|
Features: 9
This is a 32-watt head using KT-66 power tubes. It has controls
for treble, bass and volume. The rear panels has speaker outs for
4, 8, or 16 ohms cabs. That's it! I can not think of anything else
I need on this amp...with the only possible exception of reverb.
However, the Route 66 is so fat and round sounding, I really don't
miss it. Adding channels, gain stages, effects loops, etc., would
only hurt the sonic integrity of this great amp. I only give it
a 9 because I'm sure Dr. Z could figure out some way to make it
better...but I can't think of anything else it needs.
Sound Quality: 10
This amp was designed primarily for Strats, which is what I'm using.
It is so sad that I spent all those thousands of dollars over the
years on amps overloaded with features that sound like warm monkey
piss compared to this thing. I've owned and gigged with the following
amps, to name a few: Mesa Tremoverb, Mark IV, DC-3, Triaxis; Marshall
JCM 900, 30th Anniversary combo; Egnater TOL100, Fender Reissue
Bassman; Groove Tubes Soul-O 75; VHT Pitbull; some Rivera 2x12 combo;
and countless Peaveys and rack gear in my early years. I even had
a Johnson once (ughh!). Many of these amps were great for certain
sounds (like the scooped crunch on the Tremoverb), but they all
lacked something...
I don't want to slam any other reviewers in this forum, but I think
a lot of people review amps based on "bedroom" sounds--that is,
they take the amp home, jam with their friends, or whatever. That's
cool, but I can make almost any amp sound good in a controlled situation
like that. To me, the most critical test for an amp is live performance
with a band...and I play 200 dates a year. So many amps sound fine
alone, but get lost in the mix. The Route 66 does not get lost!
Have you ever just kept slowly turning your amp up as the night
goes by, because you can't hear yourself anymore? The 66 has incredible
presence without bleeding your eardrums. That's not to say it won't
get loud - it can scream. But the notes are very 3-dimensional and
FAT. The treble and gain act like gain stages, and can dramatically
affect the sounds. Crank up the volume for killer power amp saturation.
The only thing this amp won't do by itself is hard rock/metal sounds.
However, put a high quality pedal in front, and you'll be blown
away. Great pedals to use with this amp include the Ibanez TS-9
and Tube King, Budda Phatman, and Matchless Hotbox. The cool thing
about a setup like this, is that you are not limited to the crunch
sounds on your amp. It's easy and cheap to get new pedals.
The Route 66 has amazing bell-like clarity. It appears to be a very
simple amp, but in the end, it's quite complex. I dare you to get
a bad sound out of it (I can't!).
Reliability: 10
I'm using 2 in stereo. If you play live, you'd better have a backup
for everything. I don't care how well-made something is - it could
go down.
Having said that, all Dr. Z amps are of the highest quality. They
are hand-wired with no circuit boards. I seriously doubt they will
ever fail...but always be prepared!
Customer Support: 10
Dr. Z is the best. He'll answer your phone calls or e-mails personally.
My first Route 66 was shipped from a store and the power tubes were
not removed. One was damaged during transit. Dr. Z FedExed me a
new set of 2 tubes at his expense, even though it wasn't his fault.
All of his amps have a lifetime warranty - not that you'll need
it.
He's happy to talk shop and is very personable and friendly.
Overall Rating: 10
I would buy this amp again - in fact I have 2! Even if I find something
I like better one day, I'll never sell these. They look cool (get
the hardwood option!) and sound unreal. I know a lot of young players
probably wouldn't be impressed by this amp, because it's single
channel and won't sound like Korn, but that's OK. You have to go
through a period of trying different amps and learning for yourself.
If you don't, you'll never appreciate a great amp like the 66. Believe
me, I've used them all.
My set up is as follows:
American Standard Strat with JB Jr. in the bridge > Nady UHF
wireless > Boss TU2 tuner > Budda wah > Carl Martin compressor
> Budda Phatman > Ibanez TS-9 > Carl Martin chorus >
Ibanez AD99 analog delay > Route 66.
Every now and then I'll insert a vibrato or something if I need
it. Even though I've got a few pedals, the Route 66 is the heart
of the setup. Change your pedals or speaker cabinet and you've got
a whole new sound. Sure, you could do the same with other amps,
but they don't have the same heart and soul as the Route 66.
Features: 7
This is a strange category for this amp. It does not have a lot of
features in that there is only one channel and only three knobs, but
it will give you a large variety of great tones.
This amp has plenty of power for my application. The 32 watts are
pretty loud, but it is easy to get a great in between sound out of
it at bedroom levels.
The tube compliment has been dealt with in ealier posts. Let me just
say that the KT-66 is a wonderful thing.
Sound Quality: 10
I play mostly blues, jazz, and blues influenced rock. This amp is
great for all that. It will make any guitar sound good. The key
to finding a great sound for your specific application is the tone
controls. With them at halfway you get a pretty neutral sounding
tone, great for clean stuff. Crank them up and the amp gets dirtier
at lower volmues. They're like gain controls for their respective
sides of the tonal spectrum.
I use it with single coil and humbucker guitars and both sound great.
