In 2017 Brad Paisley found himself in possession of a vintage unicorn: a real-deal Vox AC80, at the time the most powerful
amp the company had ever built, and also the rarest, numbering under 300 built.The first generation of these amps were
built for the Beatles to use on their US stadium tours in the mid-60s in an attempt to elevate the Liverpudlian Lads’ sound
over the throngs of screaming fans.While in Cleveland on tour, Brad excitedly invited Dr. Z to hear the amp, both being
die-hard Beatles fans, and Brad having a piece of both musical and amplifier history.That meeting ended with a question
that would become an obsession over the next 6 years:“Could you build me another one, Z?”
The uncanny magic of the original Vox design was also it’s Achilles’ heel.The AC80 had 4 individually cathode-biased EL34
power tubes, pushed to the brink of meltdown in order to achieve 80+ watts from the output section. The original cabinets
were practically ovens for the tubes, providing poor ventilation and often going thermal while being pushed night after
night.This caused Vox to rethink the design and supply the power section with a more reliable fixed-biased circuit in the
second generation AC100 in the late 60s, but this design lost some of the harmonic response of the original, causing the
company to shelve the amp soon after. Dr. Z set out to make his iteration firstly, and most-importantly, reliable enough to
stand up to the rigors of Paisley’s robust tour schedule.Starting with a stouter power transformer custom-spec’ed from
Heyboer Transformers, he also reined the cathode values in, relieving the punishing voltages the EL34 tubes were under in
the vintage design, and designed his own aluminum-welded chassis and head cabinet to allow for proper ventilation.
Seeking to retain the unique vibe and distinct tone of the original cathode-biased design, but insuring it was bullet-proof,
the amp now dubbed the Z-80 has been on Paisley’s stage for 5+ years on the road, and has also found its way to numerous
other Z artists’ backline as a test of real-world reliability.
Dr. Z has never been satisfied to simply copy a design; the aim is always to bring a vintage tone into the present, meeting
the demands and needs of today’s player. Beyond improved reliability, refinement of the circuit was in order: a post-phase
inverter master volume was tuned to control the brutal 80+ watts of clean, chiming power on tap. A Metro “Zero Loss”FX
loop was added, allowing the player to dial up the grit and grind, but retain the clarity of their time-based effects and
modulation.While the original Vox design was intended for bass guitar, Dr. Z massaged the Z-80’s preamp to include a
midrange control to dial in the range most important for guitar instead of the original’s fixed resistor value, and ironed out
some of the quirks in the tone stack by increasing gain and expanding frequency bandwidth.
Six years of relentless evolution has gone into the Z-80, having been built-up, then torn down to the tacks over half a dozen
times; a testament to considerations taken for an amp Dr. Z considers a touchstone in his company’s legacy.The Z-80 retains
the original AC80’s quad of individually cathode-biased EL34s, two 12AX7 preamp and one 12AU7 phase inverter, includes
both a custom power transformer that exceeds the original’s requirements and reliability, and is fitted with a replica output
transformer designed around the original AC80 schematics, manufactured exclusively for Dr. Z by Heyboer Transformers.
Hand-wired meticulously by Dr. Z himself, the Z-80 outperforms the original design requirements, has undergone the
crucible of the road, and provides a dynamic, unmatched playing experience one can only achieve by buckling up and
plugging into 80 watts of British Invasion-inspired power.
General Informaon
Power Output 30 was
Output Tubes 2- 5881
Preamp Tubes 1- EF-86, 1- 12AX7
Recfier 5AR4
Controls Volume, Treble, Bass, Master
Speaker Outputs 8 Ohm Output
Configuraons 1x12 Combo, Head
Dimensions Head: 19” W, 9 3/4” H, 9 1/2” D; 32 lbs.
& Weight Combo: 22ʺ W, 21 1/2ʺ H, 10 5/8ʺ D; 42 lbs.
Specifications:
