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Post by alpione on Feb 25, 2019 7:06:32 GMT -7
Hey all - posted some of this over on the Gear Page as well, but thought I'd join the experts here.
Bought this '99 Maz 18 Jr. with a greenback locally here in Atlanta - my first Z amp and my first foray into "boutique" amps as well. So far, so good...
Really impressed with how touch sensitive it is and how many sounds you can get out of it. Shocked at the amount of bass from that 12" combo cab. Definitely still working on dialing it in for the various songs in our classic rock-type sets, but I know for sure it can give everything I need. My goal is to get it so I may have to make a couple of tweaks here and there, but hopefully avoid being back there messing with it constantly for various songs/guitars.
It's got some old looking (possibly the original?) JJ EL84s in there. At the urging of several knowledgeable folks, I ordered a pair of the 6N14N tubes that should be here later this week. I'd like to warm the amp up a touch and these should help from my understanding.
Toying with the idea of the MkII upgrade which obviously gets good reviews. I understand the benefits of the Master Volume upgrade and that's what I'm most interested in, but still not real clear on the sonic benefits of going MkII. Z has a comparison video on YouTube but tough to tell a lot from there. The reverb mod would be fine but not something I'm dying for. Wondering if it's worth the money and time to send it to Z for everything vs. just having a local tech do the MV mod. We'll see.
Regardless, really enjoying it so far!
A
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Post by Jaguarguy (Mike) on Feb 25, 2019 7:45:41 GMT -7
Welcome to the Forum - a lot of great people and information here. That’s a great intro to Z amps! As for whether to get the MK II upgrades, you might want to play the amp a little before you decide. There’s a reason that the original 18 was Doc’s best seller. There will be others who’ve had it done and swear by it. For the bass you might want to start at zero and dial it up a little until you get a tone that you are loving.
BTW - if you decide to upgrade I’d send it to Doc - reasonably priced and they do the work quickly to their specs. Well worth it!
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Post by Deleted on Feb 25, 2019 8:03:59 GMT -7
Very Nice, Congratulations and Welcome to the forum!
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Post by premiumplus (Dave) on Feb 25, 2019 8:10:54 GMT -7
Welcome to the Forum - a lot of great people and information here. That’s a great intro to Z amps! As for whether to get the MK II upgrades, you might want to play the amp a little before you decide. There’s a reason that the original 18 was Doc’s best seller. There will be others who’ve had it done and swear by it. For the bass you might want to start at zero and dial it up a little until you get a tone that you are loving. BTW - if you decide to upgrade I’d send it to Doc - reasonably priced and they do the work quickly to their specs. Well worth it! Mike's speaking truth here. Do play it as it is after getting some new tubes in there, those look like they've worked hard for a long time. I bet it's going to open up and rock with new 6N14N tubes.
The new Master Volume is phenomenal. I used to use a Brake Lite attenuator but I took it out after the upgrade. Mine's a non-reverb model and I don't use the loop but to me the amp sounds better after the conversion.
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Post by Maddog on Feb 25, 2019 8:37:56 GMT -7
Your "new" Jr will sound 10x better when you get the 6N14N's installed. Those old JJ's are toast, brother....and fresh tubes are essential to the wonderful tone of the Maz Jr...!
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Post by alpione on Feb 25, 2019 8:44:31 GMT -7
Thanks all...
Yep - definitely needs some new power tubes, though the current ones do sound good so I'll be able to use them as backup.
I also like the "old school" (if '99 can be considered so) look of the amp compared to the new versions. Feels a little more unusual or vintage.
Master Volume mod is also very attractive. I've got a Brake Lite SA and it's "ok." Luckily I can play relatively loudly at home as long as I don't do it at night, so I don't really need bedroom type volume usually.
The Reverb was a little noisy when I first got it but I noticed a couple of things - one was that V4 was visually looking a little long in the tooth and the other was that V3 had an AX7 in it rather than an AT7. Replaced V4 with a new AX7 and a 5751 in V3 (didn't have a spare AT7). Better right away.
For now it'll stay as-is and will decide on the upgrade as time permits.
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Post by telejas on Feb 25, 2019 18:06:14 GMT -7
Congrats!! You're hooked now!
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Post by Deleted on Feb 26, 2019 1:09:17 GMT -7
Congrats and welcome to the forum! My first and only Z is a Maz Jr as well...love it!
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Post by j4gitr (John) on Feb 26, 2019 5:08:00 GMT -7
Welcome and congrats on a great amp and entry to the world of Z-amps. You picked a great one to start with. Those new 6N's should put a huge smile on your face.
