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Post by GT Roger on May 9, 2017 5:53:21 GMT -7
Hey Stang Ray / Sting Ray guys,
I've got a chance to trade an EZG-50 head for a Stang Ray head. Would that be a fair trade? My EZG doesn't have the bass mod.
I like the EZG, but it's too bassy for me (as is). I'm considering sending it in for the bass mod. But, I play most of the time with humbuckers and I like to typically play on both bridge and neck pickups at the same time. So, I'm thinking after the mod, it still might not be the right amp for me.
I'm thinking a brighter amp might be better for my tone. I play blues, rock and funk styles. I'm not really much of a distortion guy. Overdrives and cleans work good for me. I do like to stack OD pedals too for solos and heavy tones.
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Post by John on May 10, 2017 5:18:58 GMT -7
Have you ever played a Stangray? They're a different amp. VERY clean amp, and the tone is not Fendery. I also didn't care for the amp with humbuckers. With single coils, this amp is an awesome clean machine. It has scooped mids which really let the bass and highs come through. I'm not aware of what the bass mod is for the EZG and it's not listed on the Z website.
What speakers and cabinet are you running with the EZG?
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Post by GT Roger on May 10, 2017 5:41:17 GMT -7
Hey John,
I've never tried the Stang Ray. So far with the EZG I've used a V-30 and a Fane A-60 Alnico. I'm still going to try a G12-65, G12H-30 and Scumback H75-PVC (just haven't gotten around to it yet).
The EZG bass mod is listed on the Used Amp Service page on the web site.
I use a lot of Gibsons with humbuckers. So, maybe the Stang Ray might not work be the best choice for me.
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Post by John on May 10, 2017 6:14:41 GMT -7
I now found the mod on the Z web page....but it's not listed on the 'mod' page.
Is your cabinet open back, or closed back? Closed backs have a lot more bass thump than open backs.
I personally would skip trying the G12H-30....it's a heavy bass speaker. I don't know anything about the Fane, but the G12-65 might be a good choice.
The Scumback has a big 50oz. magnet... Big magnet= more/firm bass. (So I'm not sure about that one either)
I'm not trying to tell you what to do, but I would try a stangray before making the trade. Which may be difficult to do considering they're discontinued. It's a wonderful amp (I've had two), but you've got to want it's tone.
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Post by GT Roger on May 10, 2017 6:33:22 GMT -7
Thanks for the input John!
I thought the same thing about the heavy magnet speakers. I have the V-30 and the A-60 in open back 1x12 cabinets. They actually sound pretty awesome running them at the same time. My G12-65 is in an open back 1x12 cabinet too. I'm definitely going to try that out next week.
We should be doing a full band rehearsal next week. I'm going to experiment with some different guitars and speakers and with the EZG and see if I can find a happy spot.
I'll try out the Stangray with a Les Paul, in the next couple of weeks, if it's still available. It's at a local vintage music store. Maybe I can work a trade for something else, instaed of trading my EZG. I'd hate to do the trade it and then feel like I made a mistake.
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Post by drew on May 10, 2017 13:21:41 GMT -7
Hi Roger, I can offer my biased advise. Since you're also a Galaxy fan we might have similar likes. IMO Value wise it's close to even depending on the condition with a slight edge to the EZG. I agree with John, play it before considering the trade. And IMO the Ray sounds best with the volume set to noon or above. Setting above noon adds more compression and drive but not much volume. An airbrake is recommended.
The G12H-30 was not a good match up for me either. I ran a G12-65 in a 1x12 open back cab and liked the results. For open back cabs my favorite is a weber alnico blue dog 50W speaker. The low efficiency of that speaker and handling power made it a good match. I did not like the Galaxy and that speaker.
I gigged the Ray with a Z-Best cab and airbrake or brakelite on 1-3 clicks and loved that sound. I push the Ray's output section to where it's just starting to break up, noon to 1:00, and use a BB, Timmy and Barber Direct Drive to play a wide variety of top 40 dance rock set lists. I recently acquired another Stangray and enjoy playing the Ray on Allman Bros to Maroon Five cover tunes. At a recent gig I used a Marshall 2061cx (2x12 vertical offset slant) cab loaded with greenbacks and am very happy with the tone. By the second set the airbrake was set to 0.
I'm using a stratocaster and humbucker guitars (PRS DGT and McCarty with 57/08s).
Good luck, let us know!
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Post by GT Roger on May 11, 2017 5:25:41 GMT -7
Thanks for your input Drew!
It does sound like we do have similar likes in the tone department. I'm definetly going to try out the Stang Ray. I'll bring a few OD pedals with me. I've been using a Timmy, Barber Gain Changer and RYRA Klone as my main overdrives (Though I have several more).
I'll provide an update after I try the amp out.
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Post by Norrin Radd on May 11, 2017 7:34:28 GMT -7
One thing to note - the amp sounds drastically different depending on what speakers you play it through. I play mine through a 2x12 cab with Celestion blues. I've also played it through a Z-best cab and I found the tone to be quite different. In my opinion, it makes a huge difference which speakers you play the amp through. So if you can, test out the amp through a speaker cabinet that has the speakers that you are most likely to use it with.
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Post by GT Roger on May 11, 2017 8:50:15 GMT -7
Thanks Greg! I'll see what speakers and cabinets the music store has to plug into, when I try out the amp.
Good point!
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