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Post by gotmojo on Aug 10, 2011 6:55:15 GMT -7
Well, I got my JAZ head in and plugged her in. Started with all tone controls off. Muddy. Dialed in some treble - good. Dialed in some bass, - funky not-good out of phase sound. Not happy. Dialed in some mids, much better. Thing is, with settings of Treble 9:30, Mid 10:00, and bass 9:00 I can get a sound I can live with and use. But try to adjust the tone controls anywhere from there ruins the tone to my ears (shrill highs rather than the sparkly, glassy highs of the Remedy or Wreck), so this amp has only one tone! Anybody have a different experience? Is it just me? I've emailed Brent at Dr. Z's to ask about changing the voicing on the tone controls, not sure if that's possible, or if the Doc would even do it. Love the three tone control set up on the Remedy, I can spin those dials any which way and love the tones in any position, through the same speaker cab.
Copped this amp because I was looking for a grab and go amp for rehearsals, cross town jams, etc. This head is BIG in size, but it gets a great sound with the master down and the preamplifier vol up at low room volume and, with that great Tremolo built in, makes it a good "any gig" kinda amp, especially with the 20/40 set up. Keeps me from carrying an Air Brake and a Tremulator pedal, so seems pretty useful when paired with a Z 1-12 cab, plug straight in and good to go. Just was hoping for more usable tone shaping. Love to hear your opinions.
jj
or, if you need to rip me a new one, i'm prepared to hear that, too.
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Post by aaronblues on Aug 10, 2011 16:46:17 GMT -7
just got a Jaz combo today, from djc here on ZForum....Haven't time enough to play to answer your question really, but the Maz EQ, which this amp supposedly shares, can't do the glassy highs that the Remedy can without getting that Cut knob up a-ways. No Cut knob on the Jaz so....Will report back soon!!
cheers
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Post by twangstang on Aug 11, 2011 6:46:06 GMT -7
Mine sounds great but took a while to break in. At first is was a little stiff and bright. I have the 2x10 combo. I now set the amp as follows. Treble 11:00 Mids. 11:00 - 1:00 Bass. 9:00 - 10:00 Master Full Volume to taste
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Post by doctorice on Aug 11, 2011 15:17:18 GMT -7
My current settings very similar to twangstang, maybe a bit more mid and a bit less bass. I have volume around 10:30 with an EC Strat. Sounds clean with guitar vol at 7 or so, nice crunch with higher GV and pick attack.
So far, with that Strat at least, I haven't bonded with real high settings of volume. Kind of buzzy, fizzy to my ears.
I think with these moderate tone control settings the bass up higher is overwhelming. However, some brief experiments with having mid way up seemed to allow bass to be higher too.
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Post by nicholas on Aug 11, 2011 15:23:57 GMT -7
I use a LP, I think you use Tele's? So this might be completely un-helpful.....
I liked it right outta the gate. I have a Remedy, as well as a MAZ. So I know what you mean about the sparkle. It's not quite as sparkley as either.
I run the mids a bit more than half
bass at half
treble off.... then raise till I like it.
I use the 40watt setting and usually keep the volume and master pretty equal to each other, around 1:00 each. Knock it back a click or two on the BL.
Ok, some of this is gonna sound wierd......
The EQ seems different than the MAZ because there is no cut. So I tend to think of the treble more like a presence. There is a lot of treble and bite in the mid pot. Maybe try that way higher than you normally would, and think of that as treble. Then adjust the bass accordingly?
I look at it like a treble, bass configuration amp with a presence control marked Treble
Treble - Presence Mid - Treble Bass - Bass
Hope it works out for ya' man. I really like that amp.
What speakers you using?
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Post by gotmojo on Aug 17, 2011 7:26:30 GMT -7
I'm player her through a couple different 2-12 cabs. One has 2 blue bell Celestions and the other is an old Matchless cab, no labels on the speakers, but I think they are a G1230H and a Vintage 30. I think my only complaint with this amp, other than it being so big, is that it is pretty midrangy. If I could dial in some more high end - that glassy thang - I think I'd like it more. That being said, adding in the glassy highs would make it more like the Wreck and Rem amps I already have. So it is a different sound to have available. When I sit and play through this amp I actually like the sound I get, but I can't really change that one sound. If I change my tone controls it goes somewhere I'm not fond of. Brent says we can change out some cap values and adjust the frequency of the tone controls, so that might be an option. Or should I just trade it in for a smaller head like the MAZ 38 or 18 and get the high end options I crave?
jj
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Post by gotmojo on Aug 27, 2011 6:03:18 GMT -7
Having lived with the Jaz for a couple weeks now: OK, on a daily basis I thought "I gotta send this amp back and get some moulah back into the account". But every time I played through it to convince myself that was the right move, I'd play it for a half hour at "other people are home" volume and have a good old time!!!!! And I also noticed that every time I turned it on, I warmed up another amp (Wreck) cause I thought I'd wanna change over to a "better" sound, and ended up not even plugging into the Wreck, just shut her down! I may only be able to get one sound outta this amp, but it's a cool sound, and very different from say the Wreck and the Rem, so that's a good thing, right? Used it a couple times for band rehearsal and was the same way, sounds different but very cool and no Air Brake! Other than being big, and it is a big head, it's actually a good "grab and go" rig with a 1-12 cab and can fit into living room sit arounds all the way up to "I'm not sure how big this gig is" gigs that end up big. And all you need is a cable, cause it'll get as nazzy as you need, plus you can leave the tremolo pedal at home (not that I don't love my Tremulator pedal - the only pedal I actually use at gigs). So ......... Looks like the JAZ stays. Must give things a chance to settle in! Patience, Grasshopper.
jj
mr. immediate-first-impressions-spewing-outta-my-keyboard, notwithstanding.
