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Post by benttop (Steve) on Apr 10, 2020 15:26:59 GMT -7
I have a lot of amps here - mostly Z amps, but a couple other brands too. I like them all. But this Nova - hoo boy! It just sounds fabulous. I have this CIJ Tele with Lollar pickups in it that just rips through my Nova. The clean channel is amazing! And because of how it's designed, you ADD the dirty channel to the clean channel by pushing the foot switch. With a little patience you can set up the most awe-inspiring tones. And the master works perfectly to keep the levels right where you want them. I've been toying with my HX Effects through the Nova's loop and it's like it is part of the amp.
I have bought and sold a lot of Z amps, and liked every one of them. A few I pine for - want them back. I'm not going to make that mistake with the Nova. It is here for the duration!
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Post by Ridgeback on Apr 11, 2020 8:07:49 GMT -7
Hi Steve. Given your long and varied experience with Z amps, that's quite an endorsement. This particular model wouldn't be my cup of tea but I'm glad you like it so much. Stay safe.
PS: If you got your Ditto, how are you liking it?
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Post by benttop (Steve) on Apr 11, 2020 12:05:06 GMT -7
PS: If you got your Ditto, how are you liking it? Ditto works fine. My mind - that's another matter. Nobody warned me that I'd likely have to chart out what I'm trying to do or risk making a mess.
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Post by LT on Apr 13, 2020 11:02:50 GMT -7
I agree Steve. Once we get back to gigging, it's going to be my #1, bumping the excellent Cure.
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Post by j4gitr (John) on Apr 13, 2020 16:39:08 GMT -7
Steve how do you compare the Nova to the Therapy? If I’m remembering the Therapy was a darling of yours for a long time. It seems to me the two have a similar DNA. But I may be way off base here.
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Post by benttop (Steve) on Apr 13, 2020 18:29:20 GMT -7
Steve how do you compare the Nova to the Therapy? If I’m remembering the Therapy was a darling of yours for a long time. It seems to me the two have a similar DNA. But I may be way off base here. Both great amps! My Therapy was a head, and I really wanted to move to combos. I'm not lugging my gear around much any more, and the combo fits my style here at home. That said, they do not sound quite the same, although they both sound gorgeous. But my Therapy did not have a loop, which I really like in the Nova. And it is a head, so there's that. It's sort of like comparing chocolate and vanilla ice cream. You like both. Today you chose vanilla.
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Post by drew on Apr 18, 2020 14:41:54 GMT -7
Nice Steve. I've always enjoyed the Galaxie and knowing that you're impressed with the Nova, that says a lot. thx. I'd had an M9 on my board for a few years. I replaced it with an HX Effects and was impressed with the difference in the unit. I can even use some of the dirt pedals Teemah!
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Post by benttop (Steve) on Apr 25, 2020 7:00:23 GMT -7
Nice Steve. I've always enjoyed the Galaxie and knowing that you're impressed with the Nova, that says a lot. thx. I'd had an M9 on my board for a few years. I replaced it with an HX Effects and was impressed with the difference in the unit. I can even use some of the dirt pedals Teemah! Yeah, I have an HX Effects too. It's interesting running it through the loop and turning on a dirt box. Works pretty well actually. But I'm thinking of putting it entirely in front, because I have other amps here, and going from one to another you get weird level shifts between them. You end up having to tailor a set of presets specifically for each amp. Too hard to keep track of. I don't know why I didn't remember this from the last time I tried using multiple amps with loops on all of them. It gets a bit crazy.
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Post by premiumplus (Dave) on May 1, 2020 6:37:19 GMT -7
Nice Steve. I've always enjoyed the Galaxie and knowing that you're impressed with the Nova, that says a lot. thx. I'd had an M9 on my board for a few years. I replaced it with an HX Effects and was impressed with the difference in the unit. I can even use some of the dirt pedals Teemah! Yeah, I have an HX Effects too. It's interesting running it through the loop and turning on a dirt box. Works pretty well actually. But I'm thinking of putting it entirely in front, because I have other amps here, and going from one to another you get weird level shifts between them. You end up having to tailor a set of presets specifically for each amp. Too hard to keep track of. I don't know why I didn't remember this from the last time I tried using multiple amps with loops on all of them. It gets a bit crazy. Steve, I ended up putting my HX Effects in front of the amps, and to cure any differences caused by amps of different gain I put a TC Spark Plug between it and the amps. That way I can control how hard the amp gets hit with the turn of a knob, without having to change any presets. It's just another way to skin the cat.
