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Post by jakeddy on Aug 6, 2006 11:40:28 GMT -7
I've been using an AC30 for quite a while but I pulled the Maz Jr out and put together some pedals and man! this things sounds so good. I'm using a Keeley comp as a clea boost, a Tim for single coils and a Zendrive for the humbucker (I play a Tyler SE), my trusty TC SCF and Echo Park. The AC30 is going to collect a little dust for a while. This is a perfect church amp, by that I mean I can get my tone without being too loud.
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Post by quinto on Aug 6, 2006 12:54:44 GMT -7
I agree. Just got back from church with mine. Been using it there for 3+ years with great results!
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Post by jakeddy on Aug 6, 2006 13:46:26 GMT -7
Cool, what effects are you using? I see your using a Clapton with Fralins, I used one for years before going to the SE. My Tyler even looks like my old "blackie".
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Post by quinto on Aug 6, 2006 19:09:40 GMT -7
I am using a Keeley Blues Driver, Barber Direct Drive,MI Audio Crunch Box, Homebrew Uno Mos, and a Boss DD3. I don't use the Clapton Strat as much as I used to 'cause my other Strat has SCN's and an S1 switch. Fralins sound better, but the SCN's are quiet, especially when I'm using the Crunch Box. If the songs aren't too heavy and I don't need too much fuzz then I will bring the Clapton.
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Post by real oldster on Aug 6, 2006 23:49:19 GMT -7
A Clapton Strat with Fralins sounds like a great guitar. Which Fralins do you use and how do they interact with the guitar's built-in boost?
Thx
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Post by quinto on Aug 7, 2006 5:49:02 GMT -7
I have the Blues Specials w/baseplate on the bridge pickup. When I put these in I replaced the factory wiring so no more mid boost. But, I do have a blender pot that I'd swear I use more than that mid boost.
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Post by jakeddy on Aug 8, 2006 4:29:12 GMT -7
Here's a pic of my effects.
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Post by hollowman on Aug 18, 2006 21:56:34 GMT -7
You have some great pedals Jakeddy! You know, a weird thing has been happening with my Maz Jr NR. It seems the more hours I spend with her the fewer pedals I am using. In fact I really only use my Keeley BD and occasionally Holy Grail at all any more. The tone and volumes I get without pedals is perfect for my style and small halls. I'm thinking about boxing up a load of pedals and hiting ebay!!
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Post by jakeddy on Aug 31, 2006 19:30:08 GMT -7
Late to the show here. I was doing some experimenting when I took that pic. The comp for cleans and the Tim and some delay get everything covered. I like the Maz's reverb.
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messenger
Full Member
life is good!
Posts: 194
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Post by messenger on Sept 1, 2006 8:55:21 GMT -7
took mine to church & it hasn't come home.will be a long 8 wks till sr arrives.oh well nothing but the best for JESUS! messenger
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Post by nitehawk55 on Sept 1, 2006 9:55:20 GMT -7
took mine to church & it hasn't come home.will be a long 8 wks till sr arrives.oh well nothing but the best for JESUS! messenger You'll have them running out of the church if you crank that Sr too much !! ;D
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messenger
Full Member
life is good!
Posts: 194
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Post by messenger on Sept 1, 2006 10:12:06 GMT -7
i agree the sr will stay home unless i decide to go with a two amp setup.the sr is probably just going to be a backup/outdoor amp.i barely have the jr on as it is.its still sounds great tho. .........don't you just get kind of giddy when you play thru one of these amps?
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Post by BW on Sept 1, 2006 10:27:08 GMT -7
I play in a contemporary worship service at our church almost every Sunday that I'm off the road. The sound system is such that you can just barely get away with using ANY amp, much less a MAZ. I mean they have individul satellite speakers mounted everywhere, and that new Bose 'cylinder' looking setup on top o' that. I was thinking about maybe --gulp-- goin' DIRECT w/ some kinda 'help me' box and having it in the monitor (along w/ the digital drumkit that I have a hard time hearing and more importantly, feeling.) The worship leader always calls me and says, Bud we have a real ROCKER this Sunday...I'm gonna try Mini-Z next time I hear that, but I'll betcha its still too loud fer 'em. The hall we're in is REALLY live.
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messenger
Full Member
life is good!
Posts: 194
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Post by messenger on Sept 1, 2006 11:37:57 GMT -7
i hear ya! the beam blockers are helping me to stay out of trouble..... for the most part. they may be the best invention since the napkin.
