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Post by Fiestared69 on Mar 3, 2008 20:06:16 GMT -7
I took the Mazerati out on a gig last weekend and Man!, What a great amp! Everything I been wanting and had I heard this amp before I bought my Maz18jr several years ago I probably would have bought a Mazerati.
The Mazerati along side the Maz18jr creates some of the best tone alot like Brad Paisley got on the Mud on the tires (Mud On The Lens) cd/dvd. The tone I've been looking for. I used the Mazerati 1x12 combo with Weber Bluedog alnico and the Maz18jr 2x10 and they really complimented each other.
I have also got a Mazerati head and a 1x12 cab ,The tone that I got this weekend is really makin' me rethink sellin the combo (for sale now in the BST section) since they are no longer in production. It might be a good Idea to keep them both since they are both really nice sounding and in really clean condition.
All in all I think the Mazerati is one great amp and probably over looked.
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Post by telejas on Mar 4, 2008 8:15:19 GMT -7
I can't say enough good stuff about my Mazerati... I get "tweakers" saying that they can't see how I can't live with one tone knob and I'll be selling it soon, but that one tone knob is perfect! It does more than most amps with 4 knobs does.
GREAT amp, probably a REAL close 2nd of all the amps I've ever owned (right after the Ray).....
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Post by ruger9 on Mar 4, 2008 10:22:04 GMT -7
I'd love to hear you Stangray vs Mazerati comparison Telejas. I've used your soundclips MANY times to listen to Z's amps. Judging by your clips of the Stang & Maz, it almost sounds like the Stang is an "Improved Maz", but they seem very very similar (whereas, for example, the RXES sounds different from either the Stang or the Maz).
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Post by Fiestared69 on Mar 4, 2008 13:26:14 GMT -7
The Mazerati for me is a guttsy version of the Ray , alittle more power and without that EF86 which in my case using vintage teles the EF86 can squiel and can make my tone harsh with to much highend that I can't tame.
Definitely #1 or #2 in my book of favorite amps!
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Post by ruger9 on Mar 4, 2008 14:04:49 GMT -7
Didn't know you had the Ray, 69! Thanks for the review. I've been looking at getting rid of my RxJR in favor of a Ray... I want more midrange, more guts, more warmth. Not more GAIN, because I'm not using this amp for rock, I'm using it for more of a hot-rodded country Paisley thing, but I'm thinking of getting a Ray... seems to be more round & fat than the RxES/JR. Then I started looking at the Mazerati, since Paisley uses those too occasionaly...
I've always heard the EF86 was a FATTER preamp tube, not a brighter/harsher one. I know the new production EF86's have microphony issues (squeeling), but the NOS EF86 are all supposed to be great.
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Post by Fiestared69 on Mar 4, 2008 14:15:50 GMT -7
Hey Ruger, If I'm not mistaken Curt told me he put NOS 5751's in v1&v3 in The Rxjr and a NOS 5AR4 rectifier and that gave him more head room and alot more warmth and less gain!
If you are interrested in a Mazerati combo we might be able to work out a trade!
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Post by ruger9 on Mar 4, 2008 15:38:29 GMT -7
I might try the 5751 thing in the RxJR, but lack of headroom is NOT the problem. It's totally a TONAL thing. I may have to with for Z-Fest (if I can swing going) so I can play a Ray, Mazerati, and Ghia side-by-side-by-side.
I'm a "head guy" with Z's stuff... If I sell my RxJR head, I need to replace it with a head, or I would definitely be interested!
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Post by telejas on Mar 4, 2008 15:47:48 GMT -7
I'd love to hear you Stangray vs Mazerati comparison Telejas. I've used your soundclips MANY times to listen to Z's amps. Judging by your clips of the Stang & Maz, it almost sounds like the Stang is an "Improved Maz", but they seem very very similar (whereas, for example, the RXES sounds different from either the Stang or the Maz). I think they are probably the two closest Z amps (except the Maz jr/Sr line) in all the Z amps. But they are pretty different too. The Ray is more open sounding with a fuller bottom end and more chime. Where the Rati is more focused, more mid rangy and slightly tighter on the bottom end. the Rati is also a little "stiffer" feeling when playing. After playing the Rati, the Ray almost feels "scooped" out (in a good way), but it's not - kind of hard to explain. With my Tele, the Ray stays clean up to about 10:00, where the Rati stays clean up to about 11:00... but from there the Ray gets smoother, fuller and slightly overdriven.......... The Rati gets a little more aggressive sounding, more over-drive and just meaner sounding. So this is where the Ray is nicer for cleans and slightly overdriven stuff and the Rati is better for rock, even when being pushed by overdrive pedals the Rati seems to rock out better....... but both hold their own doing either style. It's a hard choice when I go to grab an amp out of the closet for a gig - Ray or Rati, but it's a nice, hard choice to have.
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Post by ruger9 on Mar 4, 2008 16:12:22 GMT -7
Great comparison Thanks Telejas!
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Post by Curt on Mar 5, 2008 10:06:45 GMT -7
Hey Ruger, If I'm not mistaken Curt told me he put NOS 5751's in v1&v3 in The Rxjr and a NOS 5AR4 rectifier and that gave him more head room and alot more warmth and less gain! Correct Jeff. Vast improvement for me. Another BIG phatness improvement is running a Y speaker cord into both the Tone Tubby and a G12H, two speakers add more girth to this amp, more so than any other I have experienced..just amazing really, going back to the single Tubby sounds thin Two speakers is the Phat secret I feel.
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Post by ruger9 on Mar 5, 2008 13:14:10 GMT -7
Alright alright. Maybe I'll give the 5751's a try. I've swapped tubes like this for years, but I generally don't swap gain levels anymore. I figure if the amp was designed to work with 12AX7s, and I don't like the amp, then I should find another amp. I've went round & round with stuff like "how do I make a 12AX7 sound like an EF86" or "can I remove 2 power tubes for half-power" or in other words, "how do I make this thing I have sound like some other thing?" I've even modded my own amps, which I'll never do again (even tho the results were good.) I'm just trying to SIMPLIFY things... buy the amp I like, find the speaker I like, & play.
Nothing against tube swapping- I've done a ton of it! I'm just trying to keep things simple for a change (for me).
Unfortunately, I don't have a 2x12... only a 1x12. Maybe in the future I'll get a 2x12, but for now, the 1x12 is what I have, and I'll try a single Gold with the RxJR before getting rid of her... alot of people here swear by the single Gold with alot of Doc's amps.
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Post by Curt on Mar 5, 2008 18:36:39 GMT -7
Tone Tubby Alnico.
Few bucks cheaper, flatter response.
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Post by ruger9 on Mar 5, 2008 18:59:11 GMT -7
flatter...how? Less mids? Less highs?
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Post by Fiestared69 on Mar 6, 2008 7:16:44 GMT -7
I think what Curt means is, flatter: sounds more like the amp and less colored by the speaker.
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