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Post by gdhi11 on Nov 11, 2020 8:07:46 GMT -7
I'm looking to pickup my first Dr. Z. I'm looking at the Wreck Junior--is it super AC30 like, or is it possible to get more marshall esque sounds out of it? I don't hate Vox circuits, but it's definitely not my preference.
How does it sound with a strat, glassy? mid-range emphasis? (clips would be awesome). How does it sound with old PAFs.
I use a pedalboard most of the time which has a KOT/Sunface for dirt.
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Post by redtele on Nov 11, 2020 14:14:10 GMT -7
Hi, i have both a AC30 and ZWreck Jr, so hopefully can offer up some personal experience.
My Vox has the blue celestion speakers, which play a big part of that Vox sound, so if you're comparing an AC30 with a Z-Wrek then just the difference the Greenback speaker makes will be enough to set it apart. I have played my Zwreck through the 2 blues in the vox, and it actually looses a bit of top end and focuses the mids, which at first sounds great and very rock n roll, but then you do start missing the articulation that the greenback brings to the table.
The main difference I hear between the 2 amps is in the low mids, which from my amateur estimation, are lower in the Zwreck, filling out the bottom and giving it that Marshall flavour with its bigger low end roar. The highs are clearer and more defined in the Zwreck at lower volumes than the Vox, which may be the result of the mids being shifted down allowing the highs to feature more, so it can actually sound more present and articulate than an AC30, but that's mainly at low volume. Turn this thing up and if you couldn't see the amp, you'd almost swear it was a Marshall 1974X or something similar, as the Vox accent gives way to a Marshall twang, and it's no longer a long way to the top of you wanna rock n roll!
I haven't played my Strat through it much, but as my telecaster sounds fabulous, I imagine it's going to be awesome as well. There is that Vox midrange to help give single coils some body and presence, and enough bass to prevent them sounding thin, so I cannot see you being disappointed. I have a Les Paul with some PAF type pickups, and even these push the amp into distortion at low levels of gain, so don't expect much clean headroom.
I use a KOT to boost when I need to keep the amp running fairly clean, but need to switch to a higher gain sound for a lead guitar break quickly in a song, which can be done by some guitar volume knob adjusting but it's easier for me to stomp on a pedal that's set up with exactly the right amount of gain I want. The KOT works very well with this amp, having tried an EQD Speaker Cranker, Boss SD1-W, WF Rat, D*A*M treble booster and Fairfield Barbershop,so it's seen off some tough competition.
The Zwreck sounds more like a mini Marshall when wound open than my old Vox AC15 did at full-tilt, which was more strident in its breakup characteristics, where the Zwreck breaks-up effortlessly and covers the low end Marshall and Vox mids in just the right amounts to work in every situation at every level.
I've never personally owned a Marshall, and only ever played them as supplied backline in studios, but my Zwreck ticks enough of that roaring Marshall box that it has replaced my Vox at home and rehearsal and stopped me from wanting to add a Marshall to my amp collection.
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Post by Jaguarguy (Mike) on Nov 11, 2020 14:39:06 GMT -7
Welcome to the Forum - a lot of good information and people here. If you are looking for a Marshall-type sound, I would suggest looking at the EMS, the Antidote (one of my favorites), SRZ 65, Maz 18 or 38. I sent you my listing of Dr. Z amps, with clips where I had them, by email. Hopefully it will help you! I'm sure others will chime in.
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Post by gdhi11 on Nov 18, 2020 9:15:07 GMT -7
Well, currently I'm a Mesa Boogie Mark V 25 owner. I really like that amp, but it's aggressively modern sounding. I'm looking at the triple crown as well from them, but I'm thinking that I may still get a Zwreck JR on down the line or first depending.
I'm sitting on about $2500 worth of Kemper hardware right now that's gotta go out the door before anything can happen, but so far the Dr. Z and an attenuator di out might be the first order of business. A friend told me he had a Dr. Z that HATED a palmer DI, I don't know if that's a normal phenomenon or if it's just because of his situation. Anyone using the Zwreck jr (or any dr. z really) with a Captor X?
The Maz 18 and 38 have come up in conversation with people as well. I have played an 18 NR before, and I thought it was decent, but I didn't have a pedalboard worth the salt to be able to do most of what I do with an amp. That's changed, obviously.
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Post by gdhi11 on Nov 18, 2020 9:16:51 GMT -7
And yes, I realize I'm not a 100% vintage tube purist, but as I've gotten older I've realized I appreciate a lot of different ways of doing things.
