|
Post by jackshite on May 21, 2008 15:56:31 GMT -7
is a maz gt! picked it up used for a great deal. been lurking here for a while. learned a lot about whether the amp was what i was looking for. finally came into some money at the same time one came up for sale.
i hope to see it before the holiday weekend. it's red, and i have a thing against red amps, so i'm hoping to trade someone for a black head cab/front panel. z doesn't sell extra or redo old ones.
any rate, hi. thanks for having me.
|
|
|
Post by benttop (Steve) on May 21, 2008 19:57:45 GMT -7
Welcome to the forum and congrats on a great amp!
|
|
|
Post by Phil (aka Phil) on May 22, 2008 4:01:55 GMT -7
Wow! Congrats on the amp! Getting a Mazerati GT for your first Z amp is kind of like getting BMW M6 for your first car. ;D Right to the top of the line! Just treat it like a 50W amp when it comes to speaker selection and remember it *loves* a Z-Best cab if you have one.
Good luck! Let us know how you like it!
|
|
|
Post by hogridr on May 22, 2008 6:17:44 GMT -7
Congrats, btw I said the exact same thing about red amps when I first got my RX. Maybe you ought to spend a few weeks with it before you make your decision. I had the same intent when I got mine and now I have 3 red ones... Red ones sound better :-) If you still want to trade I am sure there are some guys on here that would trade with you after you have hung around for a while.
|
|
|
Post by jackshite on May 22, 2008 6:48:00 GMT -7
it's on the truck for delivery today. i have to run some errands at some point, but i don't want to miss the driver, a signature is required. i'll be playing the amp through a custom 2-12 i just had made. basically the same size as a bogner oversized 2-12. edit: it just got here! looks really cool. the grill protecting the tubes in the back was dinged, and one of the transformers is bent over, so it was dropped at some point, but the tubes are intact. i'm not freaking out, as my number one amp had both transformers bent and shifted from transit. loosen the nuts for the feet, bend back, re-tighten. i did take pics in case of any problems. i have to head to the practice space to put it through the paces. oh yeah, the cab... 2-12 oversized (31 w X 26 h X 12 d), has feet for both horizontal or vertical use, unique closed/semi-open rear panel, celestion g12h-100/weber 30-watt alnico blue dog, mono/stereo inputs, vox black diamond grill/vox tolex. the z tolex matches, except for it being RED . more later after i get a chance to hear it. i'm hoping to pair it with my main amp, a paul ruby rocket-type.
|
|
|
Post by jackshite on May 22, 2008 20:33:24 GMT -7
here's how it looked out of the box: the pushed-in grill tipped me something was amiss... i don't think the trannies are supposed to lean like this: you think it might've been dropped? i took the chassis out and everything was a-ok. i bent the transformers back a bit, checked the tubes... turns out, this is one of the earlier amps. on the side of the chassis are markings showing it was destined for fat sound. it's serial #0005. i'd be interested to trace the ownership history.
|
|
|
Post by jackshite on May 22, 2008 20:37:59 GMT -7
the new addition to the practice space: man, this thing smokes! good low end, nice aggressive character. i'd be interested to hear an explanation on how the tone control works. it doesn't sound like a hi-cut. very little tweaks yield varied tones dependent on volume settings. i have a lehle switcher coming, i'll be combining the two amps into the one cab.
|
|
|
Post by LeftyLang on May 22, 2008 21:00:51 GMT -7
Nice Amp!!! I had the same thing happen to my 1st Route 66. The transformers are so heavy that this will happen if it is handled rough by UPS...
|
|
|
Post by groovergeorge on May 22, 2008 21:21:15 GMT -7
here's how it looked out of the box: the pushed-in grill tipped me something was amiss... i don't think the trannies are supposed to lean like this: you think it might've been dropped? i took the chassis out and everything was a-ok. i bent the transformers back a bit, checked the tubes... turns out, this is one of the earlier amps. on the side of the chassis are markings showing it was destined for fat sound. it's serial #0005. i'd be interested to trace the ownership history. Ouch.........
|
|
|
Post by Phil (aka Phil) on May 23, 2008 4:17:55 GMT -7
That's why I drove all the way to Chicago to pick up the Delta 88 I got from Ebay in person. No way I was gonna let my new baby's trannies get bent by the United Package Smashers.
|
|
|
Post by dock66 on May 23, 2008 7:40:43 GMT -7
My Ghia has one of these leaning transformers,the tone quality have not been affected at all ,I didn't even border to correct it.
