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Post by perryr on Nov 24, 2022 22:57:53 GMT -7
Happy Turkey Day! Posted this over at TGP
Bought a Z28 MKII back in August, did lotsa shows through the summer, and up until the last few weekends havent had much time to just mess around and get to know it better. Out of the box it took about 5min to find the sound and been running it right there ever since. Its an EZ amp to plug in the pedal board and dial in a rockin sound at whatever level I might need.
I had an original Z28, and wasn’t too interested in a MKII until Z announced 5881’s and the Zmaster cab. Called around and found a dealer that would hook me up when the announcement was official, and managed to land #003 built by the man himself. Im real familiar with Z’s killer EF86 front end, did about 10yrs on my Route 66. I also have a Zmaster and absolutely luv that cab (see my Zmaster review), and also get along just fine with 5881’s. I wasn’t sure what to expect from them in cathode bias, but after spending plenty of time with the badasss Jetta (7591’s in cathode bias), I wasn’t worried about the Z28 MKII lacking balls or having a loose bottom and was definitely looking forward to Z’s Master volume design for cathode bias amps (used on the CAZ as well!).
Z’s EF86 preamp is tried and tested, the 66, KT45, Z28, Delta 88 and others, they all kick arse, its a great front end. That EF86 loves to be punished, you can slam it with as much as you’ve got and it just seems to gobble it up. The way the Treble and Bass work is something you have to spend time with and get to know, it works similar to a Tweed Bandmaster, as you crank em up the gain in the respective frequency range gets boosted, very cool and you can get things really screaming if thats what your after.
The Z28 MKII has got some tweed vibe going on, the cabinet design, the tone controls… and the cathode bias 5881’s, well that goes way back too. Throw in the Triad output transformer and this recipe is starting to seem very tweedy, but that’s where it ends. the Z28 MKII is hot rodded, its a Z you know, its tight, its rich, it cuts, you can drive things hard and the amp doesn’t break a sweat. And that G12M-65 sounds GREAT in there! So ya, lotsa old school ingredients but highly tuned up for a modern delivery, thats how Z rolls.
The sound is rockin, it wants to be aggressive but there is plenty of range to dial it back into tamed cleans and a great blues sound. The EF86 loves to be slammed, hit it hard with a Klon or whatever and crank up that treble control and it flat out rocks. The master is fabulous, its simple to dial up a great sound with my pedal board drives, fuzz, reverb/delay, whatever. It doesn’t have the stiff cleans of fixed bias but for me the cathode bias cleans sound great and are more forgiving to play on, better feel and get the job done just fine for what Im after.
The Z28 MKII is another home run from Z, especially in the combo format. His EF86 front end is killer and there is plenty of range in both tones and gain to keep one busy for a good while getting to know the interaction between the controls. The Master is great, the G12M-65 is a great fit and that cab is really special. My new #1!
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Post by Faze on Nov 25, 2022 14:40:13 GMT -7
Happy Turkey Day! Posted this over at TGP Bought a Z28 MKII back in August, did lotsa shows through the summer, and up until the last few weekends havent had much time to just mess around and get to know it better. Out of the box it took about 5min to find the sound and been running it right there ever since. Its an EZ amp to plug in the pedal board and dial in a rockin sound at whatever level I might need. I had an original Z28, and wasn’t too interested in a MKII until Z announced 5881’s and the Zmaster cab. Called around and found a dealer that would hook me up when the announcement was official, and managed to land #003 built by the man himself. Im real familiar with Z’s killer EF86 front end, did about 10yrs on my Route 66. I also have a Zmaster and absolutely luv that cab (see my Zmaster review), and also get along just fine with 5881’s. I wasn’t sure what to expect from them in cathode bias, but after spending plenty of time with the badasss Jetta (7591’s in cathode bias), I wasn’t worried about the Z28 MKII lacking balls or having a loose bottom and was definitely looking forward to Z’s Master volume design for cathode bias amps (used on the CAZ as well!). Z’s EF86 preamp is tried and tested, the 66, KT45, Z28, Delta 88 and others, they all kick arse, its a great front end. That EF86 loves to be punished, you can slam it with as much as you’ve got and it just seems to gobble it up. The way the Treble and Bass work is something you have to spend time with and get to know, it works similar to a Tweed Bandmaster, as you crank em up the gain in the respective frequency range gets boosted, very cool and you can get things really screaming if thats what your after. The Z28 MKII has got some tweed vibe going on, the cabinet design, the tone controls… and the cathode bias 5881’s, well that goes way back too. Throw in the Triad output transformer and this recipe is starting to seem very tweedy, but that’s where it ends. the Z28 MKII is hot rodded, its a Z you know, its tight, its rich, it cuts, you can drive things hard and the amp doesn’t break a sweat. And that G12M-65 sounds GREAT in there! So ya, lotsa old school ingredients but highly tuned up for a modern delivery, thats how Z rolls. The sound is rockin, it wants to be aggressive but there is plenty of range to dial it back into tamed cleans and a great blues sound. The EF86 loves to be slammed, hit it hard with a Klon or whatever and crank up that treble control and it flat out rocks. The master is fabulous, its simple to dial up a great sound with my pedal board drives, fuzz, reverb/delay, whatever. It doesn’t have the stiff cleans of fixed bias but for me the cathode bias cleans sound great and are more forgiving to play on, better feel and get the job done just fine for what Im after. The Z28 MKII is another home run from Z, especially in the combo format. His EF86 front end is killer and there is plenty of range in both tones and gain to keep one busy for a good while getting to know the interaction between the controls. The Master is great, the G12M-65 is a great fit and that cab is really special. My new #1! Congats on the Z-28mk11! Awesome review Perry. I completely Agree with you. It’s my #1 amp as well.
