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Post by guitarhak on May 17, 2006 7:11:38 GMT -7
Hi all. This is my first post to this forum.
About six weeks ago, I bought my first Dr.Z amp: a MAZ 18 Junior NR with a 1X12 Celestion Blue. The immediate upgrade over my previous amp was astounding -- I could not believe it. However, I'm starting to notice something about the amp that is nagging at me, so I thought I would come here and ask about it.
No matter what guitar I use ('69 Tele, '63 SG Standard, Hamer Mirage II), I am noticing a pronounced lower mids push in the MAZ 18's tone. Is this characteristic of the DrZ tone? I have toyed with the knobs to solve this, but I can't figure it out. Even with my bass knob dialed back to 9 o'clock and the mids at 10 o'clock (less then this seriously degrades the overall tone), that damn low mids emphasis is there. It's workable with my Tele, but its a struggle with my SG, and forget using the Hamer. I keep the cut around 12:00.
I thought it might the the Blue, but when I plug the Blue in the DR Z cab into a Fender head, the low mids push disappears. I have read that some people feel the MAZ 18 is a great single coil amp -- I wonder if this is all I'm experiencing. Any thoughts? Suggestions? The store I bought the amp from suggested (truly intending to be helpful) I have to modify my playing style to accomodate the MAZ 18's low end. Great idea, but a little late in life for that!
I have to admit when I see people post that their MAZ 18 is a bright amp or lacks low end -- I have to laugh. Mine has a whomping low end and is a very warm and creamy amp. Again, that is fine with my Tele in my hands -- but I'm struggling a bit with my other guitars...
Thank you.
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Post by ke4unr on May 17, 2006 8:50:49 GMT -7
Welcome to Z-Talk! I'm new myself, only had mine two weeks. But, I noticed a pronounced mid hump right away in my amp, particularly with my humbucker guitars. It really bothered me, but I kept researching. New/different tube sets did the job for me! Dr. Z has a post in his section of the forums that talks about this regarding the Maz model amps. I personally think it ought to be a "sticky" in this forum. It took me a little while to find it. Anyway, give this link a try: drzamplifiers.proboards41.com/index.cgi?board=news&action=display&thread=1122736055If you bought your amp new, you should have the JJ ECC83S tubes in V1 and V2. Try some different tubes in those slots. I used the Dr. recommended Svetlana 12AX7's in both slots and it made a tremendous difference to my ears! I hope this helps! Also, a little Karma your way for your first post. Ray K.
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Post by billyguitar on May 17, 2006 10:54:31 GMT -7
Probably more of a lack of mids from your old amps is why you're noticing. Mids let you cut without being screechy loud. I've never heard this comment before.
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Post by mazmaster on May 17, 2006 13:31:31 GMT -7
Hi all. This is my first post to this forum. About six weeks ago, I bought my first Dr.Z amp: a MAZ 18 Junior NR with a 1X12 Celestion Blue. The immediate upgrade over my previous amp was astounding -- I could not believe it. However, I'm starting to notice something about the amp that is nagging at me, so I thought I would come here and ask about it. No matter what guitar I use ('69 Tele, '63 SG Standard, Hamer Mirage II), I am noticing a pronounced lower mids push in the MAZ 18's tone. Is this characteristic of the DrZ tone? I have toyed with the knobs to solve this, but I can't figure it out. Even with my bass knob dialed back to 9 o'clock and the mids at 10 o'clock (less then this seriously degrades the overall tone), that damn low mids emphasis is there. It's workable with my Tele, but its a struggle with my SG, and forget using the Hamer. I keep the cut around 12:00. I thought it might the the Blue, but when I plug the Blue in the DR Z cab into a Fender head, the low mids push disappears. I have read that some people feel the MAZ 18 is a great single coil amp -- I wonder if this is all I'm experiencing. Any thoughts? Suggestions? The store I bought the amp from suggested (truly intending to be helpful) I have to modify my playing style to accomodate the MAZ 18's low end. Great idea, but a little late in life for that! I have to admit when I see people post that their MAZ 18 is a bright amp or lacks low end -- I have to laugh. Mine has a whomping low end and is a very warm and creamy amp. Again, that is fine with my Tele in my hands -- but I'm struggling a bit with my other guitars... Thank you. You can experiment with different tubes to help massage your basic tone (I certainly have!), but I think what you're hearing is one of the attributes that most Maz 18 owners love about the amp, especially when in a band context. It makes the amp fat and round with single-coils and really allows them to stand out in a mix w/o being harsh. That low-mid richness also makes the Maz 18 one of the best pedal amps of all time. Have you tried it in band context yet? Nothing sits so perfectly in a mix or sounds so great in the house as the Maz 18. It's a thing of beauty. One thing I found quite quickly when I started really paying attention to my tone about 10 years ago (I've been playing for 34 years) is that great bedroom tone is rarely great band tone. You may have already tried this, but that the low-mid emphasis you're disliking with humbuckers may sound absolutely incredible in a band mix! I don't own any humbucker-equipped guitars, so I can't really comment authoritatively on them with this amp. But, regardless, I think what you're hearing is what makes this amp so damn popular in the first place and the favorite amp of many experienced players.
