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Post by z4me on Apr 30, 2015 13:32:07 GMT -7
The Z-Lux sure is appealing and so is the Jaz, but from videos the EZG caught my interest more. And the Z-Lux is way more expensive than what I paid for this used EZG. I also don't think I would use the trem very much in the other two and my Z experience with 6V6 amps resulted in very short stays for those amps. Thinking the 6V6 might not be the tube for me? To get this amp unfortunately I let my Rx Jr head go. Really liked the Rx Jr tones but I obtained a Maz Sr combo a few months ago and there is too much overlap with the EL84 tubes as you might expect. Also learning that I like clean headroom and enough volume when needed and the 18 watt amps every now and then can be short on both. Unpacked the amp and it is in excellent nearly mint condition. I like that. Upon examination I noticed that the power transformer bracket is bent and thus the PT hangs crooked and not straight down. Don't like that. Wondering if the amp was dropped hard in either this or past shipments. But seems like one would have to drop from a couple of stories to bend a bracket such as that? Not sure a drop would do that but maybe it could. Would also expect that other components might also get damaged. I plugged it in and played it for a few minutes and all seems fine. A little more noise than my Maz or Rx Jr, maybe a little more hiss etc, but nothing that seemed concerning at least. I remember my SRZ having just a little bit more noise as well so thinking it might be due to the larger iron? What are some suggestions on the bent PT? Be concerned or no real big deal? This one of course is the original circuit so as I have read that there is plenty/too much bass. I dialed it way back and thought it was fine. I would rather have plenty than not enough. For instance I really liked my StangRay for many years; plenty of bass. What is different between the original and current versions outside of the bass modification? Also, are there recommendations to get the bass mod done at some point? I tested the amp through my Z 1x12 with a Creamback G12M-65 and it sounded great. I know tone is subjective but some speaker recommendations for this amp? I also have a C gold, thoughts on that pairing? Any other thoughts and suggestions on this EZG? Glad that the EZG arrived on band practice night so I get to turn her up a little bit and hear how she performs in various songs and pedal configs. Not Good:
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Post by BritInvasion on Apr 30, 2015 13:46:16 GMT -7
I've seen a few amps with the transformers tilted from being jarred in shipping , but none quite that far. I would think you could remove the chassis and maybe straighten it out some.
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Post by Ridgeback on Apr 30, 2015 14:31:02 GMT -7
I had a 2011 head and the transformer was tilted down pretty close to that amount. In fact, if you hadn't put the year in your post, I might have thought you had just bought my old one. It's one herkin big chunk of iron suspended by a couple of screws in sheet metal so it's not that surprising. It's a great amp. Enjoy.
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Post by z4me on Apr 30, 2015 15:29:49 GMT -7
Contacted the seller regarding the crooked PT and here is his reply:
"The transformer was like that when I got it and I called and spoke with the actual Dr. Z, I can't remember his name right now but that was back when they used to answer the phone. He told me that the transformer was normal and not to worry about it so I didn't."
Glad nothing happened during this shipment to me in that the situation already existed and nothing else to do on my part like filing a claim and proving facts etc.
If I get the bass mod done I can have the tech straighten it out at that time.
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Post by otherone on May 1, 2015 12:12:42 GMT -7
I put in nos ge 6l6s, Mullard rectifier, tungsol ax7 v1, RCA at7 v2, ge long plate ax7 v3, Mullard at7 v4. Makes the amp truly magical! Good nos or anos tubes bring out the warmth and muicality in this amp to a whole other level!
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Post by z4me on May 1, 2015 13:27:55 GMT -7
I put in nos ge 6l6s, Mullard rectifier, tungsol ax7 v1, RCA at7 v2, ge long plate ax7 v3, Mullard at7 v4. Makes the amp truly magical! Good nos or anos tubes bring out the warmth and muicality in this amp to a whole other level! Good to hear and I was already thinking about nos/anos tubes to hear the differences. The tubes in the amp now might be pretty old too. The power tubes are a 6L6 GT variety so I imagine that better tones can be had with better tubes. I thought that the EZG did ok at band practice last night. Just different from the EL84 tones I am used to. Much thicker tone, but it is a clean amp. I think I will need time to adjust to it. Including speaker choice. Played it with a creamback G12M-65 in a Z 1x12 open back. Way too much bass though, I had the bass set to nearly off. It was fine and still sounded good, but wondering about the bass mod. My main thing is I found during practice is a little lack of sustain compared to the Maz Sr. I believe I am running the Maz closer to break up and adding overdrive pushes it that much more. The EZG is much cleaner so I think I have to find the right spot. I did mess with the pre and post volumes a bit too to get a bit more gain from the amp. Nice thick tones though. Only played with my tele so far, need to play it with my LP. I don't own a strat yet.
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Post by bobcatyyc on May 2, 2015 9:01:02 GMT -7
I've had mine for about 6 weeks now, it's also a 2008 (I love the oval front). I run it into a Zbest cab with the stock speaker config. I found it took a little while to get it dialed in perfectly, between the amp settings and my effect settings. I absolutely LOVE this amp, favourite am I have played through ever. It is a clean beast, but I've always used effects to get the overdrive and fuzz that I want so it works perfect for my needs. Even though a lot of my tone comes from effects, this amp takes my tone so much farther than the previous amps I have used in rehearsal/recording/live situations (Mesa Lonestar Classic, Mesa MkV, Vintage Ampegs, Vintage Vox, Vintage Fenders). Once you have everything dialed in it just has such a rich lively sound. Almost like listening to something on an analog vinyl setup as opposed to a CD in an all-in-one home theatre. I'll have a look at mine and see if my PT has any bend to it, I think I would have noticed but I can't say for sure. I have the bass set to just shy of fully rolled back and it works fine for me. If I were doing something a bit heavier I might bump it up a little bit, but I'm not worried about the mod at this point.