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Post by doctorice on Nov 26, 2022 8:55:26 GMT -7
You guys (Perry, Randy, Dave, et al) are killing me. I'm really trying to downsize, including music gear. These reviews are not helping
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Post by perryr on Nov 26, 2022 14:47:48 GMT -7
You guys (Perry, Randy, Dave, et al) are killing me. I'm really trying to downsize, including music gear. These reviews are not helping Dont blame me, blame Z, he’s the one that keeps fueling this tone rocket
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Post by djcakadave on Nov 26, 2022 16:25:12 GMT -7
You guys (Perry, Randy, Dave, et al) are killing me. I'm really trying to downsize, including music gear. These reviews are not helping Well then down size enough to buy the best amp the good Doctor has made to date! You will regret it if you don't.....just saying.....
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Post by Faze on Nov 26, 2022 16:32:47 GMT -7
You guys (Perry, Randy, Dave, et al) are killing me. I'm really trying to downsize, including music gear. These reviews are not helping It's a vicious cycle brother. I had to flip some gear to get mine. I have no regrets. I will still say this is docs best amp ever.
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Post by DocMartin on Nov 26, 2022 17:14:38 GMT -7
Happy Turkey Day! Posted this over at TGP Bought a Z28 MKII back in August, did lotsa shows through the summer, and up until the last few weekends havent had much time to just mess around and get to know it better. Out of the box it took about 5min to find the sound and been running it right there ever since. Its an EZ amp to plug in the pedal board and dial in a rockin sound at whatever level I might need. I had an original Z28, and wasn’t too interested in a MKII until Z announced 5881’s and the Zmaster cab. Called around and found a dealer that would hook me up when the announcement was official, and managed to land #003 built by the man himself. Im real familiar with Z’s killer EF86 front end, did about 10yrs on my Route 66. I also have a Zmaster and absolutely luv that cab (see my Zmaster review), and also get along just fine with 5881’s. I wasn’t sure what to expect from them in cathode bias, but after spending plenty of time with the badasss Jetta (7591’s in cathode bias), I wasn’t worried about the Z28 MKII lacking balls or having a loose bottom and was definitely looking forward to Z’s Master volume design for cathode bias amps (used on the CAZ as well!). Z’s EF86 preamp is tried and tested, the 66, KT45, Z28, Delta 88 and others, they all kick arse, its a great front end. That EF86 loves to be punished, you can slam it with as much as you’ve got and it just seems to gobble it up. The way the Treble and Bass work is something you have to spend time with and get to know, it works similar to a Tweed Bandmaster, as you crank em up the gain in the respective frequency range gets boosted, very cool and you can get things really screaming if thats what your after. The Z28 MKII has got some tweed vibe going on, the cabinet design, the tone controls… and the cathode bias 5881’s, well that goes way back too. Throw in the Triad output transformer and this recipe is starting to seem very tweedy, but that’s where it ends. the Z28 MKII is hot rodded, its a Z you know, its tight, its rich, it cuts, you can drive things hard and the amp doesn’t break a sweat. And that G12M-65 sounds GREAT in there! So ya, lotsa old school ingredients but highly tuned up for a modern delivery, thats how Z rolls. The sound is rockin, it wants to be aggressive but there is plenty of range to dial it back into tamed cleans and a great blues sound. The EF86 loves to be slammed, hit it hard with a Klon or whatever and crank up that treble control and it flat out rocks. The master is fabulous, its simple to dial up a great sound with my pedal board drives, fuzz, reverb/delay, whatever. It doesn’t have the stiff cleans of fixed bias but for me the cathode bias cleans sound great and are more forgiving to play on, better feel and get the job done just fine for what Im after. The Z28 MKII is another home run from Z, especially in the combo format. His EF86 front end is killer and there is plenty of range in both tones and gain to keep one busy for a good while getting to know the interaction between the controls. The Master is great, the G12M-65 is a great fit and that cab is really special. My new #1! I couldn’t have said it better. It’s all so true.
