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Post by jwri9790 on Jun 15, 2014 22:16:34 GMT -7
I find my Maz 18 NR a tad bright and ice picky at times. I really love the amp, but I find it gets a bit harsh when I play loud in a small room. I play the amp through a Bad Cat 2x12 with a broken in Austin Speaker Works KTS-60 and a brand new Celestion Alnico Gold. I use Tung Sol reissue pres and JJ output tubes.
Any suggestions on how to tame the shrill high end I am getting? What have been your cures for this? Or should I just wait for the Gold to break in and it should all be peachy?
Cheers
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Post by zombieZ on Jun 15, 2014 22:33:09 GMT -7
Sorry if these seem too obvious, but have you tried;
1. turning back you tone or volume know on your guitar 2. roll back on the treble or cut knob on your amp
Also is the cab open or closed back?
The reverb of a small room can definitely cause the tone to brighten due to frequencies phasing and canceling out and other technical stuff, but sense the cut know was designed to make the amp sound closer, my thought would be to roll off of it a bit (which I do to reduce some of the shrill peaks I get at loud stage volumes in smaller clubs) since the amp is in close prox to all reflective surfaces including your ear. again sorry if this sounded like a ridiculously simple solution..
cheers
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Post by jwri9790 on Jun 15, 2014 22:35:46 GMT -7
No that is ok
I'm running the cut pretty low at about 9 o'clock and the treble at about 11. Anything below that starts to get a bit muddy for me.
The cab is an open back cab and I am using it in a tiny bedroom. When I play gigs its generally fine, but practice at home is very difficult.
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Post by muZician on Jun 15, 2014 22:39:48 GMT -7
question: what guitar do you play? single coil guitars could be a problem if they are equipped with stadard factory pups. a tele or a strat with 50ies pups are good for clean tones through a fender amp and could sound too harsh through a MAZ
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Post by jwri9790 on Jun 15, 2014 22:41:32 GMT -7
Seymour Duncan JB humbucker
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Post by muZician on Jun 15, 2014 22:44:36 GMT -7
OK. then refer to zombieZ above. I have no further ideas.
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Post by zombieZ on Jun 15, 2014 23:26:46 GMT -7
Could be as simple as "the room" being really reflective and bright. If it is you main practice area you could consider deadening it a bit with panels or simply a bunch of thick heavy blankets. Also may try moving the amp in different spots…I'll let others chime in with ideas and if no avail I'll try and think of something…
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Post by greenblues58 on Jun 16, 2014 1:17:01 GMT -7
In my experience l find facing the speakers away from me and not facing them directly takes the top end and l generally run with treble at 9 but cut high at 3.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 16, 2014 5:54:13 GMT -7
For home use, I run my Maz Jr with the cut nearly off, and the treble about where you've got it. Curious about your other settings, too--where's your vol and master? Also pedals, etc.? In a tiny room at low volume, I generally keep my V and M around 9:00 and rely on pedals for gain/dirt.
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Post by Brian on Jun 16, 2014 7:00:05 GMT -7
Face the amp towards the wall when playing at home....won't get a direct sound then.
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Post by BritInvasion on Jun 18, 2014 7:46:48 GMT -7
What brand of power tubes are installed? I started using TAD EL84-STR's a few years ago to smooth the top end , and it made a difference.
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Post by doctorice on Jun 18, 2014 8:07:16 GMT -7
Hi or lo input? Using lo might tame it a bit.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 18, 2014 8:16:49 GMT -7
I like the EH EL84s Doc is using now as the stock power tube for the Maz 18. That said, I've got a pair of Mullards I want to try at some point.
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Post by zed on Jun 18, 2014 8:37:56 GMT -7
You probably don't want to throw cash into the issue, but when I ordered some Weber speakers, my dealer suggested a higher wattage to tame the highs.
Maybe a beam blocker?
If it's Ok when gigging, maybe the suggestions above will get you through though.
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Post by Frankie Starr on Jun 22, 2014 10:17:25 GMT -7
The new Mullards el84s, and the creamback did it for me
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Post by bluzman on Jun 23, 2014 13:04:24 GMT -7
Tubes are kinda cheap compared to other options. Read up here and talk to the tube guys at the good shops. I also replaced the 12AX7LPS with a $20.00 tungSol or something (balanced) on the advice of Z years ago and that helped immensely.
