|
Post by oloboy on Mar 5, 2016 15:28:27 GMT -7
Z-heads,
I'm in the mist of thinking about my next amp purchase. I'd really like to get a Z! I currently have no grab and go. Sold my old Blues Jr. I'm not a big EL84 fan. That has me looking at the sweet little Z28 1x10. Sounds big enough to let loose but I'm worried it can't be tamed for living room sessions or friends jam room visits. A few questions:
1). How well does it overdrive with the volume down and tone controls up?
2). Would a lower volume speaker help get it in that range? Do they sound ok in that amp?
3). How much will the break lite affect tone when used for smaller spaces?
Thanks everyone. O
|
|
|
Post by Eric from Cheekago on Mar 5, 2016 15:31:02 GMT -7
I wasn't an EL84 fan until I played a Dr Z equipped with them. Fwiw.
|
|
|
Post by doctorice on Mar 5, 2016 15:34:08 GMT -7
What guitar(s) are you going to use?
|
|
|
Post by oloboy on Mar 5, 2016 15:41:41 GMT -7
Both single coil and humbucker guitars.
|
|
|
Post by doctorice on Mar 5, 2016 15:57:31 GMT -7
If you want to keep the volume down and get amp OD going, you'll more than likely need a Brake Lite. Does it affect the sound? Perhaps, but not enough imo to make a difference. Moreover, there are a couple of well-constructed tests that show very little difference in signals running through each of the BL's settings. Most recent is one from dergit, but I don't recall which thread it's in.
|
|
|
Post by Jaguarguy (Mike) on Mar 5, 2016 16:13:35 GMT -7
i think you can hear the difference when you use the maximum bedroom settings but other than that it does pretty good at keeping the tone the same as without it. If you get one, make sure you start with the BL one click more than required, find your tone, and then click it so the amp is one click louder.
|
|
|
Post by southmusic70 on Mar 5, 2016 18:40:38 GMT -7
All I can tell you is that my grab and go combo is a Z28 with 10" Celestion Gold, and it works great with all of my guitars - hollow bodies with both single coil and humbucker pups, semi hollow, chambered, solid with buckers and singles.
|
|
|
Post by Stephen on Mar 5, 2016 20:39:50 GMT -7
My Z-28 is one of my favorite amps. It is very responsive to guitar volume. I have had the best luck on the 3-3-3 settings. I had a head, but purchased a 1-10 cab with a red fang and converted it to a combo.
|
|
|
Post by oloboy on Mar 6, 2016 17:44:02 GMT -7
Thank you for all the input!
I have yet to play a Dr Z 1x10 combo but have played the 1x12 EL84ers; M12, Ghia and Maz8. I like the M12 best at the time but its a clean machine. I'd like to get amp drive without a pedal to keep things grab and go. That is why the Z28 and Monza interest me. The Monza seems pretty beefy for a EL84 amp, has a master and all the drive built in. The videos of the Z28 sound fantastic. I love that darker, thick midrange from the 6v6s. I'd pull the trigger on a Z28 1x10 combo if I could be sure I could get those clipped tones in a small room environment. I like to play loud but I'm rarely in a big room.
I have done more research and it sounds like the volume comes down with a greenback but reviews are mixed on that combo (Doc's favorite however). I do not mind a Brake Lite but do not want to max it out.
Can you get your Z28s to overdrive in smaller places without really choking it? Can 3-3-3 be 9-3-3 volume with a different speaker and BL?
O
|
|
|
Post by Christopher on Mar 6, 2016 18:41:04 GMT -7
Yes, you can get drive w the '28 in a 1/10 or 1/12 combo. I owned a '28 for five years as my daily gigging amp. It went from twelve to ten inch speaker back to twelve inch and you can set the volume at a usable level and get some hair w the treble dialed up to 1-2 o'clock. Single coils may need a sweetener to help them if they aren't high output but it can get there. You can put a NOS 5751 for V2 and get more breakup earlier and use a less efficient speaker like a Greenback or Jensen style speaker to help. A Gold sounds great w the '28 but there's more headroom w that pair than a less efficient speaker provides. IME the Ghia and the '28 are the two best Z amps bc they can both hang w a band and get amp overdrive w a guitar easier than most of the other Z amps, which are pretty dang awesome but freaking LOUD and their knobs are easy to tweak so you can set it and forget it.
|
|
|
Post by nmz on Mar 6, 2016 21:03:18 GMT -7
Thank you for all the input! I have yet to play a Dr Z 1x10 combo but have played the 1x12 EL84ers; M12, Ghia and Maz8. I like the M12 best at the time but its a clean machine. I'd like to get amp drive without a pedal to keep things grab and go. That is why the Z28 and Monza interest me. The Monza seems pretty beefy for a EL84 amp, has a master and all the drive built in. The videos of the Z28 sound fantastic. I love that darker, thick midrange from the 6v6s. I'd pull the trigger on a Z28 1x10 combo if I could be sure I could get those clipped tones in a small room environment. I like to play loud but I'm rarely in a big room. I have done more research and it sounds like the volume comes down with a greenback but reviews are mixed on that combo (Doc's favorite however). I do not mind a Brake Lite but do not want to max it out. Can you get your Z28s to overdrive in smaller places without really choking it? Can 3-3-3 be 9-3-3 volume with a different speaker and BL? O You will need a break Lite but will not have to max it. If you are good with your guitars volume knob that will help but it is no bedroom amp. I usually played with the 9-9-9 (or, close to it) setting and got the drive from pedals. If volume is an issue I would go with the Monza because of the MV or a Therapy, IMO.
