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Post by guitargeorge on Feb 16, 2006 8:33:34 GMT -7
Class A amps are known to produce harsh overtones but the fact that they sound so good, makes us overlook this, this is something I understand having owned Vox AC15's, a Top Hat Club Royale and a MAZ 18. I suppose my question is "What is acceptable? My MAZ produces a strange overtone on tha 2nd string 14th fret and if I bend up to he C# from the 12th fret which I had posted earlier. This is where this phenomenon is most evident. It will do it on other notes if the amp is crankin and loud. I was told by Brian Gerhard at Top Hat and by Mike Zaite that this is normal. In fact my Top Hat did this more than the MAZ. (I could'nt play double stops around the 12th fret without weird bassy ghost notes) My MAZ only seems to do this on one note. Does anybody else notice this and at what point should you start thinking that there is a problem with the amp? If I hear from a few forumites that live with this and are comfortable with the quirks of the MAZ I promise to shut up and concentrate on playing my guitar and not obsessing over gear ;D
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Post by JChance on Feb 16, 2006 9:21:48 GMT -7
Nope... Been doing live shows and sessions with my MAZ 18 since October, '04... None of those problems. Maybe you have one of those weird gremlins somewhere in your signal chain that you to trace down... Could be your guitar, maybe? None of those issues you describe with my MAZ 18 or MAZ 38... (and pssstt... They aren't class "A.") JC
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bajan
New Member
Posts: 42
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Post by bajan on Feb 16, 2006 10:21:31 GMT -7
Wierd bassy ghost notes. Almost sounds like cone cry.
Shane.
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Post by guitargeorge on Feb 16, 2006 10:52:18 GMT -7
My problem is't cone cry, I have a Fender PRII that has a brand new Jensen C12N in it and I ran the MAZ into that speaker and it still produced the overtone, I also ran the PRII into the MAZ 2/10 and it was clear as a bell, In fact those 2/10's sounded pretty good with the Fender pushing them. It was the Top Hat that made weird bassy ghost notes and the builder of that amp said "it was normal" What I'm trying to determine is what is normal for the MAZ 18. Mine is producing a background hum that seems to be triggered by playing a certain notes, it gets more evident when I crank the amp. If this is normal operation then I guess I'll have to live with it, that's why I am asking oher MAZ owners if they are experiencing the same. Dr. Z e-mailed me and told me this is normal and I don't really think that all his amps do this. Is there something wrong here or should I just live with it. I will be out gigging in about 2 months from now and I would like to get the amp serviced before I start really using it. Most of the amp repair guys around here have never heard of a Dr Z amp let alone worked on one. I asked if I should box it up and ship it back and he said this "thing" I have here is normal. I want to know if any other MAZ 18 Jr users experience this before I box this amp up and ship it out.
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Post by Strato on Feb 16, 2006 15:24:03 GMT -7
As I said before I have the exact some problem. It would really suck if this was "normal" for the amp as it would make it unusable for me as well as(I imagine) anyone who often plays in the same range( E and B string doublesops around 12-15 frets.
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Post by fireball on Feb 16, 2006 18:27:43 GMT -7
guitargeorge
I can't comment on the Maz Jr...... but neither my old Maz Sr. NR, Vox AC30, or my Bad Cat Cub II (all Class A amps) have the problem that you are hearing/experiencing.
Sounds like something is not right IMO.
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Post by guitargeorge on Feb 17, 2006 5:29:08 GMT -7
I went home from work last night, my wife was at work so I decided to crank the MAZ and see what it sounded like, I had it set so I was getting a good bloom on notes and a little feedback I could coax out of it, the setting produced a slightly broken up signal with the guitar's volume up, I had a TS type pedal set for a clean boost in front (Bad Monkey). When I would play clean I could hear the background noise as a Hum behind certain notes. When I boosted the signal the hum became a lower note or a harmonic that was very evident. The amp sounds wonderful other than the extra harmonics that come in with some notes (with the boost more notes were exhibiting the weird harmonic) The amp when I was'nt playing was quiet, no hum, hiss, no background noise of any kind. This I am led to believe is not normal for an amp that everybody raves about as being one of the best hand wired amps in existence, and I can see why this amp is rated so highly because it's dripping with tone, but my amp is not functioning properly and what I have here is not "normal". It's not anything obvious, not the speakers, I ruled that out , I don't think it's tube related because I heard this after I installed a brand new set of JJ's. All my pots are tight , all components inside don't show any damage, All screws are tight. What could it be?
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Post by hdahs143 on Feb 17, 2006 6:25:20 GMT -7
I recall reading on Myles wesite that if your phase inverter tube is not matched or going bad, that it will cause dead spots on the guitar, and various other abnormalities. I would make sure your PI tube is matched and fresh.
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Post by guitarman1 on Feb 17, 2006 7:38:15 GMT -7
I've had a number of Maz 38s & 18s over the past few years and all of them produced overtones or ghost notes at various spots on the neck. I could really make it happen when playing double stop bends on the B & G strings above the 5th fret. Certain speakers can also compounded this. I'm using an Emi Tonker & Swamp Thang currently & it happens with them also, but Celestion V30s & G12Hs do it much more. Curiously, I don't get as many ghost notes when playing my Carmen Ghia through the same speakers. I think it's just the nature of the Maz.
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Post by bluzsteel on Feb 17, 2006 8:05:43 GMT -7
no strange overtones on my Maz 38 , by the way they arnt Class A
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Post by Lefty on Feb 17, 2006 8:57:55 GMT -7
Q-did you buy the amp used?
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Post by guitargeorge on Feb 17, 2006 9:03:49 GMT -7
Yes, from the other guitarist in my band who was selling Dr Z, Carr, Top Hat, and high end gear on the side. He got it new from Dr Z. I'm the second owner and I know he never beat it, I push my amps a lot harder than he did.
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Post by guitargeorge on Feb 17, 2006 10:30:35 GMT -7
I found a website that has pics of amp chassis and the MAZ 18 they show has 2 big cap cans hanging off the bottom of the amp. Mine is an earlier MAZ and only has one. Anybody know when Dr Z added another filter cap to the MAZ?
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