I'm looking to get my first Z pretty soon. I've drooled over the Rt. 66 for a long time, and I've played through one once or twice, although it's been almost two years or so since I was able to do so. More recently I've played through a Maz Sr. and also loved it.
I thought I had my mind made up and was going to go with the Maz Sr. with a 2 x 12 combo (still pondering speaker options), but now, after listening to those Rt. 66 clips, I wonder if I should reconsider that amp instead? These are tough decisions.
I want this amp to sit right in between my Tone King Meteor II and my Germino Lead 55. So what I'm looking for is a great dirty rhythm amp that can still get some sweet, Hendrixy clean tones, but also give me a different lead flavor than my Germino. The amp also has to take pedals well.
It seems to me that either the Rt. 66 or the Maz Sr would do the job in spades, but I would love to hear other people gush about one amp or the other.
Consider buying a head and speaker cabinet. The Maz 38 2X12 is very heavy to lug around. And then you can switch heads if you need to. I have a 66 and it gets the most incredible sound when it is played loud, but it needs to be played loud. An Airbrake is almost a necessity with the 66. Pedals all seem to sound great with the 66. My Ghia, on the other hand sounds great at low volume as well, so it depends what you are going to use it for. The Maz has a master volume, which will help and give you more tone options.
Germino is EL34 and definately in the Marshall Plexi/British flavor. The TK MII - really depends on the settings and which power tubes you're running.
Both Z's mentioned are great amps. Both will overlap tones just a bit with what you have. And, both are very different. Limited to the 2 options, I'd almost say the R66 would be the better choice considering what you already have.
The R66 is the ideal hot-rodded JTM-45 tone. It has a sweet spot w/the volume around 1:00 - starts to compress and get just a touch of hair. It's loud with a delightfully 'thick' tone...fills a lot of space. Equally loves single coils and humbuckers, and really loves pedals. Very responsive to the player but it can be a bit stiff at lower volumes. The tone stack is great - 7-12:00 they work as you'd expect, and after that they start adding gain in that frequency area. Works great if you do have to be a bit quieter - can really crank the Treble/Bass for more grit w/o having to turn up the Volume. It's a great blues amp, americana/dirt country amp, 60's era rock amp (Hendrix, et al.). It also responds well to different speaker configurations. I toured hard with mine for over a year and it was flawless - actually, had a different Sound/Backline Company guy or another guitarist try to buy the rig at least once a week...usually heard phrases like "perfect guitar tone"...and it always generated conversation from folks into tone - not patting myself on the back there either - playing didn't change but the gear did and the comments just started coming out of the woodwork immediately after. Think it was basically Strat/Tele into Keeley Comp, Keeley TS9/DS-1 into R66 into a 212 w/G12H30/V30. The R66 isn't nearly as versatile as the Maz Sr, but it does its thing REALLY well.
The SR is a swiss-army knife of guitar tone. It's a go-to amp for any occassion - loves hums/singles, pedals, and w/the tone/volume controls can cover all kinds of ground - it's own flavor or get into Marshall, Vox, Fender Black Face tones. Super for the studio for that reason. Lots of room to find a unique voice with the SR especially swapping speakers. For a first time buyer, I'd probably suggest the SR. But I think you've got a lot of those tones covered with the Tone King and AC30s.
Another thought - keep an eye out for the discontinued 6545 head - it's like a Hywatt (KT-45) meets JCM800 (SRZ-65). That would be a completely different animal for your tone catalog. It's a 2 channel head, completely silent when switching channels and just a killer head. They do turn up once in a while here on the forum and eBay. Haven't seen any on TGP since forever...
Consider buying a head and speaker cabinet. The Maz 38 2X12 is very heavy to lug around. And then you can switch heads if you need to. I have a 66 and it gets the most incredible sound when it is played loud, but it needs to be played loud. An Airbrake is almost a necessity with the 66. Pedals all seem to sound great with the 66. My Ghia, on the other hand sounds great at low volume as well, so it depends what you are going to use it for. The Maz has a master volume, which will help and give you more tone options.
+1 I've got both, and love them both for different reasons. The MAZ 38 is definitely the tool to use for versatility. But for early Marshall tones, the 66 is tough to beat. But, like mentioned above, it really just blows up after the volume is at least on 12:00-1:00. Becomes explosive, in your face, and OHHH so creamy.
The cabinet plus head idea is a good one. That's what I ended up doing after years of using combos. Get a MAZ38 head and 2 12 cab. The Avatar's are excellent and very affordable, as are the cabinets from Weber. Then you can add the 66 later, or vice-versa...
My only concern about buying a head/cab is that I would probably end up wanting different speaker configurations for each amp anyway (assuming that I eventually bought both the Rt. 66 and the Maz Sr, that is). So I'm not sure I'd really end up saving any money in the long run.
