Amp Comparison ~ inspired by D/FW XJ'er: Guess the amps! :)

[Draelyc]

brother chris, i always ran my maz jr's just on the edge of breaking up and i mean on the edge... one pete townshend windmill and it would be crunch...

It does sound *really* good run that way, Richard! Of course, to gig like that, I'd have to invest in some more pedals than I currently have...

brother chris, i always ran my maz jr's just on the edge of breaking up and i mean on the edge... one pete townshend windmill and it would be crunch...

SHAZAM!!!!!!

Forum legend posting

INDEED!

 

[Draelyc]

Well, I s'pose that is what it eventually comes down to...

Okay, I gotta give it to you RT folks ~ you've got some pretty perspicacious ears. Just about everybody who took a guess figured out that Amp A was the Dr. Z and B was the Speed Twin. Kudos to y'all on that.

As for which I prefer, that's actually tough (I keep going back & forth), hence this thread.

I was surprised at how close I was able to get the Speed Twin's clean channel to the Z's cleans, but I did thing the Z ultimately had a better clean tone ... More depth and richness; the ST's clean channel was a little stiff by comparison.

On the dirty side of town, I'm surprised that that the Speed Twin didn't fare better, though a couple folks did dig the LOUD ST clip.

Perhaps I'm just not used to such an uncompressed amp, but the Z, particularly when boosted, seemed to me to walk a fine line between "bright" and "raspy," *especially* at average and lower volumes. Cranking the Z seems to remove a lot of the rasp, but I guess side-by-side, the ST's overdrive sounded a bit muffled or muddy. At least, that was Mrs. Draelyc's comment.

Of course, I normally run the Speed Twin through my Greenback-loaded 2x12, and I didn't change any of its settings when I ran it into the V30 1x12 for these clips, so perhaps that may explain some of the muddiness?

At any rate, thanks very much to all the folks who took time to listen and comment ~ MUCH appreciated!

And I'd love to hear from everyone else, too, so if you get a chance, take a listen & lemme know whatchoo tink, 'k?

Thanks!

Chris

Bright and raspy are two things that I would look for in a amp like that, that to me means that they'll cut through the mix like a hot knife through butter. It's always easier to darken a tone rather than brighten it up IMO.

Well, now, that's a helluva point. This is why I wanted to get the opinions of other people's ears besides my own, y'know?

Course, if I decide to stick with the Maz, that'll raise one other question, and I dunno if I should ask it here or start a new thread.... How much would an (affordable) attenuator be able to help me out with jamming around the house. Let's say I just needed to knock the volume down a little bit ~ would that end up killing the tone?

 

[modestmelody]

I gotta tell you, I also got the A amp B amp thing right. It's pretty clear how much more open the Z is than the Speed Twin. Very impressed with the Speed Twin's clean, but I also have to say I felt both clean clips made it really hard to hear the differences. In general, I think clean sounds are easier to get great when recording and easier to lose room subtleties.

I preferred the Z on every clip except the LOUD clips. But to be totally honest, I thought both of those clips kind of sounded like arse, both were being pushed too hard to sound good to me. Especially on the "average" volume clip, there is no question I preferred the Z. I'm shocked that you feel like the Speed Twin is better or competing at this volume. That clip right there would have sealed the deal for me.

Btw, it's JBecker. I don't know if I'll be posting over here at all or just less on HC, but I wanted to throw my two-cents in as I'm clearly super interested in the results here.

 

[Draelyc]

I gotta tell you, I also got the A amp B amp thing right. It's pretty clear how much more open the Z is than the Speed Twin. Very impressed with the Speed Twin's clean, but I also have to say I felt both clean clips made it really hard to hear the differences. In general, I think clean sounds are easier to get great when recording and easier to lose room subtleties.

I preferred the Z on every clip except the LOUD clips. But to be totally honest, I thought both of those clips kind of sounded like arse, both were being pushed too hard to sound good to me. Especially on the "average" volume clip, there is no question I preferred the Z. I'm shocked that you feel like the Speed Twin is better or competing at this volume. That clip right there would have sealed the deal for me.

Btw, it's JBecker. I don't know if I'll be posting over here at all or just less on HC, but I wanted to throw my two-cents in as I'm clearly super interested in the results here.

