Compare the Ghia with the Maz 18 for me

[swiveltung]

What's different with what you hear? Especially at a gig rather than in the bedroom. :>)

[John]

Maz jr= 2 parts Vox...1 part Marshall

Ghia is the opposite:

Ghia= 2 parts Marshall...1 part Vox

Maz can be overall louder. To me it's more 'chimey' and more flexible because of the all the eq options. But don't let that deter you away from a Ghia. I actually prefer a Ghia. (But then again, I'm an old 4 input Marshall kind of guy)

And unless you turn the Ghia WAY up, I would consider the maz slightly more compressed. But it's been a number of years since I've had a Maz, so my memory may be failing. And I never had the Maz at the same time as my Ghia.

[swiveltung]

Were talking the Maz Jr right?

[Don]

Two different animals. If you can, you should really go to a Dr Z dealer and listen to both amps.

[John]

Oct 24, 2015 15:41:41 GMT -7 swiveltung said:

Were talking the Maz Jr right?

yup

[Deleted]

For me owning both and gigging with both for quite a while my comments are probably obvious but I'll say them anyway.

MAZ is more flexible obviously. It has features I've never even touched (like the effects loop) in 15 years.
When you are using the MAZ and it's master a lot of times, for me at least, I've had the master down to fit in with the stage volume cause it's a really loud amp.
I have used it with some mighty loud bands and never run out of headroom or needed more volume. In the 70's all we had was clean headroom.
I want clean headroom about as much as one of those polyester disco shirts.

The Ghia is pure tone. More responsive to your guitar volume. More responsive to your picking attack. The speaker selection is key with this amp and when I've experimented I've usually gone back to Doc's recommendations. The only time the Ghia hasn't been able to do everything I needed on the bandstand was when I swapped a speaker and had some tubes in there that I realized later were rather tired.
I only use pedals for boosts or solos or a drastically different sound.
Both of these amps let you hear your guitar but the Ghia really does it. When you switch guitars you hear every difference in them.

When I've had to turn down at a gig....
I was able to get a good sound out of the MAZ.
I was able to get a great sound out of the Ghia. It just sounds great. Even cleaner than I would normally play.

I'll never get rid of either one of them.

[premiumplus (Dave)]

The Ghia is truly amazing. Getting ready for a gig last night, I was loading up the Z-Lux and for fun I put the two amps side by side. The Ghia through a 10" Red Fang and the Lux through the stock Z 12" in combo form.
The Ghia almost got the call. There's something so (hate this word but I'll use it anyway) organic about it. It just connects direct to your soul and lets everything breathe with life.
Plus like Eric says, it really lets the personality of your guitar shine through. Guitar volume and tone changes are really powerful.
I struggled a bit with OD pedal volume boost levels for different solos last night. If I'd had the Ghia I wouldn't have had any OD pedals or levels to worry about. I'd just have cranked up the volume a notch and I'd have been there. Simple can be great.

[GuitarZ]

I haven't gigged a whole lot lately, but I do use them a lot for recording. I get to send both into an isocab, so they're running full out. When I was playing, I have to say that I enjoyed both. The Ghia was starting to get more use just because it's a head and lighter than my Maz Jr combo. I used my AirBrake to control volume.

I think John captures my vibe. The Ghia has more of a Marshall vibe, while the Maz Jr has more chime.

I have gone back and forth on which amp I would keep if I could only have one. Right now, I'm back to the Maz Jr as 'the one'. It's weird that on different days, one amp just won't sound great. I'll move to the other one, and off I go. But, I find the Maz Jr just has a bit more flexibility in terms of tone and even level of overdrive and sustain. Plus, my 50 watt Marshall is sitting below the Ghia, so I'm thinking I can get more of the Ghia sound from the Marshall and the Maz Jr would have to stay.

When I was playing out, I have to say that I enjoyed both. The Ghia was starting to get more use just because it's a head and lighter than my Maz Jr combo. It had a great organic (there's that word again) feel into my 1 x 12 Tone Tubby. I used my AirBrake to control volume.

It's a shame you're not in the neighborhood. You could kick the tires on both.

[GuitarZ]

Actually, I forgot to mention the biggest difference for me. I don't really use pedals. I like crunch and run the Ghia with the volume on max. I would like a tiny bit more sustain on leads with the Ghia at times with my Strat. (My Les Paul is fine.)  With the Maz Jr, I get the sustain I want without popping the volumes on max. So, I have a little buffer there. I will use my clean boost with the Ghia from time to time.

[swiveltung]

OK thanks guys, I've had the Ghia and kinda wish I hadn't got rid of it a while back. So thinking of either getting another or the Maz 18. I loved the Ghia, but there was occasionally a gig where it just seemed to run out of gas for me. Just trying to confirm if the Maz has any more headroom in those situations.
I've tried friends Vox's and they just don't seem to do it for me. Although I have to say, probably never tried a Vox enough to know.