-
I've been gigging direct from my L5 into my lunchbox on the floor. Since the venue I play at is totally boom-prone I leave my amp on the floor which seems to either attenuate the highs and/or improve the mids and high end bass response acoustically.... adequately enough to not need any pedals at this time and place at least. I suppose a smidge of reverb and chorus could add some depth, but then again, folks are generally stuffing their faces and gabbing so few ever pay much attention to me anyhow....sonic wallpaper in essence. Call it a paid practice session. At any rate, my ZT is PERFECT for an old guy with a clinky back in this environment.....
-
12-09-2009 01:51 AM
-
I'd be interested in that too. i shifted my musical interest from jazz to blues lately and like some overdrive in my sound, which I am getting now with my fender blues jr. I'd love to have that in a 4 kg package and don#t have to worry bout broken tubes etc. but otoh I don't want to be the naked emperor on stage. maybe I should just try it out. return policy is generous in germany and thomann offers lunchboxes for € 249 ... (well, they're sold out right now :-()
-
Put some overdrive pedal in front of Lunchbox, set vol on OD on the half, drive like you want (I prefer on the full) and now you can control drive only with guitar volume. There is also solution with two OD pedal in chain and when you need extra drive just turn on second overdrive. That system works with all SS amps.
Last edited by YocoYur; 12-20-2009 at 07:01 PM.
-
well, using an overdrive pedal for overdrive is no secret. ;-) I was asking for the natural drive in that amp. simply: is it good?
-
Hi, All.
I just found this thread, and wanted to make a few short comments:
1- Any posts, anywhere, from ZT Amplifiers, are always clearly marked with real names and emails. Although we can't control what every dealer or distributor does, we discourage any approach except the straight one.
2- Of course we feel good about our products, but we really don't want unhappy customers. So, there is never a motivation to describe or discuss a product in a way that would cause someone to buy it who doesn't want what it actually is. I believe all successful manufacturers feel the same way.
3- Always happy to answer tech or product questions here, or at:
ken.kantor@ztamplifiers.com.
(I am in the final approach to the NAMM show, and getting the new stuff ready. So, if you need very fast answers, please contact ZT directly. Thanks!)
-k
ken kantor
zt amplifiers, inc.
-
Thanks a MILLION for this review of the Lunchbox - AND the Cube80. The exact couple of things I was wondering about. Not a sound engineer, and suffering hearing loss in the midrange of the left side, but I have always liked bigger speakers rather than smaller ones. What we hear also has to have something to do with the distance and relative sixes of the speakers and our ears. What I'm trying to explain is that I think a big speaker to me sounds better than a large array (with equal surface area) of little speakers. I was around when lots of guitar players went nuts for Fender Bassman amps with 4 x 10". I never heard what they were nuts over. A Twin with 2x12" to me with similar circuitry was LOTS better. Back then I had a Kustom PA system that I played guitar through (hence the dead ear) that had two colums with 4 x 15" in each column. I just ran the Jazzmaster into the PA Head and sat all that horsepower behind me. (silver sparkle roll & pleat) - I still play through a PA system a lot of the time. The Fender guitar amp is sitting there turned off and I'm practicing through a Yamaha PA head into two 15" Yamaha / horn cabinets at a very low house volume.
Works great: Chalk me up on the list for bigger speakers sound better than lots of little speakers - with all due respect for the BOSE systems which are from another planet and disprove everything I have said. Would LOVE to have one of the new BOSE PA columns with a bass enclosure. Yum!
Ron
-
I live in NYC and lugging amps around town can be a pain, even though I have compact amps, or so I thought. A couple of months ago I bought the ZT Lunchbox. I love this amp!! It's incredible really. I've used it at gigs, jam sessions, rehearsals, lessons, etc. Comes through all the time. Basically, when I use this amp, I forget about the equipment and just play.
Loud drummers, no problem. Quiet beautiful tone at a restaurant gig, no problem. And anything in between.
I use a tube preamp, volume pedal and reverb pedal before this amp, and I use the same pedal board for all my amps as a basic tone enhancer.
