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Post by shiner51 on Jun 24, 2018 15:43:23 GMT -7
My Maz 18NR combo has become my number one gigging amp and it has never let me down. I record most of my gigs and even when my playing stinks the the Maz sounds great. After reading all the good things about the Alnico Blue, I am thinking about trying one in the Maz. I have enough Backstage Pass points built up with Musicains Friend that I can get one for about $165.00 so it wouldn't be a huge risk. Will I be able to notice a big difference in the tone of the Maz? If so, what will the difference be? I usually run it clean to just on the edge of breakup and use pedals for harder overdrive. I Play Teles with single coils and some P90s. I will say that my my Maz doesn't come alive until it is cranked up pretty loud....I am wondering if the Blue will give it a sweeter tone at lower volume levels?
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Post by Chilly Gibbons (Todd T.) on Jun 24, 2018 15:54:35 GMT -7
I use the Blue with my Maz’ (8 and 18) and love them. For me it’s the perfect pairing. And if you can get one at that price, I’d jump on it. Just be patient with it as it needs a good break-in to really deliver the goods. Sounds good early, but improves greatly with use.
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Post by shiner51 on Jun 24, 2018 15:59:03 GMT -7
Thanks for your reply! Will I notice difference in volume if I use the 8 ohm Version?
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Post by John on Jun 25, 2018 7:59:29 GMT -7
Will I be able to notice a big difference in the tone of the Maz? If so, what will the difference be?
ABSOLUTELY!!
You will definitely be able to tell the difference. These two speakers are somewhat the opposite of each other.
The G12H30 is kind of a 'scooped' speaker. Meaning...it has big firm bass, crispy-bright highs...but recessed mids. Some like it..some don't. (I don't) When playing with a band, I feel the speaker's recessed mids make it hard to hear the amp. The guitar is a mid instrument, and I like a speaker with decent amount of mids.
The Blue doesn't have nearly the bass of the G12H....but what it does have...is MIDS! Lots of upper mids. (Part of why it has so much upper mids...is because there isn't so much bass, so the mids shine through) The blue still has a decent amount of brightness. But the speaker will break up early, and when pushed hard, will attenuate some of those highs. (in a very good way)
If you're buying it from MF..it will be new, and not broken in. Many new speakers can sound a bit nasal at first because the cone hasn't been broken in and won't move back and forth as freely as it should. Be careful when breaking in the speaker. Don't install it and play hard/loud. Play softly for a while before turning things up. After perhaps 40 hours of playing, you may notice the speaker sounding a little different. (for the better...more balanced when it comes to bass/mid/treble) Don't be discouraged by what might be perceived as a nasal tone when you first get it. (EDIT: Just for clarification, you don't have to play 40 hours softly!)
EDIT: I would get the 8 ohm version...MUCH easier to sell if you don't like it. You shouldn't notice a difference in tone or volume from the 16 ohm version. (actually, isn't it a 15 ohm?)
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Post by shiner51 on Jun 25, 2018 12:47:43 GMT -7
Thank you John. I went ahead and pulled the trigger on the Blue and plan on following the Celestion instructions for breaking in the speaker. Im pretty sure I will like it...it seems to be a good match for the Maz. When I first got my Maz, I thought it was lacking in bass, mainly because I was playing it at bedroom levels, but as I started using it with full bands on larger stages, I actually found myself reducing the bass control as I cranked up the volume which is true with most amps. I have been a 6L6/6V6 guy most of my life but the Maz has changed me.
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Post by John on Jun 25, 2018 19:42:27 GMT -7
Let us know what you think of it.
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Post by premiumplus (Dave) on Jun 26, 2018 7:49:16 GMT -7
Will I be able to notice a big difference in the tone of the Maz? If so, what will the difference be?
ABSOLUTELY!!
You will definitely be able to tell the difference. These two speakers are somewhat the opposite of each other.
The G12H30 is kind of a 'scooped' speaker. Meaning...it has big firm bass, crispy-bright highs...but recessed mids. Some like it..some don't. (I don't) When playing with a band, I feel the speaker's recessed mids make it hard to hear the amp. The guitar is a mid instrument, and I like a speaker with decent amount of mids.
The Blue doesn't have nearly the bass of the G12H....but what it does have...is MIDS! Lots of upper mids. (Part of why it has so much upper mids...is because there isn't so much bass, so the mids shine through) The blue still has a decent amount of brightness. But the speaker will break up early, and when pushed hard, will attenuate some of those highs. (in a very good way)
If you're buying it from MF..it will be new, and not broken in. Many new speakers can sound a bit nasal at first because the cone hasn't been broken in and won't move back and forth as freely as it should. Be careful when breaking in the speaker. Don't install it and play hard/loud. Play softly for a while before turning things up. After perhaps 40 hours of playing, you may notice the speaker sounding a little different. (for the better...more balanced when it comes to bass/mid/treble) Don't be discouraged by what might be perceived as a nasal tone when you first get it. (EDIT: Just for clarification, you don't have to play 40 hours softly!)
EDIT: I would get the 8 ohm version...MUCH easier to sell if you don't like it. You shouldn't notice a difference in tone or volume from the 16 ohm version. (actually, isn't it a 15 ohm?)
+1 on the break-in technique suggested at Celestion. I took my Flashback X-4 pedal and made a little loop of fat open string chords and let it play over and over while I mowed my yard every week for a month. Put about 8 hours of good, loud but not outrageous (115db or so) time on it and it loosened up nicely. Like John said, don't start out super loud, ramp it up. It worked out great for me.
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Post by shiner51 on Jun 27, 2018 13:36:24 GMT -7
The Blue got here this morning and I could tell right out of the box that it was a great speaker! Just like you guys were saying, very musical sounding with lots of chime. I played some open string chords thru a looper during my lunch break and will do the same tonight to try to get it broken in for the weekend gig. Cant wait for it to get really broken in. Now......heres the really nice surprise. I decided to put the G12 H30 from the Maz into my Z-lux and remove the Z speaker. To my ears, the Z-lux has more sparkle and sweetness to it with the G12 H30 which gives me two great amps that now sound more different than similar. One has more British tone and the other decidedly American. I always thought the stock speaker in the Z-lux had a slight nasal quality to it, at least with my Teles, but the G12H is sweet! Hopefully the G12H can handle more power than its rating, at 30 watts it may be a mismatch with the Zlux at full power but most of my playing is classic country in small venues and I never crank it up, although I like to play with lots of dynamics. Now comes the hard part, trying to decide which amp to gig with, I love em both!
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