|
Post by Baconator on Jan 30, 2015 3:16:28 GMT -7
Well, although I had no intention of getting a new amp anytime soon my discussions with member jimiata led to trying out his Maz Jr. NR. Once I got it home and turned it on it took all of about 5 minutes to realize that this amp was in my future. We met up for a coffee and chin wag today and sealed the deal with him going home with my Ghia and some cash and me taking possession of his amp. I'm truly thrilled. I really loved my Ghia and am sad to see it go, but Maz 18 just seemed like a much better fit for me. It'll take a while for me to get used to the fact that it has 3X the knobs to deal with, but after spending a few hours going through this part of the forum and going through doctorice's list of settings I think I'm well on my way. It doesn't have the eq bypass, but after trying out the nifty trick with the footswitch in the other input I can live without it. Heck, I was happy before even trying the footswitch trick. I really had no idea how loud an amp it was. My Ghia was loud for an 18-watter, but the Maz 18 is a whole different bag of snakes. Through my Z-Best I can't think of a gig I've played where it wouldn't be loud enough and I do think it could hang nicely volume-wise with my Route 66. I'm preaching to the choir here, but it's just a fantastic amp and I'm a happy man. To top it off, earlier this week I made a deal for an open-backed Boogie cab with a gold. I'm not certain what I'll think of the boogie cab, but I tried jimiata's 1-12 convertible with a gold and loved it with my Route 66. I can't imagine it not sounding great with the Maz since they seem to sound great with pretty much all Z's.
Thanks to all the fine contributors to this section for making me feel right at home with this new amp without having to post a single question.
Cheers!
Eric
|
|
|
Post by Funk#49 on Jan 30, 2015 4:04:07 GMT -7
Congrats on the new Z!
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 30, 2015 6:26:05 GMT -7
Congrats!!
|
|
|
Post by Jaguarguy (Mike) on Jan 30, 2015 6:51:52 GMT -7
There's a reason why the Maz has been Doc's best selling amp!
|
|
|
Post by digs57 on Jan 30, 2015 7:42:04 GMT -7
The maz is the right fit for myself...im finding myself getting back to playing the strat after being die hard tele guy for years.
The strat through the maz...boom!
|
|
|
Post by Baconator on Jan 30, 2015 7:52:05 GMT -7
The maz is the right fit for myself...im finding myself getting back to playing the strat after being die hard tele guy for years. The strat through the maz...boom! Funny thing - I've played my strat more in the last week while I was auditioning the Maz than I have in the last year. Heck, it sounds great with everything I've plugged into it.
|
|
|
Post by Stephen on Jan 30, 2015 13:42:24 GMT -7
The Maz and the Strat were made for each other.
|
|
|
Post by Baconator on Jan 30, 2015 15:38:18 GMT -7
The Maz and the Strat were made for each other. My PRS might take offence at that statement - so might my Route 66 . Seriously though, I'm loving all the combinations.
|
|
|
Post by simpleton on Jan 30, 2015 16:17:42 GMT -7
Cool! Always fun to get new tonal stimuli ... Did/do you feel just a little bit like you just wife swapped ? Did you have to tell yourself that the Ghia doesn't have feelings and that It's just an amp? These amps sure feel like part of me after all the sweet music I've played thru them and whenever I think of trying other Z that would require me selling or trading existing Z's ... well I just feel like some how I might be a little to attached to my amps.
|
|
|
Post by Baconator on Jan 31, 2015 5:33:12 GMT -7
Cool! Always fun to get new tonal stimuli ... Did/do you feel just a little bit like you just wife swapped ? Did you have to tell yourself that the Ghia doesn't have feelings and that It's just an amp? These amps sure feel like part of me after all the sweet music I've played thru them and whenever I think of trying other Z that would require me selling or trading existing Z's ... well I just feel like some how I might be a little to attached to my amps. You think? Haha. I do know how you feel. I wasn't happy about letting the Ghia go, but it's a little easier knowing it's going to a very good home where it will be played and lightly gigged. With me it was either being largely ignored due to the volume requirements of gigs or being pushed beyond where I felt it was best suited. I know some folks like to run their Ghias full out all the time, but for me the magic of the amp is between 9:00 and 1:00 and if I couldn't get enough volume out of it in that range it was over to the Route 66. Now I have overlap in a different way and I can see my Route 66 may not be getting enough love in the future. I know you love your stereo setup - can you imagine how cool it would be to have a cooking Maz 18 running in stereo with a Route 66? The different sonic spaces of the amps could be blended in so many great ways my mind reels. Too bad I'd probably go deaf experimenting. This is only the second time I've sold/traded an amp in 32 years so I think know I'm prone to the same attachments that you are. Cheers!
|
|
|
Post by Stephen on Jan 31, 2015 8:06:12 GMT -7
The Maz and the Strat were made for each other. My PRS might take offence at that statement - so might my Route 66 . Seriously though, I'm loving all the combinations. +100
|
|
|
Post by jimiata on Feb 6, 2015 18:16:32 GMT -7
Hi Eric, really glad you like my Maz. I've missed my Ghia 2x10 ever since I sold it 2 years ago. It was way too heavy for these old arms. I switched the Ghia with my M12 combo, now I have a Ghia 1x10 combo with a gold…love it. The M12 is now a "head", no more EF 86 rattle. Coffee tomorrow?
|
|
|
Post by Baconator on Feb 6, 2015 18:21:25 GMT -7
So glad it worked out for both of us. I'll be in touch about coffee. Cheers!
|
|
|
Post by KeithA on Feb 6, 2015 18:26:05 GMT -7
So glad it worked out for both of us. I'll be in touch about coffee. Cheers! Hey...if I was in Ontario I'd join you guys for coffee !