Enjoy!!
-
Hmmm. After listening to the ZT Lunchbox on the Billy Penn video, I've lost interest. Maybe the computer's not an appropriate venue for listening, but it sounded spikey and brittle. I won't condemn a product based on how it sounds in a marginal Youtube video -- but, if the amp sounds like that live, it's not what I want.
I love the concept, but not the sound as represented there. My Fenders sound a lot more interesting. I'm going to Austin this week -- perhaps I'll be able to check one out in person.
-
the amp itself is very dry and midrange-y, and the distorted tone gained from cranking it is very spiky and brittle. much like many folks beloved champs
with a little multi-effects processor, i can soften the edges, add a little bass (the speaker can handle it) and get a lot of usable tones. i've gigged it at least 10 times this winter (jazz and a few non-jazz gigs)-- it's not the be all end all of amps, but it's DAMN convenient.
-
I've been watching the ZT amps for a while. I had to sell a Fender amp that I had to have the shopping funds. The Fender amp left last night. The money is burning a hole in my pocket. The issue now, is Lunchbox or Lunchbox with a Cab, or Club amp.
I suppose like most folks who like the Jazz sound (I'll hesitate to call myself a Jazz player around this audience) I prefer bass tones. I also have a mid range hearing problem in the left ear. So I hear high tones in stereo, mid range tones in mono in one side and bass tones in stereo.
I was really interested in a post a few months back where a player (sorry I don't remember who) commented that sitting the Lunchbox on the floor made it sound better. I'd bet that most people are sitting it up on something just to look at it. I notice that most of the Penalizer's demos are this way. There was, and still may be, a combo amp stand that was designed to take the sound out of the back of an open back combo and bounce it out the front under the amp through two ports.
I had tried a lunch box at Sam Ash in Atlanta. Like everyone else I just set it up face high on the top of a big combo amp that was sitting there and played it. It was more than OK, but I was a little dissapointed in the lack of a bottom end. Hey, it's a 6.5" speaker for goodness sake.
Just by coincidence I went by Guitar Center the other day and they also had a Lunchbox and I played on it. Their amp demo area is designed as a bunch of open face shelves, and the amps sit back in these openings. The little Lunchbox was way back in the open space and when I cranked it up it sounded great. Point - these little amps may get a big sonic low range boost depending on how you "port" the sound around.
Some intellegent cat, will catch onto this and offer a pre, built Lunchbox porta-cabinet that makes the Lunchbox a driver for a Bose like ported sound chamber. There's a free idea for all the craftsmen and audio heads out there.
So what's the consensus of opinion.
1: Lunchbox
2: Lunchbox with Cab
3: Club 12"er.
Ron
-
Jeff (Mr. Beaumont) is The Man when it comes to Lunchbox experience on this forum. (I have no personal experience with the device but intuition suggests that Jeff has achieved a satisfactory compromise of performance/compactness. He's an experienced and capable musician whose opinions are highly regarded here.)
I hope to offer some details about this small amplifier soon, as both engineer and guitarist. Mister Kantor has kindly shipped me an amplifier with a full complement of spare parts (in the event that I test and measure with excessive enthusiasm). The amplifier is expected to arrive tomorrow and I'll commence evaluation.
It is apparent that ZT has confidence in their product. Giving an independant evaluator carte blanche to poke, pry and dissect is without precedent in my years of musical experience.
-
The "Lunchbox" evaluation model arrived this afternoon. Despite the fact that I knew the exterior dimensions, I still was surprised at the package size! I played it for fifteen seconds to make sure that it was operational. It is now in the process of dissection, so that I can determine where/how to place/mount my thermistors for temperature measurements.
The users manual that accompanies the amplifier discusses output power in more detail than what is normally available on the internet. Rather than parrot that information, I'd prefer to summarize everything after the evaluation is concluded.
Thanks, ZT, quick service-
randyc
-
randy, did ken send you the club or the little lunchbox? cant wait to hear what you think...