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Post by DocMartin on Nov 26, 2022 17:18:51 GMT -7
You guys (Perry, Randy, Dave, et al) are killing me. I'm really trying to downsize, including music gear. These reviews are not helping It's a vicious cycle brother. I had to flip some gear to get mine. I have no regrets. I will still say this is docs best amp ever. I agree! It’s even kicked my z-lux out of first place. The Z-28 mkii just takes pedals so much better and makes it that much more versatile. I still use my z-lux for my straight ahead jazz lessons, and now I can keep the tone stack set specifically for that sound.
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Post by dcarver on Nov 26, 2022 17:27:49 GMT -7
You guys (Perry, Randy, Dave, et al) are killing me. I'm really trying to downsize, including music gear. These reviews are not helping Yup ... this thread is (self inflicted) torture. And I just bought a Z-Plus a while back. Wonder how long the introductory price is good for.
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Post by DocMartin on Nov 26, 2022 17:41:18 GMT -7
You guys (Perry, Randy, Dave, et al) are killing me. I'm really trying to downsize, including music gear. These reviews are not helping Yup ... this thread is (self inflicted) torture. And I just bought a Z-Plus a while back. Wonder how long the introductory price is good for. I don’t know but the introductory price is too good to be true. It’s actually unbelievably low in today’s inflated economy. Thank you Dr Z for that. Get it low while you can because this amp is worth its weight in gold.
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Post by premiumplus (Dave) on Nov 26, 2022 18:54:01 GMT -7
It is going to be a very long time before I gig with any other amp. It's that good.
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Post by bubs42 on Nov 26, 2022 19:31:35 GMT -7
Mine will never leave me, and I’m happy with my 6v6’s.
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Post by smolder on Nov 26, 2022 21:25:52 GMT -7
My zwreckjr is pissed.
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Post by djcakadave on Nov 28, 2022 14:20:36 GMT -7
All my other Z amps are just collecting dust..........
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Post by psj1026 (Pete) on Dec 10, 2022 8:05:46 GMT -7
This post is killing me. I had a Z28/Maz18 rig for years and foolishly looked for something better. There are a lot of great amps out there but nothing like a Z! Mine is on order and they said hopefully by Spring, the wait is going to be excruciating...
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sanox
New Member
Posts: 37
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Post by sanox on Dec 27, 2022 8:54:53 GMT -7
Really nice review perryr. You come at it with some depth and experience. My Z28 is in the mail and looking forward to the tonal discoveries. One of my fav amps was the Route 66 but I just couldn’t fit it in anywhere due to volume constraints. This new Z28 seems to have solved that issue. Your review was the final nudge I needed to lay the money down. Have a musical 2023.
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Post by helmi on Dec 27, 2022 14:48:49 GMT -7
Really nice review perryr. You come at it with some depth and experience. My Z28 is in the mail and looking forward to the tonal discoveries. One of my fav amps was the Route 66 but I just couldn’t fit it in anywhere due to volume constraints. This new Z28 seems to have solved that issue. Your review was the final nudge I needed to lay the money down. Have a musical 2023. Welcome to the forum.
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Post by perryr on Dec 28, 2022 0:38:56 GMT -7
Really nice review perryr. You come at it with some depth and experience. My Z28 is in the mail and looking forward to the tonal discoveries. One of my fav amps was the Route 66 but I just couldn’t fit it in anywhere due to volume constraints. This new Z28 seems to have solved that issue. Your review was the final nudge I needed to lay the money down. Have a musical 2023. Right on, congrats, your in for a treat!
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Post by psj1026 (Pete) on Dec 30, 2022 7:28:08 GMT -7
Your review is dead on! I just got mine and it is everything I hoped for so for and I have yet to use my pedal board.
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