 13, 2014 14:44:55 GMT -7
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Post by aurules22 on Nov 13, 2014 15:11:26 GMT -7
When I had my 'ray combo, the fan was silent. Can you show us a picture of the fan? Are the blades rattling against the side of the fan frame? I'm guessing that's what it is. I'll try to take a picture when I get home tonight! Thank you all for the responses!
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Post by drew on Nov 14, 2014 18:03:59 GMT -7
Congratulations on your new Stangray. A great amp! I would suspect the fan was damaged in shipping and like John mentioned maybe it's a simple task to see if the blades are hitting an edge or a piece of packaging is lodged inside. I've an very old SRZ65 with a fan that is still quiet.
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Post by Joey Beverages on Nov 14, 2014 18:44:14 GMT -7
Congrats on your new Stangray. Hope you get the fan situation fixed. Is that a G&L Commanche? Dude cheers always, Joel
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Post by aurules22 on Nov 14, 2014 21:34:03 GMT -7
Thank you Drew. This weekend I'll have a chance to take the fan out and fiddle with it to see if I can stop the vibrating. If all else fails, GC will either fix it or reimburse me $$ to buy a new fan. Like you said, I imagine the damage occurred during the shipping process (poor UPS sorted my package incorrectly and ended up delaying the delivery). For now, I just unplug it when I play through amp.
Joel, thank you! And yes it is a Commanche! I love it! Hopefully I can get around to shooting some tone videos soon, the Commanche is a very unique guitar capable of a lot of sounds. It's pretty picky with amps as well (very hi-fi sounding), has tons of lows and highs that have to constantly be held in check. Love the responsiveness of the two tone controls on the Ray, so simple, yet so in control!
I'll be gigging with the Ray for the first time Sunday Morning, I'll have it cranked and micd backstage! I'll keep you guys posted, awesome community you guys have here!
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Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Nov 15, 2014 0:57:16 GMT -7
Sure looks good in red, Congratulations.
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Post by leadpicker16 on Jan 5, 2015 12:55:16 GMT -7
I would never take anything to Guitar Center for repair. Especially a quality amp like a Z. You ought to send it to Dr. Z and have them give it a once over. I will be purchasing a Stangray head/2x12 cab with alnico blues in a couple weeks. Best of luck!
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Post by Jaguarguy (Mike) on Jan 5, 2015 17:30:46 GMT -7
I would never take anything to Guitar Center for repair. Especially a quality amp like a Z. You ought to send it to Dr. Z and have them give it a once over. I will be purchasing a Stangray head/2x12 cab with alnico blues in a couple weeks. Best of luck! I agree - nothing fixed at GC unless you personally know the tech. They send most things out. I bought an amp from them that reverb tank ended up being broke. It told them rather than them trying to fix it I'd fix it myself if they just covered cost of tank. They jumped at the offer - the tank came in 3 days and I installed it in 15 minutes. Problem solved. BTW - welcome to the Forum. A lot of good information and people here! Great amp!
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Post by leadpicker16 on Jan 5, 2015 20:17:06 GMT -7
Thank you, been drooling over Z's since I found out about them in High School! I'm finally at a point where I can afford one, and justify spending the money. My only concern with the Stangray is how well it will break up with my Paisley Drive and OCD pedals. I know I won't get much natural breakup unless I crank it to unbearable levels. But I'll see how an attenuator remedies that.
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Post by aurules22 on Jan 6, 2015 7:14:16 GMT -7
I would never take anything to Guitar Center for repair. Especially a quality amp like a Z. You ought to send it to Dr. Z and have them give it a once over. I will be purchasing a Stangray head/2x12 cab with alnico blues in a couple weeks. Best of luck! I understand. I asked them to give me a $40 dollar rebate and they complied. I ordered the fan that Jaguarguy linked above and installed it. Fixed in 15 minutes!
