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Post by tele81 on Feb 12, 2017 4:30:46 GMT -7
So here is my dilemma. I have a Zlux 1x12 combo that is great. The two things I don't dig about it are 1- the reverb is too subtle for me so I'm using a Strymon Flint for verb and trem settings as I prefer hall type verbs and 2- it's solid state rectified so I'm missing a little bit of the sag and softness in the low end that comes with a tube rectifier. I recently traded into a Maz 18 nr loaded with an alnico blue and I love it! I'm primarily a tele guy and the Maz just seems to pair so well. I've recently been offered a Maz 38 nr anniversary head and a Zbest 2x12 cab in trade for my Zlux. Question is does the Maz 38 sound different enough from the 18 to justify owning both? I know that just having the different speakers will have a big impact on the tone. I also like the idea of having an amp that I can set up similarly and use for situations where I need to be louder. Different enough to justify owning two Maz's or keep my Zlux and the 18?
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Post by digs57 on Feb 12, 2017 8:13:43 GMT -7
Having back up amp is nice...you got it right on all fronts in my arena...I think that you would have it covered with 38 brudda...about it sounding different enough...how could it not,bigger bolder tone...I had zlux..."for not long enough"...but I trust my maz 18's have me covered...you got it right on the flint...does hall reverb so well...
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Post by Ridgeback on Feb 12, 2017 10:04:54 GMT -7
Lots of experience with an 18NR with Blue, only a little with a 38 Reverb (2x12 combo). I thought they were quite different but how much was due to the speakers and NR vs R, I can't say.
Edited to add that if I had a 38, I'd trade you for a Z-lux combo in a minute. Different strokes. +1 on the Flint.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 12, 2017 10:14:45 GMT -7
I've had both in the NR config. There's a good deal of overlap for sure, but the 38 is just cleaner and more refined than the 18. For me, that was a bad thing. I could never get the 38 to it's sweet spot without choking the life out of it. At full tilt, it buried my 80 watt Mark IV.
Personally, I think a Maz 18 and a Z Lux is a great pairing and you have a great thing going now.
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Post by digs57 on Feb 12, 2017 11:13:54 GMT -7
I think frank is on with this...tele maz 18/blue...38 might?...might be too much... knowing the way I like tele sweetness?
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Post by Faze on Feb 12, 2017 17:17:18 GMT -7
Or maybe a Cure? The tele videos with the Cure sounded pretty darn good to me.
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Post by tele81 on Feb 12, 2017 18:24:46 GMT -7
So I did it! While the Zlux sounded great the low end was a little too "stiff". Maybe that isn't the right word but in a Fender style circuit I prefer a little more boing and bounce in the low end. The Maz 38 through the Zbest cabinet is just awesome. With the Maz 18 and the alnico blue there is an airiness and sweetness to the tone with a lot of chime. Great for chording and ambient tones with some help from my Strymon Flint and Deep blue delay. The Maz 38 through the zbest is big sounding and more focused. Still very open sounding for being a closed back cab to my surprise. I know a lot of people keep referring to the "sweet spot" being tough to get to with the the 38s and I'm not having any issues. I like the amp very clean with just a hint of breakup when pushed so the Maz 38 is going to work out nicey. The Zlux was an awesome amp but just not "me". I will be on the lookout for a cure. Don't need the reverb or trem and the fx loop, tube rectifier and level control are making this amp very very hard to ignore. The price doesn't hurt either.
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Post by perryr on Feb 12, 2017 18:46:15 GMT -7
MAZ38 is such a great amp!
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Post by JASON (aka jgleaton) on Feb 13, 2017 0:17:24 GMT -7
My favorite.
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Post by mickey on Feb 13, 2017 5:34:13 GMT -7
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Post by mickey on Feb 13, 2017 7:40:24 GMT -7
I may not have read you right, but if you are using the Maz 38 through a Celestion Blue take great care as it's not man enough for that amp. A Gold is a really good match though, from my own experience.
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Post by z4me on Feb 13, 2017 14:35:45 GMT -7
I may not have read you right, but if you are using the Maz 38 through a Celestion Blue take great care as it's not man enough for that amp. A Gold is a really good match though, from my own experience. I was wondering the same thing regarding the 38 into a single blue. The Celestion blue is only a 15 watt speaker and of course the Maz Sr is 38 watts. As Mickey said, the Celestion gold at 50 watts is a good match if you are seeking that blue chime but with higher power handling. I owned a couple of Maz Jr NR amps and they are great sounding amps. What I learned about myself and my playing was I prefer high headroom and there were some occasions where I didn't have enough head room or power in a band situation with the Jrs. This was playing the room and not miced up etc. I now own a Maz Sr reverb and really like it. It has the right balance of head room and power for me. I think the larger transformer also provides more power, thrust or overall tone thickening which I really like. I have a current version model and just learned last week from the Z repair department that there are mods available for the Maz amps, or at least my version from 2013. I mention this as reverb was discussed at the beginning the mod includes increased reverb. Master volume and reverb circuits redesigned, resulting in: improved master volume function, as much or as little gain at whatever volume you need increase in available reverb ( surf is up ) decrease in noise, amp is overall much quieter
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Post by JASON (aka jgleaton) on Feb 13, 2017 15:00:43 GMT -7
I just started playing with a band a few months ago, other guitar player plays a 50 watt Marshall head / cab set up...
and after being able to use a single Maz Jr 1x12 combo for just about every single gig (i did add an M12 a/b'd together a few times)for about 7-8 years now...
