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Post by telejas on Nov 17, 2018 1:01:22 GMT -7
I'm not new to Z's, or the Maz series, as most know...... I've had a few Maz 18's (NR's) and a Maz 38 (with reverb), as well as almost every EL84 offering from Z.
Tonight, I played my Maz 18 combo (with reverb), but when I tried pushing it any by either 1) turning up the gain (volume) or 2) kicking in a clean boost, the sound gets really thin and harsh. I swapped out most of the preamp tubes (on break), and the power tubes, and it still sounded harsh when I push the front end.
I tried 3 Telecasters and my Wolfgang (The Wolfgang immediately pushed it to harshness).
It does have a Celestion Blue, could this be the reason?
My settings: I had the "volume" (gain) at about 1:00, which was pretty clean.....And the Master about 10:00 (just below). So, it wasn't pushing the speaker very hard and wasn't overly loud. Most of the knobs, were at 12:00, except treble at 11:00, and the cut was at 9:00. This was a VERY nice clean tone, with just a tad bit of hair if I dug in really hard.
Any suggestions or ideas of why it's so harsh?
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Post by BritInvasion on Nov 17, 2018 5:01:34 GMT -7
I know you changed out the tubes , but when I think of harsh , I think of V1 and possibly the output (power) tubes as being the culprits. Maybe try a different flavor of tube in V1 as a starting point?
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Post by shiner51 on Nov 17, 2018 6:07:16 GMT -7
I changed my power tubes to 6n14n's and it smoothed mine out very well.
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Post by mickey on Nov 17, 2018 8:25:18 GMT -7
It might be good to just try another speaker to rule out your blue being the cause.
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Post by headshrinker (Marc) on Nov 17, 2018 9:59:39 GMT -7
Didn't happen to have a wah on by mistake? Been there done that.
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Post by telejas on Nov 17, 2018 10:00:33 GMT -7
Didn't happen to have a wah on by mistake? Been there done that. Lol, no.... I used it multiple times throughout the night, but it was off when it was supposed to be (I've done that too)
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Post by John on Nov 17, 2018 10:44:58 GMT -7
Does it have an effects loop? Sometimes there's oxidation on the effects loop jacks. I don't know if this would cause harshness and loss of bass. (I can't remember what the oxidation did to the tone) But it wouldn't hurt to take a guitar cable and insert-remove it in both effects loop jacks a 1/2 a dozen times.
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Post by telejas on Nov 17, 2018 13:03:11 GMT -7
Just spent the morning (last 3 hours) messing around with tubes and speakers..
1. Speaker - It's not the speaker.... I tried 2 different speakers (1 ceramic, 1 Alnico) 2. Tubes - I tried new, old, and NOS tubes... didn't fix the "harshness". (Preamp, power, and rectifier tubes) 3. Attenuator - I also put my Brake-lite in it and cranked the master and volume..... same affect (really bright when I cranked the volume)
I can have it set sounding PERFECT, but when I crank the volume (gain), it's like the cut and treble both go up - A LOT! I can turn the treble & cut down to compensate, and it sounds great, but when I turn the volume back down to get my cleans, it gets too dark and muddy and I have to add treble & cut back in. I get the same effect when I push the front end with a boost, hotter pickups, or run a dirt box "too hot" into it.
I'm starting to think this is normal?
I'm probably going to send it in, within the next couple months, for the Mk.II mods... Maybe that'll fix it, or maybe they'll find an issue when they are messing with it?
.....And. it's not bad enough that I can't live with it for the great tones I do get. I just have to play a little "cleaner" than I'm used to, for now.
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Post by purpletele on Nov 17, 2018 21:03:03 GMT -7
Just spent the morning (last 3 hours) messing around with tubes and speakers.. 1. Speaker - It's not the speaker.... I tried 2 different speakers (1 ceramic, 1 Alnico) 2. Tubes - I tried new, old, and NOS tubes... didn't fix the "harshness". (Preamp, power, and rectifier tubes)3. Attenuator - I also put my Brake-lite in it and cranked the master and volume..... same affect (really bright when I cranked the volume) I can have it set sounding PERFECT, but when I crank the volume (gain), it's like the cut and treble both go up - A LOT! I can turn the treble & cut down to compensate, and it sounds great, but when I turn the volume back down to get my cleans, it gets too dark and muddy and I have to add treble & cut back in. I get the same effect when I push the front end with a boost, hotter pickups, or run a dirt box "too hot" into it. I'm starting to think this is normal? I'm probably going to send it in, within the next couple months, for the Mk.II mods... Maybe that'll fix it, or maybe they'll find an issue when they are messing with it? .....And. it's not bad enough that I can't live with it for the great tones I do get. I just have to play a little "cleaner" than I'm used to, for now. This might be one of those rare times when a capacitor starts failing. It might be a large filter cap with an issue. I would clean the send and return jacks as John pointed out as well. Nice playing on the SRV tune.
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Post by LuckyBlackCat on Nov 20, 2018 19:11:00 GMT -7
I know on my Maz 18 NR, I have to dial back the treble or cut the further I turn the volume control up.
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Post by telejas on Nov 20, 2018 20:23:53 GMT -7
I know on my Maz 18 NR, I have to dial back the treble or cut the further I turn the volume control up. That sounds like what I've been dealing with.... So, maybe it's normal? I just don't remember it being like that on my other Maz 18/38's? I actually just sent it in today for the Mk.II update..... I also asked them to give it a "once over" to make sure it was working 100%. Now, the wait!
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Post by LuckyBlackCat on Nov 20, 2018 20:33:58 GMT -7
Seems normal on mine. I’ve never thought of it as harshness, but simply a product of the interactive controls on the Maz. Rarely do I find myself just adjusting one knob at a time.
I will say I’ve never really noticed a significant treble increase when turning on a gain pedal as you’ve described.
Regardless, you know you’ll get it back from Z in good shape and won’t have to worry about whether there is an issue.
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