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Post by lowcountrygreg on May 20, 2016 11:10:27 GMT -7
Hi, new here. First let me say this forum is great!
Now, for those who have one or have played, how does it clean up with the guitars volume lower? Can it do clean to mean? Also, how does it do at half power with an attenuator for home/bedroom levels? I've got an Air brake I'd be trying to tame it with.
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Post by doctorice on May 20, 2016 11:19:12 GMT -7
Welcome.
Can't respond as I don't yet have a DB-4. Dr Z said it had the highest number of pre-orders for one of his amps ever, but, interestingly, I know of only one Z Talk member (jaguarguy) who actually has one currently. So stay tuned.
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Post by Jaguarguy (Mike) on May 20, 2016 11:53:59 GMT -7
It cleans up very well with the GV. Truthfully, with just the tone knob itself can get you from clean to mean. Home/bedroom levels are very subjective - I keep my Monza in the living room for quiet times (no, really I do!) I was in the man cave last night and playing with the different tones - wife had a hard time hearing me play (and I have the 2x12 version). It was on half-power without an attenuator. We'll give it a test a mini-Zfest this summer. Maybe you can come up and give it a try-out?
BTW - welcome to the forum! A lot of great people and information here!
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Post by Deleted on May 21, 2016 8:49:11 GMT -7
Welcome to the forum.
Mike's the lucky one now.
His Zagato is one of the first.
We should be hearing more soon though.
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Post by Deleted on May 21, 2016 20:05:37 GMT -7
Played one today, but not loud enough that I got it to break up much. Interesting amp.
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Post by Jaguarguy (Mike) on May 21, 2016 20:27:42 GMT -7
I had Mark (basement enthusiast) over earlier this afternoon and he agreed with the assessment that it could be used as a quiet home/bedroom amp and still sounds good. He ws impressed how well it cleaned up with GV. Favorite setting is still #4. Sounds good with Teles, strats, LP with both HB and P90s.
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Post by lowcountrygreg on May 22, 2016 3:59:26 GMT -7
EZG, how far up was it while still keeping clean? If Mike uses a Monza cranked in his living room, we are in two different worlds when it comes to "bedroom" levels lol!
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Post by Jaguarguy (Mike) on May 22, 2016 5:56:45 GMT -7
My Monza isn't cranked because of the MV which is fantastic.
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Post by Mark (Basement Enthusiast) on May 22, 2016 7:04:43 GMT -7
LOL...
Keep in mind, Greg, that Mike's got the Master Volume on his Monza. Without that, I don't think ANY mere mortal could use it in a living room.
Regarding the DB4, though--yes, indeed it sounds satisfyingly toneful at "low" (I wouldn't say "sleeping baby bedroom," but at least wife-friendly) volumes. The trick was that the amp was still around 10:30 on the volume knob (substantially loud) but it was the guitar's volume that I rolled back and it still sounded good with the guitar's knob halfway down. Now, keep in mind you're not hitting the amp hard at that point, so it won't be super gainy; but, reasonably-balanced tone with good depth at low volume? Yup. But don't throw away your pedal if you want that plus overdrive.
PS. It helped quite a bit that Mike's P90 guitar sounded amazing at pretty much every guitar tone/volume setting. Never hurts to be using an awesome guitar when playing a Z, right??
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Post by lowcountrygreg on May 22, 2016 7:15:10 GMT -7
Right, forgot that had the master volume. I am curious as to how that compares to using the Airbrake. The other Z I am considering is the Remedy which also has the MV. I'm torn as to whether the Remedy with a creamback + ppimv/attenuator or DB4 with Gold and Airbrake would be better for mostly home use with some small gigs down the road. I've used a Marshall 2061x and Blankenship Fatboy (my amp now), both in that 20 watt range and they can get fizzy/compressed with the attenuator at home levels. Both are non-MV and needed the brake with a drummer.
This also begs the question of whether a Maz 8 or other 8-12 watt amp might be a better choice. But there's nothing in those ranges that offer up what you get with the DB4 or Remedy, hence my current tone dilemma!
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Post by Mark (Basement Enthusiast) on May 22, 2016 9:10:17 GMT -7
Regarding the Creamback + Remedy vs. Gold + DB4... keep in mind that the Creamback is a rather inefficient (quieter) speaker and the Gold is pretty efficient (loud) so that alone will have a noticeable effect on perceived volume.
Relatively speaking, the quietest would be Remedy (20W setting) + Creamback and MV turned down. Likely wouldn't even need an attenuator for that! Loudest... maybe the DB4 on full power with the Gold; but, the Remedy @ 40W is no slouch either. If you want gain from the DB4 at lower volumes, you'll likely want the attenuator, even when the DB4's on half-power.
MAZ 8 with it's footswitchable tone-stack bypass might actually get you there, too.. but I have less experience with that, so I'd let other comment on it.
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Post by Deleted on May 22, 2016 10:54:13 GMT -7
I had the V up to about 9:00, not real loud, mostly on the 4 and 5 EQ settings. It was loud enough that I was worried about being obnoxious. I think to get the best out of the DB4, you'd probably want to crank it up a bit.
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