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Post by goodez on Jul 24, 2017 17:10:16 GMT -7
 Went through a lot of option choices in amps (Top Hat, 3 Monkeys, Carr, Fender, Goodsell, etc) but settled on this gem. It's LOUD and FAT but I'm enjoying the learning curve. Z amps definitely extenuate every flaw in your playing (which isn't a bad thing). Just need to polish my skills more. I'm running a decent amount of pedals but right now I'm just trying to figure out the amp clean before I start that process. Just geeked to finally have a Z amp as it's been on my wish list for a while. It came down to this amp and a Maz 18NR. Felt like I had to choose between two children lol. |
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Post by Mark (Basement Enthusiast) on Jul 24, 2017 18:00:14 GMT -7
WHOA! That. is. bad@$$.
The DB4 has an insane bark & ripping overdrive--it's a beast, but it's a fantastic beast. Takes gain pedals amazingly well, too (dare I say, better than the MAZ).
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Post by Jaguarguy (Mike) on Jul 24, 2017 18:04:31 GMT -7
Welcome to the Forum - a lot of great people and information here! Great looking rig. My favorite setting is the cut on 4, Tone at 6 and volume to taste. I've got the 2x12 combo in blue - a beautiful amp!
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Post by Norrin Radd on Jul 24, 2017 19:18:11 GMT -7
Welcome to the Forum - a lot of great people and information here! Great looking rig. My favorite setting is the cut on 4, Tone at 6 and volume to taste. I've got the 2x12 combo in blue - a beautiful amp! Did you mean cut on 6 and tone on 4? (Tone maxes out at 5) |
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Post by goodez on Jul 24, 2017 19:24:17 GMT -7
Welcome to the Forum - a lot of great people and information here! Great looking rig. My favorite setting is the cut on 4, Tone at 6 and volume to taste. I've got the 2x12 combo in blue - a beautiful amp! Well, I'm the odd duck on the forum I'm sure as I play with Lollar humbuckers. I'm finding that the guitar sounds good with the tone on 2 and 3 but I haven't quite found which tone setting is perfect for "The Sound". Seems that most of the single coil guys agree to the tone setting being best on 4. I do like the cut up higher but I'm finding the higher the tone setting the higher i set the cut. As far as the cab goes it's a 2x10 with factory Z speakers. I'm gonna wait until they fully break in before possibly trying out some alnico gold 10" speakers. Any thoughts on that idea? I know the single combo came with a 12" Alnico gold and the 2x12 combo came with Alnico Blues. |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 24, 2017 19:51:51 GMT -7
I sold my Maz 18 to get the DB4. The Maz is a modern classic, the DB4 is Doc's best kept secret. Congrats!!!
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Post by nmz on Jul 24, 2017 19:55:12 GMT -7
Nice!!
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Post by goodez on Jul 24, 2017 20:02:29 GMT -7
Is the general consensus to go open back on the convertible cab? It's closed back at the moment.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 24, 2017 20:19:59 GMT -7
Is the general consensus to go open back on the convertible cab? It's closed back at the moment. After years and years of playing 100 watters with closed back cabs in a hard rock band, I'll take <40 watters with open backs all day. Z's 10's are punchy enough, I don't think you need to close them off. Let those puppies breathe!!! |
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Post by Jaguarguy (Mike) on Jul 24, 2017 20:44:49 GMT -7
Welcome to the Forum - a lot of great people and information here! Great looking rig. My favorite setting is the cut on 4, Tone at 6 and volume to taste. I've got the 2x12 combo in blue - a beautiful amp! Did you mean cut on 6 and tone on 4? (Tone maxes out at 5) Yea, that's what I meant to say! |
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Post by purpletele on Jul 24, 2017 23:46:01 GMT -7
Cool rig!
Totally Blackout!
