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Post by goldenrod on Oct 31, 2016 7:48:45 GMT -7
Hey guys,
HELP!!
So I have a Maz 38 NR 1x12 combo. However I rarely use it full blast. I am always gigging or recording with the brake lite about 2 clicks off to reduce the overall volume. Rarely have I been in a situation to use it with no brake lite at all. ....should I be looking to trade this for a Maz 18? Or will that be equally loud with just less headroom? Always been a fender guy so starting to wonder if I should go back to a Deluxe Reverb...but we all know thats crazy
Thanks in advance!
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Post by BritInvasion on Oct 31, 2016 10:00:34 GMT -7
You might wanna try out a Maz 8.
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Post by mickey on Oct 31, 2016 10:27:42 GMT -7
I've been gigging with a Maz 38 reverb head and a 1x12 cab with a Gold for about six years now, and I have to say for the majority of gigs I have my Airbrake on 2 clicks. Sometimes I reduce that to 1 click if I find the sound is getting too compressed when I use a drive pedal, and occasionally it's on 3 in small venues. I've used the amp without any attenuation a handful of times. I am very close to pulling the trigger on a Maz 18 head, but it would be as a partner to my 38, not a replacement, certainly in the forseeable future anyway. I originally bought the 38 as it had, to my ears, more solidity and authority to its sound, and was a bit smoother overall than the 18, and I still think it's a great amp. I've never actually gigged with a Maz 18, though I have used my Carmen Ghia and if that's anything to go by the 18 would be fine. Some say they occasionally run out of steam with the 18, and that's never going to happen with the 38, so I guess you just have to weigh up if that's likely to happen to you. This may or may not be any help, but I can also say that I have a nice silverface Deluxe Reverb as well, and to me the Z's are just better and more usable amps. Sorry to ramble on a bit, but I hope some of this might be useful.
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Post by goldenrod on Oct 31, 2016 12:18:30 GMT -7
Thanks! that was actually really helpful. My thought being the 18 would be perfect for everything. brake lite at home. hit the sweet spot for gigs and mic it at larger venues. the 38 i feel like always has a blanket over it because Im not letting it run at full steam. Just needed to get some confirmation in my though process. thanks!
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Post by zpilot on Nov 1, 2016 11:05:10 GMT -7
My first Z amp was a MAZ 38. Like you I almost never could let the big dog eat. In fact I can only remember one time when I played the amp with the Master wide open and that was an outdoor gig. I replaced it with a MAZ 18 NR and that was a much better fit. In fact I had a chance to A/B them together at a gig before I sold the 38. There was no question that the 18 sounded better than the 38 when the 38 was throttled back with either the Master or an attenuator. I'm now in a position where even the MAZ 18 needs to be attenuated most of the time so I have MAZ 8 on order. It should be here in a week or two and I'm going to do the same shootout with the 18 and the 8 that I did before. If the 8 sounds the same as the 18 I'll probably let the 18 go. I may get something like a Badcat Unleash to pair with the 8 for the rare occasion where it's not loud enough.
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Post by Sean on Nov 1, 2016 14:52:44 GMT -7
Don't sell the 18 without playing an 8 first!
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Post by zpilot on Nov 1, 2016 15:58:38 GMT -7
Don't sell the 18 without playing an 8 first! I don't plan to. But please explain why you think I should not.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 18, 2016 8:43:29 GMT -7
I downsized from a 38 to an 18 and haven't looked back. Definitely fits my needs better and is still pretty darn loud.
I have not played one of the new Maz 8's, but the ones with the older master volume sounded a little "compact" compared to a Maz 18.
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Post by zpilot on Nov 21, 2016 4:12:59 GMT -7
Yes, I understand what you mean now. But I've figured out that that is primarily just how my brain perceives the difference in volume. Bare with me on this.
I dialed in the two amps where they sounded as close to each other as I could; no attenuators, same speakers and same size cabinets, but still the difference in volume between the two. Then I re-amped the MAZ 8 by using a setup similar to a Badcat Unleash. I placed a Koch Loadbox and a Crown power amp between the MAZ 8 power amp and the speaker. When I dialed the volume of the Crown to be the same as the MAZ 18 and I then did some minor tweaking of the EQ I could hardly tell them apart. The 8 felt a little "stiffer" but I attribute that mostly to the fact that the Loadbox is not a reactive load.
Yes, I know the 8 is single-ended and all that but I really liked the way that setup sounded. Plus I could change the volume of the Crown without losing the "sweet-spot" setting on the MAZ 8. Or I could make up for the loss of volume when switching to Triode mode.
I plan on getting an Unleash sometime soon. The Unleash does all this in a small package and it has a reactive load. When I do the MAZ 18 will go to a new home. Fryette has a similar product that I'm considering.
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Post by doctorice on Nov 21, 2016 9:00:28 GMT -7
I plan on getting an Unleash sometime soon. The Unleash does all this in a small package and it has a reactive load. When I do the MAZ 18 will go to a new home. Fryette has a similar product that I'm considering. I have the original version of the Unleash. It works as advertised. Heard good things about the Fryette from several of the guys here on Z Talk.
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