Has anybody seen these? (ZT Amplifiers)

Mike Perlowin RIP · Post by **Mike Perlowin RIP** » 14 Jun 2010 11:40 pm

http://www.ztamplifiers.com/products/club.html

200 watts, 22 pounds. And they sound great.
I'm going to sell all my other amps and get a pair.

Craig A Davidson · Post by **Craig A Davidson** » 15 Jun 2010 12:49 am

Mike do they play clean?

Thomas Ludwig · Post by **Thomas Ludwig** » 15 Jun 2010 1:53 am

I am very interested in this amp because of the low weight and price. I've read some reviews and they say it can be really loud and clean but also that its dark sounding. On Youtube clips it doesn't sound very bright (??).
Maybe I order one for testing.

Thomas

Mike Perlowin RIP · Post by **Mike Perlowin RIP** » 15 Jun 2010 2:34 am

My favorite jazz steel player, Al Vescovo is now using one of these amps. I took my 50 pound Yamaha G100-112 (which is also a very good steel amp) to his house and compared them, and there wasn't very much difference in the tone. Then I went to Al's gig, and the amp cut through the mix just fine.

Al and I both prefer a darker tone, mellower and with less twang. So I can't say if the amp can get real twangy. I only know that I liked what I heard, and I especially like carrying around an amp that doesn't break my back when I lift it.

Here is one review of the amp.

http://www.premierguitar.com/Magazine/I ... eview.aspx

and here is another

http://www.harmonycentral.com/reviews/343770

Thomas Ludwig · Post by **Thomas Ludwig** » 15 Jun 2010 4:52 am

one more

http://www.300guitars.com/reviews/zt-am ... -club-amp/

Ben Jones · Post by **Ben Jones** » 15 Jun 2010 5:56 am

You should get one with multi-effects and sell me all those outdated old effect pedals too.

lemme know when your ready to sell your old fender tube amps.

Stu Schulman · Post by **Stu Schulman** » 15 Jun 2010 8:55 am

Mike,I posted a thing about that amp around X-Mas time I got to try a Les Paul into that amp into a Marshall cabinet and I was blown away,That's great that Al V is playing thru one that's the answer I wanted and now I know that it would work for me.I thought it had enough highs for my taste.Let me know what kind of price you find? this one music store was a little hard to deal with.

Stu Schulman · Post by **Stu Schulman** » 15 Jun 2010 8:57 am

Mike,Sorry What I posted was the "Lunch Box" model this looks cooler.

Butch Pytko · Post by **Butch Pytko** » 22 Jun 2010 1:34 pm

Went to the reviews & could not tell whether the amp performed well or not with a standard guitar. Which of course relates to the core of the amp--it's designed specifically for standard guitar. Because of that, I'm a little leary of it performing well with a steel guitar!

Any steel players out there that can give us a performance review of the ZT?

Jim Simon · Post by **Jim Simon** » 22 Jun 2010 2:30 pm

Hey Mike:

I played three gigs, one indoor and two outdoor concerts with a fella two weeks ago that had those amps. His was the larger speaker of the two and weighed 22 pounds. He played standard and fiddle. Those little guys are the real deal. Sounded great for both guitar and fiddle (different settings of course). Without turning around and looking I would not have know he was not using a much larger (physically)amp. Very nicely made with good features. Clean as a whistle soundwise.

Mike Perlowin RIP · Post by **Mike Perlowin RIP** » 22 Jun 2010 8:09 pm

Butch Pytko wrote:
Any steel players out there that can give us a performance review of the ZT?

My hero, Al Vescovo plays through one. (That's how come I know about them.) I saw him use in on a gig and he sounded just like he did when he used his Peavey.

Bobby Burns · Post by **Bobby Burns** » 23 Jun 2010 5:49 am

What is the cabinet made of? Is it some kind of molded plastic, or aluminum, or what?

Post by **Brad Bechtel** » 23 Jun 2010 12:00 pm

According to the ZT Amplifiers Lunchbox white paper, "The assembly uses a heavy MDF material and a laminated finish to provide the proper cosmetic appearance and durability."

Mike Perlowin RIP · Post by **Mike Perlowin RIP** » 23 Jun 2010 12:15 pm

The Lunchbox and Clubs are different amps. The lunchbox has a 6.5 inch speaker (and weighs less than 10 pounds.) That's probably not enough for a steel. (I'm curious to try it out though.)

The 22 pound club has a 12 inch speaker. That's what Al has, and that's what I'm going to get.

Dave Simonis · Post by **Dave Simonis** » 23 Jun 2010 4:29 pm

MDF? I am sure that helps subtract from the weight...but makes one wonder about what it will look like in 15 years...if a guy keeps it that long.

