ZT Club 12 amp.... any users here?

barrymclark · #1 11-10-2011, 05:02 AM

I just heard one of these amps... and i gotta say I am impressed.

Anyone here use the Club 12?

Thoughts?

Opinions?

Tom Karol · #2 11-10-2011, 07:45 AM

There was a comprehensive review posted on this board a while back: http://www.jazzguitar.be/forum/guita...valuation.html.

I ended up buying one. I use it for rock with a Tele. (I use a Henriksen for jazz with a 335 clone.) Bottom line for me: it sounds good but not great, but it's got the most impressive ratio of loudness to size/weight I've ever encountered - clearly capable of greater volume than the Cube 60 it replaced (and a more distinctive sound to my ears as well - not a 'model' of anything).

The only complaint I have is that the handle starts to come loose after a few months, and I have to open it up and tighten the screws from the inside. I have an early model; they may have changed the design by now.

Anyway, do a search. There's lots of posts here referencing the ZT Club in some fashion.

Pierrot · #3 11-10-2011, 08:40 AM

Very happy with it. I use it in a stereo set-up along with a Phil Jones CUB100. Signal flows through a TC-Electronics Nova System for FX and signal splitting.
My guitar is a hand-made thin all-solid archtop with a single built-in humbucker (Benedetto A6)

I get a nice and complex woody sound with this combination. (At least, to my taste and if I believe comments of other players/listeners)

barrymclark · #4 11-10-2011, 09:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pierrot

Very happy with it. I use it in a stereo set-up along with a Phil Jones CUB100. Signal flows through a TC-Electronics Nova System for FX and signal splitting.
My guitar is a hand-made thin all-solid archtop with a single built-in humbucker (Benedetto A6)

I get a nice and complex woody sound with this combination. (At least, to my taste and if I believe comments of other players/listeners)

This was sort of what I was considering it for.

But also have it as a stand alone as well as my other amp as a stand alone.

lpdeluxe · #5 11-10-2011, 09:43 AM

I took part in the evaluation Tom Karol posted the link to. I found it to be a one-trick pony, and it didn't do the trick I wanted.

Listen before you buy: it may be just what you want, or not. I think it works better in an ensemble than as a solo instrument.

pingu · #6 11-10-2011, 12:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tom Karol

There was a comprehensive review posted on this board a while back: http://www.jazzguitar.be/forum/guita...valuation.html.

I ended up buying one. I use it for rock with a Tele. (I use a Henriksen for jazz with a 335 clone.) Bottom line for me: it sounds good but not great, but it's got the most impressive ratio of loudness to size/weight I've ever encountered - clearly capable of greater volume than the Cube 60 it replaced (and a more distinctive sound to my ears as well - not a 'model' of anything).

The only complaint I have is that the handle starts to come loose after a few months, and I have to open it up and tighten the screws from the inside. I have an early model; they may have changed the design by now.

Anyway, do a search. There's lots of posts here referencing the ZT Club in some fashion.

Would you use the Club for Jazz gigs ?
is it a warm as the Henn ?

mr. beaumont · #7 11-10-2011, 12:20 PM

I also participated in the Club review.

I would use it for jazz gigs. Good dry clean tone, decent reverb, loud and small.

I do remember one of my criticisms ofthe Club was it sounded a bit cardboardy at low volumes. So it would suck as a practice amp. It sounded good at "gig volume."

Henriksen's on a completely different level in my opinion, though. My Henriksen is the best amp I've ever used. Once you get how to use it's EQ you can "tune your guitar in" to any room. Can't say enough about the product...I have my "holy grail" amp now.

Tom Karol · #8 11-10-2011, 12:21 PM

The Club sounds good as a jazz amp. I consider it to be a viable backup in that context. But it's not as good (or as warm) as the Henriksen, which does cost twice as much and weighs 10 lbs. more. I'll put it this way. I play in a duo with a keyboard/sax player who's become familiar with my sound through the Henriksen. I brought the ZT Club to a gig once. He said, "That one sounds good, but the other one (the Henriksen) was sweeter."

barrymclark · #9 11-10-2011, 07:55 PM

This might be a horrible thing to say on here, but my favorite jazz tones, I have found, have some grit to them. Like a Fender clean. These days, my Cube never gets on the JC channel anymore. It has settled in the Bassman type sound. Definitely doesn't sound like a Bassman but is ish. I love the color of it. I love what it does for the notes.

