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Post by jdfoosh357 on Mar 5, 2019 6:35:40 GMT -7
This has been covered here, so not a secret, but I thought I would relay my positive experience. I play in a large cover band with horns and keyboard and use single coil pickups. I've gone through several amps in the last three years and have settled on the Maz 18. It is the most dynamic and organic amp I've played. I use a clean boost in front of the amp to boost the pickup signal and run the gain at ~11 to get a hairy tone when I dig in. Xotic BB preamp for crunch, add tube screamer after for lead. I own/owned the following amps:
DRRI (love it, but not punchy/loud enough for this band)
'68 DRRI (better but earlier breakup vs DRRI)
SFTR (good pedal platform but I got really tired of lugging it around)
SFPR (home use)
Mesa Mark V-35w (versatile, higher gain option, but sterile cleans when directly compared to Dr. Z)
Fuchs ODS 50 (wonderful amp, light weight 50w, full range with deep bass on tap; I love this amp in 3-4 piece band but the Z cuts through our crowded band mix much better)
Anyhow I stumbled upon another thread on here about running the Maz cut control wide open (compensating with treble knob reduction). I tried it last night at practice and BOOM!!! I'm never going back. I would have never tried this on my own, and I used to run the cut knob at 10-12'. Amp sounds more articulate in the mix and I could hear each string, and it wasn't harsh like I feared. I know this is the intention for the cut control, but I don't think most people would run it maxed, in fear of using extreme EQ settings.
Gain 11' Treble 11' Mid 1' Bass 10' Cut max'd
Give it a shot.
Jon
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Mar 5, 2019 6:37:31 GMT -7
Open cut makes that amp Lively as all get out!! Glad you tried it.
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Post by John on Mar 5, 2019 7:19:06 GMT -7
Cut....maxed? My ears hurt just reading that.
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Post by Stephen on Mar 5, 2019 9:17:30 GMT -7
Is this a non-reverb model?
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Post by jdfoosh357 on Mar 5, 2019 9:47:04 GMT -7
Yeah I thought the same thing, until I tried it. I would have never tried it if others on this forum didn't suggest it. Tone is full, punchy, and vibrant. However if you don't compensate with treble knob it can be unpleasantly bright and picky. My Maz is a 2014 NR model.
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Post by perryr on Mar 5, 2019 10:59:51 GMT -7
Yep, and by turning the treble down, the bass and mids increase a bit for a little more meat on the single notes.
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Post by Paul (TRANE) on Mar 5, 2019 11:01:35 GMT -7
Cool. Thanks for sharing.
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Post by pcns on Mar 5, 2019 13:16:06 GMT -7
This is the big difference between live sound and home sound. You do things live that may not be a pleasing at home.
Sometime you have to eq for the band.
I think this is where Dr Z amps really shine, on stage with a full band and the guitar cutting thru the mix without dominating the volume.
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Post by Patrick B on Mar 5, 2019 14:16:12 GMT -7
My Maz 38 was sounding so good to me at home the other day that I took this pic of the settings to remember. When I read the post above about the cut I checked to see where I had mine and yea I had it kinda up and the treble down so maybe I'm doing same thing. This was with a Mesa 2x12 vertical closed back cab with Vintage 30's. I hope this image shows up.
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Post by mrcapers on Mar 5, 2019 15:05:06 GMT -7
This works great if you're not using your boost foot switch, but it will overemphasize the treble if you kick in the boost. The way I do it is set your boost tone first by using the cut control only, then turn off the boost and adjust your non-boosted tone.
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Post by jdfoosh357 on Mar 5, 2019 16:33:05 GMT -7
That’s a good idea about using the cut knob with the boost on as you suggested. I have had multiple amps with EQ bypass boost and I keep coming back to the tube screamer. It’s works better for me in a band situation to slice through the mix with extra mids. Otherwise I need a BIG jump in volume to get over the band for solos.
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Post by captainron (Ron) on Mar 6, 2019 7:12:06 GMT -7
Cool post! I'm gonna give this a try!
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Post by John on Mar 6, 2019 7:54:33 GMT -7
My Maz 38 was sounding so good to me at home the other day that I took this pic of the settings to remember. When I read the post above about the cut I checked to see where I had mine and yea I had it kinda up and the treble down so maybe I'm doing same thing. This was with a Mesa 2x12 vertical closed back cab with Vintage 30's. I hope this image shows up. You need to move that master volume knob 180 degrees the other direction!!!
