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Topic: Doctor Z has finally done it! Surgical Steel |
John Billings
From:
Ohio, USA
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Posted 12 Jan 2016 11:55 am |
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Steel guitar amp. Wonderful sounds!
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Dr. Z Surgical Steel amp, amazing!
"74 Bud S-10 3&6
'73 Bud S-10 3&5(under construction)
'63 Fingertip S-10, at James awaiting 6 knees
'57 Strat, LP Blue
'91 Tele with 60's Maple neck
Dozen more guitars!
Dozens of amps, but SF Quad reverb, Rick Johnson cabs. JBL 15, '64 Vibroverb for at home.
'52 and '56 Pro Amps
Last edited by John Billings on 18 Jan 2016 11:07 am; edited 2 times in total |
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John Billings
From:
Ohio, USA
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Posted 12 Jan 2016 12:04 pm
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"It is beautifully voiced for steel. Just off the phone with Doc. There is no Reverb, nor mid control(doesn't need it because of his design and the tube characteristics)
Dr. Z Amps is releasing an amp for the growing pedal steel guitar market.
It is not just an update or copy of an older American vintage amp but an original KT 88-based ultra linear amp head.
It utilizes an EF-86 front-end that allows for sensitive high input signals and remains symmetric and articulate.
It is coupled with an Eminence EPS-15C which is a 15" special design pedal steel speaker.
Available early 2016
$TBD "
_________________
Dr. Z Surgical Steel amp, amazing!
"74 Bud S-10 3&6
'73 Bud S-10 3&5(under construction)
'63 Fingertip S-10, at James awaiting 6 knees
'57 Strat, LP Blue
'91 Tele with 60's Maple neck
Dozen more guitars!
Dozens of amps, but SF Quad reverb, Rick Johnson cabs. JBL 15, '64 Vibroverb for at home.
'52 and '56 Pro Amps |
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John Billings
From:
Ohio, USA
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Posted 12 Jan 2016 12:05 pm
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"Appox 90 watts
Pair of Ultra linear KT 88's
EF 86 preamp
Custom Eminence 15 " Pedal Steel Speaker"
_________________
Dr. Z Surgical Steel amp, amazing!
"74 Bud S-10 3&6
'73 Bud S-10 3&5(under construction)
'63 Fingertip S-10, at James awaiting 6 knees
'57 Strat, LP Blue
'91 Tele with 60's Maple neck
Dozen more guitars!
Dozens of amps, but SF Quad reverb, Rick Johnson cabs. JBL 15, '64 Vibroverb for at home.
'52 and '56 Pro Amps |
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John Billings
From:
Ohio, USA
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Posted 12 Jan 2016 12:06 pm
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It's amazing. If you go to NAMM it's being featured at the Emminence display.
_________________
Dr. Z Surgical Steel amp, amazing!
"74 Bud S-10 3&6
'73 Bud S-10 3&5(under construction)
'63 Fingertip S-10, at James awaiting 6 knees
'57 Strat, LP Blue
'91 Tele with 60's Maple neck
Dozen more guitars!
Dozens of amps, but SF Quad reverb, Rick Johnson cabs. JBL 15, '64 Vibroverb for at home.
'52 and '56 Pro Amps |
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Tim Marcus
From:
San Francisco, CA
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Posted 12 Jan 2016 12:44 pm
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Its funny - 5 years ago I announced a boutique steel amp and was practically laughed out of the room. Now there are 2 major amp companies building for this tiny market. Guess I was on to something back in 2011 
I am happy there is yet another option for pedal steel players, and best of luck to Dr Z. Us steel players are a different type of animal!
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Milkmansound.com |
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John Billings
From:
Ohio, USA
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Posted 12 Jan 2016 12:48 pm
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I bugged Doc every time I saw or spoke to him, for about 25 years! He kept thinking it was too small a market. I think his connection to Paisley was the push he needed.
_________________
Dr. Z Surgical Steel amp, amazing!
"74 Bud S-10 3&6
'73 Bud S-10 3&5(under construction)
'63 Fingertip S-10, at James awaiting 6 knees
'57 Strat, LP Blue
'91 Tele with 60's Maple neck
Dozen more guitars!
Dozens of amps, but SF Quad reverb, Rick Johnson cabs. JBL 15, '64 Vibroverb for at home.
'52 and '56 Pro Amps |
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Craig Baker
From:
Eatonton, Georgia, USA - R.I.P.
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Posted 12 Jan 2016 1:19 pm
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Tim,
Yes, there is no doubt you were on to something. Keep fighting the good fight and keep making excellent products. When I introduced Li'l Izzy, there was a well-known steel guitar vendor who's slogan at the time was: "We Make Volume Pedals. . . That's All We Make".
Guess I was on to something also.
