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Post by jhen86 (jordan) on Sept 15, 2017 19:47:50 GMT -7
Hey guys, wondering if you Stangray owners could enlighten me.
I recently just purchased two Z's. My first(s). An M12 and RX Jr. Both fantastic. Financially, I should probably sell one. Having a hard time picking though. LOVE all the mojo that the RX has, but wish it took pedals a little better. Seems to break up the way it wants to break up (like a vox). Adding dirt pedals just gives you more of the same, to some degree. M12 takes pedals better, but is just a little too polite, and lacks that Vox chime that I'm after.
My dream amp would be that throaty, chimey, slightly scooped, Vox clean (with some hair) that takes pedals like a dream. Love Vox cleans, but the don't love the way they break up. Too compressed and not enough headroom. Don't get me wrong, it's a beautiful thing. For what I play though, I just need some more headroom to give me more tonal options via pedals.
Does that all sound like a Stangray? Does it really nail that Vox chime when clean? I've listened to so many clips online but would value hands on feedback. I've only played a Stangray once, at a local shop for about 3 minutes. Only had the volume on 2 but reminded me a lot of the M12. Maybe I didn't have it juiced enough. It did seem fatter in the mids, which could easier be scooped with an EQ pedal if needed, I'd think.
Reason I ask is because I'm really considering keeping the M12 and possibly doing the Steve Miller "1/2 power Stangray mod" that Doc has posted about. A Stangray gray itself would just be too loud for me though. I feel like that Stangray mod would be the perfect middle ground between the polite, stock M12 and the wild RX Jr.
Would love some feedback on the Stangray's "voxiness". Thanks in advance!!! 👍🏻
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Post by Jaguarguy (Mike) on Sept 15, 2017 21:00:32 GMT -7
Sounds like the Stangray is the sound you are looking for but may be too loud. Also, listen to an early RX - more Marshall and less Vox but is a great sounding amp. The other that comes to mind is the Mazerati - nice clean sound that takes pedals like a champ.
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Post by Maddog on Sept 16, 2017 5:37:39 GMT -7
Stangray might be a bit too clean for your ears if yer used to cranking the Rx Jr and the M12.....A Z Wreck is in the same power range as the Stangray with a considerable bit more gain at lower volumes.....Also, you might check into the Z-Lux videos....
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Post by jhen86 (jordan) on Sept 16, 2017 6:21:14 GMT -7
Stangray might be a bit too clean for your ears if yer used to cranking the Rx Jr and the M12.....A Z Wreck is in the same power range as the Stangray with a considerable bit more gain at lower volumes.....Also, you might check into the Z-Lux videos.... Thanks, Maddog. Would LOVE a wreck!!! Who wouldn't! I don't typically need a ton of dirt from the amp. Have been running the M12 gain at about 1 o'clock and the RX Jr volume at Noon. Master just shy of Noon. Great cleans with a touch of hair. Thats just about right amount for me.
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Post by Maddog on Sept 16, 2017 7:07:15 GMT -7
I don't typically need a ton of dirt from the amp. Have been running the M12 gain at about 1 o'clock and the RX Jr volume at Noon. Master just shy of Noon. Great cleans with a touch of hair. Thats just about right amount for me. Yep I hear ya....I used to have to decide between the Wreck and the M12 as to which one to take to which gig. One thing I did to get around the M12's (in your words) "politeness" was to push it with a Strymon Deco.....Added girth and gain w/o fizzy-ness, and then I used a Klon Klone (RYRA) after the deco for fullness.... Turned the M12 into a mini Wreck...
Again, I don't think the Ray fits your description of your needs.....too much clean, and not enough gain/hair at club volumes. Like you said, that "touch of hair" comes only after you have the Ray's volume cranked pretty high.....But, my oh my, are the Ray's cleans EVER SO NICE!
Best of luck to ya brother.... Let us know which way you go.....
PS: On second thought, just to complicate things, an Air Brake has kelp many Rays on the smaller stages.....food for thought!
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Post by jhen86 (jordan) on Sept 16, 2017 7:31:25 GMT -7
Sounds like a nice setup, Maddog. So I assume you landed with the M12?