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Post by deluxetwelve on May 2, 2015 15:48:55 GMT -7
Mine's a 2009, no bass mod (as yet). It sounds glorious through 2 x Celestion Gold 12"s.
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Post by z4me on May 3, 2015 10:42:42 GMT -7
Last night I played the EZG with my tele through my 2x12 open back Z cab with a gold and a G12H-75 creamback and it sounded great. Those are the tones I was hoping for. I could not stop playing it as I kept dialing in new settings, mostly the pre and post volume levels. Used an AirBrake on and off while checking tones. I believe it was the gold giving the tone some sweetness and life. With the G12M-65 creamback it sounded good but not so dynamic, kind of on the dull side. I have another gold in a box I have been thinking about selling so I will swap out the G12M CB with the gold in the 1x12 Z cab and listen how it sounds with just the single gold. I might be glad that I did not sell the gold. I believe it will sound better than with the CB. Will test it out with a G12H-30 too just to see and with my Les Paul at some point.
With the gold in the mix the EZG kind of reminds me of the StangRay I had with the big bass tones and the gold adding some sweetness or a little bit of chime or sparkle. But the 6L6 EZG tones are thicker than the EL84 StangRay tones and the EZG has some sort of master volume which imo allows one to get to those tones with higher volume settings without blowing the walls down. My guess is that maybe there is some similarity between the EZG and StangRay since the output transformers for both were designed by Ken Fischer. Not sure how much of a difference that makes, but both amps have tons of bass on tap.
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Post by mjm123 on May 3, 2015 13:46:01 GMT -7
Glad you have found a speaker combination that works for you. I'm pretty happy with my two cab/speaker options. I have a 1x12 with a well-broken in EVM12L and a 4x10 with Weber Neomag 10" speakers which works well for me but I know what you mean about adding sime chime or sparkle which the Gold should certainly do.
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Post by drew on May 4, 2015 9:01:34 GMT -7
Congratulations on picking up an EGZ. I heard the EGZ at Z Fest up close and personal, that was enough for me to know it's an amazing amp. And your mentioning of it being thicker than the Stangray got my full attention. We'll have to get together! :-) Seems like 'golds' are a great speaker for any Z.
The tilted transformer topic has been addressed but i've had many Z's with tilted transformers and it has no impact on performance. It's a byproduct of shipping, not a desired byproduct and packaging can limit the impacts parcel can take during shipping. There's a reason acronyms are created, for instance United Parcel Smashers. All carriers can punish packages in one form or another. I've had more bad results with UPS than other shippers.
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Post by z4me on May 4, 2015 22:44:47 GMT -7
Well glad that I did not sell my second Celestion gold. I swapped out the creamback in the 1x12 Z cab for the gold and the EZG sounds great. The 2x12 config I have sounds great too, but if anything the single gold by itself tames the bass down a little too. Still plenty of bass though. This is an amp that I was looking forward to arriving but I was not overly excited as I did not know what to expect since I never played one. Like many I have purchased. I have owned several amps that did not stay around too long as they were not what I was seeking. My initial impressions at home after delivery for 15 minutes and then at band practice that same night with the CB was good, but I was left feeling unsure. I was keeping a good attitude about it and saying to myself, the amp and the 6L6 tubes are new to me so I need to give it a try for a while. Now with the speaker change I am loving this amp. I am now saying to myself, yeah, that's it and wow. Great cleans of course doing some country licks, then add the compressor, yeah baby, such a nice tone. Takes pedals great and can really rock out with my BB Preamp and some overdrive with the AC booster; nice. And that is just with my tele. Oh yeah, almost forgot, that reverb thingy is pretty nice too. Haven't tried with my Les Paul yet, that is next. All tests with my tele so far. Would like to hear it with a strat but don't have one yet. Drew, bring your strat when you come over.
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Post by thecryingstrat on May 16, 2015 7:20:37 GMT -7
I have the same head as yours. I had a bass mod done though. After trying several speakers i am set on the creamback with the m magnet!!!! Regarding transformers, mine came the same way.
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Post by z4me on May 16, 2015 12:22:00 GMT -7
Thecryingstrat, are you glad that you had the bass mod done? What change does that make to the tone stack? Mostly just remove the abundance of bass or any other change that you noticed?
Also got a chance to play the EZG with a strat as a friend of mine let me borrow his fairly recently acquired used Eric Johnson strat for a little while. Sounds very good, but need to get used to the 5 different tones on a strat and which to use for various song parts etc. Took it to band practice and got used to the tones on the strat a bit and it sounded good to me with the gold in the cab. However, this particular strat is pretty difficult to play as the strings are very low and the g, b and high e strings fret out a lot mid to high fret board. Just needs a setup. Like the compound radius neck on the EJ.
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Post by thecryingstrat on May 18, 2015 10:40:42 GMT -7
The thing i notice the most is that i have a much more usable range on the bass knob. Before it was mostly almost off. Sometimes with humbuckers it was overkill and hard to manage. I am more of a single coil guy though, but i use humbuckers on ocassion. If i had to choose i really like what i have know. I didn´t perform the mod exactly as prescribed but it turned out great.
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Post by z4me on May 18, 2015 13:45:31 GMT -7
Good to know, thanks.
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