-
He gave me my choice. Since my initial analysis was performed on the Lunchbox, it was the obvious selection (I'm very interested to see how closely my estimates agree with real measurements). Additionally the Club is more mainstream - the Lunchbox is the breakthrough product if it lives up to expectation.
Jeff, I'd like to get with you later on when summarizing impressions of working musicians that actually use the product. I'll send you a PM, hopefully you'll have time to answer some questions at the time -
-
Originally Posted by lpdeluxe
I'm pretty cynical about evaluating amps over the internet. Professional recording engineers can build an entire career learning how to get a proper guitar amp sound to tape. Even with the very best mics, the very best signal path, in the very best room, capturing an accurate tone can easily take hours. How can someone stick a random camera in front of an amp, hit record, and expect to accomplish this?
I'm not saying you wouldn't hate the Lunchbox in person. It is what it is, and no amp can be right for everyone, in every situation. There are too many contrasting goals. (I have 8 or 9 decidely non-ZT amps that I could never never imagine selling.) I do hope you get to hear one sometime.
-k
-
Anybody try one with a single 15" external cab?
-
There is a YouTube video where a guy runs a lunchbox through a 15" cabinet. Sounds great.
Ron
-
I just tried a LunchBox at the local Guitar Center. I was impressed and I will have one in the next few months. This will come in very handy for when I go to a guitar camp. It doesn't sound like a blackface Fender or a Jazzkat but it does sound pretty good.
-
My Lunchbox just arrived this afternoon. It is an amazing little amp... I can see using it both in rehearsal and on some small gigs. I do have a question... Has anyone tried the LB with a Raezer's Edge speaker cab?
-
Question regarding wattage specs: Why hasn't anyone ever specified the decibel level achieved at a certain distance with a particular guitar? For example: a Les Paul, bridge pickup volume 10, measured 15' from the amp with settings for volume/gain set at xyz. It seems if a standard was set that this would be a good way to set a level playing field to measure amp output.
-
not an RE, but i've played mine many a time with a redstone RS-8, and that little bit of extra speaker plus the cab's construction brought back some bass. Originally Posted by Gibson L4CES
but it still sounded better with a little reverb and outboard EQ though, so the lunchbox gets played on it's own mostly with an effects unit, and the redstone pairs with my heinreksen jazzamp head. I still think the external speaker isn't a bad thing to try with the LB, but i've kinda gone back on my idea earlier that it was necessary...now i just like the LB for what it is--small, clean, loud.
-
I've been very curious about the Lunchbox for a while, so I read this thread and the pdf document with a great interest. Thank you all for your time and energy.
One frustration, though: so much time spent, so many testers, so many pages written, technical discussions... and no one considered recording a clip or a video so that everyone could hear the amp's voice?
The only samples of archtop/jazz on a Lunchbox that I could find are the Bill Pettaway video on youtube, and a video of a gypsy-jazzer testing the Acoustic Lunchbox (either the amp is off or it is impressively transparent). Are you guys aware of any other cool clips/videos?
Thanks.
-
Hi... Ken from ZT here, thanks to a heads up from Randy. The Acoustic amps are available, and I would be happy to answer questions about them. Originally Posted by amusiathread
ZT Amplifiers Lunchbox Acoustic
Ken Kantor
ken.kantor@ztamplifiers.com
-
The "Lunchbox" is not the perfect amplifier - no such device exists as we all know - but it certainly fills a specific need, as the performance evaluation points out in considerable detail. I was a personal skeptic about this amplifier until the opportunity was presented to actually use the thing for a prolonged period of time at which time I changed my tune -
-
all this ZT talk has me weak. i want somebody to do a blind listening test where they put up a ZT vs polytone vs peavey vs roland vs henrikson. my guess is that 90% of the jazzers wouldnt hear much difference and the other 10% would wonder why they spent the extra money for a new amp that sounds like a SS peavey.
im blown away by how many dudes around here go on about how they are after joe pass' sound...Last edited by mattymel; 05-09-2010 at 11:36 PM.
Reply With Quote
How is the Steve Howe 175?
Today, 05:54 PM in Guitar, Amps & Gizmos