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Post by guitarhak on May 24, 2006 6:37:45 GMT -7
Well, am I embarrased.... My original post on this thread worried about a perceived "lower mids" emphasis in my Maz 18 Junior NR. I spoke with the good Doctor Z about it, and he suggested some tube changes. However, when he added that my concern was not one he has heard before (regarding a LOWER mids emphasis), I started to wonder if it had something to do with my home studio (haven't played it out yet). I reorganized the studio quite a bit, including amp placement, and sure enough -- the lower mids emphasis is gone. In fact, for the first time since receiving the amp -- I have been turning my bass and mids knobs higher! Lesson learned. And, by the way, that is one kick arse amp!
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Post by mazmaster on May 24, 2006 9:37:14 GMT -7
Well, am I embarrased.... My original post on this thread worried about a perceived "lower mids" emphasis in my Maz 18 Junior NR. I spoke with the good Doctor Z about it, and he suggested some tube changes. However, when he added that my concern was not one he has heard before (regarding a LOWER mids emphasis), I started to wonder if it had something to do with my home studio (haven't played it out yet). I reorganized the studio quite a bit, including amp placement, and sure enough -- the lower mids emphasis is gone. In fact, for the first time since receiving the amp -- I have been turning my bass and mids knobs higher! Lesson learned. And, by the way, that is one kick arse amp! Hey, no problem there! I am constantly fooled by the rooms I'm in! The room is one big effect box, IMO! But, my Maz 18 is actually THE most consistent amp, from to room, that I own.
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Post by billyguitar on May 24, 2006 11:04:51 GMT -7
Same with my 38 sr. All I ever need to do is turn the volume up or down and the cut sometimes. Old Tweed Bassmans are the same. To me that is a sign of a great amp. Years ago I would twiddle knobs all night with a Mesa Boogie Mark III and 1/2 the time it never sounded right.
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Post by RC on May 24, 2006 12:37:17 GMT -7
Well, am I embarrased.... My original post on this thread worried about a perceived "lower mids" emphasis in my Maz 18 Junior NR. I spoke with the good Doctor Z about it, and he suggested some tube changes. However, when he added that my concern was not one he has heard before (regarding a LOWER mids emphasis), I started to wonder if it had something to do with my home studio (haven't played it out yet). I reorganized the studio quite a bit, including amp placement, and sure enough -- the lower mids emphasis is gone. In fact, for the first time since receiving the amp -- I have been turning my bass and mids knobs higher! Lesson learned. And, by the way, that is one kick arse amp! I've run in to the same thing in my home studio it's about 16' x 19' with a 12 ft vaulted ceiling. It's not a big room but every time I move something or add a new amp or speaker cab it really seems to change the acoustics of the room by emphasizing something deferent in the tone. The first time I noticed this my first thought was also somethings wrong with my amp. I'm no sound engineer but the one thing I did that really seem to help was getting some Auralex Gramma speaker stands for all my cabs (witch are great for playing out live to) and about six 2'x4' studio-foam panels. I'm still experimenting with there placement around the room but it is definitely a big improvement. I'd Like to here from some of our sound engineers around here on the do's and don'ts on room acoustics because I'd bet a lot of amp problems are really acoustic problems.
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