|
|
|
Post by Baconator on Feb 6, 2015 18:33:00 GMT -7
If you were in town I'd suggest we meet for a beer instead, but I'd be happy to buy you or any other Z-bro a coffee too. Wish I could visit you on the Rock - never been and visiting there is on my bucket list. Cheers!
|
|
|
Post by jimiata on Feb 6, 2015 19:19:50 GMT -7
Hey Eric, call me in the am if we can meet. Hi Keith how's the snow? Jim
|
|
|
Post by dergit (Markus) on Feb 8, 2015 3:07:41 GMT -7
I've only had my MAZ for a few days so I'm not too seasoned a user... but I was lucky enough to be able try a bunch of Dr Z. amps and didn't go for the Route 66 which I thought was the one I came to the store for. There's something to be said for versatility even with single-channel point-to-point amps. It's nice to be able to dial in and out that "Cut" in any given room but it's also nice to shape the distortion to what you like with the EQ. And the FX loop just sealed the deal for me.
|
|
|
Post by Baconator on Feb 8, 2015 8:17:09 GMT -7
I've only had my MAZ for a few days so I'm not too seasoned a user... but I was lucky enough to be able try a bunch of Dr Z. amps and didn't go for the Route 66 which I thought was the one I came to the store for. There's something to be said for versatility even with single-channel point-to-point amps. It's nice to be able to dial in and out that "Cut" in any given room but it's also nice to shape the distortion to what you like with the EQ. And the FX loop just sealed the deal for me. Welcome to the fold too. The Route 66 and Maz 18 are quite different sounding amps and after having the Route 66 for a while now I have to say that while the Maz 18 really needs to be turned up to see what it's all about, the Route REALLY needs to be turned up. Both are surprisingly loud amps and I'm really glad I bought the Route 66 without a proper audition since the one time I tried one in a store I never really got a sense of what it could do since it is so loud. Of course this isn't to say you didn't make an excellent choice, as you obviously did, but just that the Route 66 needs to be played at a fairly high volume (or with an attenuator) to get a true sense of what it's like. The Maz 18 sounds better than the Route 66 when the volume(s) are really low, but I still can't wait for the next gig when I can open it up a little.
|
|
|
Post by dergit (Markus) on Feb 10, 2015 8:36:10 GMT -7
Yeah, I just went for a Brake Lite, it should get here soon... The MV doesn't do what it does on so many other amps, it's like a second Drive knob that also increases volume. But that's what makes it sound good.. those EL84s burning up..
|
|
|
Post by Baconator on Feb 10, 2015 18:19:32 GMT -7
Yeah, I just went for a Brake Lite, it should get here soon... The MV doesn't do what it does on so many other amps, it's like a second Drive knob that also increases volume. But that's what makes it sound good.. those EL84s burning up.. I'm still trying to get my head around the volume controls. I've had the amp at home for a few weeks now, but tomorrow will be my first time out with it. I'm not worried per se, but a little curious to see how quickly I'll be able to get everything dialed in at gig volumes. I'll figure it out in time - and have fun doing so.
|
|
|
Post by digs57 on Feb 10, 2015 18:50:21 GMT -7
I have had mine (mazez) a while and still learnin...close...so close though.
|
|
|
Post by dergit (Markus) on Feb 12, 2015 9:22:19 GMT -7
Yeah, I just went for a Brake Lite, it should get here soon... The MV doesn't do what it does on so many other amps, it's like a second Drive knob that also increases volume. But that's what makes it sound good.. those EL84s burning up.. I'm still trying to get my head around the volume controls. I've had the amp at home for a few weeks now, but tomorrow will be my first time out with it. I'm not worried per se, but a little curious to see how quickly I'll be able to get everything dialed in at gig volumes. I'll figure it out in time - and have fun doing so. The way I see it, aside from adjusting volume, the two V and MV knobs serve to dose two different kinds of distortion... So you can use them do blend the preamp and the poweramp saturation. The EQ pretty much serves to adjust the character of the saturation between the two while I see the Cut more as a overall EQ.
|
|
|
Post by doctorice on Feb 12, 2015 10:32:47 GMT -7
The way I see it, aside from adjusting volume, the two V and MV knobs serve to dose two different kinds of distortion... So you can use them do blend the preamp and the poweramp saturation. The EQ pretty much serves to adjust the character of the saturation between the two while I see the Cut more as a overall EQ. You got it. This is especially important if you're using the eq bypass. Your tone shaping comes from blending pre- and power-section drive seasoned with Cut. baconator: Congrats on the amp. Fwiw, I like Master up at noon or above for a gig. It can be pretty loud, though, so a Brake Lite is sometimes called for.
|
|
|
Post by dergit (Markus) on Feb 12, 2015 15:14:34 GMT -7
Yeah, Brake Lite seems like a must. It's essentially what Master Volume does on most other amps. Should get mine tomorrow!
|
|
|
Post by Baconator on Feb 12, 2015 21:31:02 GMT -7
Thanks for the info guys! I used it at rehearsal last night and I was having a hard time dialing in the volume. I was going through my recently revamped pedalboard with 3 different dirt boxes and a compressor which didn't make it any easier. That said, it was a horrible situation that would have been tough regardless of what I was playing through. We were in a smallish room with a really loud maple kit and of course the bassist brought his 200 watt Orange bass head and 410 (although given his history I'm a little surprised he didn't bring the matching 1-15 too). I had the brake lite and found myself playing around with it quite a bit from 2 clicks to bypassed and eventually settling in at 1 click. I look forward to playing it without 4 walls all in close proximity. My ears have almost stopped ringing 24 hours later. Good thing I had my earplugs in.
|
|