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Post by jkramsey1991 on May 26, 2021 7:11:32 GMT -7
So havent been active on here. With the pandemic I sort of just lost the drive to play. Now with things loosening and a busy gigging schedule on the horizon starting to get the drive a bit more.
With the drive has come a want for a new amp. I am wanting a higher gain amp than what I currently use (Maz 38 mainly) thats a bit more modern. Want to take my pedal board down to reverb and delay in a loop and just a tubescreamer in front of the amp. Ideal tones are in the vein of Warren Haynes/Older Joe Bonamassa. From Adam's demo the CAZ looks like it would be great at it, that ES335 tone was great, just needed a bit of verb for perfection.
Any input guys?
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Post by Jaguarguy (Mike) on May 26, 2021 8:04:06 GMT -7
I'm thinking the CAZ45 would definitely work for what you are talking about. I know that Warren uses an SLO for his tones. Doc used my '92 SLO as a reference when developing the CAZ45. Not saying Doc wanted to duplicate it just wanted to see how it stacked up. It can definitely do anything the SLO can do plus more. As for JB tones it's hard to say. He's got between 4-6 amps on stage at any one time so not sure if you can really say which combo of amps is being used t any one time. That said, I think the CAZ can deliver the JB tones.
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Post by Russell B on May 26, 2021 8:32:46 GMT -7
The CAZ is a killer amp. You can get very close to Warren’s tone. You really get close to John Sykes White Snake tones too. It’s also great at some lower gain settings. You can get just breaking up Tom Petty to late 80’s hair band to more modern heavy rock. It kicks butt.
It’s also very smooth and has a great effects loop. The makes your effects part of the amp.
You really can’t go wrong with it!
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Post by doctorice on May 27, 2021 15:31:14 GMT -7
CAZ is a great low-gain, mid-gain and high-gain amp. It's a chameleon, but in a different way than the MAZ series. jj (gotmojo) has one for sale in BST currently.
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Post by adam on May 27, 2021 16:34:39 GMT -7
Yes! The JB reference, I feel I have no real knowledge and don't want to speak to that. The Warren reference though, I hadn't thought about that before, but I think this amp would KILL at that stuff. Honestly, I think you could sound better at his recorded tones than he himself. I just listened back to some of his stuff and I'm thinking not only would it do that, but it would do it better. One thought is what cab? I think his tone begs for a 4x12. If you really want to go "there", I think you'd be that much closer to that vibe. +1 for straight vs slant. Whatever you decide, it's a big part of the tone. The 335 - it's a stock standard 2019 with some version of the MHS pickups. I think they sound great, but also note they are pretty hot. The CAZ really works well with that guitar I think. I pulled out that combo the other day and was pretty jazzed about the sound. Your effects idea - I like it. Everybody is different, and for some, maybe a boost in front of the amp would work. For me, my inclination based on what you are saying is that if you already have engaged the loop with delay and reverb, I would be more inclined to add a pedal that just controls overall volume. One setting for not as much volume and one for more volume. Kind of 2 approaches there, one leaving the gain lower and then kicking the gain with something for more volume and more gain, but I think leave the gain on the amp pretty high, use the volume boost thing in the loop. So you have a straight up solo boost, but you also engage that boost and turn the guitar volume down and you get that bluesy low gain thing at a higher volume than normal. That would be my inclination if I was going for that in a real world live scenario, and I think you'll find it more effective than the other way. It also saves you the cable from guitar to pedal to amp. I'd also be inclined to say the boost pedal in the loop should be more of a cut pedal so that when you go to "solo" mode, you are really just using the amp straight up. Lastly, rest assured the loop as well as the master volume are fantastic. Part of that whole idea is I think the amp works great straight up and when you add a pedal in front for gain it adds another level of compression that this type of amp isn't in want or need for. You could also accomplish that same thing with say an Evantide H9. One pedal, 3 guitar chords. I love that idea, simple.
