Post by hikari on Oct 6, 2021 21:18:36 GMT -7
I recently acquired a maz jr 2x10 combo. Reverb version. I’ve spent some time with it and here’s my impression of it.
For background, Iam pretty familiar with amplifiers…I’ve built tweed and blackface amps…have a vox ac15 and have owned or played various non-boutique amps in the past. Iam mostly a strat and p90 player. Mostly classic rock, little use of pedals.
First of all the build quality of this amp is great. Extremely good. Better than I could do if I spent months making an amp. It’s just what I wanted to see. For the price of a Z this is a very good deal. And extreme amount of time and hand work went into this amp. I knew when I took the back panel off and saw extra tolex on the edges so it fits tight and won’t rattle that care was taken. It’s these little things that really make a difference. It’s light years better than a current fender or vox. Just look at the size of the power transformer. It’s good iron.
As for the sound it’s hard to explain. It’s like a blackface amp but with the initial attack of a Marshall. Rounder than a blackface amp but a similar compressed feel when cranked but still clean. Mids up, it seems more Marshall to me. Glass is gone. But the punch and quickness is different. I don’t hear any tweed at all. Way tighter than that.
This sucker is loud. I have a Princeton reverb with similar wattage and a 99db speaker and the maz is probably 3 times as loud. It’s either very underrated wattage wise or the drs speakers are 120db.
It runs hot. I can feel and smell it. Likely really hot bias.
It sounds more mature and sorted out than any of the vintage type amps I have. It’s totally predictable and trustworthy. With a Princeton of a tweed deluxe you just don’t really know how a note will ring out. It could ring like a bell or it could just collapse. The maz is trustworthy. It gives out what you put in while somehow still sounding pleasant. It’s like hifi vs car stereo but not in a bad way.
Iam really impressed with this amp. I am pretty much a vintage guy but this amp is 1000x more flexible than a vintage amp without being the worst traits of all of them. It really just inspires confidence in my playing which makes you a better player. It’s a little loud for my needs (definitely not a bedroom amp) but I prefer the master wide open always.
Bottom line, AC-15 is leaving. Just sounds clangy and Brittle. I’ll keep the Princeton, it sounds a little more authentic to the time period it’s from but it can pretty much only do that trick. Still like my tweed deluxe but it’s a one trick pony. The maz occupies the space of all those amps while not really being a poorer version of any of them. It’s kind of it’s own thing.
Really I think it’s the perfect amp for people who find Marshall too chunky, fenders too glassy and brittle and vox’s too strange in eq. It’s all of those mixed up and spit out in a good way. Really interesting amplifier.
For background, Iam pretty familiar with amplifiers…I’ve built tweed and blackface amps…have a vox ac15 and have owned or played various non-boutique amps in the past. Iam mostly a strat and p90 player. Mostly classic rock, little use of pedals.
First of all the build quality of this amp is great. Extremely good. Better than I could do if I spent months making an amp. It’s just what I wanted to see. For the price of a Z this is a very good deal. And extreme amount of time and hand work went into this amp. I knew when I took the back panel off and saw extra tolex on the edges so it fits tight and won’t rattle that care was taken. It’s these little things that really make a difference. It’s light years better than a current fender or vox. Just look at the size of the power transformer. It’s good iron.
As for the sound it’s hard to explain. It’s like a blackface amp but with the initial attack of a Marshall. Rounder than a blackface amp but a similar compressed feel when cranked but still clean. Mids up, it seems more Marshall to me. Glass is gone. But the punch and quickness is different. I don’t hear any tweed at all. Way tighter than that.
This sucker is loud. I have a Princeton reverb with similar wattage and a 99db speaker and the maz is probably 3 times as loud. It’s either very underrated wattage wise or the drs speakers are 120db.
It runs hot. I can feel and smell it. Likely really hot bias.
It sounds more mature and sorted out than any of the vintage type amps I have. It’s totally predictable and trustworthy. With a Princeton of a tweed deluxe you just don’t really know how a note will ring out. It could ring like a bell or it could just collapse. The maz is trustworthy. It gives out what you put in while somehow still sounding pleasant. It’s like hifi vs car stereo but not in a bad way.
Iam really impressed with this amp. I am pretty much a vintage guy but this amp is 1000x more flexible than a vintage amp without being the worst traits of all of them. It really just inspires confidence in my playing which makes you a better player. It’s a little loud for my needs (definitely not a bedroom amp) but I prefer the master wide open always.
Bottom line, AC-15 is leaving. Just sounds clangy and Brittle. I’ll keep the Princeton, it sounds a little more authentic to the time period it’s from but it can pretty much only do that trick. Still like my tweed deluxe but it’s a one trick pony. The maz occupies the space of all those amps while not really being a poorer version of any of them. It’s kind of it’s own thing.
Really I think it’s the perfect amp for people who find Marshall too chunky, fenders too glassy and brittle and vox’s too strange in eq. It’s all of those mixed up and spit out in a good way. Really interesting amplifier.