|
Post by billyguitar on Jun 22, 2006 13:00:06 GMT -7
Just got back from picking it up. It's blonde witha black face panel on the head and the 2 x 10 cab is blonde with the brown/gold grille. Sure looks nice. Studio Slips fit perfectly also. This is without a doubt the sweetest toned amp I've ever heard. Hi-Fi in a way. No rough edges anywhere, even with the cut wide open. For those familiar with a Carmen Ghia the Stang Ray's clean sound is very much like the Ghia with the volume below 9:00 but MUCH louder clean. A good o/d pedal will be a must. I a/b/c'd my Reverend Drivetrain against an Xotic BB and a Keeley modded BD2. I still prefer the Drivetrain with the gain all the way down, sounded really natural. Maybe I'm just used to it. This amp does love pedals. I only had the volume at about 8:00 to 9:00 in the store. Sometimes I turned it up but it was pretty dang loud so back down it went. I have an Air Brake I'll be using it with just so I can get the tubes pumping a bit. The 2 x 10 box really gives this amp a powerful, solid midrange. The boutique man at Mass Street, Grant Fitch, said he liked the sound so much he said he'll probably order the same set up for the store to put in stock. Z likes it, I like it and Grant likes it. 3 out of 3 ain't bad. I'll leave work early today and work with it down in The Cricket Lounge (my basement) where I'm used to how things sound. I'm sure I'll only like it more. At the store I had 3 business calls come thru while I was trying it out so I was a bit distracted. Everybody needs to know this about the Stang Ray. It is a very clean amp. More clean than my Maz 38 sr I'm sure, sweeter for sure but the Maz is no slouch. This Z will do any kind of clean music in an exceptional way. Jazz would be NO problem at all. With the Air Brake I expect it to get a little drive especially with a compressor, as in Benttop's clips. For me, this amp is what I want. For those that want some drive, plan on getting it from a pedal. I can tell from my a/b/c pedal comparison that this amp absolutley loves pedals and will turn a Stang Ray and a pedal into the best channel switching rig there is. I shouldn't say that because a RXES will do it also just as well. The RXES would actually be more versatile because of the overdose but I don't live in the 'drive' zone so I know I'll be very satisfied with the Ray. Mass Street came thru in a very big way. First class folks all the way. I am VERY satisfied with them. Tas: I played the red Grosh thru the amp. A GREAT guitar as it should be for $3K! The bridge pickup was a bit dark to me. Honestly though I didn't focus on the guitar as much as I wanted to so my impression of the bridge pickup may be off. I mostly played on the neck pickup and thought it was great.
|
|
|
Post by benttop (Steve) on Jun 22, 2006 13:30:59 GMT -7
Very cool! Stang Rays are in! Now if my 2x12 would show up we can all start making clips...
|
|
|
Post by billyguitar on Jun 22, 2006 14:49:14 GMT -7
Just tried it down in the Cricket Lounge with my Air Brake. AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I don't have a Range Master kind of booster but man, this thing would do Beano in a big way, and Brian May I'm sure. My Tom Anderson has a single coil at the bridge and it sounded great for Hideaway etcetera plugged straight in and cranked anywhere past 1:00 on the volume. That's where the Air Brake comes in, so I can crank if I want. Clicked down to bedroom setting it still sounded great. I was surprized because I wasn't expecting it. It still has tons of clean but cranked with the Air Brake it also rocks out. To me it can rock really hard therefore I disagree with Guitar Player's review in that aspect. It may not distort as much as a dimed old Fender but that's too much for me anyway. Dimed it's more like an old Fender on about 7. With my 2 x 10 cab it has tons of bass, at least more than I can use. I find I'm keeping the tone control and cut at about 10:00. I AM TOTALLY DIGGING THIS SCENE, MAN!!!! Not that BW needs one but this amp would be right up his alley. I am also confident that a Stang Ray would make a great Blues Harp amp. Only the best amps, like an old tweed Bassman, sound good for harp and guitar. For about 10 seconds I tried the piezo pickup my guitar has, and just like tele62 said, it sounds good for that too. Okay, okay! I'll chill now.
|
|
|
Post by JASON (aka jgleaton) on Jun 22, 2006 15:33:42 GMT -7
Just tried it down in the Cricket Lounge with my Air Brake. AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I AM TOTALLY DIGGING THIS SCENE, MAN!!!! Not that BW needs one but this amp would be right up his alley. ;D ;D ;D It's all I've been playing at the gigs... no airbreak around 9:00- 10:00 ( little higher outdoors) and just sounds wonderful. Billy, don't stop.... I wanna hear some more bout it.... oh, yea... your probably busy playin it.... Jason
|
|
|
Post by benttop (Steve) on Jun 22, 2006 15:47:05 GMT -7
Thanks for the report Billy! I knew you'd dig it! I'm thinking of getting one of those 2x10's myself - I could use it with the Stingray or I could use it with my 6545. I bet that would sound cool.