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Post by doctorice on Aug 27, 2011 6:37:02 GMT -7
Pleased to hear you're liking it, jj.
I've found I need to move the knobs around a fair amount to accommodate different guitars. EC Strat has a lot of mids, even with the built-in boost off, so Mid and B get dialed back on the JAZ. Tele likes having more mid from the amp. Still learning.
Very different from Wreck and Rem, in good, i.e., complementary ways.
What setting(s) do you favor?
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Post by gotmojo on Aug 27, 2011 12:41:36 GMT -7
Well, only played a Tele thru it thus far. I have the bass at 9 o'clock or less with slight manipulations only, mid and treble are at 9:30, have the preamp volume jacked. My only complaint is that if I want more jangle, the treble knob doesn't give it to me, just gives me some HF that I don't like. Am gonna try some different preamp tubeage that Brent suggested, and if that doesn't satisfy me, I'll change out some caps at his direction to retune the highs a bit. Kind of a fun project! Still, it's a fun amp. Killer dial-in tremolo. I just leave it turned on and dial it up when needed. All good.
jj
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Post by nicholas on Aug 27, 2011 15:31:47 GMT -7
Awesome!! Sounds like you found a good use for it. I find I get quite a few different sounds from it by setting the V and M on the high side, and then just using the controls on the guitar. I have the combo, with a Gold. I love not needing to bring a reverb and trem pedal. Dont really need any pedals with it really..... It's a real nice grab and go. Little on the pudgy side, but not to bad. If you dig into it, keep us posted....
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Post by jesslm02 on Mar 21, 2012 17:38:54 GMT -7
How did the tube change work out for you? Or, did you end up changing a cap or two?
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Post by bassnomo on Mar 21, 2012 18:37:18 GMT -7
You know that that Jaz has to be trained a little, for best results, kinda like obedience school for the pooch. Send it on over here, i will crack the whip on it a bit, send it back fully domesticated....Guess you can tell i am looking for one of those amps...preferably in red...No charge for this service..Dwight
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Post by jesslm02 on Mar 21, 2012 18:57:59 GMT -7
Thanks for the offer dwight! Unfortunately this one just landed in my hands so its not leaving anytime soon....lol
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Post by jesslm02 on Mar 21, 2012 19:02:12 GMT -7
Fyi... There is one in the BST section right now, but it is blonde.
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Post by cheycaster on May 1, 2012 4:37:53 GMT -7
Try a nOS RFT Preamp Tube. Sure makes my MAZ junior sound XLNT.
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Post by Deleted on May 1, 2012 13:20:42 GMT -7
Thanks for the suggestion Chey, that'll be next on my list. I tried your suggestion Nicholas, about using the mid knob for treble and bite - then the treble knob as a presence control. I like it a lot this way. Full power & full bodied. Running it into my 1x12 Gold. cheers / tom
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Post by cheycaster on May 1, 2012 15:43:31 GMT -7
Is that Gold Broken in? ? A stiff un-brkken in speaker can make just about any amp sound lifeless and dull and no soul......just my .02 again
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Post by Deleted on May 1, 2012 16:30:22 GMT -7
It's getting there. Still got a ways to go, but it's sounding better every time.
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Post by nicholas on May 1, 2012 19:10:15 GMT -7
I tried your suggestion Nicholas, about using the mid knob for treble and bite - then the treble knob as a presence control. I like it a lot this way. Full power & full bodied. Thanks to everyone for any suggestions on how to get even more enjoyment out of this excellent "Z" amp... cheers / tom Glad that worked for you. I still use mine that way. Such a great amp. Covers so much ground. Been using mine with out any pedals at all for the past few months. Couldnt be happier. Nicholas
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Post by doctorice on May 7, 2012 18:11:54 GMT -7
My JAZ has been neglected lately even though I've fired it up a few times. I've got some summer gigs lined up that will be heavy on the 50s and 60s rock, pop and soul material. Fired up the JAZ today and said "Ah, here's the sound I need." I may tweak it some, but what I did this time was run the volume up fairly high, say 3 o'clock, had all the tone knobs pretty low -- highest was treble at 10 o -- used master for overall volume and really worked the guitar knobs and my right hand for different sounds. Nick, I've gotta give your mid/treble approach a shot too. My 2x10 is still kicking out massive bass.
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Post by zpilot on May 7, 2012 21:33:49 GMT -7
Hey Doc. I have a 2x10 combo and it sounds like I'm running my controls exactly like yours.
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Post by doctorice on May 8, 2012 3:59:50 GMT -7
Hey Doc. I have a 2x10 combo and it sounds like I'm running my controls exactly like yours. Cool. Great minds
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