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Post by pcastain on Jan 3, 2017 10:56:34 GMT -7
I never thought I'd say it - or even think it - but I think it may be time to sell my Z Wreck set. Its a LOT of amp for me, I don't gig or play with a band (and even when I did, I was always too nervous to bring it with me) and I live in a basement apartment and I'm trying to keep the peace with the folks upstairs. The people who lived here before had pretty normal schedules, and when they'd go out I could crank it up (my wife is a very forgiving woman...). But the current resident is a young man around 30 and his elderly mother, who never leaves. They are very nice and in almost a year they have never complained, but I figure they must hear me. Even with my air brake on bedroom, I feel like its inconsiderately loud, but I LOVE this amp. I am considering downsizing to an M12 for a couple of years until I buy a home, and then hopefully I'll get myself into a wreck again. My question is, how does the M12 compare? I almost always play the wreck all the way down - and at that volume it doesn't really shine. I feel like at such a low volume, almost any amp would sound as good. I want to retain a good amount of brightness and chime, but at a lower volume. I considered a Morgan AC20 but then decided to try and stick with Z, and came across the m12 which seems like its exactly what I am after. Once I read "a cross between a Wreck and a Stangry" I was sold. Sorry for the long post, but any opinions would be appreciated! For what its worth I am a pedal junkie and I play everything from Jazz to Brad Paisley (a lot) to metal.
TL;DR: Will an M12 suffice for someone who wants a quieter Z wreck in an apartment setting?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 3, 2017 11:17:13 GMT -7
I've got an M12 head for sale in BST, if you're really looking. The M12 has been described as a half Stangray, but I'm not sure how accurate that is. Basically it's a great low-wattage, high-headroom amp for players who like pedals but don't need to be super loud.
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Post by pcastain on Jan 3, 2017 11:20:56 GMT -7
I've got an M12 head for sale in BST, if you're really looking. The M12 has been described as a half Stangray, but I'm not sure how accurate that is. Basically it's a great low-wattage, high-headroom amp for players who like pedals but don't need to be super loud. I saw that, I will definitely get in touch if I decide to do that!
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Post by doctorice on Jan 3, 2017 14:34:06 GMT -7
Personally, I don't hear a whole lot of common ground between the M12 and the Z Wreck set. To my ears, the Wreck is more touch sensitive and has a lot more gain/compression on tap. The latter occurs at higher volume settings, which are very loud without attenuation as you know! The tone stacks seem different also, as the M12 has active bass and treble knobs, like Doc's other current EF86 amps.
You may have read that Doc did some tube swaps with an M12 for Steve Miller, who wanted a tamed-down version of his Stangray. I did hear that modded M12 at 2015 mini Z Fest. It sounded good, but we mostly compared it with a stock M12, not a 'Ray.
As Jon mentioned, the M12 is ideal if you want to keep the volume down and use pedals. It does have the ability to produce an overdriven sound, but to do that you've got to wind it up pretty high.
As always, YMMV.
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Post by Jason Cornelius on Jan 28, 2017 16:24:09 GMT -7
I can't imagine using a Z-Wreck in an apartment. It was too loud for me in every situation (playing small gigs and playing at home) and I kept my M12. That with a Paisley Drive keeps me pretty happy for my Brad Paisley wannabe playing!
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Post by JASON (aka jgleaton) on Jan 29, 2017 12:13:35 GMT -7
M12 is magic.
and No it's not quite a mini Z wreck... but...
but to ME,
playing CLEANish and edge of hair like I like it... did remind me of that same sound and FEEL of the wreck on COMFORT setting when it was clean at the edge of some hair...
not as much natural drive and more headroom for a 12 watt amp I can play it live at most small venues and with a harder hitting drummer it has hung in there.
Like Jason said above, hit it with a pedal (i like a good clean boost Luxury Drive, Timmy, and LOVE the Tumnus) and there you go...
PERFECT volume level... great for recording (i have used it in a studio setting and it's wonderful) and lower volume at home.
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