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Post by tele1962 on Sept 1, 2006 16:23:32 GMT -7
I'm involved in church sound system setups, and yes, there is a real push to "zero stage volume levels". Hence the use of pods, endless DI's, Earbuds, etc. All good, all clean, all very antiseptic and righteous ( lol). The eventual victim here will be tone. With the new crop of sound engineers and young musicians, there is less and less stage "feel". Less and less listening to each other and communication on stage. It's based on minimum stage volume and total control of a guy who has almost no everyday concept of tone. Go back next Sunday, and demand your tone back. It's your right to sound great, NOT to have to play through a pod. Churches should not be promoting sound from hell. It's not theologically congruent with the message.
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Post by nitehawk55 on Sept 1, 2006 18:27:52 GMT -7
Ya know , it is very possible the good lord likes it loud ! In fact it's possible that the loudest church gets the lords full attention on Sunday if he's really diggin the tunes . Try to convince the members of that and crank it up !! ;D
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Post by tele1962 on Sept 2, 2006 18:36:14 GMT -7
Here's what's even crazier, Nighthawk. The new Mega churches have a higher db level in the house mix WITH pods and earbuds and zero stage sound levels than many who have simple setups.! Oh no...they don't cut back there! What's happened is the lack of great amps on stage means there are none there. Neither is any tone.
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karlo
Junior Member
eleven. exactly. one louder.
Posts: 60
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Post by karlo on Sept 4, 2006 12:15:37 GMT -7
This really gets into a discussion about different roles too, don't you think? We run into similar difficulties when we have techs on the board who aren't necessarily musicians, but tech guys. My outlook on it is that the sound team is ultimately there to support the performers. I love our sound guys, and I don't want this to sound flaming toward the guy on the sound board at all, but the performance needs to come first. Usually the requests on the other side of the board boil down to ease, and it seems to me that more often than not when tech ease takes precedence, the performance suffers. This is one of the reasons I always request the sound person on for that week to attend all of our rehearsals, as a member of the team, so we know how to work together.
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Post by tele1962 on Sept 4, 2006 14:33:03 GMT -7
That's a very good line of reasoning. A sound engineer is my best friend when he or she is part of the performance in a very integrated way. That means attended rehearsals, making sure everyone's understands what's going on, and asking the people onstage where they are comfortable. Worship teams are not there to glorify themselves. Guitarists are not there to play screaming loud solos and drown out everyone else. It's about the worship.
But modeling amps, DI's and PODS are stealing tone for the sake of expediency. I think that's what your'e saying too, Karlo. Ease is replacing tone and feel, and for some sad reason, churches are leading this movement.
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Post by deltone on Sept 4, 2006 19:13:57 GMT -7
I used a Roland VG-8 digital unit for the past 6-7 years at church...until recently. Went to using that back then for the sake of simplicity. We had to set up and tear down twice a week (once for rehearsal and then again for the service) in order to make way for "big church." I could get everything I needed with that one box, then pick it up and carry it out under my arm. Quite a break from loading and unloading an amp/cab/pedal board, etc. each time. It was also very quick and convenient when I began playing at two different churches with only 15 min. from the end of one to the start of the other. But, I recently let go of one of the services (naturally it was the paying one) and decided at that point that I was going back to using a real rig at the remaining one (the equipment stays in place there). That's where the Z came in!!!
I'm currently using the maz 18 NR head with a Zbest cab for my clean and overdriven tones, combined with a Marshall Studio 15 (6V6s) for crunch (running both heads through the zbest via a tonebone head switcher). The rest of the band is absolutely floored by the new sound! However, it's really taking me some getting used to, and almost like starting all over again. Big problem I'm having is with feel and dynamics. What I didn't realize is how much feel was taken away by using the digital box. With the digital box, it apparently didn't matter how hard or soft I played, it pretty much came out the same (volume and tonewise). Boy, do I feel lost. It's been depressing in a way.
As for the dB issue at church, I'm fortunate that I play at a church that cranks it up. In fact, we just ordered some bigger amps for the mains and are shopping for some new tops. Not so much for getting louder (I'm pretty sure we're as loud as we need to be), but to acheive a cleaner and crisper sound. We're still using floor wedges, a full drum kit, our keyboard player has a B-3 and leslie cab as part of his rig, and everything is mic'd up. And it still really is all about the worship! It's a different church from anything I've ever been in or been a part of. In fact, in two weeks our pastor is starting a series on Finding Faith in Rock and Roll. Each week focuses on a different rock song before the message which relates to the song. So, looks like we'll be doing Satisfaction (Stones), Losing My Religion (REM), Where the Streets Have No Name (U2), Help (Beatles), and I Wanna Know What Love Is (Foreigner). Sorry for the long post and ramblin'. But I get kinda excited about it.