Thanks UPS.
|
|
|
Post by dock66 on May 23, 2008 7:43:14 GMT -7
Congrats on your first kick-a** amp. You're in for a good treat with GT.
|
|
|
Post by dragonofbabylon on May 24, 2008 10:03:54 GMT -7
Welcome !! and Congrats on the GT, Ohhh Yeah , this amp Kills things in sight,
|
|
|
Post by jackshite on May 27, 2008 8:13:28 GMT -7
wow! man, does this amp smoke! it cleans up better than my rocket, a surprise given it's much higher gain. really sounds great. i was able to try it out over the weekend alongside my rocket into my 2-12 stereo. i can not get across how absolutely amazing the two amps sound together. it takes some tweaking. when i ran the rocket like a semi-clean ac30/plexi 50 type tone, it didn't blend well with the gt. when i set the rocket for max gain, teeny tweaks to bass and hi-cut, all of a sudden i had the biggest tone i've ever played through. imagine the sound you get in the studio when you split one guitar signal to two amps/cabs, mic'ed separately, panned around 65% to each side, standing at the board as you play, cranked LOUD on the studio monitors. that crazy interaction with room and cab and guitar and amp and tubes and BIG WIDE 3-D TONE!!! it sounds so amazing. it doesn't sound like a stereo amp, or any combo of two amps i've used together before (this includes LOTS of boutique and high-end gear). it's definitely the closest to my 'ideal tone' i've ever been. i have speakers i'm messing with, to find the best pairing with the gt. i'll definitely be touring with this rig in the states and canada. i have to figure out how to afford to get these amps overseas (and the necessary voltage transformer, etc.) when we tour UK/europe/australia come august.
|
|
|
Post by dragonofbabylon on May 28, 2008 14:51:47 GMT -7
TRANSFORMERS and POWER SURGE PLUGS a must in Europe,, just came from there, Germany,Romania,Kosovo, Macedonia, and used it with my gear,, they'll have 100 watt 300W-1000W transfomers,, 100W blows out, 1000W blows your gear ,, the 300W maintained really good, but you need a Surge strip (american) to plug into the transfomer,, than runs 240 to turn 110,, Best wishes and good luck my friend
|
|
|
Post by jackshite on Jun 4, 2008 21:47:59 GMT -7
spent some more time with the gt. replaced the jj gz34 with NOS hitachi. i had one, so might as well use it. nothing wrong with the jj, although the NOS tube will likely last much longer. i've decided to stay with one amp for the time being, instead of running two at once. running two, it sounds better playing alone than in practice with the band. that being said, i replaced the back panel of my 2-12 cab. i'm trying to optimize the cab's tone with the maz gt (and the tone i'm going for in my head). i modded the original back panel design with a new capsule-shaped opening centered behind the speakers. i found a good deal on a scumback H55 last night, i should see it before saturday. i'm combining two scumback ceramic speakers, the H55HP (celestion bass cone greenback type, except 65 watt handling) and an H75HP-LHDC (celestion lead cone, 65 watt magnet, large dust cap). this saturday will be the gig debut! very excited. practice tomorrow night, so i'll be able to put the amp through another hour-and-change of playing time. i'll try and get some pics this weekend.
|
|
|
Post by benttop (Steve) on Jun 4, 2008 22:12:36 GMT -7
So really, what do you think of it?
|
|
|
Post by jackshite on Jun 12, 2008 4:26:15 GMT -7
here's a copy of a post on another site, of my thoughts after my first gig with the maz gt:
"just played my first show with a bunch of new gear.
i was working against a deadline, knowing that we had a big local gig coming up, and trying to get all the pieces in place.
i looked for a dr. z mazerati gt after research, and found one for a good price here in the emporium. a new 2-12 cab built by a friend needed some tweaking with speakers and back panel to match to the new amp. i found two different scumbacks for sale here, and loaded them into the cab. making a new back panel, with revised capsule port, really helped tune the cab and speakers to the amp. the combo of an H55HP and H75HP-LHDC are magic. i swapped the stock JJ rectifier tube in the maz gt with an NOS hitachi GZ34.
i decided to play the R8 LPJr i recently picked up in japan. i have it set up now with d'addario 11's.
the overall tone was like the best little plexi brown sound you can imagine. the quartet of el84's give a cool overdrive you can't get out of an el34 50-watter, but the biggest overall impression in the room was that of a very brown plexi tone! definitely enough volume around noon on the amp's knob to keep up with my other guitarist's 50-watt jmp halfstack. with the junior's p-90, it was definitely a mountain, almost billy gibbons kind of attack. effortless feedback from most any note. the cab has lots of bass, and the combo of the scumbacks...wow! the 55 has tremendous low end and a great midrange tone. the 75 has great mids without any harsh high end, and no low end fatigue like you can get hitting regular 25-watt greenbacks hard. the addition of the beam'blocker-type strips as part of the baffle really help to prevent any beamy tendencies off the front, and redistribute highs to my ear level off the cone. the brightest spot off the cab seems to be the 3 feet right in front at ear level, facing the amp.
i'll mess with some russian military el84m's i have, but the amp sounds awesome as is. great higher gain rhythms and solo tones.
i'm really happy with the combination of gear i've got now. after a few years playing alnico blue speakers, i'm happy to hear my tone with ceramics again. my last amp really turned me on to how great el84 overdrive works for me, but the higher gain of the maz gt gets closer to the tone in my head."
|
|