Also the cut and tonestack can be your friend. Once I had it figured out I could switch from a Tele to a Les Paul with a twist of the cut at gigs.
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Post by prs1999 on Jun 24, 2014 19:07:46 GMT -7
Tubes are kinda cheap compared to other options. Read up here and talk to the tube guys at the good shops. I also replaced the 12AX7LPS with a $20.00 tungSol or something (balanced) on the advice of Z years ago and that helped immensely. Also the cut and tonestack can be your friend. Once I had it figured out I could switch from a Tele to a Les Paul with a twist of the cut at gigs. I bought some TungSol's for a few of my 100 watter heads. Might have to try one in the Maz. Did you replace all the pre amp tubes or just the V-1?
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Post by jesslm02 on Jun 24, 2014 20:41:14 GMT -7
When it comes to taming brightness in any amp I usually have more luck with swapping speakers. Tubes do make a difference but "broken in" speakers can make a huge difference. Broken in being the key words here. What speaker are you using with it at the moment?
Sent from my Galaxy S4 using Proboards
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Post by bluzman on Jun 24, 2014 20:44:45 GMT -7
Tubes are kinda cheap compared to other options. Read up here and talk to the tube guys at the good shops. I also replaced the 12AX7LPS with a $20.00 tungSol or something (balanced) on the advice of Z years ago and that helped immensely. Also the cut and tonestack can be your friend. Once I had it figured out I could switch from a Tele to a Les Paul with a twist of the cut at gigs. I bought some TungSol's for a few of my 100 watter heads. Might have to try one in the Maz. Did you replace all the pre amp tubes or just the V-1? I replaced the Phase Inverter right next to the power tubes. It took three different tries, but only took a few minutes. Some 12AX7LPS tubes sound more "hi-fi" than others which isn't always good in an amp as far as I'm concerned.
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Post by digs57 on Jul 1, 2014 21:41:34 GMT -7
I started out using the cut around 8 when I first started using the maz and went to 0 for a while to darken things.Trying to figure out how to sweeten up my texas/tele... after some time with it at 0...Im back at 8 and treble down,this does it for that axe...( no pickup changed required )
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Post by Frankie Starr on Jul 2, 2014 8:11:07 GMT -7
More volume will smooth things out too.....a lot of the time it doesn't always mean more volume, just a fuller tone
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Post by Mark (Basement Enthusiast) on Jul 2, 2014 8:30:20 GMT -7
Having switched recently to a 30W Blue Dog in my MAZ Jr., I find that I like the Cut control up more around 1:30, whereas before (with several other speakers) it hung down around 10:30. And it's not like the Blue Dog is a dark speaker, but it just "works" better with the MAZ's frequency output. Very, very nice.
Overall, my suggestion to "tame a bright MAZ 18" would be to stay away from heavy-magnet speakers (G12H-style, like the KTS) and the G12 Gold, too. With all that power in the speakers' motor, they seem to be a bit more harsh with the MAZ, in my opinion.
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Post by stevegansen on Jul 9, 2014 12:11:19 GMT -7
I'm late to this party, but I enjoy sharing my experience. The Maz 18 is EXTREMELY responsive to the environment it's in. I guess most tube amps are...they're just loud. So the room plays a huge part in how you hear it. I have a terrible time using this amp in my studio at home, but it KILLS in clubs. Outdoor gigs...sounds terrible, haha. But miked up in an isolation booth....sounds AWESOME! If it sounds good at gigs but bad in your room...there's your answer.
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Post by nmz on Jul 9, 2014 14:22:26 GMT -7
I'm late to this party, but I enjoy sharing my experience. The Maz 18 is EXTREMELY responsive to the environment it's in. I guess most tube amps are...they're just loud. So the room plays a huge part in how you hear it. I have a terrible time using this amp in my studio at home, but it KILLS in clubs. Outdoor gigs...sounds terrible, haha. But miked up in an isolation booth....sounds AWESOME! If it sounds good at gigs but bad in your room...there's your answer. +1
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