Z-28 was my first DR Z love and would not mind getting another one. Great amp for sure but unless you choke it a little or use pedals for drive it will probably be too loud.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 6, 2016 21:17:39 GMT -7
The amp is really, really loud. It does however sound great at low volume with pedals. If you want the amp distortion at a reasonable volume you definitely would need an attenuator.
|
|
|
Post by Stephen on Mar 6, 2016 21:59:57 GMT -7
The only time I've gotten to put the Z-28 on 3-3-3 was at an outside gig. If you need small room dirt, the 1-10 Monza is for you. I've taken my 1-10 Z-28 and my 1-10 Monza on many gigs and played the Z-28 clean and the Monza dirty with a Morley A-B-Y switch.
|
|
|
Post by oloboy on Mar 6, 2016 23:00:40 GMT -7
Thanks again. Although I love the tone I hear from the 28, it's a bit too much amp for me. Hopefully I can try out a Monza in the near future!
|
|
|
Post by southmusic70 on Mar 7, 2016 8:11:40 GMT -7
Since the late 60s I had been a pretty much dyed-in-the-wool 6L6 guy - Vibrolux Reverb, Showman, Mesa F50 - so when I bought a Z I went with its 6v6 little brother in the form of a Z28 head, which I later converted into a combo with a 1x10 CGold, and I've had other Zs. I really never was a fan of el84s, either, but the Z amps with 84s are different and better than, say, a small Fender (I had a ProJunior) and offer vastly superior levels of performance and versatility. My advice to you would be to not limit yourself "just because it has el84s in it" but to give the small Z amps with 84s a shot. I've been very pleased with my Ghia Annie 10/50.
|
|
|
Post by oloboy on Mar 7, 2016 11:59:26 GMT -7
Since the late 60s I had been a pretty much dyed-in-the-wool 6L6 guy - Vibrolux Reverb, Showman, Mesa F50 - so when I bought a Z I went with its 6v6 little brother in the form of a Z28 head, which I later converted into a combo with a 1x10 CGold, and I've had other Zs. I really never was a fan of el84s, either, but the Z amps with 84s are different and better than, say, a small Fender (I had a ProJunior) and offer vastly superior levels of performance and versatility. My advice to you would be to not limit yourself "just because it has el84s in it" but to give the small Z amps with 84s a shot. I've been very pleased with my Ghia Annie 10/50. Thanks! Most of the EL84 amps I have tried are a bright, crisp tone that is nice slightly overdriven but gets more extremely bright and crisp when pushed. Many people like that but I lean toward darker and warmer. The Maz series that bright, crispness to me. The M12 did a little bit but not as much. The Ghia did not when a dealer lent me one for an evening. Sounded great but LOUD. I tried a used one not long ago and it had that EL84 thing again. Thus the Z28. Unfortunately it sounds like too much amp for me. Its hard because most grab and gos are EL84. The EL84 Monza sounds pretty meaty and worth a good look. The Ghia Anni also seems really promising with the master but they seem hard to find.
|
|
|
Post by southmusic70 on Mar 7, 2016 13:32:38 GMT -7
Although it's not talked about in this thread, some experimentation with less efficient speakers may be in order for you to tame the loudness. It's a recurrent theme here when you read about any of the amps and what comes out of them.
Just saying...
|
|
|
Post by Christopher on Mar 8, 2016 15:47:43 GMT -7
An inefficient twelve will yield the results you seek in your Z-28. It is a loud, full amp but it's a great sounding one and you can find grind w the treble at 2-3 Volume at 7-8o'clock and bass at noon. Or you can add a stomp. If it's too much amp for you maybe a mini Z...although you sound like EL 84s aren't for you.
|
|
|
Post by trojanhov on Mar 9, 2016 14:02:45 GMT -7
I've had the Z-28 in a 1x10 combo with red fang for maybe 3-4 years now. I've contemplated on numerous occasions to swap this speaker out and try something a little less efficient with less of a mid hump, but I always end up sticking with the Red Fang.
At the end of the day, I like knowing that I have a speaker that is efficient enough to play in larger venues and keep up with a full band. When I first got this amp back in 2012, I did notice that the mid hump was there in the Red Fang, but I feel like it's gotten more tamed as the speaker broke in. This speaker just sounds phenomenal. The notes just jump right out of the 1x10 set up and just sounds so round and smooth. I have a brakelite that I use to tame it a bit if I want to turn the vol,bass and treble to around noon when I play live (2 clicks usually does it for me). When I'm at home, I usually have the brakelite on 4 clicks and leave all 3 knobs around 12 o clock to emulate a live situation and use my timmy to push into overdrive (sounds great to my ears, but definitely not as good when I have the brakelite on 2 clicks or less).
One thing I did yesterday was I had the brakelite completely off, set the volume to about 9 o'clock and the Bass and treble to about 12. I lowered my guitar volume to get it to an acceptable bedroom level. The fat clean tone you get out of this amp is just phenomenal and I was just overcome with joy at what i was hearing. It's just very hard to get a bad sound of the Z-28. I have contemplated swapping speakers, trying a 12 inch speaker, changing to a head and cab configuration...i just feel like it would be a waste of time. I'm so content with my set-up right now that I'm not even looking for any other amps. I feel like I can cover almost all the bases with my 1x10 Z-28.
|
|
|
Post by oloboy on Mar 14, 2016 18:35:26 GMT -7
I thought this thread was dead! I came back to find s few more thoughtful responses.
I really want to hear this amp. I'm hoping one comes up used locally to try. If it grabs me like the online demos, I'll start the search. I'd love to pick up a black + S&P grill 1x10 or head.
Thanks again!
|
|