A Z-Amp Legend Returns . . . Better Than Ever!
Boasting Dr. Z’s fan-favorite EF86 preamp design, the Z-28 MK II is a high-voltage, high-fidelity, high-headroom tube amplifier head that offers a three-dimensional, harmonic-laden sound with incredible dynamic touch and a mighty percussive response. You can coax so many different tones out of this amp. Whether you're aiming for crystal-clear clean tones or muscular overdrive, the Z-28 MK II will get you there. It also makes a superb pedal platform. Unlike the 6V6-loaded MK I model, the Z-28 MK II’s 30-watt power section is fueled by dual 5881 tubes, allowing you to achieve either mid-’60s-style American tones or British Invasion-era drive, depending on how hard you push it. The Z-28 MK II also adds a post-phase-inverter master volume control to ensure character-filled sound at any decibel level. The Dr. Z Z-28 MK II offers a worthy update to a legendary Z-Amp design.
Related Videos: Z-28 MK II 30-watt Tube Head
High-fidelity EF86 preamp
The Z-28 MK II’s EF86 preamp delivers a sound unlike more common designs. Plug into this tube amp head, and you’ll experience a three-dimensional sound that’s chock-full of harmonics, with incredible dynamic response and truckloads of percussive power. The Z-28 MK II’s clean tones are clear and shimmering, and it makes a superb pedal platform. Whether you use overdrive, distortion, modulation, reverb, or delay, your effects will sound as though they’re built right into the amp. Goose the Z-28 MK II’s gain past noon, and you’ll experience overdrive that's teeming with even-order harmonics — a hallmark of the EF86 design. The guitarists here at Sweetwater have found the Z-28 MK II to have unparalleled string-to-string clarity; it’s almost like layering a distorted amp with a clean one.
30 watts of 5881-fueled muscle
Thanks to its 30-watt, 5881-loaded power section, you can push the Z-28 MK II much harder than its 6V6-equipped predecessor, whilst maintaining a clean sound. The Z-28 MK II’s clean tones exhibit a similar character to classic American-style amplifiers. But when you crank this tube amp head, you’ll drive it into harmonic overload with a sound similar to the British amps of the Invasion era, but without the quirky artifacts inherent in those designs. Also different from the MK I model is the Z-28 MK II’s post-phase-inverter master volume. It enables you to achieve a rich, powerful sound at any output level.
Dr. Z Z-28 MK II 30-watt Tube Head Features:
- EF86 preamp delivers a high-fidelity sound with outstanding dimensionality and dynamic response
- Delivers everything from crystal-clear cleans to muscular overdrive
- Clean tones makes a superb pedal platform; effects sound like they're built right into the amp
- Dirty tones are chock-full of even-order harmonics — a hallmark of the EF86 design
- Yields unparalleled string-to-string clarity; it's almost like layering a distorted amp with a clean one
- 30-watt, 5881-loaded power section offers more clean headroom that the 6V6-equipped MK I model
- Clean tones exhibit American-style cleans; a pushed power section delivers British Invasion-era dirt
- Post-phase-inverter master volume enables a rich, powerful sound at any output level