Sincerely,
Craig Baker 706-485-8792
cmbakerelectronics@gmail.com
C.M. Baker Electronics
P.O. Box 3965
Eatonton, GA 31024
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"Make America Great Again". . . The Only Country With Dream After Its Name. |
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Steve Vroman
From:
Albany, NY
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Posted 12 Jan 2016 4:17 pm
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| The lack of a mid control was an immediate deal breaker for me, not that my playing is worthy of such a nice amp. Thinking about the Z28 though, it can really cover a lot of ground with just bass and treble. Looking forward to hearing more about this amp. |
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Lane Gray
From:
Topeka, KS
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Posted 12 Jan 2016 4:39 pm
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Steve, the Little Walter that Paul Franklin plays through has in its tone stack just one knob labeled 'tone".
I was able to get a very pleasing tone out of an Ampeg B-15N.
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2 pedal steels, a lapStrat, and an 8-string Dobro (and 3 ukes)
More amps than guitars, and not many effects |
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John Billings
From:
Ohio, USA
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Posted 12 Jan 2016 4:41 pm
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"The lack of a mid control was an immediate deal breaker for me, "
Doesn't need one. It's perfectly voiced for steel. Doc's pre-amp designs are amazing.
_________________
Dr. Z Surgical Steel amp, amazing!
"74 Bud S-10 3&6
'73 Bud S-10 3&5(under construction)
'63 Fingertip S-10, at James awaiting 6 knees
'57 Strat, LP Blue
'91 Tele with 60's Maple neck
Dozen more guitars!
Dozens of amps, but SF Quad reverb, Rick Johnson cabs. JBL 15, '64 Vibroverb for at home.
'52 and '56 Pro Amps |
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Edward Rhea
From:
Medford Oklahoma, USA
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Posted 13 Jan 2016 5:09 am
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| Looks great! The simplicity of the eq is desirable, at least to me. My first guitar amp had 1 volume, 1 tone and was super easy to dial in...no need to cut this frequency or add to that, if the parameters are voiced right out of the box. BTW, I'm no expert, just know what works for me. |
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Dustin Rhodes
From:
Owasso OK
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Posted 13 Jan 2016 8:29 am
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| It has a bass and treble. If you need more mids you turn up the volume and down the bass and treble. Assuming that they're just a shelving HPF and LPF without much overlap. |
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Jeff Bollettino
From:
Virginia, USA
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Posted 13 Jan 2016 11:12 am
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| John Billings wrote: |
| Dr. Z Amps is releasing an amp for the growing pedal steel guitar market. |
John, it's interesting to hear that the PSG market is growing. I sometimes get the impression here that it must be shrinking, but maybe the gigs vs gear growth lines are heading in different directions. Do you have any industry data on this?
I'll be at NAMM so will check this amp out for fun, but I'm not in the market for a new one. Thanks for mentioning it here. |
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John Billings
From:
Ohio, USA
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Posted 13 Jan 2016 11:24 am
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Let me know what you think of it Jeff!
_________________
Dr. Z Surgical Steel amp, amazing!
"74 Bud S-10 3&6
'73 Bud S-10 3&5(under construction)
'63 Fingertip S-10, at James awaiting 6 knees
'57 Strat, LP Blue
'91 Tele with 60's Maple neck
Dozen more guitars!
Dozens of amps, but SF Quad reverb, Rick Johnson cabs. JBL 15, '64 Vibroverb for at home.
'52 and '56 Pro Amps |
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Tom Wolverton
From:
Carpinteria, CA
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Posted 13 Jan 2016 11:44 am
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Just a side note: the floor of the NAMM show is not a good place to judge the tone of anything. (Except maybe drums). In my opinion.
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To write with a broken pencil is pointless. |
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John Billings
From:
Ohio, USA
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Posted 13 Jan 2016 11:47 am
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Emminence is putting on some stage shows, as it's their anniversary. There ya go!
_________________
Dr. Z Surgical Steel amp, amazing!
"74 Bud S-10 3&6
'73 Bud S-10 3&5(under construction)
'63 Fingertip S-10, at James awaiting 6 knees
'57 Strat, LP Blue
'91 Tele with 60's Maple neck
Dozen more guitars!
Dozens of amps, but SF Quad reverb, Rick Johnson cabs. JBL 15, '64 Vibroverb for at home.
'52 and '56 Pro Amps |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 14 Jan 2016 7:25 am
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| John Billings wrote: |
| "It is beautifully voiced for steel. Just off the phone with Doc. There is no Reverb, nor mid control(doesn't need it because of his design and the tube characteristics) |
Clearly (and with all due respect), I feel the "Doc" knows little about pedal steel. I wouldn't even consider an amp that didn't have a mid, or mid-shift control. That omission severely limits the voicing characteristics of an amp. Now, with a straight guitar, you normally have multiple pickups, which gives you valuable choices in the sound. But with a pedal steel, we're stuck with just a bridge pickup, and sometimes no tone control, so we really need extra capabilities in the amp.