I absolutely love those super thick Rt. 66 tones, but I'm thinking the Maz Sr. may be a bit more versatile and slightly better suited for my immediate needs/wants. But I know they are both killer amps. I already have my classic Fender and Plexi Marshall tones covered, so I would think that the Maz Sr. would fit in between them rather well. It has shades of Fender cleans, Marshall power/punch, and some Voxy chime. When I played through one, though, I really felt like it had its own thing going on, too--very hard to put a finger on, but that's what I remember. I have *lots* of pedals, so I feel like I could coax a whole lot of shades of dirty rhythm and lead tones out of the Maz Sr, and maybe at lower volume levels than the 66?
Ok, I've got one very specific question, now that I really think about it. Do you think a Maz Sr. can get me real close to EJ's dirty rhythm tone(s) from the late 80s? He had a Dumble SSS, and he often put a germanium fuzz in front of it. It also seems to me that it had a lot of reverb on it, too--at least it sounds that way to me. A classic example is this tone can be found on his first instructional vid where he rips off some great Keef-style dirty rhythm during one section. You think the Maz. Sr can cover that ground?
Jeff, for me it is all about versatility and maximum options. While I may actually spend a little more money in the long run by buying separate heads and cabinets instead of combos, I will have an easy way to do any head, any cabinet, any speaker combination. I am just getting back into playing after a too many decades dry spell so I have a lot of hardware to aquire. I expect to have four 1 x 12 cabinets, perhaps more, and a few 2 x 12s too. Right now I have a standared 2 x 12 Z-Best. In the plan for 1 x 12 options are one of my '70s EV SROs, a Celestion Blue and maybe a Gold too, a Greeback and a Vintage 30. That is just to start. With some fore thouht and a Y-cable, that will give me options out the wazoo with little duplication of speaker purchases. Insert your own favorite speakers and imagine the possiblities. Now imagine how much a combo or two weighs and while you can reproduce some of the versitily of separate components, it will take more effort to do so.
That is my thinking on the subject. Your list of wants may find harmony in another direction. If my funds and available time were otherwise, my approach might be different.
From my own limited experience, I have found the Maz brothers (I have a Jr NR head) to be astonishingly versitile. Not only do the tone knobs work, they have a wide output dynamic going on. Even more amazing, the tone knobs on my guitars actually affect the tone, if you know what I mean... How many amps have you played that your guitar's tone settings were more a suggestion than an effect?
The Route 66 is a bit loud for my needs but its little brother, the Z-28 is on my short list. There are some recent threads in the Route66 section here that I highly recommend. They go in depth on some questions about it's Marshallness that a lot of people may not grok. It is old school Marshall, the likes of which most shredders have probably never heard.
There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want … Calvin and Hobbes
Jeff, for me it is all about versatility and maximum options. While I may actually spend a little more money in the long run by buying separate heads and cabinets instead of combos, I will have an easy way to do any head, any cabinet, any speaker combination.
From my own limited experience, I have found the Maz brothers (I have a Jr NR head) to be astonishingly versitile. Not only do the tone knobs work, they have a wide output dynamic going on. Even more amazing, the tone knobs on my guitars actually affect the tone, if you know what I mean... How many amps have you played that your guitar's tone settings were more a suggestion than an effect?
Very good points...Lots to think about. I think I'll be sleeping on it. I think I should go with the Maz Sr. for my first (but surely not last) Z purchase for the reasons you (and others) have stated.
JB
1 red Jazz 20/40 head
1 red Antidote head
1 red/blond Stingray head
1 black/blond Stingray head
1 black SRZ 65 head
2 LTD SRZ 65 heads
1 black 6545 head
2 black KT 45 heads
2 red LTD Ghia heads
1 black Ghia head
1 red Remedy head
1 red Maz GT head
1 black Mazerati head
2 sets of Silver ZWreck heads & cabs,1 Silver ZVerb
1 red Delta 88
1 black RX ES head
1 red Maz SR rev 2x12 red combo
1 z best cab 2x12 black
..more
Post by dixiechicken on Jul 8, 2007 16:30:39 GMT -7
Well the Route66 get my vote - ( I put one on order from the Norwegian dealer ). I fell for the sound of course but also because of the original design with the tone-stack and EF86 pentode.
Doesn't the cut reduce your treble? So can't you just use your treble instead of the cut??
The cut makes the amp seem more far away or closer to you. It effects more than just the treble.
As I understand it, it acts as a treble bleed AFTER the PI, in the power amp section, to remove harshness. It does a similar job to a presence control, but in a different way, the presence taps the negative feedback loop, and as it is increased the amp is brighter, tighter and more "present"
As I understand it, it was originally included in the vox amps to help balance the treble response/harshness of different guitars without otherwise shaping the overall tone.
Great feature.
To get back to the original question, I think I'd go with the Maz 38, I don't have one, but I love the amp, and it really is ultra versatile.
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