The charcacter of the guitar is retained, but the amp adds it's
own great coloring. With that said, it's the most transparent amp
I've ever played. All the subtle elements of your playing, including
mistakes, come through on this amp. It gives me this great raw and
real feeling; makes me feel like me, the guitar and the amp are
all a single unit. It's nothing short of amazing.
The distortion is rather pummeling. That's a good thing, but it's
not the kind of smooth breakup you get with preamp distortion. Once
you crank it all the way up, the sounds you get are nothing short
of amazing. It's what I always thought an old marshall should sound
like; it's thick, creamy and just too cool.
I always was a fan of reverb, and I was worried I would miss it
here. I don't. It would only get in the way; the tone is already
that good.
As others have said, it works great with pedals. I use my fulldrive
2 with it and I get more amazing sounds. I normally only do that
when I can't get loud enough to distort just with the amp. The EF86
front end prevents thing from compressing too early and lets the
full sound of the pedal come through.
Reliability: N/A
I have not had it more than a week. It seems very durable, but I
won't give it a rating here, because I don't know how it would stand
up yet.
It is built like a tank.
Customer Support: 10
I emailed Dr. Z and he got back to me quickly. He was very helpful
and recommended the Carmen Ghia for power tube distortion at low
volume. I couldn't try any of his amps, but when I did try some
(budda, matchless) in the 15 watt range, I thought they were too
tiny sounding. I was afraid the Ghia would be the same, so I got
the 66.
Overall Rating: 10
I've been playing for about 10 years and just recently realized
that the key, IMHO, is a good tube amp. I've had some fender models
(Deluxe Reverb RI) and really liked them, but nothing I've ever
played compares to this thing. I went with a point to point wired
amp, because I want to be able to repair it, should the need arise,
without too much trouble. Z wants to make a product that will last
a lifetime, I wanted a product that would last a lifetime. It's
a perfect match. I would buy the Route 66 amp again in a heartbeat.
The Route 66 is a no-nonsense tone machine. No frills, no bells
and whistles, just a great amp. I'm from the midwest and this amp
has the best of the ideals from the American midwest in it's design.
Easy to use, to the point, and well built.
My amp quest has ended.
Features: 9
Single channel 30 watt amp using KT-66 tubes. No reverb, no trem,
no effects loop, no horrid master volume...nothing gets in the way
of this sonic juggernaut. This amp is pure tone...nuff said. If you
want features, buy a VCR!
Sound Quality: 10
My guitar of choice is a Fender Custom Shop Tele Jr.. This p-90
masterpiece, coupled with this amp is THE tone. I play blusey rock
and roll. This amp excells in this genre. The amp is virtually noise
free through the range of volume settings. The clean tone is huge,
very deep, and very thick. The overdrive is amazing. This amp is
super responsive to playing style...and very musical sounding. The
overdrive preserves the tone of the guitar rather than choke it
out. At full bore, string articulation is retained.
Reliability: 10
Of the people I know who own Z amps, all swear on it's reliability.
Oh yeah...the amp comes with a lifetime warranty. As far as using
it without a backup, I don't use anything without a backup...but
I an confident that the Route 66 will serve me well
Customer Support: 10
Dr. Z is very customer oriented (unlike some others whom shall remain
nameless). UPS killed my first amp, and Z totally went out of his
way to make good. In my own personal experience, this kind of dedication
only exists among the top end guys. Bill Chapin of Chapin Guitars
in Ca. was very helpful on all fronts as well. Bill carries the
entire range of Dr Z. Amps, as well as many others. He also builds
custom guitars. The guy eats sleeps and breathes real tone. When
you're ready to step up to the truth, give him a call (1-87-realtone).
Overall Rating: 10
I've been playing for 4 years. I've been recording for the last
6 months. As an engineer myself, I appreciate the great sounds that
the Route 66 creates. I also own a Tone King Galaxy...look for that
review soon. If either of my amps were lost or stolen, I would have
no choice but to replace them. These amps define tone. If you love
big old amp tones, the Route 66 is a must have. Nothing...and I
do mean nothing tops this amp's warmth. A few short years ago, you
couldn't buy tone this good at any price. It might appear to cost
a bit for what it is, but isn't your tone worth it? As an engineer,
I hate to see players who are frustrated because the cant get THE
tone. This amp inspires creativity. The Dr. Z Route 66 has got it!
And in the end, that's all you really need to know.
Features: 5
The Dr Z Route-66 is a special head featuring an all new original
design based on the KT-66 output tubes, EF86 pre-amp tube, ECC83 phase
inverter and a GZ34 rectifier. The amp is handwired on an aluminum
chassis with proprietary coupling caps, carbon comp resistors, custom
transformers and enclosed in a cool looking medium sized Dr. Z cabinet.
The amp has Volume, Treble, Bass and a single input jack. The amp
has 4-8-16 ohm output taps for use with your favorite cabs. The amp
uses no negative feedback, no choke, is low filtered, and the output
is Ultra Linear. I measured 430 volts and about 30 ma on the KT-66's.
The tubes are widely spaced and seem to not be pushed much at all,
I bet they will last a long, long time. The amp is truly unique and
is rated at about 30-34 watts. Available as a head only.
