Experience with Victoria amps, anyone?

[Yngve]

I need to buy yet another amp. I cannot carry my Matchless DC30 around between rehearsals, gigs, the studio and my living room... I really love the Matchless DC30, so I've thought about a Nighthawk. Class A EL84 is definetly what I need, but another Matchless will be too close to what I already have. I play mostly "tele"-country (chicken-picking) and "strat"-style blues/rock, of course with a HTC and a HDTC ;)

I've been thinking of maybe a Victoria Victorilux that is like a Fender with a Voxy power stage. I've not tried one yet, so I hope someone here can tell me something about how it compares to a Matchless..? I like the complexity, dynamics and the sweet break-up of the Matchless. A DrZ Stingray 2x12" combo is also under consideration, but I've been recommended not to choose the Stingray as I've been told that it doesn't have the complexity of the Matchless. Have not tried a Stingray either (I live in Norway, impossible to try out here), so any comment would be greatly appreciated :)

[billyguitar]

All reports so far about the Dr Z Stingray are positive. Check the www.drzamps.com website for sound clips. If you like poppin' a Tele, the Dr Z amps are the best way to go. You can also get to the Dr Z amp forum from the home site and see what folks are saying. I'd reccomend a separate head and speaker cab to save your back.

[Yngve]

Yeah, popping a tele is basically what I do all the time :cool: . I've been reading alot on the DrZ forum and I see that the Stingray has got exceptional reviews. But what about the Victoria? I like the "fender" sound for tele, but in my hands they don't play as well as an EL84 amp. A "fender" preamp with EL84 power stage sounds interesting...

[Janine Doubly]

One thing to keep in mind is the power in your country. That might help (or aggrevate) your amp choice. Is it 110 or 220?

[Woodash]

I can't help you with the Victorilux specifically, but I have a couple of Victorias that I love. One is a Double Deluxe. This is a 2x5E3 circuit (standard tweed Deluxe with 4x6V6s in a 2x12" cab). Probably the most touch-sensitive amp I own. Wonderful warm tweed tone - nice sparkle at lower volume, and wonderful creamy smooth overdrive all the way to the top at higher volume. But again, alot of this is driven by your attack. Typically much stronger in the midrange than a standard blackface circuit, which makes it a nice complement to guitars that are generally a bit weaker in the mids (think ash strat with maple board).

I also have a Victoria 5112 - a Champ (5F3) circuit in a larger cab, with a 12" speaker. Tone to die for, especially with an Alnico Blue.

That what does it for me: Nice guitars, and pure tweed distortion.

Sorry I can't be of any help with the Victorilux, but I can say the build quality is really good with the Victorias.

[dannopelli]

I have two Dr Z's and MAz 38 and Maz 18. I can tell you I SWEAR by my Dr Z's. Wbb has had about three or four different models and currently has a Stingray. You might want to PM him. He is a GREAT Tele player too.

[dannopelli]

I have two Dr Z's and MAz 38 and Maz 18. I can tell you I SWEAR by my Dr Z's. Wbb has had about three or four different models and currently has a Stingray. You might want to PM him. He is a GREAT Tele player too.

Check this out. It is Bill Bolling, (Wbb) playing his Andy Hollow T through a Stingray:

Wbb on Stingray (http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=346841)

[Yngve]

One thing to keep in mind is the power in your country. That might help (or aggrevate) your amp choice. Is it 110 or 220?
240V. Both Victoria and DrZ (and every other amp I can think of) have 240 on export models.

[Yngve]

I have two Dr Z's and MAz 38 and Maz 18. I can tell you I SWEAR by my Dr Z's. Wbb has had about three or four different models and currently has a Stingray. You might want to PM him. He is a GREAT Tele player too.
It's funny how people are different. My brother has a Maz38 and I've played it alot. The amp is of course wonderful, but I don't really care so much for it. It does sound good, but I feel the Matchless is more of my kind of tone. Maybe Wbb want to give us some input about how the Stingray feels and sounds compared to the Maz38 (reverb model)?