Hey, Jason~ thanks for comin' over & checkin' out the clips!

Fwiw, after a good conversation with Mrs. Draelyc yesterday, I've given myself a six-month 'trial period" on the Z, to make *sure* I don't judge too quickly, and that I try it out as fully (and in as many different ways) as possible.

I broke down yesterday and ordered a Swart Night Light; we'll see what that does for overall volume control. If I can get to where I can play the amp BOTH quiet and loud, that may well make my decision for me.

It's funny ~ even Mrs. Draelyc, who *claims* that she is incapable of hearing tonal differences, prefered the Amp A clips over the B. That told me a lot.

Btw, I agree about the clean sounds ~ in the room, it was the Z hands down for depth & feel. I just wanted to see how close the Speed Twin's clean could get, recorded.

I do also think I'll need to find a better pedal for boosting the Z; the Banzai doesn't seem to play as nice with it as it does with my other amps. Not used to such a lack of compression, I guess!

Thanks again for listening... I did not recognize this screen name, but I *did* recognize your, uh, avatar...

 

[Madrox]

For the dirty tones I prefer B, but for cleans I'm with most others here going with A. the dirty A clips could be a little tighter, but thats just me.

 

[Draelyc]

For the dirty tones I prefer B, but for cleans I'm with most others here going with A. the dirty A clips could be a little tighter, but thats just me.

Thanks, mang ~ that was sorta my take on 'em, too, but I guess we're in the minority?

Anyway, I did one more clip of Amp "B" ~ this time through the Greenback-loaded 2x12 I normally run it through, to see if the cab/speakers make any difference in folks' preferences. Lemme know whatchy'all tink!

Amp B avg. vol. thru GREENBACKS

 

[.homewrecker.]

For the dirty tones I prefer B, but for cleans I'm with most others here going with A. the dirty A clips could be a little tighter, but thats just me.

Thanks, mang ~ that was sorta my take on 'em, too, but I guess we're in the minority?

Anyway, I did one more clip of Amp "B" ~ this time through the Greenback-loaded 2x12 I normally run it through, to see if the cab/speakers make any difference in folks' preferences. Lemme know whatchy'all tink!

Amp B avg. vol. thru GREENBACKS

That definitely sound better man. But now I wanna hear the Z through the GB

 

[Audioholic]

I liked B drive better, more meaty and thicker

 

[Draelyc]

For the dirty tones I prefer B, but for cleans I'm with most others here going with A. the dirty A clips could be a little tighter, but thats just me.

Thanks, mang ~ that was sorta my take on 'em, too, but I guess we're in the minority?

Anyway, I did one more clip of Amp "B" ~ this time through the Greenback-loaded 2x12 I normally run it through, to see if the cab/speakers make any difference in folks' preferences. Lemme know whatchy'all tink!

Amp B avg. vol. thru GREENBACKS

That definitely sound better man. But now I wanna hear the Z through the GB

Natch! (Where's the :cop: smiley?)

I liked B drive better, more meaty and thicker

Thanks, mang!

 

[modestmelody]

For the dirty tones I prefer B, but for cleans I'm with most others here going with A. the dirty A clips could be a little tighter, but thats just me.

Thanks, mang ~ that was sorta my take on 'em, too, but I guess we're in the minority?

Anyway, I did one more clip of Amp "B" ~ this time through the Greenback-loaded 2x12 I normally run it through, to see if the cab/speakers make any difference in folks' preferences. Lemme know whatchy'all tink!

Amp B avg. vol. thru GREENBACKS

That definitely sound better man. But now I wanna hear the Z through the GB

Natch! (Where's the :cop: smiley?)

I liked B drive better, more meaty and thicker

Thanks, mang!

While the Greenback clip is clearly way better to me, I still prefer the Maz.

 

[Draelyc]

Dig.

I'm hopeful that the Night Light will tame the volume thang. An' if it do, then it may just become a question of finding exactly the right od pedal to cop the high gain tones I'm kinda addicted to. . At the moment (with my current pedal collection), the Speed Twin's got a slight edge in that department with its built in boost.

But who knows what might happen if the Night Light let's me open up the Z's master a bit more...