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NAD! Dr. Z Cure

Don

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 1, 2001
Messages
5,732
I went into a music store to check out the Mesa Fillmore 25 and 50 to see if I'd consider selling a couple of amps to cover the cost. The 25 sounded good and was very portable. The 50 sounded better but wasn't as portable.

Then I tried this! A Dr. Z Cure. It's only 15 watts, but I think it's louder than the Fillmore 25 (which I was able to fully crank and be very comfortable sitting next to- my Budda Twinmaster is much louder). It sounds and feels like a Fender brownface and tweed crossed with a touch of Vox and Marshall. It sounds awesome with a Telecaster and makes my Strat's bridge pickup sound fat. It's a more basic amp than the Mesas and is very responsive to touch.

For tubes it has 2x6V6, 2x12AX7, 1x12AT7 and a 5AR4. 1x12" speaker. The Master is a pre-phase inverter master, the Level is a post-phase inverter master. Set the texture of the gain with the Volume and the Master and set how loud it is with the Level. It sounds very good at low levels and awesome cranked. It's probably the most flexible amp I've played in that respect.

It includes a foot switch to bypass the tone stack with a potentiometer on it so you can set how much you're bypassing the tone stack. It can go from unity, to adding a little mids, to getting very loud.

I tried it with some pedals last night. Reverb in the FX loop was great. Tremolo in the loop wasn't- it added distortion. Drive pedals in front of the amp are great! It loves fuzz!

I like my amp to always be just a little bit dirty sounding and this amp is inspiring to play that way.

It's 19-1/4" x 19-1/2' x 10-1/2" and 33 pounds. Very portable. I could take it anywhere.

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latestarter

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Joined
Nov 9, 2009
Messages
4,173
Thanks for the rundown. Might look at one - need a gig backup for the Tupelo.
 

latestarter

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Nov 9, 2009
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4,173
What is the speaker out ohms wise? It looks like there's 8 ohms only?
 

Don

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Joined
Dec 1, 2001
Messages
5,732
What is the speaker out ohms wise? It looks like there's 8 ohms only?

You are correct, 8 ohms only. This is a fairly stripped down American style amp. It has a "hand wound" Triad OT. I don't know what the correct hookup for an extension cab would be.
 

Don

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Joined
Dec 1, 2001
Messages
5,732
Probably another 8ohm off that ext cab output.

Yes. That appears to be the case. From the manual-

"13. External Speaker Jack: Plug in an 8 Ohm external speaker here. Wired in parallel for a 4 Ohm total load.

14. Internal Speaker Jack: Plug in supplied 8 Ohm Z12 speaker in here. Always have a speaker plugged into the amp when it is powered on. Always match a 8 Ohm speaker with this output jack. This will allow the amp to sound its best and avoid damage."
 

sonar

New member
Joined
Jan 10, 2003
Messages
3,589
I somehow missed this NAD. Congrats Don!

Has the DR. Z replaced your gig amp(s)?
 

Señor Verde

Active member
Joined
Jan 13, 2005
Messages
621
Congrats! I just got a Cure in a trade and gigged it Saturday. I like it a lot.
 
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