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Post by Rockerfeller on Jul 25, 2017 4:11:51 GMT -7
Welcome to the Forum - a lot of great people and information here! Great looking rig. My favorite setting is the cut on 4, Tone at 6 and volume to taste. I've got the 2x12 combo in blue - a beautiful amp! Well, I'm the odd duck on the forum I'm sure as I play with Lollar humbuckers. I'm finding that the guitar sounds good with the tone on 2 and 3 but I haven't quite found which tone setting is perfect for "The Sound". Seems that most of the single coil guys agree to the tone setting being best on 4. I do like the cut up higher but I'm finding the higher the tone setting the higher i set the cut. Welcome to the forum and that is a very cool looking rig! I can not speak for the DB4, because I have never played one, but I own a Remedy a Wreck and a ZLux. The two things that I have found to be true for all of them is that the way I EQ them off stage and by themselves is always different than how I EQ them in a band situation. What sounds gloriously fantastic in one setting, doesn't sound as glorious in the other setting. The other? They sound better live and cranked, and live is where you will really experience the magic of a Dr. Z amp. Have fun! |
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Post by Maddog on Jul 25, 2017 4:43:16 GMT -7
Yer gonna kove that bad boy! Welcome to the madness!!!!
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Post by Deleted on Jul 25, 2017 8:26:05 GMT -7
Welcome to the forum!
And congratulations on your choice for a first Z amp.
The blackout look is beautiful.
I like tone on 3 for humbuckers, four for tele.
And yes, it takes pedals very well.
I have a 2x10 w/golds, as well as a 1x12 w/gold.
I think I like the 10's more.
At 98db - they are excellent with this amp.
The Z 2x10 is great too, and loud!
It would be interesting to have this amp as a 2x10 combo.
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Post by Norrin Radd on Jul 25, 2017 11:18:16 GMT -7
Sweet looking rig! I use mine with a 1x12 Gold. I like it that way a lot. It also sounds excellent with a 2x12 loaded with blues. Wasn't my favorite into a 2x12 with a V30 & G12H30 though. YMMV As for settings, it seems with Gold (and the more it breaks in over time) I've actually been dialing in less "tone" with every guitar. I think the Gold is just really starting to fully break in and that bottom is just blooming and beautiful!  As for cut - man - that varies all the time. Wish I had better advice. The amp to me seems very "sensitive" or "responsive" to whatever you put in front of it. It seems to change character with every pickup type, every guitar - heck, even pedals with same "heritage" can sound vastly different through this amp. |
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Post by goodez on Jul 25, 2017 14:53:02 GMT -7
Welcome to the forum! And congratulations on your choice for a first Z amp. The blackout look is beautiful. I like tone on 3 for humbuckers, four for tele. And yes, it takes pedals very well. I have a 2x10 w/golds, as well as a 1x12 w/gold. I think I like the 10's more. At 98db - they are excellent with this amp. The Z 2x10 is great too, and loud! It would be interesting to have this amp as a 2x10 combo. Did you compare the sound of the 2x10 with Z's versus the Golds? I had some time to try out the amp this morning with the open vs closed back configuration and the open won outright. The closed cab has a lot of bass which is nice but the highs are VERY "punchy" as was mentioned. The open cab mellowed it out and created a nice full, warm, smooth tone that was just overall very well balanced. Subtle is some aspects and more noticeable in others. |
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Post by detuned on Jul 25, 2017 20:34:37 GMT -7
Welcome in, new Z brother - what's the next amp going to be? :-)
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Post by goodez on Jul 26, 2017 6:51:17 GMT -7
Welcome in, new Z brother - what's the next amp going to be? :-) Next amp? lol....I feel blessed just to have one Dr.Z. My jaw hit the floor when I saw Mikes collection in his avatar picture lol. Honestly though, I'd love to pick up a Z28 head to match the cab. In my mind that would give me the best of both worlds (highs/lows). If money were no option it would be a Z Wreck head to match. Maybe another cab to run in stereo. Now I see how you all end up with multiples, this is bad :-) |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 26, 2017 7:16:59 GMT -7
I did try both 2x10 cabs I have.
Closed, then open back with the Z 2x10.
And open back for the 2x10 w/golds.
I've always liked the Z 2x10 as a closed back cab.
But the golds sound a little warmer, and full.
Both excellent, but the Z cab is louder.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 26, 2017 9:12:54 GMT -7
Congrats on the new DB4 and welcome to the forum!!! Cheers!
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Post by goodez on Jul 26, 2017 14:46:44 GMT -7
Well, looks like my membership to the club has been temporarily suspended. I put the amp through a solid 4-5 hour pace today on high volume when suddenly the volume cut out and it started to hum badly. I raced over to put it on standby and noticed one of the tubes was GLOWING purple. I waited a couple minutes and quickly hit the standby to on and had the same loud hum with flashing purple shoot back through the tube. I turned the Amp back to standby, waited several minutes for the head/tubes to cool down, and then shut the amp down.