[Wbb]

It's funny how people are different. My brother has a Maz38 and I've played it alot. The amp is of course wonderful, but I don't really care so much for it. It does sound good, but I feel the Matchless is more of my kind of tone. Maybe Wbb want to give us some input about how the Stingray feels and sounds compared to the Maz38 (reverb model)?

Yngve, most of the Stingray owners I know have also owned the Maz Sr. In fact we've all owned a bunch of Z's, I'm on number 6 :D The Stingray is a superb amp, no other way I can put it. You can't dial in gain as there is no master volume. I tend to leave my cut at noon and dial in between noon and 3:00 on the tone knob...which will adequately go from warm/bluesy to bright/chimey. It is a KILLER country amp with plenty of headroom & snap/punch unlike any Z, but will also do other genres by adding pedals...which the 'ray will CONSUME!...it loves pedals.

The Maz Sr has a full EQ and potentially reverb, which is a plus for some...but not for me. And as I mentioned it has master volume. The 'ray is coming more from a Vox camp, where the Sr felt more "Fendery" to my ears. I am told the combo with 2 blues is the shizzle. I wouldn't know because I get by with a 1x12 with a Weber alnico 50w Blue dog.

If you have anymore specific questions, I'll be glad to try and answer them for you. And DANNO...thank you for your very kind & generous comments!

Bill

[dannopelli]

It's funny how people are different. My brother has a Maz38 and I've played it alot. The amp is of course wonderful, but I don't really care so much for it. It does sound good, but I feel the Matchless is more of my kind of tone. Maybe Wbb want to give us some input about how the Stingray feels and sounds compared to the Maz38 (reverb model)?

Understood. The thing about the MAZ series is they come in so many flavors of amp and speaker config. For example, the 1x12 Weber sounds TOTALLY different from the 1x12 Vintage 30. The 2x12 with BlueBells is totally different from other combinations. ETC.

Also, I find that changing the tubes in V1 and V2 from the ECC83 to 12AX7C makes a HUGE difference, creating a smoother sound.

But as Bill said, the Maz is a different animal. If you need a more utilitarian amp that can cover many grounds well it is a great choice. It is a great blues or jazz amp, takes pedals real well too. And since I am primarily a Blues/Rock/Jazz player it is PERFECT for me.

But to nail a specific sound, especially Country, well I agree some of the other models do better.

[Yngve]

Yngve, most of the Stingray owners I know have also owned the Maz Sr. In fact we've all owned a bunch of Z's, I'm on number 6 :D The Stingray is a superb amp, no other way I can put it. You can't dial in gain as there is no master volume. I tend to leave my cut at noon and dial in between noon and 3:00 on the tone knob...which will adequately go from warm/bluesy to bright/chimey. It is a KILLER country amp with plenty of headroom & snap/punch unlike any Z, but will also do other genres by adding pedals...which the 'ray will CONSUME!...it loves pedals.

The Maz Sr has a full EQ and potentially reverb, which is a plus for some...but not for me. And as I mentioned it has master volume. The 'ray is coming more from a Vox camp, where the Sr felt more "Fendery" to my ears. I am told the combo with 2 blues is the shizzle. I wouldn't know because I get by with a 1x12 with a Weber alnico 50w Blue dog.

If you have anymore specific questions, I'll be glad to try and answer them for you. And DANNO...thank you for your very kind & generous comments!

Bill
Thank you so much for your response! I too don't care much for the EQ in the Maz38. It sounds "unnatural" in my ears, no matter how much I tweek it. I feel the Matchless is more "true to its tone" as it only has one tone knob on the pentode channel and responds more like I want it to. I also think the Maz38 sounds more Fenderly and a bit harsh. The harsh sound disappaired when changing the stock tubes to NOS (Tesla, Mullard, RCA) and the amp improved soo much! I have a few questions:

Does the tone knob have steps?

From the sound clips on the DrZ forum the amp does break alittle. How loud does it sound before it begins to break? Maybe an attenuator would be useful , have you tried one on this amp?

Do you think the amp sounds good at low volumes? Does it sound rich and complex and have character, rather than thin and uninspiring? The thing about my Matchless is that EVERY time I plug a guitar in, I get a huge smile on my face and I don't want to stop playing. I get amazed each time I play it almost like I've forgot the tone. Most amps just gets boring after half an hour... I would love the Stingray if it just keeps me playing.