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Post by alpione on Feb 26, 2019 5:11:16 GMT -7
Well, those elderly power tubes gave up the ghost in a hurry once I started playing them a few hours. Humming, some nasty breakup, etc.
The NOS tubes won't be here until Friday and I have a rehearsal on Thursday, so I'm going to buy some new production tubes today. Minor annoyance but I'll need a backup set anyway and having both will allow for some cool comparisons.
Tube amps ... It's always something... 😊
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Post by Deleted on Feb 26, 2019 8:05:35 GMT -7
BTW - if you decide to upgrade I’d send it to Doc - reasonably priced and they do the work quickly to their specs. Well worth it! Dr Z's service is equal to none. The fact that they do this mod for non original owners pretty much says it all. I can't imagine you wouldn't be even more happy after getting your amp back from Dr Z.
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Post by alpione on Feb 26, 2019 13:37:50 GMT -7
Dr Z's service is equal to none. The fact that they do this mod for non original owners pretty much says it all. I can't imagine you wouldn't be even more happy after getting your amp back from Dr Z.
Yep, I'd imagine the same. Just have to figure out timing. It's a long time to go without my main amp.
New tubes got me back up and running. I will say that the amp is a bit noisier than I would have expected - hiss and a bit of hum even after changing power and preamp tubes and some even with volume/master all the way down. But from what I've read both the new MV mod and the reverb update will help that. Not a big deal, and the thing is 20 years old and needs a checkup.
There's also an interesting electrical sound (prob not the best description) when I put it on Standby after playing. A humming that starts loud and fades out. Also not a big deal.
The current MV works ok but as Dr Z's YouTube video comparing MkI to MkII showed clearly, the amp thins out considerably below about 10:00 so I'm balancing that with the volume and hi/lo channels. I can get some good lower volume sounds out of it regardless.
So far a fun amp that probably needs some TLC.
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Post by tele81 on Feb 26, 2019 16:01:56 GMT -7
I just picked up an older Maz as well. Does the hiss increase as the cut knob goes up?
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Post by perryr on Feb 26, 2019 22:54:56 GMT -7
I just picked up an older Maz as well. Does the hiss increase as the cut knob goes up? Yes, the ‘cut’ reduces high frequency, including hiss.
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Post by alpione on Feb 27, 2019 5:44:14 GMT -7
I just picked up an older Maz as well. Does the hiss increase as the cut knob goes up? Definitely. I keep the cut knob around 9:00 or less at home, a little higher with the band. At noon or above there's a good bit of hiss. Curious if the MV mod helps this. The document covering the Mk2 update indicates that it does. If so, why? My amp mechanical knowledge is ... limited. 😊
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Post by bourgeoisboy (Josh) on Feb 27, 2019 21:05:10 GMT -7
I just picked up an older Maz as well. Does the hiss increase as the cut knob goes up? Definitely. I keep the cut knob around 9:00 or less at home, a little higher with the band. At noon or above there's a good bit of hiss. Curious if the MV mod helps this. The document covering the Mk2 update indicates that it does. If so, why? My amp mechanical knowledge is ... limited. 😊
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Post by bourgeoisboy (Josh) on Feb 27, 2019 21:10:14 GMT -7
Send that baby in, get the mods and let the Doc give it the once over and will be better than ever I’m sure.
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Post by captainron (Ron) on Feb 28, 2019 8:26:04 GMT -7
BTW - if you decide to upgrade I’d send it to Doc - reasonably priced and they do the work quickly to their specs. Well worth it! Dr Z's service is equal to none. The fact that they do this mod for non original owners pretty much says it all. I can't imagine you wouldn't be even more happy after getting your amp back from Dr Z. +1000 for Doc's Service Team. I've sent three amps back to the Z shop, and no surprise, I'm 3 for 3! They all come back sounding even better. Doc, Don and the repair shop's customer service is equal to NONE! As stated above: I'd play it awhile. Get comfortable with the amp. Then if you decide to let someone go under the hood send it to the Z shop. JJ's are a good backup power tube but those 6n's are sweet in the MAZ and last a long time. Ron.
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Post by alpione on Mar 1, 2019 13:59:51 GMT -7
Hmmm. Played it with the band again last night and had issues, as I've been having this week at home too.
New tubes all over, including the NOS 6N14N power tubes. Still getting a good bit of noise, including occasionally -really- loud static when I take it off of Standby. Sometimes toggling Standby takes care of it. Sometimes fooling with the Cut control or other knobs takes care of it. Sometimes turning the Cut control will result in loud pops. Maybe a bad pot.
