trey
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Posts: 10
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Post by trey on Jan 18, 2009 12:22:50 GMT -7
Hello everyone. This is my first post. I have not owned a Z yet. I've had a couple Bad Cats and a Matchless DC30. I played a few Z's at the dealer here (Guitar Rez) and I liked them very much. A 38 Maz Invasion came up on Craigslist here and I'm talking with the guy about it, either trading a Bad Cat Cub II or buying it outright. He wants $1300. It is hard to find out any info on this model. I didn't know much about Dr. Z's amps until doing a bunch of reading on them the past few days. And the 38 Invasion seems to be one of the more mysterious models ever made in the Z lineage! I can't find anything! So I guess I am just asking for some assurance, or to be told to watch out? I am 100% convinced that I want a Dr. Z, and the 38 watter is right where I need to be. I just wanted to know if there is anything I need to know about this particular model. It is a beautiful amp from the photos I got, with the wooden valance panel. I don't have the serial number nor do I know when the amp was made. BTW, this is such an excellent forum. Dr. Z certainly has a leg up on the other botique amp builders in that respect as well as the very detailed website itself. It's hard to believe that in this day and age, a company would not make their website as up to date and detailed as possible. Thanks for reading, and I look forward to owning a Dr Z very soon, and participating here. Trey
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 18, 2009 15:12:17 GMT -7
Welcome to the forum Trey. I never played an Invasion so I won't comment on that. I believe Buddy Whittington plays one, guitar straight in, no effects. He seems very happy with it. I do know you can't go wrong with a Z.
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trey
New Member
Posts: 10
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Post by trey on Jan 18, 2009 16:30:48 GMT -7
Thank you Doc. I made the deal this afternoon and traded for the amp. It's awesome. It does just what I had hoped it would do as far as tone and power level. Now I get to have a little honeymoon with it for a while!
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Post by benttop (Steve) on Jan 18, 2009 17:03:14 GMT -7
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Post by BW on Jan 18, 2009 18:15:51 GMT -7
Hi Trey, Bud here...I have never owned an Invasion, but my first Z was (and is) a MAZ 38 Studio Deluxe, same amp as yours but with 1X12 instead of two. I have a MAZ Senior head and love it just as much, but anytime I need to get going in a hurry I know ol' faithful will treat me right. My take is there's a little less gain w/ the Senior, and it has considerably more headroom, but everytime I take the old one to a gig, somebody wants to know 'What is that AMP?' I know you'll enjoy playing through it.
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trey
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Posts: 10
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Post by trey on Jan 18, 2009 19:38:51 GMT -7
Thanks for the words, folks. Steve, this is a 2-12 combo, with reverb. I will try to help fill in as many blanks as I can for your specs page. I'll get some photos of it soon also.
The amp has a few tolex nicks and scratches, but that just makes me not as uptight about taking it to a gig, right? The handle is a bit worn out though. I don't know if new ones are available online. The amp is pretty heavy, I was thinking about a more heavy duty type handle. Has anyone put a dogbone handle on theirs?
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Post by BW on Jan 18, 2009 19:56:46 GMT -7
I don't think Z has any of the old handles, I need one too...
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Post by benttop (Steve) on Jan 18, 2009 20:37:51 GMT -7
Thanks for the words, folks. Steve, this is a 2-12 combo, with reverb. I will try to help fill in as many blanks as I can for your specs page. I'll get some photos of it soon also. The amp has a few tolex nicks and scratches, but that just makes me not as uptight about taking it to a gig, right? The handle is a bit worn out though. I don't know if new ones are available online. The amp is pretty heavy, I was thinking about a more heavy duty type handle. Has anyone put a dogbone handle on theirs? Cool, what speakers are in it?
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trey
New Member
Posts: 10
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Post by trey on Jan 18, 2009 20:59:53 GMT -7
It's got a Celestion Vintage 30 and a G12H 30. I think that may be the original configuration? The amp's serial # starts with J. It's J 5138.
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Post by benttop (Steve) on Jan 18, 2009 21:12:10 GMT -7
It's got a Celestion Vintage 30 and a G12H 30. I think that may be the original configuration? The amp's serial # starts with J. It's J 5138. AH! Here's the story on serial numbers: A - 1990 B - 1991 C - 1992 D - 1993 E - 1994 F - 1995 G - 1996 H - 1997 I - 1998 J - 1999 K - 2000 L - 2001 M - 2002 N - 2003 O - 2004 P - 2005 Q - 2006 R - 2007 S - 2008 T - 2009 U - 2010 V - 2011 W - 2012 X - 2013 Y - 2014 Z - 2015
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Post by taswegian on Jan 18, 2009 21:15:17 GMT -7
Groovergeorge has one. I've played it. It's awesome!!!
I think his has webers in it. Maybe blue/silver bell but he'll probably chime in here soon.
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trey
New Member
Posts: 10
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Post by trey on Jan 18, 2009 21:28:40 GMT -7
So I gots a 1999. Cool! Thanks for the info. I got the amp from a pretty young guy who didn't know much about it really. The fan in the back was disconnected and hanging loose, I remounted it and connected it. It spins without any noise or signs of problems. The reverb doesn't seem to be hooked up. I don't really play with reverb, but I want to get everything functioning properly. I'd like to get it re-tolexed at some point. But I would really like to get a head cab made for it. I have a couple nice speaker cabs I would love to run it through. It's a very nice sounding amp, no buzzes or harsh sounds. The kid just didn't take the best care of it. He's in a traveling Christian rock band that somebody has some money behind, based on all the high end gear they have. Seeing as how this amp is not such a common one, I'd like to pay a little attention to it and make it really nice again.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 19, 2009 10:33:54 GMT -7
Hi Trey, Bud here...I have never owned an Invasion, but my first Z was (and is) a MAZ 38 Studio Deluxe, same amp as yours but with 1X12 instead of two. I have a MAZ Senior head and love it just as much, but anytime I need to get going in a hurry I know ol' faithful will treat me right. My take is there's a little less gain w/ the Senior, and it has considerably more headroom, but everytime I take the old one to a gig, somebody wants to know 'What is that AMP?' I know you'll enjoy playing through it. Oops, sorry 'bout that Buddy. I don't know why I thought you had an Invasion. The mind is a terrible thing to waste.
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Post by BW on Jan 19, 2009 11:35:56 GMT -7
I have an old bud here locally that has one, I'm keepin' a stealthy eye on him, might have to barter with some yardwork or sumpn'...
Trey, after you've been around here long enough to get past the troll at the gate and gain access, you might check 'Brent's Scratch & Dent' for a smokin' deal on a head cab. Also-I'll bet that amp has the really nice FX loop with send and return levels, maybe even the 'pull' mid boost. Just a functional, real-world work of art from Doc's bench. Makes me glad he made the switch from MRI to AMP. If you do decide to convert it to a head, hang on to all the orig stuff! And the Z-verb sounds great, its prolly a tube or a cable that needs tweakin'.
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trey
New Member
Posts: 10
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Post by trey on Jan 19, 2009 11:43:48 GMT -7
Thanks BW. I am anxious to gain access to the scratch & dent section in a month. This GAS disease needs to be fed, you know.
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