|
|
|
Post by brando on Jun 22, 2006 15:49:29 GMT -7
;D Billy, You sound like me when I first got mine. Funny thing is, I'm still stoked everytime I plug in. Welcome to the 'Ray club! -Brando
|
|
|
Post by Stumpy on Jun 22, 2006 18:45:01 GMT -7
..... Mass Street came thru in a very big way. First class folks all the way. I am VERY satisfied with them. +1 ... Grant is a great guy to deal with, he went out of his way to take care of me on a Z28 order.
|
|
|
Post by billyguitar on Jun 23, 2006 12:36:52 GMT -7
I mentioned above my Reverend Drivetrain. If anyone has one to sell I wouldn't mind having a backup, black or green.
|
|
|
Post by Bill on Jun 24, 2006 4:39:00 GMT -7
Very cool, billy! Sounds like a real looker too...PICS would be nice ;D
|
|
|
Post by billyguitar on Jun 24, 2006 6:15:59 GMT -7
I don't have a digital camera yet. One of these days I'll step up to '90s tech!
|
|
|
Post by jakelefler on Jun 24, 2006 10:16:30 GMT -7
hey guys just got my amp in yesterday and had a show last night. I didn't use the amp because I didn't yet know how it would react and really haven't had a chance to dial in any setting so I just left it at home for the night. I would love to wright a review of what I think of it but haven't had a chance to really get on it. But from what I've gathered so far it's exactly what I've been looking for. Incredible at what it was made for. When I picked it up yesterday the guy at the store asked me what country band I was in (assuming I was buying the amp for that reason) and I said I wasn't in a country band but more of an experimental rock band. Our music isn't hard to play individualy but we create it so to where everyones small parts layer to create a whole sound appeal. many of the parts we play would not sound good at all without the other. We use a lot of chiming clean guitar parts which Is why I'm such a fan of el 84s. My other guitar player is using a delta 88 and a Z28 at the moment and the sound is superb. I'm using a Orange ac30 and the stang together. So when I give a review i will be comparing it to thoughs 3 different amps. And I'll send pictures
|
|
|
Post by billyguitar on Jun 24, 2006 14:43:56 GMT -7
Some have wondered what the Ray sounds like with the Z 2 x 10 cab. I did a quick comparison against some 15 year old Greenbacks in my Marshall Bluesbreaker reissue and also against one of my 1978 EV 12s. The Greenbacks aren't quite as loud as the 2 x 10 cab. Thay also have nowhere near the strong mids of the 2 x 10. The greenbacks just sound tilted up in general compared to the 2 x 10. They have less bass, less mids and due to this they sound brighter. The Greenbacks are good but thin. The EV is now in a closed back $10 Crate 1 x 12 cab that I bought at one of Bentley Guitar Studio swap 'n shops. It would probably sound better in a proper cabinet. It seemed to match in every way to the 2 x 10 cab except it didn't have those powerful mids of the 2 x 10. This little 2 x 10 cab is a wonderful thing. Those mids are strong and penetrating like no cab I've ever heard. My old EV is very close though. Bear in mind EV changed the design in '83 so most of the EVs you've heard in Boogies etc. may be different. The 2 x 10 also has tons of low end. I had to lower the neck pickup on my guitar a lot. My guitar has a humbucker at the neck and a single coil at the bridge. I really need a darker bridge pickup so there won't be such an extreme difference between the two. That's for another day. Bottom line: the 2 x 10 cab is a killer. If you want that sound where stuff you play on the G string makes your pant legs vibrate, this'll get 'er done! Dr Z himself described it pretty well himself on a previous page of this thread. Note to people concerned about getting speakers out of their Z. I put beam blockers in my cab today. My speakers were stuck too. I just grabbed the frames and gave them a sharp tug and they popped loose. They did leave some of the gasket behind. I'm suspecting the paint still being a very little bit uncured at installation time, as mentioned by another poster. The back panels were stuck even harder. I put a rubber mallet inside and gave it a few whacks. This would be really hard to deal with on a Z Best closed back.
