Route 66
“It makes other amps sound thin by comparison; like drinking skim milk rather than a milkshake” – Dr. Z
Specifications
| Power Output | 32 Watts |
| Output Tubes | 2 – Gold Lion KT66 |
| Preamp Tubes | 1 – EF86 (NOS), 1-12AX7 |
| Rectifier | 1 – 5U4 |
| Controls | Volume, Treble, Bass |
| Configurations | Head |
| Dimensions & Weight | Head: 17 3/4″ W, 10″ H, 9 3/4″ D; 35 lbs. |
| Owners Manual | Download |
General Information
The Route 66 is an all original Dr. Z design based on the incredible KT-66 tube originally built by Genelex. This tube generates the “Milkshake Thick” tones, as heard on John Mayall’s “Bluesbreaker” album featuring Eric Clapton (the “Beano Album” as it is known to many).
This is not a duplicate of the Marshall JTM-45, but completely original spin with new tonal end results. The Route 66 has an EF-86 front-end. For those not familiar with this tube, it is a 9 pin pentode that offers incredible gain and input dynamics. It is normally used in high-end stereos, most often for its accurate transfer of input signal, balance, and headroom.
The Route 66 features a deceptively simple tone stack, consisting of Volume, Bass, and Treble, which feeds a non-negative feedback Phase Inverter, for true harmonic content and full output tube dynamics. It has a 5U4 Tube Rectifier to complete the round enveloped tone. The amp has piano-like clarity with endless sustain, even at low volumes. Its 32 watts truly sing when driven hard in a focused, thick distortion, with the tightest bass response you’ve ever heard.
Magazine Reviews
Guitar Buyer magazine provided us with a review of the Route 66.
The Route 66 received the first ever “Editors’ Pick Award” from Guitar Player Magazine.
Testimonials
“Hey Doc,
When Jeff Jourard brought this Route 66 over I was semi-disinterested…..simply because, frankly, I’ve never played an amp made after 1971 that I could stand. So he plugs it in and $%#^…..immediately the jaws drop, and we start busting out old Strats, old Les Pauls, old SG/LP’s …didn’t matter, they ALL sounded great, no, spectacular!. So much compression, sustain, harmonics, touch, AND when you turned down the guitar, that damned amp cleaned up without losing apparent volume to 50 fabulous shades of dirty to semi-dirty to clean.
Anyway, thanks for making the best New amp, period…certainly the Best amp made in at least the last 30 years, and one of the best amps I’ve ever heard!”
–Mike Fuller, Fulltone
Sounds
Single Coils – Clean
Route 66 recorded with a Tele, SE VR 1 ribbon on a Z-BEST 2×12
Humbuckers – Dirty
Route 66 recorded with a PRS DGT, SE VR 1 ribbon on a Z-BEST 2×12
Humbuckers – Dirty
Route 66 recorded with a PRS DGT, SE VR 1 ribbon on a Z-BEST 2×12
Humbuckers – Dirty
Route 66 recorded with a HSS Strat, SE VR 1 ribbon on a Z-BEST 2×12
Videos
Disclaimer: while the information contained on this page is correct at the time of publication, due to our policy of constant improvement and development, Dr. Z Amplification reserves the right to alter specifications without prior notice.
Reviews
Guitar Player Magazine awarded the JETTA their Editors’ Pick award with their review in the Holiday ’19 issue.
“…the Jetta reminds you of what fun a simple, plug-and-go amp can be, and of that magical time when you first plugged into a real tube amp and got right down to the business of playing rock and roll.” – Dave Hunter, Guitar Player
Testimonials
Beautiful simplicity. I love it! I bought this amp and gigged with it almost immediately, I really love it because it has everything I was looking for in a local club gigging amp, light and portable, with a killer effects loop and master volume that don’t affect tone, hand-wired? yes and unbelievable at this price. But if you need to get loud , don’t worry, it can do it. The tone is very 60’s & 70’s rock, which is fine by me, you can crank it, but cleans up nice with guitar volume knob. If you’re a knob twiddler and switch fiddler, this is not your amp. Simple three knobs do it all. This amp is the answer to my dreams…
I was blown away within the first few minutes after receiving my JETTA #1… After almost 2 weeks, I am still giddy about this little amp. The small, lightweight, powerful if need be package has amazing tones at an unbelievable price point. I’ve seen and owned other brands at $1000 and more that did not have the “it” factor as the JETTA does.
The clean tones are great, the edge of break-up tones are better, and the full on overdriven tones are amazing! Think thick & juicy!
The simple 3 knob simplicity, reminds me of Dr. Z’s earlier designs and are very interactive. The Volume control is appropriately named, as it not only increases gain, but volume and low end as well. The Tone control is amazingly tuned. At 10am on the dial, it still has plenty of highs for single coils, yet rolling it up to max yields more gain and less lows and low mids, still no harshness to be found. Super cool. Finally the Master is just that, allowing you to set the overall volume level to what ever SPL you need. This knob is very sensitive given the power of this little beast! Also as you turn the Master up, it allows more highs to come through. All these working together make this a wildly versatile little package.
