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Post by doctorice on Dec 16, 2010 20:30:02 GMT -7
After doing some testing and posting my thoughts in the MAZ 18 section, I decided to document some of what I did in a simple video. My goal here was to keep the sources of variation to a minimum. I maxed all the tone controls and the master on both amps, used a Radial Headbone VT to send both (combo) amp outputs into the Cele G12H30 in the NR, used identical guitar cables and speaker wiring. Brake Lite set to 3 until the very end when I maxed the Volume and moved the BL to 4. The only intentional difference was that I had the Cut on the NR up to about 8:30 - 9:00 o'clock on the NR and all the way down on the R. To my ears, this gave both amps similar "presence." Put another way, at identical settings of Cut the NR sounds noticeably darker. It's really an audio thing; the video is pretty static. (So is the playing
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Post by mtlrecords on Dec 16, 2010 20:44:01 GMT -7
The MAZ Jr. NR sounds a bit "fatter" and fuller to me. It must be a bit louder in the room? "Gutsier" is a good description, but I wonder if they were to be volume matched if the difference would be as noticeable.
Thanks for the video and experimenting!
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Post by Deleted on Dec 17, 2010 7:47:38 GMT -7
Mike!!! Cool video! Great to hear your voice in there too! Yeah man, the NR to me sounds fuller to the ear as well and yes slightly darker but both sound FANTASTIC...I think this is a great comparison vid! Thanks for taking the time to put this all together. Karma to you!
Oh and there's no question, this vid does a great job of showing the brake lite off....now I am officially gonna buy one.....soon!
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Post by doctorice on Dec 17, 2010 8:05:38 GMT -7
The MAZ Jr. NR sounds a bit "fatter" and fuller to me. It must be a bit louder in the room? "Gutsier" is a good description, but I wonder if they were to be volume matched if the difference would be as noticeable. Thanks for the video and experimenting! It is possible there is a slight volume difference. I did run both Masters wide open. In addition I tested the SPL with a meter to try to make sure there weren't major differences, and there weren't. Obviously we can't rule out some effect, however. In addition, the R model has fairly new tubes and the NR tubes have more wear on them. As I mentioned in my postings, the fairest test would be to literally use a single set of tubes (other than the reverb-associated ones in the R) and move them across amps. I leave that level of removing test biases to someone more patient than I! For me the most surprising aspect was how I ended up using the Cut knob to narrow the tonal difference. Reiterating what I said in the posts, the R is definitely going to sound brighter than the NR when both are set identically on all the other controls.
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Post by doctorice on Dec 17, 2010 8:08:16 GMT -7
Mike!!! Cool video! Great to hear your voice in there too! Yeah man, the NR to me sounds fuller to the ear as well and yes slightly darker but both sound FANTASTIC...I think this is a great comparison vid! Thanks for taking the time to put this all together. Karma to you! Oh and there's no question, this vid does a great job of showing the brake lite off....now I am officially gonna buy one.....soon! Thanks, Mark. Yes, I've said it a lot and I'll keep saying it "BL is essential!" Personally, I don't usually run either MAZ with most knobs wide open, but when you want that sound, it's BL time.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 17, 2010 9:10:49 GMT -7
I just may have to sell my OD's and buy the BL
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Post by doctorice on Dec 17, 2010 12:44:00 GMT -7
You probably could, Mark. Crank up V and use BL and you'll probably have most of the OD sound you'd want. Control with guitar volume and FD to boost into real overdrive. Not saying you should sell the pedals, though.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 17, 2010 13:07:26 GMT -7
it's crossed my mind the last few days...lol. I really appreciate this video cause it lets me hear a fantastic example of the BL with the JR. Now it's GAS pains all over again! I had another listen at home while doing some voice overs. Man I just love the thick chunky notes you get with both amps!
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Post by Scott on Dec 17, 2010 13:10:32 GMT -7
Thanks for the post...
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Post by benttop (Steve) on Dec 17, 2010 14:15:43 GMT -7
Great video - even my utterly damaged hearing could hear the difference between the two. The NR certainly has a lot more meat down below. That beautiful Maz top end seems to be very similar on both amps. Excellent effort!
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Post by Dannydny on Dec 17, 2010 16:52:18 GMT -7
Mike, Thanks for posting the comparisons of the 2 amps. I just think they both sound great. You can here the NR has a little more chunk but that could be an easy adjustment with a overdrive or boost. It would have been nice to here them in the high output as well but maybe thats for another time and place Maybe if we ever get our East Coast Z Fest together we can check that out ;D Great Job.....
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Post by doctorice on Dec 18, 2010 7:28:57 GMT -7
Thanks, guys. You may have encouraged me to tackle a Z Wreck part 2 video. (In part 1 I played a simple riff a whole lotta times while only varying the volume knob. Purpose was to highlight the gain structure. Part 2 probably will tackle the tone controls.) Maybe if we ever get our East Coast Z Fest together we can check that out ;D I still think this would be fun. I got a little too busy -- I am failing at retirement -- to pursue when we first floated the idea. I'll check in with Eric after the holidays and see if he's still willing to consider doing at his studio.
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Post by twoscoobysnacks on Dec 18, 2010 21:41:08 GMT -7
Interesting video Mike. Thanks for posting. I believe the NR has a bit more fullness and a bit more hair. But both do sound great when you open up the MV. I have been playing much more with the volume controls opened up and running an attenuator. You definitely get some tones that you can't get playing with the volumes at lower numbers, even though it's unattenuated.
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Post by ormond on Dec 20, 2010 0:23:37 GMT -7
Thanks - this did clear up some questions for me. Please do tackle the Z-Wreck 2.
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Post by Andy 67 on Dec 28, 2010 12:55:38 GMT -7
Thanks for the comparison, Mike!
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