Heard great things about that RYRA. I have a Klone as well, along with some other low gain pedals that can give it a touch of hair if needed. So the bigger issue isn't the hair I guess, as much as getting that Vox clean tone. (Thinking U2 kinda stuff primarily).
I think I'm gonna land on keeping one of these two amps, as opposed to grabbing a Ray. Really wanting to get the M12 more into Vox territory, as a I think that would be the best case scenario. Hoping that Steve Miller mod would do the trick but just not sure how Voxy the Ray is.
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Post by KeithA on Sept 16, 2017 8:41:22 GMT -7
Sounds like a nice setup, Maddog. So I assume you landed with the M12? Heard great things about that RYRA. I have a Klone as well, along with some other low gain pedals that can give it a touch of hair if needed. So the bigger issue isn't the hair I guess, as much as getting that Vox clean tone. (Thinking U2 kinda stuff primarily). I think I'm gonna land on keeping one of these two amps, as opposed to grabbing a Ray. Really wanting to get the M12 more into Vox territory, as a I think that would be the best case scenario. Hoping that Steve Miller mod would do the trick but just not sure how Voxy the Ray is. The Ray was developed by Doc/Brad so that Brad's older non-top boost Vox could be retired from the road. I'd say she's pretty Voxy Here's Kris Richards (forum member) doing some justice to a Ray
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Post by Rockerfeller on Sept 16, 2017 12:48:05 GMT -7
Sounds like a nice setup, Maddog. So I assume you landed with the M12? Heard great things about that RYRA. I have a Klone as well, along with some other low gain pedals that can give it a touch of hair if needed. So the bigger issue isn't the hair I guess, as much as getting that Vox clean tone. (Thinking U2 kinda stuff primarily). I think I'm gonna land on keeping one of these two amps, as opposed to grabbing a Ray. Really wanting to get the M12 more into Vox territory, as a I think that would be the best case scenario. Hoping that Steve Miller mod would do the trick but just not sure how Voxy the Ray is. The Ray was developed by Doc/Brad so that Brad's older non-top boost Vox could be retired from the road. I'd say she's pretty Voxy Here's Kris Richards (forum member) doing some justice to a Ray I think I would agree, that is doing some justice right there!
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Post by thatstatuemoved on Sept 28, 2017 8:35:45 GMT -7
Very very nice clip of the ray. Great playing. Makes me miss my ray even more.
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oowl
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Post by oowl on Oct 1, 2017 19:56:20 GMT -7
Wondering what speaker you have in the M12? I have not heard one in person but from sound clips it sounds pretty "voxy" w/ a blue in it.
I have vested interest 'cause I'm looking at an M12 for some voxish chime. As others have said, the wreck w/ 1/2 power switch sounds like what you're looking for, and me too, but it is pricey and I doubt I'd use it much in full power mode.
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Post by jhen86 (jordan) on Oct 4, 2017 10:00:14 GMT -7
Wondering what speaker you have in the M12? I have not heard one in person but from sound clips it sounds pretty "voxy" w/ a blue in it. I have vested interest 'cause I'm looking at an M12 for some voxish chime. As others have said, the wreck w/ 1/2 power switch sounds like what you're looking for, and me too, but it is pricey and I doubt I'd use it much in full power mode. I am using a 2x12 cab with Blue/G12H30. Sorry thought I had mentioned that. Must have been a different thread that I did. The M12 can definitely get Voxy if you know how to coax that out of it (see below). I spent some time gigging both amps recently. Man, the RX Jr is great. Just wish it took pedals a little better though. Loves my TS and my Rockett Led Boots (similar to their Animal or .45 cal, plexi style). I like to stack pedals though, and eventually the RX hits a wall where the breakup just starts to be too much and tone starts to fall apart IMHO. On the M12, I recently, did 2/3 of Steve Miller "stangray" mod. Put in the EL844's and a 5AR4. Definitely lose some of that easy sweetness from the stock tone, but in return you get more into Vox territory. M12 also loves those Plexi/TS type pedals, and stack pedals better I find. I also have been toying around with EQ options on my Line 6 M9 pedal with the M12. The M12 naturally has more mid fullness that the RX JR and other Vox styles. A slight scoop at 500hz (about 2db), and then a more generous one at 800hz (around 4db) definitely gets you more in the Vox/RX Jr camp. It's fantastic actually. I highly recommend you try it. Might be the final push for me to let go of the RX JR, as much as it pains me to say it.