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Post by benttop (Steve) on May 3, 2020 9:19:51 GMT -7
Steve, I ended up putting my HX Effects in front of the amps, and to cure any differences caused by amps of different gain I put a TC Spark Plug between it and the amps. That way I can control how hard the amp gets hit with the turn of a knob, without having to change any presets. It's just another way to skin the cat. Yep, that sounds about right. Of course the other way to do it is stop playing so dadgum many amplifiers and practice instead.
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Post by Don A on Aug 31, 2020 17:35:00 GMT -7
The Nova is an inspiring amp to play. It "pulls" tunes out of me and has a "plays itself" kind of feel without being really high gain. I'm a fan of blues like Freddie King, '60s British blues- John Mayall with Clapton and Green, Fleetwood Mac, Free, American blues/rock- ZZ Top, Hendrix... and this amp is great for all that.
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Post by pcns on Sept 1, 2020 5:16:03 GMT -7
My NOVA was my number one before the Pandemic hit. I went and did a jam session at a buddy of mines studio and decided to leave my NOVA and ZLux there because we were getting back together in a few days and then we got locked down here in Michigan! On the plus side, my buddy has enjoyed them so its all good
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Post by doctorice on Sept 2, 2020 5:14:22 GMT -7
The Nova is an inspiring amp to play. It "pulls" tunes out of me and has a "plays itself" kind of feel without being really high gain. I'm a fan of blues like Freddie King, '60s British blues- John Mayall with Clapton and Green, Fleetwood Mac, Free, American blues/rock- ZZ Top, Hendrix... and this amp is great for all that. I really hear the "tweed" that Doc was aiming for in the Nova. It is blues-rock heaven. (We apparently have very similar tastes in music.)
What settings do you like to use and what guitar(s)? I tend to leave the OD always on and then work the guitar controls.
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Post by Don A on Sept 2, 2020 15:59:02 GMT -7
The Nova is an inspiring amp to play. It "pulls" tunes out of me and has a "plays itself" kind of feel without being really high gain. I'm a fan of blues like Freddie King, '60s British blues- John Mayall with Clapton and Green, Fleetwood Mac, Free, American blues/rock- ZZ Top, Hendrix... and this amp is great for all that. I really hear the "tweed" that Doc was aiming for in the Nova. It is blues-rock heaven. (We apparently have very similar tastes in music.)
What settings do you like to use and what guitar(s)? I tend to leave the OD always on and then work the guitar controls.
I don't know at this point. I really won't know for sure until I play it with a band (in a week and a half, maybe). I'd like to get two sounds out of the amp and two more gain levels levels of those sounds from my guitar's volume control. I've done this with my Cure and it works well as long as the guitar has enough oomph to push the sound over the edge (P90s). This amp should do this even better.
I'd love to show up w/o my Fuzz Face- just the Nova and a wah. This amp has a nice low-gain Fuzz Face kind of vibe.
I used just a tweed Deluxe clone, a Fulltone '69 Pedal and my guitar's volume control for years!
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Post by modernfiction on Sept 11, 2020 20:09:37 GMT -7
I've been curious to hear how the NOVA compares to the Galaxie? The Galaxie was my first Z amp in a combo that I sold, but recently obtained a head and it's as amazing as I remember... That's why I went back lol.
But the NOVA seems to take that awesomeness and upgrade it to satisfy the little things the Galaxie gives you trouble with, like the tone change between the 2 channels, no master volume, no effects loop.
Overall would you say the NOVA and the Galaxie have the same sound but the NOVA just gives you more options to work with?
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Post by doctorice on Sept 12, 2020 6:40:07 GMT -7
I've been curious to hear how the NOVA compares to the Galaxie? The Galaxie was my first Z amp in a combo that I sold, but recently obtained a head and it's as amazing as I remember... That's why I went back lol. But the NOVA seems to take that awesomeness and upgrade it to satisfy the little things the Galaxie gives you trouble with, like the tone change between the 2 channels, no master volume, no effects loop. Overall would you say the NOVA and the Galaxie have the same sound but the NOVA just gives you more options to work with? I still have a Galaxie head -- the non-MV version with presence control -- and it and the NOVA are really close. I prefer to use the NOVA for the reasons you cited. But the Galaxie still is an outstanding amp.
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