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Post by tele1962 on Sept 5, 2006 15:47:55 GMT -7
Never apologize for getting excited about getting your tone back! I know it's scary and everything being out on a limb with your sound, but that feel will come back in such a new and wonderful way! The thing is you'll get very cynical about the digital stuff in a hurry. Maybe that's not so good, but very natural!
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Post by deltone on Sept 5, 2006 20:37:18 GMT -7
Thanks, tele1962, for the encouragement. You described it well when you said it's scary being out on a limb with your sound. I've been so used to a certain sound for so long and what I'm hearing now is so different (much better but way different). I don't feel like I'm real close yet to what I want to acheive tonewise. But, I do feel I've got a great start. Big problem is that I haven't yet figured out what to use to get certain tones that I want to hear. With the digital box it was easy; I could just flip through the presets until I found something similar to what I was after. Trying to get there with the real stuff has proven thus far to be somewhat of a challenge.
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Post by tele1962 on Sept 5, 2006 21:57:54 GMT -7
Will you forgive me if I say this: ?
We worry too much about " this sound or that sound..." how to emulate this or that..." which effect or array of sounds will fit which song?"
Two things I see with you. Fabulous equipment, with the Z leading the way. The other thing is a desire to sound good. To have good tone. Keep it there. The Apostle Paul said he did his best to " be all things to all men that I might win some..."
You don't have to be all things. Neither do I. Find a deadly tone out of that Z...plug that Anderson in, and change pickups and "feeling" just enough not to be boring. Know what will happen? You'll develope a signature sound, and it will be GOOD! The next guy can sound like a thousand solid state amps. Let him. You got Tom and Z, and that's all things to many!
God Bless.
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Post by kledbet on Sept 6, 2006 9:45:56 GMT -7
Pretty good advice tele62. I think we all start out wanting to sound like someone famous... but the bottom line is that when we play from the heart (with good Z gear of course ;-) ) then we become who we are as musicians, with out own sound. Thats when it gets cool.
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messenger
Full Member
life is good!
Posts: 194
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Post by messenger on Sept 6, 2006 10:27:08 GMT -7
these amps get wonderful tone without any pedals.before i found these amps i had a rather large board set up.....volumepedal,chorus,delay,dirt box,wah,compressor & of course a noise suppressor because all this stuff gets noisy.then i realized the z didn't sound as good with all this stuff in the signal chain as it did all by itself.i have sold a lot of those pedals.the only pedal i use on occasion is the xotic bb preamp.sort of come full circle after all these yrs.getting back to working with vol.,tone,pickup selector,& technique i suppose & it feels good.
aaah....... the simple things in life are the best aren't they?
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Post by billyguitar on Sept 6, 2006 10:42:33 GMT -7
In my experience I've never been able to compete technique-wise with a lot of guys but my STYLE has won auditions and good gigs. Be all that you can be Z Brothers. Make your tone fit the musical situation you're in. Other musicians will respond positively. You don't have to sound just like so and so, just sound like you.
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Post by kledbet on Sept 6, 2006 12:54:01 GMT -7
Messenger... dittos on the not using many pedals. I have a huge pedal board and now I'm wondering what to do with it? It seems almost everytime I use a pedal my tone goes down. I guess I can still find use maybe for a booster or an occasional chorus.... well a wah is useful. But as for the rest.... why?
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Post by tele1962 on Sept 6, 2006 21:22:58 GMT -7
Well, the thing is , that even with the very finest expensive pedals ( Voodoo Labs, etc), and great connectors and cabling, these things invariable end up never being as transparent as advertised. And a whole ton of them together is one huge tone thief.
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Post by kledbet on Sept 6, 2006 22:32:41 GMT -7
Just to clarify, although I have a ton of pedals, I don't hook them all up at the same time. I have in the past had about 6 pedals on my board. A Teese or Fulltone Wah, a Keeley compressor, Analogman king of tone, Keeley BD-2, Cot 50, and Keeley DD3 delay. I still like the delay but as for the overdrive pedals I think I am heading to the land of doing it with the volume control of the guitar and pickup changes.... just seems to sound better. The maz 18 at least with a strat is not a huge breakup amp. It might need a little help from some pedals, but overall I do as much a possible with the amp itself.
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Post by deltone on Sept 8, 2006 15:31:52 GMT -7
tele1962--thanks for the advice. After reading your advice along with the others that followed(messenger, kledbet, billyguitar), I came to realize that what you guys are saying really makes a lot of sense. I do have a rather large pedal board, and a new Z. Now I realize that what I really need to do is spend a great deal of time getting to know my amp first (find my tone with the amp) and then go from there if I need any addition effects. Simple enough--boy do I feel dumb. Thanks again for the help. I really appreciate you guys!
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