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Post by z4me on Oct 10, 2017 21:20:55 GMT -7
As mentioned, speakers can make a big difference in tone in all amps. Just depends what you are seeking in tone. I owned a Ray for a while and yes it is a clean/voxy amp for sure, but such sweet tone with girth I believe due to the 30 watts and that transformer. I thought the Ray took my dirt pedals very well, including stacked. I tried some EL844s in the Ray and they were alright for me, but those tubes are designed to remove headroom. I later discovered that I wanted more headroom, but add dirt with pedals. I was trying to lower the Ray volume without a master volume option. I did gig the Ray with an Air Brake that I thought was very effective in taming the volume at gigs.
For a period of time I owned the Ray and a Rx Jr. With a Radial Headbone amp switcher into the same cab, I tweaked the amps to where they sounded so close to each other. I then realized how scooped the mids are on the Ray with its single tone knob. To get the Rx Jr in Ray tone territory, I dialed the mids way back to about 1 on the dial, not O'Clock settings. I found a picture of the settings and here are the dial settings I used to match the Stangray setting I was using at the time.
Dial settings Rx Jr B=6, Mid = 1, Treble = almost 3, volume = 5. Not sure about the master volume level. Overdose off.
O'Clock settings StangRay Cut = about 1:30, Mid= 10 O'Clock, volume = 9 O'Clock
With this amp comparison I would say that the Rx Jr is a half powered Stangray. I remember reading a post from Bentop Steve saying the same thing about the Rx Jr. Drew came over my house one night and A/B tested the two amps as well and seemed to have a similar opinion that the tones were so close.
For me I find that in order for my dirt pedals to sound the way I want them, I need to keep the mids down. If I find my dirt pedals are not sounding great to me on my Maz Sr, I have learned to check my mid setting and most of the time I was experimenting with tones and had the mid up higher. I know we all have our tone preferences though.
The Rx Jr is 18 watts and the M12, well, 12 watts, so I would chose the Jr at 18 watts. There might be occasions when you need more watts and/or head room out of your amp if you gig with other musicians.
Good luck with the decision.
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Post by taylor335 on Feb 1, 2018 9:01:43 GMT -7
I know I’m late to the party but... I love the Stang Ray! Some will say it doesn’t take pedals well, but I beg to differ. Sure, it’s slightly “selective”, but I’ve never plugged a dirt box in and said “man, that sounds like garbage”. And everyone here is right - they are LOUD. I had a 30 watt JTM-45, Hot Cat 30, and currently own a Clubman 35, and I personally think the Ray is the loudest of them all. And REALLY clean too. I know it’s often associated with Brad Paisley (for obvious reasons), but it can get nasty and rock with pedals in front of it. I played in a country rock band that definitely leaned more on the rock side and the Ray handled it well for both rhythm and lead work. My singer used it for a while and hated it when I “took it away” from him. As Mike suggested earlier in the comments, the Mazerati is great amp too, and that amp takes pedals better than anything I’ve ever heard. I had a V2 Head and I still kick myself in the a$$ for letting that one get away. But still, I prefer the Ray above the Mazerati, and I honestly prefer it over the Z Wreck, too. Had them both at the same time and the Ray is still here, but the Wreck (serial number 14) is long gone. Probably should of kept that one, though. Anyway, after my long rant I must say that the Ray is a gem, a future classic, even. If you get one (or possibly got one, in this case) you won’t regret it.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2018 9:48:20 GMT -7
If it hasn't been mentioned already seems like it would be worth it to try the M-12 Steve Miller Mod. Easy, not expensive. Could be just what you are looking for.
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Post by limenine on Feb 3, 2018 12:38:50 GMT -7
Have you considered any of the Maz series? Voxy, not quite as rowdy as the RxJr, not as clean as the m12. Takes pedals really well too
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