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Post by mikethebike500 on Jan 2, 2016 18:07:53 GMT -7
Hi Z folks, I'm new to the 66 so I figured I'd give a little run down on where I'm at with it. All info and opinions of mine should be taken in the context that I do NOT play in a band anymore, i'm just a home player, but a LOUD one at that;)
First off I"ve had a few different flavors of Z's in the past, and a couple years ago I kinda wanted to move away from el84's and try something different, which led me to getting an Antidote. A very fine amplifier for sure, but as time past I just realized I wasn't completely happy with it and put it on the BST. Which led to my trading it to Jt4gtr(a very large man amoung men, and super nice guy) for his Route 66. Before I decided to make the trade, I listened to every vid I could find, but the one by Albany Down guitatist is really the one that kinda sold me on it. I also read thru a great deal of the threads on this board about the 66.
When I first plugged in the 66, I was using my 1990 es-347, and Stoneage 2x12c open back cab with celestion H/M creambacks. My first impressions were definitely mixed. Keep in mind I have no volume restrictions at my house at all, I can play as loud as I want, any time I want. It was definetly thicker in tone than what I was used to. My only complaints really would have been the rolled off treble, and it wasn't as bright of an amp as I was used to playing in the past. When I did play out with a band I never really used effects at all, UNLESS, I was using a twin reverb, then I would use an overdrive always on, and just roll back guitar volumn to get a clean tone. So that's kinda what I wasn't liking, cause when i rolled guitar volumn back, I would loose what treble their was, and any brightness it had.........
soooooooo.......after reading a lot of the threads, I learned that the RC booster seemed pretty popular for brightening up the amp, and giving it some more treble...so there i went to ebay:) Got the pedal, and yes...it did help a lot....wasn't 100 percent where I wanted but a step in the right direction. So then I changed out the M creamback for another H creamback in my cab....that helped some too.
Soooooooooo.....last week my power went out for A WHOLE 25 HOURS!!!!!!!! So in the evening basically by candle light, i was perusing the 66 threads on my phone.....and on one of the many back pages...someone posted basically that "the route, celestion gold, and timmy=awesome sauce" something to that affect anyway........soooo, back to ebay i went....
Got the Timmy today in the mail...haven't had a lot of time with it, but its a very nice pedal, much better that my old blues driver i used to use with the Twins. And the Gold should arrive sometime next week. I"m going to mix it with one of the H creambacks, in the stoneage cab.
Anyway sorry I"ve rambled on, but just wanted to share my journey so far with the amp. Anytime I get a new amp, even though I"m not in a band, I try to get a sound outta it, similar to the way I used to play in my past bands before. Have a nice overdrive when rolled up, and be able to get a decent edge of breakup clean sound when i roll the guitar volume back....I may have to use a pedal or two to get what i like with the 66, but i think i'm starting to get the hang of it.....
please feel free to share some of your 66 set ups and pedals or speakers you use with yours!!
mike
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Post by mikethebike500 on Jan 2, 2016 18:20:38 GMT -7
fortunate that I get to pummel the 66 with these also
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Post by Mark (Basement Enthusiast) on Jan 2, 2016 19:02:02 GMT -7
That Dano is hogging all the strings, while the poor Tele has none..!
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Post by mikethebike500 on Jan 2, 2016 19:09:10 GMT -7
lol...yes, the tele was "closed for building and repairs"
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Post by simpleton on Jan 2, 2016 21:14:24 GMT -7
Is this the video?
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Post by simpleton on Jan 2, 2016 21:27:20 GMT -7
I've had my Therapy almost a year and I am most recently FINALLY really getting the amp, how the controls actually effect the sound rather than what my eyes expected....anyhow, I too have tried speakers ect....
I think with every Z I get, it just takes me awhile to feel what Dr Z was doing with the amp, and how to use the controls. Even though the amps a said to be simple designs, I feel that they have a complex sound....or more available than meets the eye. They seem very exploratory and I defiantly feel Dr Z puts his stamp into every amp design.
My Swart and Divided by 13 felt familiar. My Dr Z amps have always surprised me a bit and led me farther than I would of looked for naturally but Dr Z seems to know how to create amp that inspire creativity.
Congrats on a cool amp....I've always thought about Milk Shake Thick Tones.
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Post by mikethebike500 on Jan 2, 2016 21:31:44 GMT -7
yep , that's the video
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Post by j4gitr (John) on Jan 3, 2016 4:00:52 GMT -7
Mike, I too did not love the 66 with the creamback. I played it through the 2 x10 cabinets of mine or the Z-best. I seem to remember somebody stating Doc liked the 66 through the 4x10, so I bought another 2x10. I gigged it once like that 2-2x10's at an outdoor gig. Plenty of high end. When I could step away from the amp and listen it always seemed to cut through. It never seemed to satisfy me in the small quieter church setting into a 1x12 which I tried 2 or three times. I'm still getting used to the Antidote. The creamback sounded better with the Antidote than it did with the 66, but the bass could be overwhelming in my practice room/rehearsal space. I closed the back and now it sounds very nice. Right now I'm pairing one 2x10 and the 1x12 creamback. The 10's overshadow the creamback but a little of its personality peaks through. I may seek a different 12. Next week the Antidote may go to church. That will be into a WGS Blackhawk. Did you try the Blackhawk with the 66? I'll be interested to hear your report on the the gold. PS. sometimes I forget how tall I am - I see that stuck with you
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Post by mikethebike500 on Jan 3, 2016 5:09:30 GMT -7
hey John. When I had a Z 1x12, I remember liking the antidote pretty well with the creamback M, but ended up changinh out, cause I wanted more db's. And had the mix of H/M in my cab before I traded it to you. Never did try it with the Blackhawk.
Also, recently had a ghia 2x10 combo(traded for a strat), but before I did that I tried those speakers with the 66 by themselves, and also along with my 2x12. It really did help out the highs, kinda mid heavy just the 2x10 by itself, but still helped out the highs and got more chime. It left me thinking that I'm gonna keep my eye out for a 2x10 cabinet sometime in the future this summer.
Never had a Gold, but I"m looking forward to it as well. will report back on that.
Also, didn't have a lot of time to spend with it, but the Timmy, placed infront of the RC booster seemed pretty good with a les paul, was able to set he timmy to get more grind, and boost that with the RC to brighten it up even more.. funny thing is with a lot of the z's I've owned, Ive always fighted against brightness...and now I"m trying to get more...never satisfied...lol
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Post by j4gitr (John) on Jan 3, 2016 7:15:21 GMT -7
I liked the Timmy with the 66. I seem to recall having an RC Booster. I must have gotten rid of it as I no longer have one. Wish I had it now to try the volume trick on the Antidote. The Antidote has a lot more highs than the 66. I do notice I'm not battling for more of them. I'm thinking I may try a WGS Reaper HP or one of the Z-12's to match up with the Z-10's.
Right before we traded I was liking the RT66 V =1-1:30, T=1 -2:00, B=10:30 -11. In my space this required the Brake Lite on 2 clicks into the 2 -2x10's.. It was sounding good. I was skeptical about making the trade as I was liking the sound. I'm sure opened up it would be as good or better because you'll get a little more speaker push and maybe cone break up. I probably used that setting into the Z-Best outdoors. It is a continuing journey.
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