Cure Initial Encounter
Mar 24, 2017 13:19:15 GMT -7
Jaguarguy (Mike), lowbudget, and 14 more like this
Post by tpritchard on Mar 24, 2017 13:19:15 GMT -7
My Cure landed yesterday courtesy of a fellow forum member who had two of them and decided the amp is portable enough, he didn't one in each location.
Here are my initial thoughts. I know a lot is being shared right now, but I feel moved to weigh in and I feel like different testimonies from different types of players are valuable to those considering a purchase.
I play original rock and roll in a couple pretty diverse bands that require cleanish tone to full on crunch and enough headroom to run fuzzes. Think Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Thin Lizzy, Cheap Trick, Dwight Yoakam, Superdrag, Nada Surf, Wilco, Badfinger etc. and you're in the ball park. I've been a Carmen Ghia player for years now, because it does so well in the edge of breakup territory. I'm usually hitting it with a Tim, various modulation pedals and face, muff, or boost type circuits for lead tones. I use single coils, humbuckers and p90s (have to have variety). Songs range from twangy, jangly, crunchy, to far out and spacey.
The Cure appealed to me as a very portable way to achieve a great (tweekable) base tone without pedals and control volume for small rooms, rehearsals and recording which represent the bulk of my engagements.
So far so good! What a wonderful tool. I put it through paces last night at rehearsal with a Les Paul and a Cabronita tele type build with a TV Jones Powertron (basically PAF type humbucker territory) in the bridge and Classic in the neck. The Cure loved both guitars. With humbuckers at full band volume, this is not a machine for pristine cleans, but that is not what I'm after. It excels and edge of breakup to full on gain tones at any level (other than stadium filling). Sheer volume wise, I had plenty and was running the Level control at about 12:00 when I had the volume and master up and about 1-2:00 when I pulled the volume down for cleaner tones.
I really appreciate how easy it is to dial in a relatively dark but chimey, cutting tone as well. I always want the chime without the ear fatiguing highs and my word, the Cure delivers! So far, I feel like the Z 12 is a perfect speaker for this amp, even though I'm usually more inclined toward British type cones.
Finally, the voicing of this amp is just perfect for where a guitar should sit in a band mix and the EQ is very very intuitive and useful. No, the bass is not enormous, but when I play a bigger amp with a band, I'm generally rolling most of the bass off. And I have to say, for the size of the cab and at only 15 watts, the low end is impressive. Not tight like a Maz, but still articulate and handles Humbucker neck tones, even with full chording, great without crapping out or getting weird and muffled.
Stay tuned here for a report on the first bar gig this weekend, recording notes, and some clips. I plan to do a demo for all you TV Jones junkies like me, and do some pedal tests both in front and in the loop during the next week or so.
Thank you Dr Z for such a great amp!
Here are my initial thoughts. I know a lot is being shared right now, but I feel moved to weigh in and I feel like different testimonies from different types of players are valuable to those considering a purchase.
I play original rock and roll in a couple pretty diverse bands that require cleanish tone to full on crunch and enough headroom to run fuzzes. Think Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Thin Lizzy, Cheap Trick, Dwight Yoakam, Superdrag, Nada Surf, Wilco, Badfinger etc. and you're in the ball park. I've been a Carmen Ghia player for years now, because it does so well in the edge of breakup territory. I'm usually hitting it with a Tim, various modulation pedals and face, muff, or boost type circuits for lead tones. I use single coils, humbuckers and p90s (have to have variety). Songs range from twangy, jangly, crunchy, to far out and spacey.
The Cure appealed to me as a very portable way to achieve a great (tweekable) base tone without pedals and control volume for small rooms, rehearsals and recording which represent the bulk of my engagements.
So far so good! What a wonderful tool. I put it through paces last night at rehearsal with a Les Paul and a Cabronita tele type build with a TV Jones Powertron (basically PAF type humbucker territory) in the bridge and Classic in the neck. The Cure loved both guitars. With humbuckers at full band volume, this is not a machine for pristine cleans, but that is not what I'm after. It excels and edge of breakup to full on gain tones at any level (other than stadium filling). Sheer volume wise, I had plenty and was running the Level control at about 12:00 when I had the volume and master up and about 1-2:00 when I pulled the volume down for cleaner tones.
I really appreciate how easy it is to dial in a relatively dark but chimey, cutting tone as well. I always want the chime without the ear fatiguing highs and my word, the Cure delivers! So far, I feel like the Z 12 is a perfect speaker for this amp, even though I'm usually more inclined toward British type cones.
Finally, the voicing of this amp is just perfect for where a guitar should sit in a band mix and the EQ is very very intuitive and useful. No, the bass is not enormous, but when I play a bigger amp with a band, I'm generally rolling most of the bass off. And I have to say, for the size of the cab and at only 15 watts, the low end is impressive. Not tight like a Maz, but still articulate and handles Humbucker neck tones, even with full chording, great without crapping out or getting weird and muffled.
Stay tuned here for a report on the first bar gig this weekend, recording notes, and some clips. I plan to do a demo for all you TV Jones junkies like me, and do some pedal tests both in front and in the loop during the next week or so.
Thank you Dr Z for such a great amp!