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Post by heritagetele on Mar 8, 2013 12:30:58 GMT -7
I was fortunate enough to acquire Michael Burks' Maz 38 combo about 5 years ago. Since my dad played Hammond B3 for him for twelve years, I had many opportunities to nag him about selling it to me since he was playing the Delta 88's all the time, and he finally gave in.
Well, I finally started having some power tube issues, and without looking at what he had in there, I ordered the set recommended on Dr.Z's site and after receiving them, quickly realized that Michael used a different tube lineup for his tone. It may be the same or close to what was in the earlier versions of the amp.
I am an idiot on these matters and I proceeded to prove it in some emails to the techs at Dr. Z, because I could not even find the rectifier tube (Michael used a solid state one).
Nonetheless, I am going to keep the power tubes from the set and send the others back, and order exactly what he had in it, because the tone is undeniable. It even makes me sound good.
If anyone is interested, I would be glad to share.
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Post by Jaguarguy (Mike) on Mar 8, 2013 12:54:28 GMT -7
Welcome to the Forum - of course we are interested in hearing what Michael was using in his amp! We'd love to see the pics of the amp as well! Well, at least I would. I have an old Maz 38 Bluesman - looks to be Maz 38 #6 - a 3x10 combo with a wooden Valence and a screen grill rather than cloth. You can check it out in the Gallery section.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 8, 2013 14:51:21 GMT -7
heritagetele,
Welcome to the forum. Sounds like you have a nice peice of history there. I wonder if Myles Rose didn't Blueprint that amp for Mike. If Myles did he may still have that info available. You can contact Myles on the forum here in the "Ask The Experts" section you'll see "Amp Questions/Troubleshooting". In there you'll see "Ask Myles...".
Good luck.
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Post by Dan F"i"fe on Mar 8, 2013 15:00:12 GMT -7
Welcome to the forum!
What an awesome way to remember him by having one of his amps. Please post some pix if you can.
Thx Dan
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Post by myles on Mar 8, 2013 15:40:41 GMT -7
I generally picked out the tubes for Michael and yes, I did that amp. Part of the tone are the speakers. If they were not changed they are 100 watt Celestion GM-100 speakers. The other part of the tone (95%) were in his hands. The output tubes are JJ EL84S picked and traced for proper spec. I picked his preamp tubes in V1 and V2 for fast rise time as Michael was a very articulate player. The phase inverter in V5 was picked for 1.2mA and 1.2mA current as this is the tube that provides the "push" to drive the output tubes. A Sovtek 12AX7LP or LPS would work fine in there. Michael used solid state rectifiers in all his amps. Less heat, more reliable and a bit higher plate voltage. I'd keep it that way, it was part of his tight tone. The MAZ Sr was the amp that I loved more than the 88s but that is just my personal taste and preference. The M38 can do great cleans and had a wider range than his old DC-30. After I offered a few suggestions he changed his settings a bit and would play with the master volume out of the picture, he left the mast turned all the way up. That gave him more clean headroom and a wider envelope to use with his pedals. Since your dad played B3 for him I still owe him a retube on his Leslie I promised him that when they played at Cozy's in Van Nuys. Cozy's may be gone but my offer stands on his tuneup. The man was one of the coolest folks on the planet. I really miss him.
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Post by heynewguy (Ol’ Bill) on Mar 9, 2013 10:09:33 GMT -7
Wow, great stories. Welcome to the forum Heritagetele.
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Post by heritagetele on Mar 11, 2013 13:57:02 GMT -7
Thanks guys. I will certainly get those pics up in the next day or so, along with a list of the tubes in it. All but one were Groove tubes, but no telling when that happened. I will say that I am no monster player, but that amp changed the way I play guitar. I play it mostly with a Heritage 535, which just oozes tone in that amp. They are just a match made in Heaven. Myles, my dad just finished his new album and it is great. They used my (Michael's) Maz 38 and my 67 blackface Super Reverb on it. They recut "Empty Promises" as a tribute to Michael for the last track on the album. Playing on it is Jon Woodhead (Leon Russell, Ace), Terrence Grayson (Michael Burks), Jackie Avery (wrote Please Call Home, etc), and Jimmy Hall (Wet Willie) did some harp on it. My brothers and I also all played on it. My younger brother did all the drums. I will pass your message on, because they are hitting the road soon and he would love it. His GOFF B3 is still in Arkansas since Michael passed. Here is a pic of it with his Delta 88s.
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Post by Jaguarguy (Mike) on Mar 11, 2013 15:32:52 GMT -7
great pic! Thanks for sharing it! Wish I had picked up one of those Delta 88s when GC listed them! I guess you can't have everything (but I can try )
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Post by Shannon on Mar 11, 2013 17:22:54 GMT -7
heritagetele, thanks for the pics and the story. MB was a great guy. I still can't believe he's gone.
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