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Post by Jaguarguy (Mike) on Nov 18, 2020 9:35:01 GMT -7
The Maz 18 and 38 have come up in conversation with people as well. I have played an 18 NR before, and I thought it was decent, but I didn't have a pedalboard worth the salt to be able to do most of what I do with an amp. That's changed, obviously. I might suggest that a Maz 38 with a half-power switch will give you the best of both!
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benny
New Member
Posts: 25
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Post by benny on Nov 20, 2020 17:21:28 GMT -7
Well, currently I'm a Mesa Boogie Mark V 25 owner. I really like that amp, but it's aggressively modern sounding. I'm looking at the triple crown as well from them, but I'm thinking that I may still get a Zwreck JR on down the line or first depending. I'm sitting on about $2500 worth of Kemper hardware right now that's gotta go out the door before anything can happen, but so far the Dr. Z and an attenuator di out might be the first order of business. A friend told me he had a Dr. Z that HATED a palmer DI, I don't know if that's a normal phenomenon or if it's just because of his situation. Anyone using the Zwreck jr (or any dr. z really) with a Captor X? The Maz 18 and 38 have come up in conversation with people as well. I have played an 18 NR before, and I thought it was decent, but I didn't have a pedalboard worth the salt to be able to do most of what I do with an amp. That's changed, obviously. Wow, sounds like we share similar gear. I used a Mesa Mark V 25 watt for a 3-4 years then bought a kemper a couple of years ago. I found the same with the Mesa sounding “aggressively modern”. That’s a really good way to put it, and I’ll be using that from now on to describe it haha. I liked the triple crown too, but I found that the “clean” cleans were not to my taste, but the edge of break up to mid gain sounded great. Once it got into higher gain it sounded great, but not the sound I’m after. Almost artificially good. No character maybe? Anyway I purchased a z wreck jr a few months ago (still haven’t got it, long story but it got lost in shipping) the new one should be here Monday. I was once a pedal head if you will, and I am planning on trying all sorts of pedals with the zwreck jr just to see what it does. I don’t really plan on using many pedals live once I start playing again though. I’ll post my findings
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Post by gdhi11 on Nov 22, 2020 17:06:10 GMT -7
Keep me posted on your experiences. I don't find the Triple Crown lacking character, I just think that it's $400 more for a channel I won't get a tone of mileage out of. If I get a Z Wreck junior, I will likely buy a triple crown at some point in the future.
I'm also thinking about the Maz 18 right now and the Antidote. The Route 66 was the design I liked the most, but I guess Dr. Z doesn't do those anymore. I could always get a used one.
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Post by sharkboy on Nov 22, 2020 19:48:23 GMT -7
You can pick up a used Route66, and turned up, it has a bit more of a Highwatt at full throttle vibe. It’s a bit darker than the Zwreck.
The ZWreck is still my favorite amp. If you turn the cut down, it’s close to an AC30. When cranked, you can hear every note. Mine seems to love single coils a little more than humbuckers. It’s not far from a lively Marshall, but the EMS would get you closer.
I get a feeling that there are a number of Zs you would connect with on your way to your ultimate sound.
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Post by gdhi11 on Nov 22, 2020 20:24:49 GMT -7
You can pick up a used Route66, and turned up, it has a bit more of a Highwatt at full throttle vibe. It’s a bit darker than the Zwreck. The ZWreck is still my favorite amp. If you turn the cut down, it’s close to an AC30. When cranked, you can hear every note. Mine seems to love single coils a little more than humbuckers. It’s not far from a lively Marshall, but the EMS would get you closer. I get a feeling that there are a number of Zs you would connect with on your way to your ultimate sound. I definitely would. I've played the Maz 18, and the Nova as well as a mostly-clean amp several years back. I actually liked the Nova a quite a bit but I would definitely have had to drive it with pedals. The Maz was OK it faired similar to the Mesa Express (used) that was sitting next to it at GC but I didn't get to wind it up and really give it the gas. My impression was that it would be just south of JCM-800 levels of gain which isn't necessarily a bad thing. The EMS, I thought was only available from Sweetwater as a head/cabinet combo. Dr. Z's people have told me I can get it without the cabinet, either from another dealer or direct. I think there's a very good chance that may be what I do if I decide I can live with a 50 watt head. I tend to play more jammy instrumental hard-rock music in my own project, but I also play in a wierd bluegrassy/folky/california jam thing as well, so something that can get to mild fender drive territory and be touch sensitive is super useful for that second thing. If anyone's interested they can look up my demo/ep on itunes/spotify, it's called "Ramblings of a Madman" Might help you understand kind of where I come from.
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