Your sound clips rocks!! Nice tone and feel you got there :)

[Wbb]

Thank you so much for your response! I too don't care much for the EQ in the Maz38. It sounds "unnatural" in my ears, no matter how much I tweek it. I feel the Matchless is more "true to its tone" as it only has one tone knob on the pentode channel and responds more like I want it to. I also think the Maz38 sounds more Fenderly and a bit harsh. The harsh sound disappaired when changing the stock tubes to NOS (Tesla, Mullard, RCA) and the amp improved soo much! I have a few questions:

Does the tone knob have steps?

From the sound clips on the DrZ forum the amp does break alittle. How loud does it sound before it begins to break? Maybe an attenuator would be useful , have you tried one on this amp?

Do you think the amp sounds good at low volumes? Does it sound rich and complex and have character, rather than thin and uninspiring? The thing about my Matchless is that EVERY time I plug a guitar in, I get a huge smile on my face and I don't want to stop playing. I get amazed each time I play it almost like I've forgot the tone. Most amps just gets boring after half an hour... I would love the Stingray if it just keeps me playing.

Your sound clips rocks!! Nice tone and feel you got there :)

Does the tone knob have steps?

Do you mean like incremental clicks as you turn the knob? If so, no.

The amp has very little breakup, it's not designed to drive like a Maz or Ghia will. I haven't tried an Airbrake or other attenuator with the Stingray. It sounds very dynamic at low volumes...on the jazzy clip my amp volume is at gig level, and I dial back a couple times to a very low volume, which shows, at least to me how inspiring the low volume tone can be. You can hear a slight breakup caused by the zendrive.

Nothing worse than a boring amp...been there, done that!

[dannopelli]

Bill,

I REALLY like that Beckish tune. It's going on my IPOD!

Danno

[Wbb]

Bill,

I REALLY like that Beckish tune. It's going on my IPOD!

Danno

Cool!

Yngve, as far as Victoria's...I shared guitar duties in a honky tonk band last year with a local guy who used a Vickie. Don't know which model, but it was loaded with 3-tens and sounded fantastic with his CS Tele. At one point he asked about trading it outright for a Maz Jr I had for sale. Following up a few days later thinking it could be a good deal, he said he was "feeling a buzz" that night, and would never give up his Vickie...which we both got a good laugh over! He and Vic recently departed for Germany, where the demand & appreciation for live music in night clubs is unlike anything I've seen on this shore.

[billyguitar]

You might know Europe is the place to be for musicians. Here it does seem to be perceived as an impediment to conversation by the average public.

[Wbb]

You might know Europe is the place to be for musicians. Here it does seem to be perceived as an impediment to conversation by the average public.

My wife would agree with you billy, at least the impediment to convo part!

There's a place we play, (you've been there Danno), where the ex local Sheriff sometimes hangs out. When he does, he always takes the mic before the show and goes into his power spiel...ultimately ending with, "show this band some respect, sit up, listen, and pay attention!". Works good for about 5 or 6 songs, almost eerily quiet...then it's back to the norm! :D

[Yngve]

Hmmm... Here in Norway people actually goes out to hear music (and of couse have a few beers or many) and sing along on the chorus with the band. Much fun to play when you know you're appreciated. :)

Well, I have a Victorilux 6L6 w/2x12" Jensen P12Q on the way from southern Norway to try out for 2 weeks before I buy. I must say I have little experience with 6L6 "fendery" amps, so I'm very excited. Everybody I've talked with say that I cannot compare the Victorias to the Fender amps you usually finds in any shop. P2P wiring and all the other cool stuff Victoria does apparently sweetens the tone so much that I should lay down my prejudices for Fender and just try one. So now I will :cool:

[Yngve]

Well, I bought the Victorilux. It sounds amazing. Extremely touch sensitive and dynamic, and it doesn't need an attenuator to play at reasonable volumes. It sounds totally different that the Matchless, but amazing tone in this one.

Oh, I forgot: The Victoria weights only about 15 kg, so I can easily carry it around. The Matchless weights close to 50 kg, not including the flightcase.