ZT Club – 1st Rehearsal

Tom Karol · #1 07-03-2010, 09:00 AM

Played with a rock oriented singer-songwriter last night: amplified acoustic, bass, drums, vocals, and me (Tele and ZT Club). Pretty loud in a basement rehearsal space. Amp on the floor, Reverb on 6 (0-10 scale), Treble on 8, Bass on 2, Volume on 2, Gain on 8 (controlling overall volume, tone, and slight dirt from the guitar). Worked/sounded great, and I carried the guitar and amp in and out in one trip!

Will Chen · #2 07-08-2010, 11:26 AM

Very cool! Those are great amps, the tiny charm of their Lunchbox is really tempting me lately.

BigDaddyLoveHandles · #3 07-08-2010, 11:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Will Chen

Very cool! Those are great amps, the tiny charm of their Lunchbox is really tempting me lately.

I thought you already had a Lunchbox or Club, or were you just reviewing them?

Will Chen · #4 07-08-2010, 12:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigDaddyLoveHandles

I thought you already had a Lunchbox or Club, or were you just reviewing them?

I had a Club on loan for a review which has yet to materialize (for several reasons). It's a fine amp but the Lunchbox is so darn appealing due to it's diminutive size...

curbucci · #5 07-28-2010, 09:46 AM

Is there any hiss on the club amplifier? I tried out a lunch box and there was quite a bit of hiss and I did not like the way my archtop sounded through it. Seems the club might have more tone shaping due to the treble & bass controls and that 12" seems like a great upgrade from the lunchbox. I am just concerned it will have a lot of hiss like the lunchbox. I am tempeted to puchase one at GC, they have a 30 day return policy. I am still on my quest for a compact solid state jazz amp.

Tom Karol · #6 07-28-2010, 10:20 AM

There's some hiss - more than my Henriksen - but I'd say it's about average. I don't find it obtrusive. There does seem to be a very subtle noise gate built into it however.

I use the Henriksen exclusively for Jazz (335 clone); I use the ZT Club for Rock (Tele clone) - usually up on an upside down milk crate and front-ended with a VOX ToneLab ST.

The Club is a good Jazz amp - a bit dry perhaps - but the Henriksen just nails it for me in that (and pretty much only that) context.

Compared to the Lunchbox, the Club has much more emphasis in the lower mids and much less emphasis in the upper mids. I've read that the Lunchbox Acoustic makes a better Jazz amp than either one - worth a try if you can find one.

curbucci · #7 07-31-2010, 12:09 AM

I ordered a ZT CLUB to try out. I am hoping it'll work out with my Godin Kingpin. If not I am going to return it and go with the Roland Cube 80x. I have tried out that amp a couple of times now and am very satisfied with how the Kingpin sounds through it. I am keeping my budget at the $400-$450 range.

Tom Karol · #8 07-31-2010, 08:54 AM

Having previously owned a Cube 60, I'd say the Club and the Cube 80x will have different characters. It will be interesting to see which one you choose.

curbucci · #9 08-03-2010, 07:33 PM

Returned the ZT Club. The Godin sounded too midrange/boxy with that amp. I was really hoping to like it but it did not turn out. I am going with the 80X. Surprisingly the Godin sounds great with the 80X. I have found the Kingpin does not work well with many amplifiers. I had a Music Man 115 sixty-five I was using, but the 80X sounds just so much better. I use a LR Baggs Feedback Master which works great to zap out the feedback. I had no problems with that and the 80X.

Tom Karol · #10 08-04-2010, 08:57 AM

I'm not surprised. The Club is somewhat midrangey, though if it's raised off the floor a bit I don't find it to be boxy at all. I would have preferred the Cube 60 I used to have to the Club for hollow-body jazz, but that's where the Henriksen flat out nails it. The Club is definitely capable of more clean volume that the Cube 60 was.

I used to have a Music Man 115 Sixty-Five back in the day. Mine had a JBL in it and wheels on it. Sounded great (at the time) but was sort of heavy.

Anyway, it sounds like you chose a nice combination. Good luck with it!

curbucci · #11 08-04-2010, 01:11 PM

I agree on the Henricksen. I tried the Kingpin through the 10 Plus and it was amazing. I hope to someday pick one of those up, I had to stick to my budget so that was out of reach. I am very happy with the 80X though.

BigDaddyLoveHandles · #12 08-04-2010, 01:15 PM

BTW, does anyone know what new is coming down the Henriksen pipeline? When you go to the page for their "convertible":

Henriksen Guitar Amplifier: compact, solid state, small, inexpensive, powerful guitar amplifier

You see the message "The new JazzAmp Convertible will be available September of 2010, please stay tuned for details!"

I can't wait! Anybody know what's up?

mangotango · #13 08-05-2010, 05:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigDaddyLoveHandles

BTW, does anyone know what new is coming down the Henriksen pipeline? When you go to the page for their "convertible":

Henriksen Guitar Amplifier: compact, solid state, small, inexpensive, powerful guitar amplifier

You see the message "The new JazzAmp Convertible will be available September of 2010, please stay tuned for details!"

I can't wait! Anybody know what's up?

...and more importantly, does it mean that the old model will become available at a more reasonable price?? Just a thought, 'cos those babies ain't cheap over here.