|
|
|
Post by billyguitar on Jun 26, 2006 20:09:17 GMT -7
I'm still trying to warm up to the black facepanel. Black grille cloth would've looked better or grillecloth on the head instead of the black, to match the speaker. Played it saturday night. Posh hotel gig so I used the Air Brake a lot. Other times i turned the volume down to about 9:00 and opened up the Air Brake. Either way it was good. In some ways I like this better than my Maz 38. It's a "prettier" sounding amp played clean than the Maz but just a hair. I think if I was doing a band where I want distortion at low volume then I would use the Maz but actually it's a little inappropriate for the material I'm playing. The Stang Ray can do jazz really well, better than the Maz 38. I also really like carrying two 30 pound pieces instead of one 60 pound combo. That was the right move for me!
|
|
|
Post by janinedoubly on Jun 26, 2006 21:31:34 GMT -7
O.K. Bill, when are you bringing this baby by the shop to hear it??? I'm dyin'....Well, maybe I just need to come see you guys some night...I'm thinking of taking up Lindyhopping!!!
|
|
|
Post by billyguitar on Jun 27, 2006 5:41:57 GMT -7
Remind me again of when is a good time to bring out to the store?
|
|
|
Post by janinedoubly on Jun 27, 2006 6:12:17 GMT -7
Saturday mornings would be great. We open at 10:00. Can't wait!
|
|
|
Post by billyguitar on Jun 27, 2006 6:47:27 GMT -7
I'll shoot for that.
|
|
|
Post by dock66 on Jun 28, 2006 7:42:51 GMT -7
Congratulations,Billyguitar.You will enjoy this amp for years to come.I got my Stingrays for awhile now,I am still loving mine everytime I fired them up.I can't seem to shut them off.Again,Congrats.
dock66.
|
|
|
Post by billyguitar on Jun 28, 2006 8:36:50 GMT -7
Thanks, dock66. I can't remember if it was jason or madison but one of them suggested using the low input on the Ray. You know what, I like it a lot. Smoother sounding to me. Not as much gain but I don't need more gain. Learning every day and everyday we write the book.
|
|
|
Post by Bill on Jun 28, 2006 17:26:22 GMT -7
If you're buying a Sting(Stang)ray, it's probably because you want a complex clean tone, and are comfortable using pedals for gain & drive. The low gain input is the secret weapon on the 'ray. It'll get plenty LOUD, but stay clean. Use a comp dialed in with a hot signal, and your OD of choice, it's a beautiful thing.
I love this setup for country music...set your Tele tone control back a bit, bridge pickup, Stingray tone at 2 to3 oclock, Cut at noon...FAT tele tone with lots of punch.
But I also play lots of rock and blues with this amp too. Dial less squish on the comp, more neck pickup, amp tone control closer to noon, that's about it...just a simple adjustment.
|
|
|
Post by billyguitar on Jun 28, 2006 17:41:36 GMT -7
I am digging it a lot in the low hole. For jazzy jump blues sounds I'm using the cut almost off and the tone at about 9:00, on the humbucking neck pickup on my guitar. A beautiful round tone. It still has plenty of low end for me, maybe it's the 2 x 10 cab?
|
|
|
Post by JASON (aka jgleaton) on Jun 28, 2006 21:03:51 GMT -7
If you're buying a Sting(Stang)ray, it's probably because you want a complex clean tone, and are comfortable using pedals for gain & drive. The low gain input is the secret weapon on the 'ray. It'll get plenty LOUD, but stay clean. Yes, I agree and it's the secret weapon on the the Maz SR and JR....and also on the RX ES for ALOT more clean headroom on those amps... much bigger tone to me from the low input on the JR also... Low input on the RX ES without the Overdose is like the Original strength RX... which is alot cleaner than the ES... I went back and tried the LOW input on a Maz JR at Elite Music AFTER I had already sold mine and got the MAZ SR which I love.... cause I Liked the Low input on the Maz SR so much I thought maybe I missed out on something with the JR when I had one... tried it and wow... yep i missed out out on HALF of what it was capable of and the sound I really would have used.... I might not have sold the JR if I'd tried the Low input before I got rid of it... also think it was the Vintage 30 speaker that contributed to the sound I didn't like... a simple speaker swap and the low input and I probably wouldn't have gotten rid of it.... just played a MAZ JR up there with 2 Celestion G12 -H30 70th anniversary speakers and it was KILLER.... took my Stingray up there to let Brian hear it... We also ran the Stingray through the G-12 H30's and I was VERY impressed also... much more articulate and snappy but not too bitey which suprised me... The Speakers make a huge difference on the Stingray and to me it's a GOOD thing... I've liked all the speakers I used with it so far for different reasons / flavors... Jason
|
|
|
Post by dock66 on Jun 29, 2006 7:23:44 GMT -7
What can be more simple than three knobs.Two knobs for attitude,and one knob for turn and burn.Yes,low input is the secret for clean tone with all Dr.Z amps,IMO.With the right pedals,the Ray can be very versatile.Very impressive indeed.Doc has done it again.