I am almost wondering if maybe the Tech 21 Trademark 60 is the amp for me.

The Henriksen is almost like Mesa/Boogie for me. PLEASE LET ME EXPLAIN THAT ONE. haha. Years ago, when I was playing more metal styled tunes, I kept hearing these guitarists with INCREDIBLE tone. I saw they all had Mesa Boogies and, usually, Triple Rectifiers. So... I had to have one. I found one in a store and tried it. I could NOT get it to sound good in my hands. I had a buddy who had one. He was cool enough to let me borrow it for awhile in effort to convert me. After a week, it just sat for a couple more weeks and I just returned it to my friend. I just could not enjoy it in my hands. Others? Sure. Not mine.

The clean, clean amps like the Jazz Chorus or Henriksens or what have you, they sound incredible in other people's hands... but just not in mine. Not to my ears anyways.

Pierrot · #10 11-11-2011, 01:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by barrymclark

This might be a horrible thing to say on here, but my favorite jazz tones, I have found, have some grit to them. Like a Fender clean. These days, my Cube never gets on the JC channel anymore. It has settled in the Bassman type sound. Definitely doesn't sound like a Bassman but is ish. I love the color of it. I love what it does for the notes.

I am almost wondering if maybe the Tech 21 Trademark 60 is the amp for me.

The Henriksen is almost like Mesa/Boogie for me. PLEASE LET ME EXPLAIN THAT ONE. haha. Years ago, when I was playing more metal styled tunes, I kept hearing these guitarists with INCREDIBLE tone. I saw they all had Mesa Boogies and, usually, Triple Rectifiers. So... I had to have one. I found one in a store and tried it. I could NOT get it to sound good in my hands. I had a buddy who had one. He was cool enough to let me borrow it for awhile in effort to convert me. After a week, it just sat for a couple more weeks and I just returned it to my friend. I just could not enjoy it in my hands. Others? Sure. Not mine.

The clean, clean amps like the Jazz Chorus or Henriksens or what have you, they sound incredible in other people's hands... but just not in mine. Not to my ears anyways.

I had one, sold it, and regret to do so. A SPLENDID option for what you seem to be after, if I understand you well.

jorgemg1984 · #11 11-11-2011, 04:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by barrymclark

The Henriksen is almost like Mesa/Boogie for me. PLEASE LET ME EXPLAIN THAT ONE. haha. Years ago, when I was playing more metal styled tunes, I kept hearing these guitarists with INCREDIBLE tone. I saw they all had Mesa Boogies and, usually, Triple Rectifiers. So... I had to have one. I found one in a store and tried it. I could NOT get it to sound good in my hands. I had a buddy who had one. He was cool enough to let me borrow it for awhile in effort to convert me. After a week, it just sat for a couple more weeks and I just returned it to my friend. I just could not enjoy it in my hands. Others? Sure. Not mine.

The clean, clean amps like the Jazz Chorus or Henriksens or what have you, they sound incredible in other people's hands... but just not in mine. Not to my ears anyways.

I sort of understand what you say. The Henriksen gets a lot of praise here and I have one and I feel its a good amp but has some flaws that stop it from being great - and its an expensive amp... If they changed some things on it it might turn great. I don't like the JC-120 but for very different reasons, they are not comparable at all - the Henriksen is a good amp that just needs some tweaking. I am actually selling mine because I have other amps that suit me much better.

But if you like the fender bassman viibe I assume you find the Henriksen sterile... Oh and one thing about the Henriksen is that the stock reverb is unusable so the amp sounds very dry - if you put a good reverb pedal before it you wont believe how much better it gets.

elinfoot · #12 11-14-2011, 07:10 AM

I bought a club 12 a few weeks ago but yesterday was the first time that I had the chance to turn it up in band rehearsal. I was using it with a line 6 HD300 in front and playing with a drummer,bassist and another guitarist. Man that things is loud. I didn't have the volume past 11 oclock and the gain past 1 oclock so there was lots more to go. I think it sounds good. At home with lower volumes and plugged straight in to the amp (clean) it sounds pretty jazzy. I'm glad I bought one.