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Post by jkramsey1991 on Jun 1, 2021 6:08:19 GMT -7
Yes! The JB reference, I feel I have no real knowledge and don't want to speak to that. The Warren reference though, I hadn't thought about that before, but I think this amp would KILL at that stuff. Honestly, I think you could sound better at his recorded tones than he himself. I just listened back to some of his stuff and I'm thinking not only would it do that, but it would do it better. One thought is what cab? I think his tone begs for a 4x12. If you really want to go "there", I think you'd be that much closer to that vibe. +1 for straight vs slant. Whatever you decide, it's a big part of the tone. The 335 - it's a stock standard 2019 with some version of the MHS pickups. I think they sound great, but also note they are pretty hot. The CAZ really works well with that guitar I think. I pulled out that combo the other day and was pretty jazzed about the sound. Your effects idea - I like it. Everybody is different, and for some, maybe a boost in front of the amp would work. For me, my inclination based on what you are saying is that if you already have engaged the loop with delay and reverb, I would be more inclined to add a pedal that just controls overall volume. One setting for not as much volume and one for more volume. Kind of 2 approaches there, one leaving the gain lower and then kicking the gain with something for more volume and more gain, but I think leave the gain on the amp pretty high, use the volume boost thing in the loop. So you have a straight up solo boost, but you also engage that boost and turn the guitar volume down and you get that bluesy low gain thing at a higher volume than normal. That would be my inclination if I was going for that in a real world live scenario, and I think you'll find it more effective than the other way. It also saves you the cable from guitar to pedal to amp. I'd also be inclined to say the boost pedal in the loop should be more of a cut pedal so that when you go to "solo" mode, you are really just using the amp straight up. Lastly, rest assured the loop as well as the master volume are fantastic. Part of that whole idea is I think the amp works great straight up and when you add a pedal in front for gain it adds another level of compression that this type of amp isn't in want or need for. You could also accomplish that same thing with say an Evantide H9. One pedal, 3 guitar chords. I love that idea, simple. Thanks Adam for the tips! I am thinking of pairing my board down to my boss reverb for always on verb, a carbon copy deluxe and a spark for a solo boost in the effects loop. Then going in the front of the amp a tubescreamer just for an extra drive kick so I can set the gain a hair lower to cop some cleaner stuff if needed. The cab is something I am toying with. I want a new 2x12 I think to go with it with some cream back speakers. a 4x12 unfortunately is just too unwieldy for me to use in the venues I play.
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Post by jkramsey1991 on Jun 1, 2021 6:34:22 GMT -7
Only hold up in getting one is my local dealer says they have a long lead time currently. I could order it from Sweetwater but I hate to do that to my normal dealer who I try to always support. Now I am in a moral quandary.
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Post by Russell B on Jun 1, 2021 7:36:53 GMT -7
Only hold up in getting one is my local dealer says they have a long lead time currently. I could order it from Sweetwater but I hate to do that to my normal dealer who I try to always support. Now I am in a moral quandary. It will be worth the wait.
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Post by adam on Jun 1, 2021 16:32:06 GMT -7
Thanks Adam for the tips! I am thinking of pairing my board down to my boss reverb for always on verb, a carbon copy deluxe and a spark for a solo boost in the effects loop. Then going in the front of the amp a tubescreamer just for an extra drive kick so I can set the gain a hair lower to cop some cleaner stuff if needed. The cab is something I am toying with. I want a new 2x12 I think to go with it with some cream back speakers. a 4x12 unfortunately is just too unwieldy for me to use in the venues I play. I just like your keep it simple idea. And yes, a 4x12 really isn't very practical, but they sure can sound good. I did have a great result in a Splawn 2x12 with a v30 and Alnico cream, but I busted up that config. I just tried it with a Z 1x12 in closed back config with a v30 and thought it sounded great. Just got the Z 1x12 a week ago and couldn't be happier with it, but I hadn't tried the CAZ with it yet. I like that cab so much I just ordered a another one which is coming blank and I'm going to try the alnico cream in it first. And to be honest, I always thought 1x12 anything just sounded bad to me until I got a MAZ combo. I tried that amp with a bunch of stuff including the same G12H in that 2x12 Splawn and and the 1x12 open back just sounded considerably better to me (and wifey too). So I figured there's something going on with his cabs and why I decided to try the 1x12 convertible cab, and I couldn't be happier with that. Bonus with the CAZ, it fits the 1x12 cab to a T. The backorder thing - seems like the Z guys are pretty swamped and it just is what it is for now. Expect prices to go up too, so maybe factor that in too. We all see lumber going through the roof, and there's a significant amount of that even in a head. Z has mentioned he's getting price increases almost weekly for components. Seems there's just supply chain issues all over, like I heard Friedman mention they couldn't get glue they use for tolex and he said something like every amp product uses it so it was a big deal. I looked on SW for Celestion speakers and all the normal ones are sold out. Like what is going on? Regardless of all that, good luck with whatever you choose to do.
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