Erik
Full Member
Posts: 195
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Post by Erik on Nov 8, 2012 10:58:21 GMT -7
Hi all,
I have had a Maz 18 JR for about six months. I love it, it is a bit powerful though. I now use an attenuator most of the time. I play a strat or a tele and use a few pedals (see below). I am wondering if anyone has experience with both the M12 and the Maz 18 and can describe the differences in terms of tone and volume. Would it be worth the cost and trouble of exchanging them? I play mostly blues and indie (or a fusion of the two).
I am guessing a lot of people have this question given that a lot of potential Z-heads are caught between the Maz 18 and the M12.
Thanks,
Erik
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Post by Jaguarguy (Mike) on Nov 8, 2012 14:01:50 GMT -7
Don't forget that there also is a Maz 8 that is capable of a lot.
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Post by Jericho on Nov 10, 2012 22:32:04 GMT -7
I was in the same spot you were. I used a Maz 18 indoors and a 38 outdoors. I had trouble with the 18 being a little too powerful. I always had it turned down too low or needed it braked for my indoor gigs. It sounded great at rehearsals and good live, but I knew I was choking it some and it was not running at its best due to how I had to tame it. The M12 fit perfectly for me in those gigs. I could really open it up wide and sit perfect in the mix. So to answer your questions: The 18 definitely has more volume available in it than the M12, but like I said above...that extra volume didn't help me most of the time. I didn't need it. I love the straightforward M12 tone. I could dial the Maz18 to sound similar. I guess the real issue (which wasn't an issue for me) is that the Maz definitely had more flexibility. You could do some knob twisting and get some different tones from the Maz. The M12 is a little more "what you see is what you get" tone wise. Not as much different colors in there. I just happen to find that it already is a beautiful color though! With the M12 I just turn it on knobs straight up...hit a chord or two and just tweak the Bass/Treble a little bit for the room and I'm good to go. I use a lot of pedals so I count on my amps to be basic, easy to dial in w/o a lot of fuss, and just give me a good base tone to add pedals on. The M12 excels here as you would expect from the description. The Maz 18 is such a desert island amp for SO many, its not like you can go wrong with it. I just found a better place with the 3 knob layouts of the KT45 and M12 and just pick my weapon based on the amount of firepower I need. I'm going to grab a Z28 too I think to fit right in the middle between the M12 and KT45. It never ends
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Post by Abandoned on Nov 11, 2012 6:43:26 GMT -7
The reason I went with the M12 is cuz after owning & touring with a Maz for a year and a half I found that I was less and less concerned with the straight dry tone from my amp as my pedals were everything for me. I never had all my pedals off when playing - so when I went to turn off every pedal and just listed to the amp it was always just "meh" (read: this is not the amps fault). So I started to realize my sound is coming 90% from my pedals. With that said - I think the M12 is so much easier to dial in and sounds better easier. The guys at Humbucker music (and others) also say your not going to get A LOT more volume with the Maz 18 vs M12... Yes you'll get a little more but not much - if that helps you make a decision. I personally found I like the core tone of the M12 better. It feels better to me as well. It's not as dry sounding or feeling if that makes since. I also find the EQ section more useful and helpful than the Maz's - the ability to add drive with those EQ knobs is awesome.
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Post by Jefferson on Nov 11, 2012 8:39:16 GMT -7
I have owned 4 Maz Jr's. 2NR and 2 w/reverb. IMHO the M12 has a basic tonality that is every bit as good as the Jr, and maybe even a bit better. The EF86 front end adds a bit of harmonic complexity that the 12AX7 front end of the Jr doesn't quite reach. Don't get me wrong, the Jr is my second favorite amp of all time! It's just that the M12 has a tiny bit of extra magic dust sprinkled in.
As for volume, it can be pretty darn loud. But the trick is that it sounds better at low volume than the Jr to my ear. And with pedals it is just killer! For the first time ever I am able to get the sounds out of my head that I have really been wanting to.
All that said, I think the M12 has a slight edge over the Jr in basic tonality, volume control, effect handling, and magic mojo!
Just one happy guitarists opinion!
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Post by Abandoned on Nov 11, 2012 14:25:20 GMT -7
I have owned 4 Maz Jr's. 2NR and 2 w/reverb. IMHO the M12 has a basic tonality that is every bit as good as the Jr, and maybe even a bit better. The EF86 front end adds a bit of harmonic complexity that the 12AX7 front end of the Jr doesn't quite reach. Don't get me wrong, the Jr is my second favorite amp of all time! It's just that the M12 has a tiny bit of extra magic dust sprinkled in. As for volume, it can be pretty darn loud. But the trick is that it sounds better at low volume than the Jr to my ear. And with pedals it is just killer! For the first time ever I am able to get the sounds out of my head that I have really been wanting to. All that said, I think the M12 has a slight edge over the Jr in basic tonality, volume control, effect handling, and magic mojo! Just one happy guitarists opinion! I agree on almost every level!
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Post by mazmaster on Nov 18, 2012 7:15:01 GMT -7
I own both the M12 and a 2002 Maz 18 Jr NR. IMO, the Maz is MUCH louder than the M12, to the point where even at many of my loudest gigs (requiring earplugs!) I could not quite get the Maz all the way into its sweet range for pedals without an attenuator. The M12 gets there with ease without attenuation. I run it on the Low setting with Bass and Treble about 10:30 and adjust Volume for the situation, which usually ends up around 3:00-3:30. That's my clean rhythm tone and then I whack it with pedals for everything else.
The Maz is also used as a pedal platform and I can also dial it for the sound I want with equal magic, mojo and pedal friendliness but with greater flexibility and a much, much louder sweet spot.
If the M12 is really 12W at max clean, the Maz 18 feels like 40-50W to me because I need to run my attenuators at -6dB to get the same sweet spot with pedals. You double the wattage for each 3dB.
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Post by doctorice on Nov 23, 2012 18:23:45 GMT -7
^^^
I agree. The MAZ 18 seems much louder to me. (Running the MAZ with 2x10 Dr Z speakers; M12 through 10" Red Fang, which is an efficient son of a gun.)
M12 with Lo selected will handle a pretty high output guitar with ease. You can still get some OD by cranking the amp volume, like nice crunchy, Voxy tones.
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Post by mazmaster on Nov 23, 2012 22:08:54 GMT -7
^^^ I agree. The MAZ 18 seems much louder to me. (Running the MAZ with 2x10 Dr Z speakers; M12 through 10" Red Fang, which is an efficient son of a gun.) M12 with Lo selected will handle a pretty high output guitar with ease. You can still get some OD by cranking the amp volume, like nice crunchy, Voxy tones. It took me longer than most, but I have settled on the LO setting too, for the tone and feel. It seems to be a touch rounder and smoother in the high mids then the HI setting. Great amp!
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Post by dcam34 on Nov 27, 2012 19:51:07 GMT -7
Small time player that I am, I am looking to sell my Maz18NR this week. It's a beautiful amp, but it's much more amp than I need. So, I am looking to buy a matching M12 head for my 4X10 Zcab, although I am thinking about moving to a combo... maybe 2x10s as 4x10s is great but it's again more than I need.
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