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Post by myles on Jul 3, 2013 8:57:47 GMT -7
I purchased a brand spanking new Dr Z Maz 18- my second one i have owned as I had traded out of my first. Within a two week span - the JJ's that were in there crapped out- I replaced them with Mesa's - sounded a bit harsh to my ears- and then one of them had an issue- but at least the delear gave me a new pair as they were only 3 months old. I ended up getting some from the Tube Doc website (whatever ons they recomended- they were not Mesa's brand.- and they are doing ok- the Mesa's are kept as backup. My old Maz has the original tubes when I purchased it second hand in 2000.... I played that amp for 10 years with one once of issues... decided to Retube ( used Mesa's) and started having issues ( not the tubes).....had issues with the amp from then on - finally traded out of it. Just my personal feeling ... if you played the same set of EL84 output tubes for ten years you must have played once a month for 15 minutes. Or .... you have no idea of what your MAZ was actually capable of doing. The technical reason your new tubes failed quickly is simply amp karma. Your amp was trying to tell you something. You did not listen and it arranged for the cosmos to make you pay the price Change those out if you are an average user every six months. Or don't. It's your amp, your call, your ears.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Jul 3, 2013 12:20:13 GMT -7
I purchased a brand spanking new Dr Z Maz 18- my second one i have owned as I had traded out of my first. Within a two week span - the JJ's that were in there crapped out- I replaced them with Mesa's - sounded a bit harsh to my ears- and then one of them had an issue- but at least the delear gave me a new pair as they were only 3 months old. I ended up getting some from the Tube Doc website (whatever ons they recomended- they were not Mesa's brand.- and they are doing ok- the Mesa's are kept as backup. My old Maz has the original tubes when I purchased it second hand in 2000.... I played that amp for 10 years with one once of issues... decided to Retube ( used Mesa's) and started having issues ( not the tubes).....had issues with the amp from then on - finally traded out of it. Just my personal feeling ... if you played the same set of EL84 output tubes for ten years you must have played once a month for 15 minutes. Or .... you have no idea of what your MAZ was actually capable of doing. The technical reason your new tubes failed quickly is simply amp karma. Your amp was trying to tell you something. You did not listen and it arranged for the cosmos to make you pay the price Change those out if you are an average user every six months. Or don't. It's your amp, your call, your ears. I concur with Myles. My Maz38 would eat el84s rather quickly, especially if I was using the Air Brake. I started changing the output tubes every 6 months, and the amp was much happier.
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jrossjams
Full Member
Closet Bluesman- Maz 18 Jr Combo
Posts: 138
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Post by jrossjams on Jul 7, 2013 11:03:47 GMT -7
I have a small "stable" of amps- Two Rock Jet - Tone King Metro - Swart- Tophat Super Delux and the Z Maz- so I dont play the Maz all the time..... but on my first Maz- the one with the "old" tubes- it was the only amp I had at that time- so when I did play- it was used. Not in a band then so not really used that much..... but i did not have one issue with that amp for the years that I had the old tubes in it- maybe I was lucky in that regard........ as I sit a write this- just finished playing the Z- it now has a buzz / ring when certain notes are played........ frustrating.....
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Post by myles on Jul 8, 2013 9:51:39 GMT -7
I have a small "stable" of amps- Two Rock Jet - Tone King Metro - Swart- Tophat Super Delux and the Z Maz- so I dont play the Maz all the time..... but on my first Maz- the one with the "old" tubes- it was the only amp I had at that time- so when I did play- it was used. Not in a band then so not really used that much..... but i did not have one issue with that amp for the years that I had the old tubes in it- maybe I was lucky in that regard........ as I sit a write this- just finished playing the Z- it now has a buzz / ring when certain notes are played........ frustrating..... Probably a physically microphonic tube.
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Post by rhombus on Aug 20, 2013 23:05:22 GMT -7
I forget the URL, but I was reading that Mesa sources tubes through Ruby (Magic Parts), and they don't use the same tubes for 20 years straight because it's impossible. The reliability of the current production tube manufacturers is poor. They sell and use (same tubes) the tubes that are going to be most reliable, in order to give their customers a product that won't break down and fail them. It's not really a secret that you could see RUBY on the glass of a "Mesa" tube. Ruby/ Magic Parts is right down the street from Mesa in Petaluma, CA.
And, yes they have a computerized tube tester, and a buffing wheel and screen printer in "tube town" (the loft where their tube testing happens).
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Post by southmusic70 on Aug 21, 2013 7:53:43 GMT -7
Let me qualify what I said in February about Mesa's tubes:
I have used them in the past and will continue to do so as I have two Mesa amps (F50 1x12 combo and TA15). The only time I have had issues with them - and this applies to power tubes only, as the preamp tubes are fine - is when I use them in non-Mesa amps.
Bias related, I suppose.
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Post by Papa Juan (lanier816) on Mar 28, 2014 7:23:13 GMT -7
I have a set of MESA EL84's that out of curiosity I threw in my MAZ, I cant speak for other amps but these tubes sucked all the low end and warmth right out, my amp was immediately "cold"...they were promptly removed and replaced with JJ's. Originally I bought these tubes to put in my Orange Tiny Terror, which is where they'll go but definitely not to the Maz.
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Post by telejas on Apr 8, 2014 12:07:41 GMT -7
To bring back an old thread.......
A couple years ago, I had a tube go bad and needed to get one before the show that evening. The only place in town that had EL84's, only had the Mesa's in stock. I had to have them, so I took them. I normally steered clear of Mesa tubes, but this was an emergency.
I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised! I left them in that amp for almost 2 years. I now have 1 set of Mesa's for a backup and would have no problems using them when the time comes.
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