So I took two Maz 18's to our last gig (Maz studio 1x12 and a second Maz jr head running through a Ext cab) cause I knew we / he was gonna let it rip... I had to run both on to keep up and I did.. and sounded great..
but next gig will be a louder venue too so,
I am bringing back out the Maz Sr head n 2x12 cab for the first time in almost 10 years... gone let the big dog eat...
Good to know I can use the twin Maz Jr's though and it worked GREAT... got that Idea from Eric Ambel from his set up back when he was with Steve Earl.
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Post by tele81 on Feb 14, 2017 6:38:09 GMT -7
No worries guys I am NOT running the 38 into a single blue lol. I have the Maz 18 NR combo which is loaded with the alnico blue. I swapped out my ZLux for a Maz 38 nr head (cool anniversary badge ) and a Zbest 2x12 closed back cab. The 38 is running into the Zbest not the blue.
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Post by tele81 on Feb 14, 2017 6:41:56 GMT -7
Edited my other reply above. It read like I was running the 38 into the blue.
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Post by carrjimi on Feb 16, 2017 5:15:04 GMT -7
Just sold my Zlux for the exact same reason. Great amp, great tone but reverb was too understated and missed the feel of the tube rectifier. I ended up buying a new man 18. I thought about the 38 but decided against due to the amount of clean headroom. I'd never be able to get that slightly broken up sound a t a dent volume.
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Post by mickey on Feb 16, 2017 9:37:55 GMT -7
So how do you like the Maz 18 as a replacement for the Z-Lux?
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Post by carrjimi on Feb 16, 2017 16:10:35 GMT -7
overall, I like it more. I find the MAZ is more open and cuts through better.
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Post by digs57 on Feb 16, 2017 17:08:27 GMT -7
overall, I like it more. I find the MAZ is more open and cuts through better. Ditto that...it was were I was at with "my" findings...wanted it to work for me
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Post by lowbudget on Feb 16, 2017 17:42:32 GMT -7
overall, I like it more. I find the MAZ is more open and cuts through better. Ditto that...it was were I was at with "my" findings...wanted it to work for me Would you two fellas elaborate a little on this thinking for me? I'd love to hear all your thoughts about the Maz vs. Z-Lux. I too love my Mazs but never thought of them in terms of an either-or proposition vs. the Z-Lux.
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Post by digs57 on Feb 16, 2017 17:54:35 GMT -7
Sure I'll elaborate...I found the zlux just didn't have that openness/cut/spank for me...that I find in my maz models... I liked it...but I found the over all voicing just wasn't what I was use to in the maz...its not either or/vs...its what works for me and that is all I need to know about the differences...im real comfortable with my maz...
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Post by JASON (aka jgleaton) on Feb 16, 2017 21:17:02 GMT -7
I think the difference for me is in the EL 84 tubes.
I think after all these years I'm just a bit more of an El 84 guy, so the Maz amps are just perfect for me.
I really like the Z Lux and especially love the EZG and could easily use either of them instead,
but I just personally seem to prefer the Maz voicing and the EL 84's..
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Post by carrjimi on Feb 17, 2017 21:30:35 GMT -7
I just Bought a second maz that I used tonight at rehearsal. Compared to the Zlux is a livelier amp (to me). It also cuts through the mix better.
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Post by John on Feb 18, 2017 5:02:06 GMT -7
The Maz 38 is the sleeper hit of Doc's amps. The 'unsung hero'.
Like the Ghia...it may be one of his older designs....but they're great.
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Post by tele81 on Feb 18, 2017 15:54:17 GMT -7
im really happy i did the swap. I'm also a guy who enjoys the feel of the tube rectifier, it adds the right amount of sag and sponginess under the fingers. Even back when I had a Mesa dual rec I used the tube rectifier. I use teles which have a pretty tight low end on their own and I'm not a big high gain guy so low end tightness is a non issue for me. The Zlux was great and although the trem was beautiful the reverb wasn't my style. A strymon flint in the loop of my Maz's just does it for me as I prefer hall reverb to spring low on the mix high in the decay, I'm also addicted to the Harmonic trem setting. Only thing I'm not sold on is the Zbest 2x12 cab. Don't get me wrong it's a great closed back cab right up there with my bogner OS 2x12 cab. I just mean that I prefer an open back cab with the maz's so I'll be on the hunt for an open back 2x12 preferable loaded with a blue and a gold
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Post by muzacman02 "Jamie" on Feb 19, 2017 20:56:16 GMT -7
I stumbled across a MAZ38 NR demo today on the DRZ youtube channel, I was Floored at the tones that were achieved. While I do play single coils for some things , I mostly stick to HB guitars due to the Crappy power found in most clubs. The 38 had great top and bottom, speakers being used? That I wandered there wasn't any humbucker type tones to hear, on that demo. Even the MAZ18 sounded AMAZING, COURTESY OF MR JASON HOBBS, He's a mighty fine picker and once again a Tele Picker. I'm not a Huge fan of 84's but that's the big difference in the ZLux and the MAZ Amps, for me more headroom is what I want, so when I set it for a somewhat clean sound at a decent overall level, it leaves some Uhmppfff left over when I need to push it into that Crunchy goodness Land of Billy Gibbons, Joe Bonamassa, Warren Haynes . I have tried the maz18 but it haunts me of the issues I had with my Ghia, while a Fine amp, when it was cranked to the gils, I didn't have any room for gassing it, adding a boost, or stacking overdrives as I do for over the top sounds, solos and or anymore crunch without it feeding back or squealing horribly, the ghia in 38-40watts?.... That would be the sound!!! congrats on the new purchase, at the end of the day , if your ears are happy that's all that matters.
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