Z Wreck

[dark]

Now officially:

http://www.drzamps.com/amp/z_wreck/

Dark



Rock on!

[Structo]

So that would be a Liverpool correct?

[selloutrr]

i'm guessing from a quick glance at specs. It's a rocket or a tube rec liverpool. with cousin/MIL labeled EL84's. probably little things to get around compright issues if there are indeed any.

[dartanion]

It's a Rocket clone. Notice the choke and controls.

[Zippy]

From the link above:

"Starting in 2006 Brad Paisley contacted Dr Z about building another amp. After talking about the design and the desired outcome Z asked his friend Ken Fisher to lend a hand. Dr Z built up the prototype amp and sent it off to Ken. Ken did his thing to it and sent it back…including naming the amp the Z Wreck. After a few more tweaks the amp was sent off to Brad and it has become a mainstay in his rig since 2006. When Ken passed away at the end of ‘06 Dr Z put the amp on a shelf and walked away."

I don't think it is anything about stealing.

Where's the darn MID knob?

[funkmeblue]

anyone added a high/low power switch to there rockets yet? I'm guessing one would have to change the cathode bias resistor as well. And to bad we don't get to read the whole letter from Ken to Z.

[jelle]

Just split the cathodes per pair and switch the ground of one of them. Done.

[funkmeblue]

Z uses low voltage tap or high voltage tap not a half power switch.

[dobbhill]

low voltage tap or high voltage tap

Whole amp, or just output section?
D

[funkmeblue]

I remember reading an article with Ken and he talked about plate voltage on the rocket. The 250-0-250 taps or the 300-0-300 taps. I believe allyn has been inside a "high voltage" rocket and it had a different cathode resistor.

[funkmeblue]

the article is in the trainwreck files under misc.......guitar player article voltage question

[Zippy]

the article is in the trainwreck files under misc.......guitar player article voltage question

I've pulled the pertinent text from Ken's interview.

Ken: "Voltage has everything to do with tone, but it's different for different tubes. I build a Class A, EL84-powered amp called the Rocket that has a power transformer with two taps so I can supply the tubes with either 315 volts or 370 volts. If I use the higher setting, I get more volume, more headroom, and a tighter bottom, but the amp is less dynamic and gives weaker harmonics. If I lower the voltage, I get better dynamics but a looser bottom."

[redshark]

If you see the pics, the placement of the transformers is diferent from a rocket. Also the voltage switch. I don't know where I read someone mentioned that the zwreck was a rocket with a few songwriter 30 tweaks. If you go to the songwriter 30 pic in the trainwreck webpage see that the placement of the recto tube is diferent than in the rocket layout. So I don't think the zwreck is a dead on rocket clone. Very similar yes but with some variations to it.
Still it sounds good but I think it would sound probably better with a diferent speaker combination too. Maybe speaker clones like scumbacks with slightly diferent specs could workout. I really don't care that much for the alnico gold (50 watter).
Let's not forget that there's always a challenge to make a super tweaked boutique amp a "production model" but is a valid try. Good for Dr. Z.

[M Fowler]

From what I have read it is Rocket based with many tweaks from notes left by Ken F.

Notice the old version verses the new production but what are these rack mounted ones and on the left is that Dumble-Z's? Edit: Those are Bruno take on a TW Rocket those red dumble looking ones.

[M Fowler]

Also Doc had noted fundamentally the Stang Ray is a VERY clean broad toned amp. EF-86 front end lends to a rich accurate input stage.
Simple tone control for fine adjustment shaping , Rich, Accurate, and Full sounding amp .

Z-Wreck has a 12AX7 thing happing more compressed top and bottom and chewy mids. The topograph is a input gain stage with the right amount of upper end acentuation, feeding a tone stack driver (i.e. a Cathode Follower) into a Treble, Bass with fixed 10 K mid controls.

A CF has it's own unique tone shaping think Marshall, Tweed, which is very dynamic and pushes the amp into distortion quickly and easily. It has all the glorious Trainwreck type responce to guitar volume and pick attack. Softly filtered for harmonic complexity and easy feel and playability.