Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: Nolly on May 14, 2012, 08:34:10 PM
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Evening chaps,
This afternoon I went over to the new and improved Zilla workshop (they recently relocated to a much bigger place just outside Bristol) to pick up a 4x12 that I've been rather excited about. I asked Paul if he could do a racing stripe like that of a Dodge Viper and he was happy to oblige. I think the end result is rather excellent!
(http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh76/Nollythegreat/Zilla%204x12/ZILLA3.jpg)
(http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh76/Nollythegreat/Zilla%204x12/ZILLA5.jpg)
(http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh76/Nollythegreat/Zilla%204x12/ZILLA4.jpg)
(http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh76/Nollythegreat/Zilla%204x12/ZILLA6.jpg)
(http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh76/Nollythegreat/Zilla%204x12/photo.jpg)
Paul and I discussed specs, but he has also surprised me with some very cool features of his own that he put in there too.
Firstly, as agreed, the cab has an x-pattern of two Vintage 30s, and two Celestion Lynchbacks, but Paul has wired them up so that in addition to regular "all-four-speakers" operation, you can choose to run each pair of speakers independently - using the white input provides normal mono operation, using the black input gives you V30s only, and using the white input with a dummy cable plugged into other gives you Lynchbacks only (plugging a separate source into each input gives you "stereo" operation, but since the speakers are in an x-pattern it won't exactly sound stereo).
Secondly, Paul used his 3-piece removable back design so that it can be easily turned into an open-backed cab. The cab still has a central front-to-back brace like most closed-back designs do but often gets omitted on "convertible" cabs.
Finally, the cab, despite being rear-loaded, has a removable grille for closer/more accurate mic'ing when recording.
So far I've only tried the cab with Paul's own amps at the workshop, a JPF Sir Charles and a JCM800 2203, but was extremely impressed with the depth, clarity and punch. The Lynchbacks were an unknown quantity - I fancied trying something along the lines of a greenback but without compromising on the high-gain tones I use with my band (I stick to V30s usually). According to the blurb about them and user reviews it sounded like they'd be up to the job, though a few reviews likened them to T75s, which I find to be somewhat metallic and harsh sounding. However, being able to directly compare them (that wiring idea of Paul's is genius!) to the V30s today I was very pleasantly surprised to find they sound really rather smooth in that "greenback-y" way I was hoping for - not harsh at all but with plenty of clarity/cut, and a very healthy low end response (more so than the V30s). The combined sound of all four speakers going was great - the character of both the V30s and Lynchbacks was clearly audible the two blended together into a very big and satisfying sound indeed. I'm looking forward to getting the cab into a rehearsal space with my own rig in the near future to really put it through its paces before using it on stage at our upcoming gigs.
Here are a couple of pics from the workshop earlier, believe it or not I am not "flipping the bird" in the first one but actually trying to wrestle the strap onto the lower button!
(http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh76/Nollythegreat/Zilla%204x12/ZILLA2.jpg)
(http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh76/Nollythegreat/Zilla%204x12/ZILLA1.jpg)
Cheers lads!
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Nice! White amps and cabs are awesome, the Shelby stripes are a nice addition... very cool. 8)
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That looks ace! Nice one. I agree with you about those straps, pesky little buggers aren't they. :lol:
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Nice!
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Very nice indeed. The options you have there sound very usable and I must admit, I like the finish you have chosen. Crazy shoes too.
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Yeah, that's a nice finish.
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Bad-ass, Nolly. Now, if you could just get some clips up with it. :grrr:
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That looks cool. Give some clips, please :D
If you ever need to get rid of one of your Zilla 2x12 just say the word :wink:
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excellent :D
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That is one of the coolest looking cabs. Congrats!
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yummy :D
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Have you sold your diezel 4x12? One does wonder how they compare ;)
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Dodge Viper?
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Awesome, thanks chaps! JDC, yes the Diezel cab went a good while ago now :)
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Aaah, the Suzuki Swift :lol: In the suburbs around here, I believe it's actually impossible to find one that's NOT styled in some super-obnoxious way :lol:
That said, really nice-looking cab, Nolly. The cabs really do look quite interesting on that site! Seeing as I have sort of "special needs" in terms of cabs currently, custom cabs might be the way to go for me, so to complement the "Congratulations on the really neat-looking new toy!" I'll also say thanks for the heads-up!
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Wow, LOVING the racing stripe finish. Totally would get my amp and cab done like that, if I could actually decide what to do about my cab situation.
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go-faster-stripe (go-louder-stripe?) FTW! :D
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Looks cool Nolly my only reservation is that it would show up any dirt-wear and tear very easily. Cool though
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go-faster-stripe (go-louder-stripe?) FTW! :D
I personally like "go-fatter-stripe" :lol:
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big Zilla fab boy here...excellent looking cab guys 8)
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white tolex always gives me a chub
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The snow-white/black stripes finish is really awesome!!!
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Very nice :)