Having tone issues as well. It's pretty harsh and strident at band levels even with the new tubes. And bass is super flubby with humbuckers even when turned most of the way down. The Master jumps from thin to really bassy around 10:00 on the dial, but I have to keep it up there or it's too thin. I assume all of this can't be normal. Ironically, I liked it better with the almost dead stock JJ tubes until they went south on me.
Trying to decide what to do with it. Can't return it, not sure if I want to put more money into it. I think I need to go play a MK II and see if sinking more money (and 6 weeks turnaround) into it will make it satisfactory.
I also have a new Greenback lying around that I could try in case it's a speaker issue. We'll see.
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Post by dcarver on Mar 1, 2019 15:09:41 GMT -7
Hi Alpione. Welcome to the forum. It sounds like you might have a corrosion issue. It's a 20 year old amp. If it's been in a part of the country that gets humid, 20 years is plenty long enough time for corrosion to occur.
Cleaning all the jacks, pots and tube sockets might fix the problem.
Up at the top of the page is a link to Z-Tube. Doc's youtube channel has a ton of info on Z amps, including how to deal with corrosion issues.
Good luck. Let us know how it turns out.
Here's his video on maintenance :
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Post by digs57 on Mar 1, 2019 15:20:03 GMT -7
My low input was culprit after going through and doing everything! under the sun...cleaned/deoxit...REALLY well...not a prob since...
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Post by Chilly Gibbons (Todd T.) on Mar 1, 2019 16:00:10 GMT -7
Yep, clean, clean, and clean it again with deoxit. And don’t forget to tighten everything.
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Post by DeanG on Mar 1, 2019 16:13:47 GMT -7
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Post by alpione on Mar 3, 2019 8:45:56 GMT -7
Thanks for the recommendations all. I think the cleaning can take care of some of the static and maybe scratchy pots or pops, but not sure about the tone that seems to alternate from harsh to flubby. That’s my biggest concern - that it’s just not sounding good. Wondering if I just picked the wrong amp for me.
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Post by digs57 on Mar 3, 2019 9:12:22 GMT -7
Sounds like something more than cleaning...could be that it isn't your amp...seen a few come back to maz land.
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Post by premiumplus (Dave) on Mar 3, 2019 19:04:25 GMT -7
Any time an amp is alternating between two tones it's a red flag that something is wrong. It could be a simple unsecure connection in a jack, or a component going bad, or a cold solder joint... This much I will say 100%: the amp should NOT BE changing it's tone/sound as you play it. I just inherited a 1974 Echoplex and I had the same issue which was resolved when I replaced both the input and output jacks. I tried cleaning the heck out of them with DeOxit and qTips, and moved up to bristle brushes when that didn't help. New jacks solved the problem. The amp you have is a GREAT amplifier. If it were me I'd send it into Doc and let him have at it. You won't be sorry. Good luck, whatever you decide.
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Post by runninwiththerevil (Matthew) on Mar 12, 2019 19:31:52 GMT -7
Happened to be going to Cleveland to catch a show. I don't know if I would have sent my amp in, but since I was there and saved the shipping cost one way I went for it. I'm still waiting (only been 1.5 weeks) so I can't say how the MKII upgrade sounds, but I can say all the talk about the shop is right on. Don was great in emails prior and he gave me the grand tour. I even got to meet Dr. Z himself. Oddly enough, he wasn't in a corner smoking cigars, he had an amp right in front of him on the bench like everyone else. Proud to be a Z owner.
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Post by alpione on Mar 19, 2019 11:48:31 GMT -7
Well, I'm going to take the leap. I've had a couple of gigs lately so I needed to not worry about the amp and concentrate on those. Done for a few weeks so I played the Maz quite a while the past few days. I can get some great sounds out of it.
The write up that the repair shop sends over for the Mk 2 upgrade directly addresses all of my concerns from my 99 model: (really bad) Master Volume, hiss/noise, upper-mid harshness, flubby bass, reverb noise. So it's looking positive and I know it needs to be put in for a checkup anyway. Might as well go full-monty, right?
Plus, I'm just really curious to see how it comes out the other end.
I'll report back in (several) weeks.
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Post by premiumplus (Dave) on Mar 19, 2019 16:40:07 GMT -7
You'll be so glad you did. It's an unbelievable upgrade, especially the master volume.
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Post by digs57 on Mar 19, 2019 17:19:52 GMT -7
^^^^1001%^^^^ ...kool looking amp by the way
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