dock66.
|
|
|
Post by billyguitar on Jun 30, 2006 19:34:11 GMT -7
I finally got around to trying my Holy Grail in the effects loop. Works great. Doesn't change the tone, doesn't hum. I used a one-spot with the adapter thing and it actually sounded better than the reverb in my Maz 38 sr with reverb. I'm going to post this in the effects section too.
|
|
|
Post by Curt on Jun 30, 2006 21:10:01 GMT -7
Thanks, dock66. I can't remember if it was jason or madison but one of them suggested using the low input on the Ray. You know what, I like it a lot. Smoother sounding to me. Not as much gain but I don't need more gain. Learning every day and everyday we write the book. Ahhem.....I Think I may have tunred on Madison on to this lil trick with the 'Ray........
|
|
|
Post by billyguitar on Jul 1, 2006 5:46:37 GMT -7
It's all good!
|
|
|
Post by sultan59 (Tim) on Jul 1, 2006 11:18:09 GMT -7
I finally got around to trying my Holy Grail in the effects loop. Works great. Doesn't change the tone, doesn't hum. I used a one-spot with the adapter thing and it actually sounded better than the reverb in my Maz 38 sr with reverb. I'm going to post this in the effects section too. I just got a Holier Grail and tried it in my loop. I didn't like it, the volume went down when I clicked the pedal on. Volume stays the same with the pedal in front of the amp. I haven't tried any other pedals in the loop, yet, I did have a rackmount Alesis Microverb in the loop and it sounds great, but I wanted to try it with a pedal. The Microverb has volume controls, whereas the HG doesn't. Maybe my loop is messed up? I wish it had a volume control on it.
|
|
|
Post by sonicgator on Jul 1, 2006 12:38:22 GMT -7
I finally got around to trying my Holy Grail in the effects loop. Works great. Doesn't change the tone, doesn't hum. I used a one-spot with the adapter thing and it actually sounded better than the reverb in my Maz 38 sr with reverb. I'm going to post this in the effects section too. I just got a Holier Grail and tried it in my loop. I didn't like it, the volume went down when I clicked the pedal on. Volume stays the same with the pedal in front of the amp. I haven't tried any other pedals in the loop, yet, I did have a rackmount Alesis Microverb in the loop and it sounds great, but I wanted to try it with a pedal. The Microverb has volume controls, whereas the HG doesn't. Maybe my loop is messed up? I wish it had a volume control on it. Interesting that you and BillyGuitar had a different experience with the same pedal. Was yours running on batteries or on a power supply?
|
|
|
Post by JASON (aka jgleaton) on Jul 1, 2006 14:33:43 GMT -7
I finally got around to trying my Holy Grail in the effects loop. Works great. Doesn't change the tone, doesn't hum. I used a one-spot with the adapter thing and it actually sounded better than the reverb in my Maz 38 sr with reverb. I'm going to post this in the effects section too. I just got a Holier Grail and tried it in my loop. I didn't like it, the volume went down when I clicked the pedal on. Volume stays the same with the pedal in front of the amp. I haven't tried any other pedals in the loop, yet, I did have a rackmount Alesis Microverb in the loop and it sounds great, but I wanted to try it with a pedal. The Microverb has volume controls, whereas the HG doesn't. Maybe my loop is messed up? I wish it had a volume control on it. The other guitar player and I have noticed this in ours too.... If you try yours through the loop again... do this... Turn the reverb way up and then back down as your playing it... you will notice the volume of the amp drop a little as you turn the reverb up and get louder again as you turn the reverb back down... this effect seems to be a little more pronounced on his combo than on my head/ cab? and when you run the Grail in FRONT of the amp there is no volume drop... only a wash of more reverb... When running through the loop I turn the reverb up only to where it has a touch on it... don't like alot anyway....and there is no loss until you really crank the verb.... so if I was gonna REALLY "SURF" alot with the verb I'd run it into the front and not the loop.... but I like just a hair and i use the loop.... it sounds great through the loop BTW... Jason
|
|
|
Post by sultan59 (Tim) on Jul 1, 2006 14:39:20 GMT -7
I just got a Holier Grail and tried it in my loop. I didn't like it, the volume went down when I clicked the pedal on. Volume stays the same with the pedal in front of the amp. I haven't tried any other pedals in the loop, yet, I did have a rackmount Alesis Microverb in the loop and it sounds great, but I wanted to try it with a pedal. The Microverb has volume controls, whereas the HG doesn't. Maybe my loop is messed up? I wish it had a volume control on it. Interesting that you and BillyGuitar had a different experience with the same pedal. Was yours running on batteries or on a power supply? It only runs on power supply, no batteries.
|
|