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Post by gotmojo on Apr 8, 2019 14:01:07 GMT -7
Wow. The 1-12 combo. Very smooth and creamy! I like! A lot! Somebody had written great “edge of breakup” amp. Well, I suppose one can run it that way, but once you hit 6 on the volume, it’s way more than edge of break up, it’s got real tube distortion all smooth and glorious. Above that, loads of tube distortion, but very creamy! The tone is really different from doc’s Wreck or Ray, darker but very useful I think. I think I’m gonna love this amp for home, studio and live, but I’ve only got about an hour in on it so far! I gotta use a brake on it even on low power - knew I’d have to. Super touch sensitive - it’s like the tone even changes with touch, darker when you’re light on the strings, then the mids and highs kick when you dig in! Really nice. Way responsive to guitar volume changes. A great Tele amp. Great at volume on 5, too, less nazzy but smooth. With the Tele I like rotary 4, 5 and 6. Mostly dug the 4 and 5 so far. No cut knob - I want all the highs it’ll gimme. Haven’t tried any other guitars through it yet.
Happy fool over here.
Doctor: you have done it again. Just took me a few years to get there.
jj
did I mention smooth?
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Post by goodez on Apr 8, 2019 14:11:29 GMT -7
I’ve been using the brake on 1 and half power mode. The cut always stays on the high side and I switch between settings 3&4. Again, if you ever feel like you don’t have enough highs....Tumnus Deluxe 😇
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Post by Deleted on Apr 9, 2019 3:53:30 GMT -7
Nice to have you guys on board for this one.
Such a great amp!
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Post by doctorice on Apr 9, 2019 5:23:31 GMT -7
Like I said.....  |
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Post by gotmojo on Apr 9, 2019 14:13:03 GMT -7
Ho boy. I have had a Fryette Power Station now for a couple years, but only tried it once back when I first got it. Right about then, got dragged down into a weird relationship thang for a couple years, and I sort of forgot about it. Until today, when I hooked it up with the DB4!! Wow. Any volume at all. Really transparent. And there are some tone switches and knobs and you can tweak all kinds of sounds out of it. Pairs superbly with the DB4. Not particularly any better than a Z brake, but has some extra twists to it. Fun. Everything flat sounds just like the DB4, but tweak some tone stuff and it’ll nearly mimic the Ray!
This DB4 really rocks. it’s really more of a rock and roll machine than the Stang Ray, though I could use it for country or blues or whatever. Shoot, for that matter I could do the same with the Ray. The DB4 is quite versatile. And loud. I haven’t even tried full power, doubt I ever will. I never used full power on my Remedy either, nor the Matchless DC30 for that matter. In fact, all Doc’s amps are so loud for an old feller like me, I’ve always run a brake, unless they have the master volume feature (Remedy/Therapy).
its a nice amp to have for a extra voice in the studio, and I’m looking forward to gigging with it.
Life is good with good amps in it.
jj
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Post by gotmojo on Apr 13, 2019 22:14:25 GMT -7
Had a band rehearsal sans drums last night, 1st run with the DB4 (and Fryette). REALLY REALLY great tone and feel at a nice quiet level! Covered all ground from blues to jazzy blues to country to rock. Digging this amp!
jj
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Post by doctorice on Apr 14, 2019 7:45:30 GMT -7
Had a band rehearsal sans drums last night, 1st run with the DB4 (and Fryette). REALLY REALLY great tone and feel at a nice quiet level! Covered all ground from blues to jazzy blues to country to rock. Digging this amp! jj Excellent, jj. At rehearsal, what changes, if any, did you make to amp controls as you moved through different songs and styles? My bet is you got a lot done with just guitar controls and pickup switching. |
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Post by gotmojo on Apr 14, 2019 12:44:12 GMT -7
Had a band rehearsal sans drums last night, 1st run with the DB4 (and Fryette). REALLY REALLY great tone and feel at a nice quiet level! Covered all ground from blues to jazzy blues to country to rock. Digging this amp! jj Excellent, jj. At rehearsal, what changes, if any, did you make to amp controls as you moved through different songs and styles? My bet is you got a lot done with just guitar controls and pickup switching. Yeah, once I found the right volume, never touched the amp again. Was all guitar controls, and was sublime. I had already sussed out the tone I like from the DB4. Great right hand dynamics and tube tones at very low volume. Very happy in all regards, and it’ll be better yet for actual gigs ‘cause we’ll get a little more volume going, though I hope not much more volume! Would be great to play quiet enough to leave the ear protection out of the ears! jj |
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Post by gotmojo on Apr 27, 2019 21:38:59 GMT -7
So ..now I’ve had this combo DB4 for a couple weeks. One gig with it using the Power Station, and I brightened her up quite a bit with that thing (prolly too much). Superb all night. Tele and goldtop with soap bars. Just guitar controls. All great. Got questions about the amp at the end of the night, very small crowd.
Also, now in the home, I’m running through it with just a Z Brake down hard, and I’m loving this thing straight in, no pedals. It’s a very sweet, mellow mix (? is there a bit of an 6-800 Hz peak?) of frequency response. Controlled from guitar only, no pedals. Vol a bit over 6, I like #5 tone, no cut. Smooth distortion. Toney. Touch sensitive. Very smooth and tubey. Easy to get a great sound. Tele, every pickup setting, just great, guitar volume/tone in any position. This amp: keeper. Need to run the soap bars thru it some more.
jj
need a woman as well rounded and evenly tempered and forgiving and adaptable and easy to be with as this amp.
to quote dana carey quoting george bush: not gonna happen.