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Post by Patrick B on Mar 6, 2019 7:57:23 GMT -7
My Maz 38 was sounding so good to me at home the other day that I took this pic of the settings to remember. When I read the post above about the cut I checked to see where I had mine and yea I had it kinda up and the treble down so maybe I'm doing same thing. This was with a Mesa 2x12 vertical closed back cab with Vintage 30's. I hope this image shows up. You need to move that master volume knob 180 degrees the other direction!!! So you can also hear it up in Ohio?!? I left out the part about also having the Brake-lite on "3". This was sitting right in front of the 2x12 in my living room. But I agree louder is better.
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bzl
Junior Member
Posts: 61
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Post by bzl on Mar 6, 2019 11:06:55 GMT -7
I’ve had a maz 8 for about 6 months now and I always have the cut at 1 or 2 o’clock I try turning it down sometimes but it never lasts long. It just creates a magical shimmer
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Post by gbowman on Mar 12, 2019 8:05:23 GMT -7
Have you tried this setting live, at stage volume? I would think it would be a bassy mess onstage, but who knows. I tried it quietly at home and really liked the sound, but again, can this be translated to stage volumes? (I use a 1 x12 open back/ET65 cab)
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Post by Patrick B on Mar 12, 2019 8:12:38 GMT -7
Have you tried this setting live, at stage volume? I would think it would be a bassy mess onstage, but who knows. I tried it quietly at home and really liked the sound, but again, can this be translated to stage volumes? (I use a 1 x12 open back/ET65 cab) I think I've only used this amp on stage once and I don't recall at all how I had it dialed in that night. I primarily use my EZG-50 for gigs. You may very well be correct in that these settings might not work in a band situation.
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Post by Stephen on Mar 13, 2019 7:26:13 GMT -7
I’ve moved my Cut from 9 to 12 o’clock and reduced my treble from 3 to 1 o’clock. It gives me that nice Texas Blues kind of tone.
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Post by gbowman on Mar 13, 2019 9:46:35 GMT -7
I tried diming the Cut and couldn't quite get things right, but so far this sounds promising (open cab ET65). I have a couple gigs this weekend with different size stages etc, so let's see how this works as a starting place...
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Post by mickey on Mar 14, 2019 0:32:58 GMT -7
Good thread, I have been running the cut on my 38 and my 18 at half way or a bit above for some time now, with the treble, mid and bass all around 10 or 11 o' clock. Works best for me.
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Post by Andy 67 on Mar 17, 2019 9:38:57 GMT -7
If you have the chance of playing a big stage, max the cut and master and play with the pre-volume and your guitar volume knob. That’s what I call TONE. TONS OF TONE!!!
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Post by GuitarZ on Mar 17, 2019 16:53:29 GMT -7
I'll have to try it. I've had my 50 watt Marshall master volume amp since around 1980. I always had the Presence about half way up. A few years back I ran across the 'Holy Grail Settings' courtesy of the internet. I was surprised Presence was completely off. I will tell you the settings sound GOOD (although I also now had my AirBrake to settle the volume). I know the Cut control isn't the exact same as the Marshall Presence control, but I kind of figured, set everything else and then dial in as needed especially based on my Marshall experience. I like this. Think outside the box. Never know what you'll find!
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Post by Stephen on Mar 17, 2019 19:31:08 GMT -7
I went to rehearsal today and took my Maz 18 MKII. I played a Les Paul through the low input, Cut at 12, Treble at 2, Mid at 12, and Bass at 9. No pedals. I had so much fun! Thanks for the tip.
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underdog
Junior Member
keep it real
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Post by underdog on Mar 18, 2019 4:30:17 GMT -7
My Maz 38 was sounding so good to me at home the other day that I took this pic of the settings to remember. When I read the post above about the cut I checked to see where I had mine and yea I had it kinda up and the treble down so maybe I'm doing same thing. This was with a Mesa 2x12 vertical closed back cab with Vintage 30's. I hope this image shows up. You need to move that master volume knob 180 degrees the other direction!!! I agree that master has to be turned way up to get that authentic power tube overdrive!
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Post by pacificasteve on Mar 27, 2019 1:20:23 GMT -7
I really only look at the cut depending on the band and the room. It would have to be some kind o venue for me to open it all the way up
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