I ended up blowing a power tube about a month back and I took it to guitar center (still within the 30 day warranty). They sent it to an amp repair guy whom I had used before and I knew was legit, he threw in a matched quad of Groove Tubes free of charge. Guitar Center has been nothing short of awesome in keeping their end of the bargain. So far they've refunded my shipping, paid for the faulty fan, and replaced the power tubes for free! Not to mention that I got a ridiculous deal on the amp to begin with
I will say however, I was a bit skeptical when I noticed that the tubes had been replaced with GrooveTubes. The amp came with JJs installed across the board. I believe JJs are the recommended tube for this amp. So far the GrooveTubes have done just fine, but there may be a full retube coming in the future. There is a ton of clarity and headroom with the GTs, and I'm really noticing how scooped the amp is in the midrange. It's received nothing but rave reviews from front of house guys tho!
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Post by Jaguarguy (Mike) on Jan 6, 2015 7:23:12 GMT -7
I would never take anything to Guitar Center for repair. Especially a quality amp like a Z. You ought to send it to Dr. Z and have them give it a once over. I will be purchasing a Stangray head/2x12 cab with alnico blues in a couple weeks. Best of luck! I understand. I asked them to give me a $40 dollar rebate and they complied. I ordered the fan that Jaguarguy linked above and installed it. Fixed in 15 minutes!
I ended up blowing a power tube about a month back and I took it to guitar center (still within the 30 day warranty). They sent it to an amp repair guy whom I had used before and I knew was legit, he threw in a matched quad of Groove Tubes free of charge. Guitar Center has been nothing short of awesome in keeping their end of the bargain. So far they've refunded my shipping, paid for the faulty fan, and replaced the power tubes for free! Not to mention that I got a ridiculous deal on the amp to begin with
I will say however, I was a bit skeptical when I noticed that the tubes had been replaced with GrooveTubes. The amp came with JJs installed across the board. I believe JJs are the recommended tube for this amp. So far the GrooveTubes have done just fine, but there may be a full retube coming in the future. There is a ton of clarity and headroom with the GTs, and I'm really noticing how scooped the amp is in the midrange. It's received nothing but rave reviews from front of house guys tho!
Glad to hear it is up and running! You should check out Doc's website if you haven't done so already. A lot of great information there. Here is a link to the section on tubes. drzamps.com/tube_info.html
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Post by pcns on Jan 6, 2015 9:59:00 GMT -7
Glad to hear you are up and running and that you gig on Sunday's. A lot of us play in our local church bands. Welcome to the forum! Todd
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Post by captainron (Ron) on Jan 23, 2015 23:18:52 GMT -7
Welcome brother to the forum...and congratulations on a spectacular amp. Glad you got the fan deal fixed.
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Post by aurules22 on Jan 26, 2015 10:31:11 GMT -7
Happy Monday ya'll! Question: Does anyone have any experience with JJ Gold Pin phase inverter/pre-amp tubes? Check the link below, but Eurotube claims they provide "very rich and smooth tone with less grit". I'm trying to decide between the stock replacement set from thetubestore.com or going with the gold pin set, which is JJ across the board. The stock set comes straight from the Dr. Z website recommendation. The Euro Tube site also claims to offer cooler or hotter EL84s to provide cleaner headroom or earlier breakup. Thoughts anyone? www.eurotubes.com/store/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=1473&idcategory=418
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Post by John on Jan 26, 2015 11:55:48 GMT -7
My opinion:
Overpriced hype.
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Post by aurules22 on Feb 3, 2015 16:28:37 GMT -7
Update: So I did a complete re-tube, going with Eurotubes' recommended JJ replacement set. I also bought dampers for the tubes, so far they work great and fit nicely inside the wire chassis. Let me say, as impressed as I was when I first heard this amp, I am now completely blown away at the responsiveness and clarity of this amp. I'd also like to personally recommend Eurotubes. They shipped the set literally an hour after I ordered it, received in two days across the country. Top-notch all around! Anyways, I thought I would leave you guys with an updated family photo. The G&L Comanche has given way to a G&L Savannah Bluesboy and a Nash S-57. Enjoy! '>
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Post by Norrin Radd on Feb 6, 2015 20:05:55 GMT -7
That Strat is making me drool.......
Beautiful amp. As you have discovered, the Ray is a glorious beast!
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Post by j4gitr (John) on Feb 7, 2015 3:58:27 GMT -7
Looks like great combination to me
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