|
Post by 2manyguitars on May 4, 2015 20:05:33 GMT -7
Pardon my ignorance, but I recently traded for a 2002 Maz Jr 2x10. As usual, it was advertised as "mint condition" but the first thing I noticed was a few little rips in the tolex. As I started really going over it, I soon realized it had been recovered. The seller did the whole "The guy I got it from never mentioned that... Now that you pointed it out, it does look kind of funny...". Bottom line, it sounded amazing and since I was going to gig with it anyway, the tolex wasn't a deal breaker. He originally wanted my guitar and $400 for the amp but I told him it was a straight trade or I was walking. Obviously, he took the deal since I have the amp. I used it at a gig that night and loved it. Based on the fact the amp was 13 years old and not knowing the history of it, a few days later I picked up a whole new set of tubes for it. I took the whole thing apart while I was at it and snapped some photos. From the looks of it, the cabinet appears to be MDF. Is that correct for a 2002 Maz combo? I've posted some interior shots figuring you guys could easily tell me if it's legit. Also, is the transformer supposed to look that nasty? This is the underside of the bottom panel... Here's the transformer... And what's the deal with this? Thanks
|
|
|
Post by lowbudget on May 5, 2015 6:34:00 GMT -7
It's way more than just the covering. The cab in no way resembles a real Dr. Z cab to me, anyway. Dr. Z has never used anything other than 3/4" birch ply that I'm aware of (until the new Z-Lux), and he sure wouldn't use MDF. The dimensions of the cab look way off as well.
I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings, but if the seller wasn't aware of this then he's never seen a real Dr. Z cab before.
That does appear to be the Doc's writing on the piece of tape.
|
|
|
Post by Mark (Basement Enthusiast) on May 5, 2015 7:14:37 GMT -7
I wouldn't be too worried about the look of that transformer... I've seen a lot of older (10+ year old) amps look that way. (Of course, I could be wrong.. but I think the cabinet looks like the worst of your worries.)
|
|
|
Post by 2manyguitars on May 5, 2015 7:35:06 GMT -7
I had my suspicions as soon as I saw the MDF, but once I was sure the amp itself (and the speakers) were okay, I negotiated accordingly.
Up here, a new Junior 2x10 runs around $2450 plus tax, so about $2750 Canadian. The guitar I traded for it cost me $1100 cdn (about $900 USD) 2 years ago. Because it was a Gibson, I might have been able to get $750 to $800 USD for it so I'm comfortable having that much into this amp.
My other guitarist is a woodworker and could build me a new cabinet for it quite easily. I'm tempted to go with a solid maple or birch enclosure and finish it with a clear poly.
|
|
|
Post by jimiata on May 5, 2015 8:31:28 GMT -7
I think you got a good deal regardless of the cab condition. You might want to consider a pine cab as the Maz 2x10 combo weights in at 66lbs.
Jim
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on May 5, 2015 8:44:40 GMT -7
If it sounds amazing and will be well loved, why worry? I love that color red too... I'd probably have bought that in a heartbeat. Looks like you got a great deal even if it's not original.
|
|
|
Post by wubberdubber on May 5, 2015 9:02:59 GMT -7
Amp and speakers look legit, cab and covering do not. But, if it sounds great...;>) Every once in a while an empty MAZ cab will pop up in the BST section if you wanna pair it with an official cab.
|
|
|
Post by 2manyguitars on May 5, 2015 18:08:22 GMT -7
UPDATE: I was going to wait until after my gig on Saturday to peel this thing and see what I was working with but decided that since the bottom was opening up anyway, I'd pop a couple of the staples and have a look. Turns out it is actually 3/4 inch plywood and the original cab. Somehow, the combination of the wood, black paint and glue made it look like brown MDF. plus, the dimensions checked out at 23x20x10. I was leaning towards original cab with a replaced bottom panel (flood damage, maybe?) because when I was going over it with the seller, one of the things I pointed out as indicating a re-cover was that on the inside edges, you could see the perfectly straight line where there was still a bit of glue residue from the original tolex. That wouldn't have been there had someone slapped together a box out of MDF. Plus, it had all the right screws, corner caps, feet, handle, etc. That's good news but the tough part will be getting all that crap cleaned off before re-covering it.
|
|
|
Post by wubberdubber on May 5, 2015 20:23:56 GMT -7
Cool!..you got a great deal. Hard to beat the MAZ for a good all-around amp.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on May 6, 2015 5:23:00 GMT -7
In this case, "it's what's on the inside that counts"...
|
|
|
Post by gitaryzt1985 on May 6, 2015 13:49:01 GMT -7
The main thing is that you got a deal you are happy with, and the amp will sound the same regardless. Maybe down the road you can work out a way to get a fresh authentic Z cab.
|
|
|
Post by dergit (Markus) on May 6, 2015 14:57:19 GMT -7
I was about to say if that's a clone cab, someone did a pretty decent job sourcing all the right parts and getting it pretty much right. The transformer would have me worried, though?
|
|