I'm really hoping this is just a power tube issue. What do you guys recommend I do? Is there a specific brand EL84 to go with? Should I replace all of them?
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Post by Deleted on Jul 26, 2017 15:17:04 GMT -7
Well, looks like my membership to the club has been temporarily suspended. I put the amp through a solid 4-5 hour pace today on high volume when suddenly the volume cut out and it started to hum badly. I raced over to put it on standby and noticed one of the tubes was GLOWING purple. I waited a couple minutes and quickly hit the standby to on and had the same loud hum with flashing purple shoot back through the tube. I turned the Amp back to standby, waited several minutes for the head/tubes to cool down, and then shut the amp down. I'm really hoping this is just a power tube issue. What do you guys recommend I do? Is there a specific brand EL84 to go with? Should I replace all of them? Get some 6N14N's from perryr. Did yours have JJ's in it??? Their tubes have been horrendous lately. |
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Post by goodez on Jul 26, 2017 16:11:43 GMT -7
Well, looks like my membership to the club has been temporarily suspended. I put the amp through a solid 4-5 hour pace today on high volume when suddenly the volume cut out and it started to hum badly. I raced over to put it on standby and noticed one of the tubes was GLOWING purple. I waited a couple minutes and quickly hit the standby to on and had the same loud hum with flashing purple shoot back through the tube. I turned the Amp back to standby, waited several minutes for the head/tubes to cool down, and then shut the amp down. I'm really hoping this is just a power tube issue. What do you guys recommend I do? Is there a specific brand EL84 to go with? Should I replace all of them? Get some 6N14N's from perryr. Did yours have JJ's in it??? Their tubes have been horrendous lately. You know it! I just replaced a low hour pre-amp tube from JJ a couple days ago in another amp. |
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Post by detuned on Jul 27, 2017 6:31:41 GMT -7
Welcome in, new Z brother - what's the next amp going to be? :-) Next amp? lol....I feel blessed just to have one Dr.Z. My jaw hit the floor when I saw Mikes collection in his avatar picture lol. Honestly though, I'd love to pick up a maz 18NR head to match the cab. In my mind that would give me the best of both worlds (highs/lows). If money were no option it would be a Z Wreck head to match. Maybe another cab to run in stereo. Now I see how you all end up with multiples, this is bad :-) And that's how it starts... |
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Post by goodez on Jul 31, 2017 14:50:36 GMT -7
Got my new EL84's from Perry today, Thanks Perry. Anyways, went to gently pull the blown JJ EL84 out and the tube literally separated in two as I pulled up. What's odd is the cut is fairly consistently circular.  |
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Post by Norrin Radd on Jul 31, 2017 14:52:17 GMT -7
Wow! That just oozes quality!  |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 31, 2017 16:42:33 GMT -7
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Post by Deleted on Aug 1, 2017 8:40:39 GMT -7
I've had that happen also.
I'm glad the base came out without a problem.
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Post by goodez on Aug 1, 2017 9:59:50 GMT -7
I've had that happen also. I'm glad the base came out without a problem. . ^ This x 1,000! |
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Post by -=Charlie=- on Aug 2, 2017 15:11:04 GMT -7
Well, looks like my membership to the club has been temporarily suspended. I put the amp through a solid 4-5 hour pace today on high volume when suddenly the volume cut out and it started to hum badly. I raced over to put it on standby and noticed one of the tubes was GLOWING purple. I waited a couple minutes and quickly hit the standby to on and had the same loud hum with flashing purple shoot back through the tube. I turned the Amp back to standby, waited several minutes for the head/tubes to cool down, and then shut the amp down. I'm really hoping this is just a power tube issue. What do you guys recommend I do? Is there a specific brand EL84 to go with? Should I replace all of them? Get some 6N14N's from perryr . Did yours have JJ's in it??? Their tubes have been horrendous lately. I grabbed a set of tubes from perryr. I'm curious to your thoughts of replacing the tubes that came with my DB4 or leave them be till failure and then swap them out. Opinions appreciated. Currently experiencing no issues and the tone is fine for me (if it's not ker-broken don't mess with it?) Thanks. -=Charlie=- |
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As for cut - man - that varies all the time. Wish I had better advice. 
