Starting in 2006, Brad Paisley contacted Dr. Z about building another amp. After talking about the design and the desired outcome Z asked his friend Ken Fischer to lend a hand. Dr. Z built up the prototype amp and sent it off to Ken. Ken did his thing to it and sent it back…including naming the amp the Z Wreck. After a few more tweaks the amp was sent off to Brad and it has become a mainstay in his rig since 2006. When Ken passed away at the end of ‘06 Dr. Z put the amp on a shelf and walked away.

Every component on the Z Wreck was placed with the utmost attention to short wire lengths and increased separation between the front end and the output section. The heart of the amp is the output transformer designed by Ken for Dr. Z in the early 2000s. Also on board is a newly designed power transformer which incorporates a multi tapped secondary that allows for 2 different plate voltage settings: Comfort and Speed. Speed yields a strong attack with increased clarity and dynamic headroom. Every note rings clear in the clean settings and they absolutely scream when the amp is pushed to its natural overdriven voice. The comfort setting drops the plate voltage down for more of a vintage feel. The softer response and overall sweetness of the comfort setting really makes it difficult to put the guitar down.

The touch response of the Z Wreck is unequaled. Settings below 12:00 on the volume yield a rich clean sound with no signs of harshness. A 12 string Ric will be right at home for mid 60s Liverpool bliss. Once past 12:00 on the volume you can dial in excellent crunch all the way up to full blooming sustained drive sounds. Does the Z Wreck ROCK? YES!!! Does the Z Wreck TWANG? YES!!! The Z Wreck will deliver exactly what your hands and guitar give it. With the amp volume past noon you can roll your guitar volume back for articulate full bodied clean sounds and turn it up full for excellent drive. The Z Wreck truly is a plug-and-play amp.