Sound Quality: 10
Short and sweet this is a Tweed Killer! It's the best way to describe
it, it is like Dr Z created his version of the infamous raw and
rich tweed tone. As far as circuits are concerned its not even remotely
close to a tweed in any way, but it has that primitive sound, only
juicier and tweaked to perfection. Like other Z's the 66 has that
Dynamic Z feel, sensitivity, and top end character. The low-end
has slight compression that gives a swelled, comfy feel and is very
rich, round, defined and punchy. To me it is perfect low-end.....I
mean perfect! The top is brilliant but not piercing. It has a swirl
and sparkle when you dig in to the high notes and it really sings
and sustains. There is a faint ghost note harmonic that really adds
fatness and character to your high-end. It kinda howls when you
bend notes and adds to the primitive vibe. The midrange is smooth
and not humped. So many of the lead amps I play have a punched up
midrange and focus that sounds like it has a tubescreamer installed.
Not the 66, it is thick and juicy and still has a real distinction
from low to mid to top end. When you roll the volume down you get
a rich burnished clean tone. Definitely a tweedy like clean and
right from your guitar volume control. For me the amp has 3 tone
regions. The first is a low volume tone that is clean but very warm
and smoky with great clean sustain and thickness. It makes the amp
versatile for those gigs where you got to keep it down. It has a
nice low volume bite. I have never had an amp of this power that
did single note stuff this nice at a low volume level. The second
is Blues tone. It is an absolute killer Blues Tone. Not as edgy
as a tweed, very fat and responsive, very harmonic, and kinda Smokey.
The 66 is huge sounding and engulfs more than it punches, with plenty
of focus. This amp will not drive away people in the front row.
It grinds and sings with never a harsh high note.....this is a Blues
Players Dream Amp Tone. The third is wide open. It's old Marshall
like. Get a Les Paul and play some Cream or Zep. It really sings
and never looses definition. For those after that Beano tone, well
here's your amp. It really snarls and breathes when cranked.
Another feature of the 66 is its amazing compatibility with pedals...well
I should say pedal. I never use and really don't care for overdrive
pedals. Z told me to try a pedal for over the top distortion, well
I did and could not believe how my Tubescreamer sounded in the 66.
It sounded like part of the amp, the amp absorbed the pedal and
produced the most natural sounding pedal distortion I have ever
heard. I could never get my Klon to sound this good in any amp,
and my tubescreamer is more of a paperweight cause I really don't
care for it. But, plugged into the 66 it sounded natural and dynamic
like never before. I confirmed this with a friend that tried every
pedal under the sun through the 66.....he was equally amazed. Z
said it has to do with the special EF86 input tube.
A unique feature of the amp is an unusual set of tone controls.
When you adjust the treble it seems to adjust gain and character
of the treble. Same for the bass. They have a slight interaction
and shaping effect on the mids. Whats cool is you can actually tailor
the gain in the treble and bass to fit your guitar. I am able to
get a singing top and a relatively clear bottom. Or a growling bottom
and a milder top. These are the coolest controls I have ever used!
They are different but extremely useful, particularly for shaping
the top end for different guitars and sounds. For more zing and
sting just turn the treble up......it doesn't really get a lot brighter,
it rather gets gainier and bitier, for a mellower top turn the treble
down....it doesn't get dark or loose brightness it just gets mellower.
Very Cool, Tone controls specifically engineered for lead guitarist!
Isn't that what Stevie was always after....Stinging Top and Clear
Lows? This amp does it better than any I have ever played.
Reliability: 10
Z stuff is built for the road.
Customer Support: 10
Z is very generous of his time and problems are addressed by him
personally. Can't get better than that.
Overall Rating: 10
I bought Dr Z's new Route-66, Based on its description I figured
it would be right up my alley......and oh did it hit the nail on
the head! I use Dr Z MAZ 38 and MAZ 18 1-12 combo's simultaneously,
I set the 18 up for singing top end and set the 38 up for a clear
punchy clean tone. It's a great low to medium volume live set-up
and I have been using this for a year (I have had the 38 for about
4 years). When I got the KT-66 I plugged the speaker from my 38
into it and ran parallel with the 18 for a few tunes, turned the
18 off and have been perfectly happy with Just the Route 66 ever
since! And it doesn't even have reverb!! I couldn't believe it,
I went for a non-reverb single amp set-up. I was able to get top-end
thickness and sustain and Low-end clarity and tightness at the same
time. I have never played an amp that could do this so well at a
reasonable volume level, it singly replaced my 2 amp rig. The Route
66 takes rich and rawness to a new level. The amps clean is tweed
like, and the amps full on distortion is pure woman tone, with great
detail and tightness. What I love most about the amp is its half
volume blues tone, dynamic, clear, great sustain and fatness, tight
lows, and a brilliantly sweet top-end. The 66 engulfs you in sound,
its not loud, its BIG......That's the biggest difference compared
to my MAZ 38. To top it off the 66 does it all at a comfortable
volume. This really is a first class, killer blues club amp that
reinforces my highest regard for the complete line of Dr Z amplifiers.
|
Route
66 Reviews