Does anyone have experience with this amp? Its supposed to sound like the old pre-top boost AC30's. Brad Paisley plays it apparently, and he has an incredible tone. How would it compare to the MAZ 18 Jr? Is it playable at low volumes?
i own both the maz jr and the stangray. as far as layout very different. stangray has an ef-86, maz has 12ax7. maz seems a little more in the fender camp. stang is def in the vox camp. if you use pedals the stang is very usable at low volumes (that is how i run it). it is an incredible platform. cleans are great at any volume, but to get all you can out of that amp you do need to get it around 1 o clock or so, then it gets heavenly. one of the best i have played period, do you own the maz 18? or any z? jordan
No, but these are the two I have been contemplating buying. If the Stang Ray takes pedals well it would definitely be my choice. I'm not looking for a fender style amp, I'm a vox type guy... If I were to get a stang ray I would end up unloading my AC30 and DeVille to do it... How would you compare the Stang to an AC30 reissue? Thanks again!
I was going to get a Stang Ray but heard it is a very clean amp and at full tilt gets a little crunchy. For me, that is too much volume before hearing any crunch. I think the Prescription ES is more the ticket.
Great sounding amp, papery and Voxy, but very very loud. If you want your gain or 'hair on the note' from the amp, you'll be moving some air to get that sound. I played a 1x12 combo at True Tone music in Santa Monica a few weeks ago. The tone of the Stangray was fantastic - very simple, vol, tone, cut - that's all. I'm thinking that if you already have an AC-30, you'd be replacing a Voxy sound with a louder Voxy sound with the Stangray. The Stangray a wonderful amp though. Go play one if you get a chance - you'll see what we mean. It 'mos 'def DOES sound like Brad Paisley, but he doesn't have the volume restrictions most of us have at his gigs (GRIN). Lucky Bastid! Good Luck, Dana O.
I have a maz jr 1-12 combo and played the stangray in the fall. I like the headroom on the stangray because I use pedals for dirt and it took pedals REALLY well. The clean is not super super clean, it's got a little grind to it and when pushed breaks up well. At 2:00 on the volume with a good OD pushing it I hear some jtm45 type overdrive tones, really sweet! If I had the $ I would get one!
The Dr. Z Stang Ray is one of my favorite amps with Fender Strats and, occasionally, P-90 Gibsons. I don't own a Tele, but I'm sure it would sound great through a Stang Ray. The Ray has gobs of clean headroom, so you can't hide mistakes. The overtones that come out of this beast make it sound like a living, breathing organism. I have the head version which is mated to a Mojotone 1X12" cab loaded with a Celestion Gold. If you like shimmering chime tone ala Mike Campbell and Tom Petty, then you would dig the Stang Ray. Also, this amp really delivers great quack tone with the in-between pickup setting on Fender Strats. In small rooms you may want to push the EF-86 front end with an overdrive pedal. I use an Analogman KOT pedal to push my Strat into overdrive territory. Definitely one of the best EL-84 amps on the planet.
a friend of mine has the stangray. i've gotten to play with it quite a bit to get a feel for it. its definitely loud and clean. despite the ef86 it doesn't take pedals quite a well as Z's other amps. the LDO sounds amazing with it though. the stang does not have many mids so the LDO is a perfect match for it and is a very amp friendly pedal. i prefer the sound of my carmen ghia mostly because it has more mids and doesn't have quite so much high end. but then again i prefer the sound of my z28 over the carmen ghia. i think i'm just a 6v6 kinda guy.
The Stangray is one of the best clean sounds I have owned. Once the volume gets on 4 (11-12:00) or so it is absolutely magic. It makes other voxes and amps in general sound like they have a blanket over them. It's definitely voxey but with a more hi fi sound. It does seem to be a little pedal picky. I like the tim the BB preamp and the Zendrive with it.
I've played about 5 or 6 different AC30's in the past 2 years, from 90s reissues to the CC to the new hand wired line...... IMO the Stangray blows the AC30 out of the water. It can do AC30 tones with room to spare, while having the ability to be thicker sounding as well with tons more low end on tap (but very controllable). For an amp with only a volume and 2 EQ knobs, it's got a much more active EQ than any AC30 I've played as well.
I played one at Evans music in Houston....with a reissue strat. It was freakin loud and very nice. I wish wish wish I had gigs i could play that loud but I need vox tone at lower (much) volumes....if I had a really loud gig I would not hesitate to get a stangray..to my ears much punchier and tighter than the hayseed I had.
hey Boo, you know my thoughts. The Ray is such a great amp...I did not expect to like it, but has me thinking about selling my last-of-the-British Fawn TBX. For those with volume concerns, it respondes really well to an Air Brake...and once you get it grinding a little it makes pedals explode with sonic goodness Greg
I used to think I liked voxes after I tried the stangray, but then after trying a bunch of voxes I realized I just liked the stangray. Every Vox I have tried, including the new heritage series, are too boxey and honky. Actually those JMI reissues sounded pretty decent. When I tried the Stangray, It was an instant "OMG" when I plugged it in. There is something about the upper mid harmonics that are perfect on that amp.
I made the mistake of trying one too. Even though it's a "clean" amp, the complexity of the tone is what I keep comparing other amplifiers too. It's so rich sounding, with such amazing bass, and such immediate tone. If the good Doc only made a "jr" version it would be a no brainer for me. I might have to go back to try the stangray with Doc Z's airbrake. That Doctor Z fellow sure knows how to make guitar amplifiers a musical instrument in themselves.
Hey guys, I have a Dr. Z Stingray. It IS a loud amp, if you're cranking it into overdrive. But you can get a great clean tone at low volume. And this amp DOES take pedals well. A Tubescreamer sounds amazing through the Ray. And of course, the BB Preamp and Zendrive sound killer as well. If you guys are really concerned about it being too loud, a Hotplate or Airbrake will tame it down very nicely. This was my second Dr. Z. I also have a Route 66. They are utterly fantastic.
actually i have owned both the korg reissue (combo) and the cc2 head. the korg was good. the cc2 was a good amp too. with dr z i have found that the description could say "ac-30" but all his amps have their own thing going on. it is def different from any ac-30 or inspired amp i have played. the stang seemed more open and fat than the ac's. the bottom end is huge!!! IMHO if you are looking for 3D cleans that has a ton of headroom and great for pedals you are looking in the right direction with the stang. Hope that helps, Jordan
I have found my favorite clean tones in the Stangray. I'm currently looking at the Mazerati GT for overdriven tones. What a killer pair that would make! Rick
