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Post by MeZadude on Aug 6, 2007 16:17:07 GMT -7
Hey all. Howdy! Mesadude here. I'm new to the Z family as of today. I've been a Mesa user for 23 years, and have been playing Telecaster-style guitars more & more lately. After seeing Brad Paisley on TV last night, I decided to take the plunge, and join a different world of tone. So, I ordered a Stangray Red Head & 2x12 cabinet. Should be here by Friday or so. I've never been able to get tones quite like I was hearing out of the Mesas, so I'm really looking forward to it. I've read nothing but good things about Z amps, and am anxious to try something different than I'm used to. A little Mesadude history, just FYI. I'm associated with 5 local bands at the moment, and have been playing electric guitar since 1963; and playing in bands since 1966! I currently own 30 guitars, 3 Mesa amps, and one old Fender amp. Mesadude
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Post by benttop (Steve) on Aug 6, 2007 17:18:56 GMT -7
Welcome mesadude! You might change your handle once you play that new Stang Ray! Like you, I played Mesa amps for quite a long time here. But my 'ray has the best clean of anything I've ever owned. You will not be disappointed.
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Post by Bill on Aug 6, 2007 17:37:35 GMT -7
My first Z, a Maz Jr, quickly took the place of the Mesa Boogie Studio 22 that had joined me in many gigs. If you're looking for the Paisley tone, you've found it...stick a Keeley comp in front and you're good. Be sure to let us know how you like it. ;D
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Post by MeZadude on Aug 12, 2007 16:43:47 GMT -7
The amp arrived on Friday. I like it. It will be a nice compliment to any of my Mesa amps. I can use the Boogies as overdrives while the Stang rounds my tone out. Very sweet so far. Mesadude
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Post by benttop (Steve) on Aug 12, 2007 20:20:55 GMT -7
You have a G-System there! Cool. I have one here, and used it for a while with the Stingray. Then my SRZ-65 came and I traded for my RXES and the G-System has been collecting cob webs. But I'm planning on integrating it back into my setup shortly.
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Post by MeZadude on Aug 14, 2007 7:17:32 GMT -7
Pulled out the old Gretsch Country Gentleman last night and played it solely through the Stang-Ray. Wow! My CG's come back to life. Beautiful sounds out of that little amp with the Gretsch. Love it! Mesa
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Post by benttop (Steve) on Aug 14, 2007 7:20:44 GMT -7
Pulled out the old Gretsch Country Gentleman last night and played it solely through the Stang-Ray. Wow! My CG's come back to life. Beautiful sounds out of that little amp with the Gretsch. Love it! Mesa I did NOT need to see this!
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Post by Shannon on Aug 15, 2007 16:40:49 GMT -7
How are you adjusting to the lack of knobs? ;D Looks like you're going from 17 knobs and 5 sliders to 3 lil ol knobs on the Stang. Life has gotten so much easier for me.
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Post by MeZadude on Aug 15, 2007 18:07:41 GMT -7
How are you adjusting to the lack of knobs? ;D Looks like you're going from 17 knobs and 5 sliders to 3 lil ol knobs on the Stang. Life has gotten so much easier for me. Well, I haven't changed the settings on the Mark IV since 1991, so 3 knobs is pretty easy to deal with. I actually also have a Road King which has even more controls! I was amazed at the tone changes with just the 3 controls on the SR. It does make adjustments so much easier. By the way, I went by Studioslips.com today (about 5 miles from here) to have Susan craft me up some covers for the Stang-Ray. I see the good Dr. has her link on his homepage. She's very appreciative about that, by the way. I've had her make covers for quite a few things, my G-system included. Great stuff! P.S. Finally played one of my Strats, the pink paisley through the Stang-Ray last night. Now that's what a Strat should sound like! Sweet! I'm really thrilled with this amp (can you tell?). MeZadude
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Post by Don on Aug 25, 2007 20:25:44 GMT -7
Since I starting using Dr Z amps, I haven't touched my Mesa/Boogies or Marshalls. These amps are magical.
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Post by dock66 on Aug 26, 2007 12:43:38 GMT -7
My Boogies,Marshalls and Top Hat have been collecting dust as well. Sold a few old pieces since I've found Z amps.
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Post by dachshund on Aug 27, 2007 11:20:55 GMT -7
Interesting... I was considering a Mesa Boogie and thought "too many knobs."
What does the G Sytem do? Is it a programmable pedal board or something? I'm not familiar with the new digital systems, and honestly I find their website confusing (I hate to admit.) Thanks in advance.
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Post by dock66 on Aug 27, 2007 13:00:45 GMT -7
Too many knobs to dial for a decent tone. Don't have time for that.....
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Post by MeZadude on Aug 27, 2007 13:21:39 GMT -7
I still like my Mesa equipment. As a matter of fact, after using those amps for so long, I can't just part with them. My defacto tone is derived from years of Mesa playing. I have tried to use just the Stang-Ray, but it doesn't do all that I need in the way of the tone I'm after. In conjunction with my Mesa's though, this amp adds the bell-like quality and clarity that's missing from the Mesas. So, I will continue to use both Dr. Z & Mesa. The G-system is a pedalboard, which is programmable. It's default modules are Filter, Compressor, Pitch, Modulation (Flangers/Chorus/Phaser), echo & reverb. These are very, very tweakable, so one can dial in his or her preferences in these tone catagories. I set mine up with a bank 5 each (one for each switch) of: - 5 Wah-wahs
- 2 Flangers/chorus/phaser/tremolo
- Whammy/Add low octave/add high octave/whammy + standard pitch/12-string
- 5 different echos (including backwards)
- 5 reverbs
- 5 note trackers in different keys
... and I still have a bunch of banks free. This unit comes with a bunch of pre-programmed effect setups, but I never use them. It essentially has replaced my big analog pedalboard, as the G-system's tones are as good if not better than my original analog effects. I love it.
MeZadude
bank of flangers/chorus/phaser/tremolo bank of
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