And you can tell the "Doc" I said so!  |
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John Billings
From:
Ohio, USA
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Posted 14 Jan 2016 8:23 am
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Doc is a drummer. Knows 2 chords on guitar, but his guitar amps seem somewhat popular .
_________________
Dr. Z Surgical Steel amp, amazing!
"74 Bud S-10 3&6
'73 Bud S-10 3&5(under construction)
'63 Fingertip S-10, at James awaiting 6 knees
'57 Strat, LP Blue
'91 Tele with 60's Maple neck
Dozen more guitars!
Dozens of amps, but SF Quad reverb, Rick Johnson cabs. JBL 15, '64 Vibroverb for at home.
'52 and '56 Pro Amps |
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ajm
From:
Los Angeles
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Posted 14 Jan 2016 9:00 am
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If Dr Z is a non guitar (or steel) player and he voices/designs the amps with no input from others, there could conceivably be problems.
If it were me however, and I had access to top professionals (like Paisley and his steel player, for example), I'd certainly use that resource and at least listen to their advice and opinions.
FWIW, at about 14:00 of this video Paul Franklin talks about his Little Walter. It only has V-B-T controls. But there are a lot of variables in the equation. What works for one guy may not suffice for others. (I hope the link attaches OK.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phDJy_IiR1Y |
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George Redmon
From:
Muskegon & Detroit Michigan.
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Posted 14 Jan 2016 9:53 am
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| Why in the world would he leave out a nice spring, or digital reverb? Does he also sell pedals? |
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John Billings
From:
Ohio, USA
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Posted 14 Jan 2016 10:54 am
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George, When you add spring reverb to an amp, you split the signal, some goes straight thru, some goes to the tank. Then you sum the signals back together. This effects the original sound of the preamp. Not always something desirable.
Doc does make the Zverb, which is highly regarded.
http://drzamps.com/product/z-verb/
http://www.guitarplayer.com/combo/1039/dr-z-mini-z-and-z-verb/12969
_________________
Dr. Z Surgical Steel amp, amazing!
"74 Bud S-10 3&6
'73 Bud S-10 3&5(under construction)
'63 Fingertip S-10, at James awaiting 6 knees
'57 Strat, LP Blue
'91 Tele with 60's Maple neck
Dozen more guitars!
Dozens of amps, but SF Quad reverb, Rick Johnson cabs. JBL 15, '64 Vibroverb for at home.
'52 and '56 Pro Amps |
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John Billings
From:
Ohio, USA
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Posted 14 Jan 2016 11:08 am
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Randall Curry has one of the first ones, and has been sent a slightly tweaked new one.
_________________
Dr. Z Surgical Steel amp, amazing!
"74 Bud S-10 3&6
'73 Bud S-10 3&5(under construction)
'63 Fingertip S-10, at James awaiting 6 knees
'57 Strat, LP Blue
'91 Tele with 60's Maple neck
Dozen more guitars!
Dozens of amps, but SF Quad reverb, Rick Johnson cabs. JBL 15, '64 Vibroverb for at home.
'52 and '56 Pro Amps
Last edited by John Billings on 18 Jan 2016 11:10 am; edited 1 time in total |
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John Sluszny
From:
Brussels, Belgium
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Posted 14 Jan 2016 11:13 am
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| Weight and price of both amp & cabinet ? Thanks ! |
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Dustin Rhodes
From:
Owasso OK
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Posted 14 Jan 2016 11:33 am
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| Donny Hinson wrote: |
| John Billings wrote: |
| "It is beautifully voiced for steel. Just off the phone with Doc. There is no Reverb, nor mid control(doesn't need it because of his design and the tube characteristics) |
Clearly (and with all due respect), I feel the "Doc" knows little about pedal steel. I wouldn't even consider an amp that didn't have a mid, or mid-shift control. That omission severely limits the voicing characteristics of an amp. Now, with a straight guitar, you normally have multiple pickups, which gives you valuable choices in the sound. But with a pedal steel, we're stuck with just a bridge pickup, and sometimes no tone control, so we really need extra capabilities in the amp.
And you can tell the "Doc" I said so! |
There are lots of points to argue here.
1. Tons of steel players use amps either with no mid knob or very limited mid knobs (pretty much any tube amp out there).
2. Six string pickup selections have little to do with midrange response and everything to do with treble content and attack.
3. Not having a midrange control doesn't limit your ability to emphasize or deemphasize mids. You just have to understand how your eq works and adjust it and your overall volume accordingly.
4. And speaking as a very very amateur steel player, accomplished 6 string and bass player, and sometimes soundman, semi parametric EQ's more often than not just present an opportunity for guys who don't know what they're doing to hack up what could be a decent sound. |
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Tony Glassman
From:
The Great Northwest
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Posted 14 Jan 2016 12:08 pm
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| Weight? |
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