I have an old Epiphone Amp made by Continental between the EPi and Gibson years (1953-1957ish) made out of a homasote/layered cardboard. It suffered some damage thru the years...maybe dropped or gotten moisture/wet and started coming apart. Hard to repair unless you build a new cabinet.

I am intrigued though and would like to hear one before casting a passing vote!

Dan Tyack · Post by **Dan Tyack** » 23 Jun 2010 9:11 pm

I played through a Lunchbox into a 12" Egnator cab (not a bad sounding cab) and it was really loud. But not particularly warm sounding. It was probably on par with a Yamaha G100 or a MusicMan in terms of clean sound. Which IMHO is OK, but not great. The best applications for the ZT amp would be to replace something like a Polytone for a stone Jazz player, or for a rock player who uses amp models and/or a ton of effects.

But I'm not selling my THDs or my 66 Showman. Nor am I buying one. It was a little better sounding than a Crate PowerBlock, but not a lot better.

Mike Perlowin RIP · Post by **Mike Perlowin RIP** » 24 Jun 2010 10:19 pm

Dan Tyack wrote:I played through a Lunchbox into a 12" Egnator cab ....

I don't think the lunchbox would work for steel, even plugged into a different cabinet.

The model that I'm interested in is the Club.

Jim Simon · Post by **Jim Simon** » 25 Jun 2010 9:04 am

Mike:

I am not positive but I believe the Club and Lunchbox amplifier sections are the same. The Club features a larger speaker. Best check their web site but I think I am correct.

Jim

Mike Perlowin RIP · Post by **Mike Perlowin RIP** » 25 Jun 2010 10:31 am

I think you're right Jim. I've not heard a steel played through a Lunchbox, but I don't think their 6.5 inch speaker will satisfy our needs.

However, as I mentioned, I have heard Al Vescovo play his steel played through the club, and it's sounded just fine.

BTW, this is just a co-incidence, but Dan mentioned the Yamaha G-100, the Music Man, and the Crate Power Block. I have all 3. The Power Block is set up with an Alisis Midi-verb going into the effects loop and is being fed into a Carvin cabinet with a Peavey Black widow. I use that for woodshedding, but it is good enough to use on a gig, if necessary.

The Yamaha weighs about 50 pounds and the Music Man is over 80. I'm getting too old to carry around anything that heavy. The thought of an amp that weighs only 22 pounds is positively mouth-watering.

rodger_mcbride · Post by **rodger_mcbride** » 26 Jun 2010 8:43 am

Hi Mike,

We met at the Perl jam last fall, great fun to see all you guys!

I have a Lunchbox and have used it for steel. The little speaker breaks up at loud volume and low notes on the steel. If you run it through a cab with a larger speaker and turn off the amps speaker it sounds ok. I modded mine with a new chip (maybe the one they use in the club) from Ken Kantor (the designer of ZT) to cut the mids on the original design and removed the diodes on the gain circuit to lose the distortion in the gain. I think the tone is quite Fenderish and capable of a lot of volume. I've also run the steel through the Tech 21 Blonde pedal into the Lunchbox and that helps the simple tone circuit in the Lunchbox "beef" up. At 10 lbs, it's great little amp for dobro, jams, etc, but with all the bother of pedal, cabs, etc., a Peavey 112 is easier, not heavy and sounds great. The Club would be a better choice for steel, but I haven't played through one.

rodger

Dan Tyack · Post by **Dan Tyack** » 27 Jun 2010 7:24 pm

I thought the lunchbox was pretty impressive given the size and price. I do think the basic sound of the amp through an external speaker is on par with something like a Yamaha g-100, which is a pretty good steel amp.

However, IMHO it's definitely not going to sound as good as a great tube amp. For me it's worth the strain on my back, but that's my call. I'll definitely try the club model when they are available here.

Ben Jones · Post by **Ben Jones** » 28 Jun 2010 9:13 am

Mike Perlowin wrote:
The Yamaha weighs about 50 pounds and the Music Man is over 80. I'm getting too old to carry around anything that heavy. The thought of an amp that weighs only 22 pounds is positively mouth-watering.

take a look at a used evans head. they are just under 20 pounds and they have good tone. pair it with an ultralight cab with neo speaker.

I used the powerblock for a little while. It has NO tone at all. got me thru my first couple gigs

I have a 68 showman head and a musicman too. i gig the evans, its just lighter and easier to haul around. I sweeten the SS evans with a tube pedal (duncan twin tube)..some of those evans have a tube pre..Id like to check one of those out someday.

Ken Fox's steel amp looks like a good all tube solution if you can afford it, I think he kept the weight reasonable on em.

The Steel Guitar Forum

Has anybody seen these? (ZT Amplifiers)

Has anybody seen these? (ZT Amplifiers)

ZT amp performance?

Re: ZT amp performance?

Lunchbox for steel