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Post by gotmojo on Jul 24, 2019 8:08:36 GMT -7
Ummmmm, this is an old thread and likely nobody will ever see this, but ..... kinda funny story here from 2 angles.
First, I had a little fog in thinking and put the DB4 up for sale - fortunately nobody bit. After reevaluating this DB4 (Thanks Rockerfeller!) this morning, I have pulled my offer to sell it. I had made the mistake of always playing it on max brake, which darkens up any amp. I had felt the amp was too darkly voiced, which it is not! Once I took the brake off, voila: beauteousness! My foolish mistake. The DB4 is back in good graces over here at the James house.
Secondly, and I preface this by saying that I never expected such a thing to happen and I had forgotten that I’d written the thing about ‘need a woman as well rounded and forgiving, etc’. Turns out, by pure happenstance, I have bonded with just such a woman who is forgiving and adaptable and as easy to get along with as this amp. So just goes to show a body: don’t be too quick to judge and make blanket statements. Not a single complaint from her about playing through this DB4 at volume for an hour this morning, or any time.
Go figger.
jj
ommmmmmmmm
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Post by bryan0418 on Jul 25, 2019 16:46:27 GMT -7
The DB4 is a great amp and I am always grabbing that one lately for gigs. I also use a Power Station with usually a delay in the effects loop. It is a great sound. There are many for sale I see for lower prices than I feel they are worth. Grab them now while you can.
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Post by DRZ on Jul 25, 2019 17:01:08 GMT -7
The DB4 is a great amp and I am always grabbing that one lately for gigs. I also use a Power Station with usually a delay in the effects loop. It is a great sound. There are many for sale I see for lower prices than I feel they are worth. Grab them now while you can. I can't understand why the DB 4 didn't do better, amazing sounding amp. Z |
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Post by j4gitr (John) on Jul 25, 2019 17:28:09 GMT -7
The DB4 is a great amp and I am always grabbing that one lately for gigs. I also use a Power Station with usually a delay in the effects loop. It is a great sound. There are many for sale I see for lower prices than I feel they are worth. Grab them now while you can. I can't understand why the DB 4 didn't do better, amazing sounding amp. Z I don't pretend to be any sort of expert, so take what I'm saying with a grain of salt. Consider you may be one step ahead of the general public. Maybe the idea of the preset (or lack of traditional tone stack) gave players pause. I think most guitar players when it comes to guitar and amp are pretty traditional, which makes little sense when you consider all the pedals we play with. I say this with the greatest admiration, you may have been more advanced than the average guitar player was ready to accept. But again, this is coming from a guy who only owned 3 amps in about 30 years, that is until I bought my first Z. Now I've had about 5 Z's in 15. Still I'm a lightweight compared to guys like Mike and others. The DB4 may have been just a little ahead of its time. |
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Post by purpletele on Jul 25, 2019 17:31:58 GMT -7
The DB4 is a great amp and I am always grabbing that one lately for gigs. I also use a Power Station with usually a delay in the effects loop. It is a great sound. There are many for sale I see for lower prices than I feel they are worth. Grab them now while you can. I can't understand why the DB 4 didn't do better, amazing sounding amp. Z I haven't played one, Frank (Irreversal) kept telling me that the DB4 is a monster rock amp. He was using it for Alice in Chains and heavier metal tunes. He said he really liked it for the Nickelback tunes. (We'll see if he is secretly trolling) It might be a consideration to have someone demo the new rendition in a hard rock setting? |
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Post by bryan0418 on Jul 26, 2019 13:12:51 GMT -7
It can do both rock and country, no sweat. Depends on the guitar you use. I can plug my tele in and set the rotary frequency to 4 or 5 and just go. Then I can take it to a rock gig and set the frequency dial to 3 and play a humbucker guitar. It has a great thick sound. Never harsh. It is a very simple amp. Kind of like a Ghia. You set the rotary frequency knob to the amount of fullness you want, volume to how much dirt and then finish it off with the cut control. You also have a half power switch on back to tame the volume. I can’t say enough good things about this amp. Mine is red which has been proven here’s on Z Talk to sound better than all other colors  |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 26, 2019 15:44:39 GMT -7
Well put Bryan.
Also I might add, it works well with various speakers.
Red Head here, w/Red cabs-
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Post by gotmojo on Jul 29, 2019 18:34:12 GMT -7
I can't understand why the DB 4 didn't do better, amazing sounding amp. Z Gawd Amighty, I just got off this amp and I can’t understand it either! This thing is freaking AWESOME! I was going around comparing 5 amps with my old Tele, and the DB4 was comparable with the Wreck as the greatest sounding rock amp in my arsenal. Not just rock, any kinda tune! I am gonna gig the piss outta this amp! Killer tone. Tight low end. Smoothest distortion, fully controllable with guitar volume knob. No pedals needed. Great with a brake. Stellar amp! (Tip o’ the hat to Mike - Doctorice - you was absolutely right, my man!) I was also comparing a brown tolex ‘61 Vibrolux (not even in the race), Ghia and StangRay. The Ghia and StangRay are great and I could gig with either and be extremely satisfied, but the Wreck and the DB4 have over the top, smoooooooth distortion when cranked that is simply to die for and make them the most versatile amps I own. Even with an air brake down on 4, both are stellar. (My previous confusion with the air brake dulling out high end was in bedroom mode clamped halfway down - waaaay too much braking; the brakes of the doc’s are key to my being able to play these amps at reasonable volumes with no fuzz pedals! They are superb, and I have brakes in many amps, even non Z’s.) Doc, you gotta get this amp out there again. It’s too good to become a Legacy model. I think you should call it the Hammerhead Lincoln amp. 🙂 jj |
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