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Post by beautinasuit on Jan 8, 2023 17:57:33 GMT -7
Having owned mostly Mesa amps in the past (Mark V, Filmore, Triple Crown) and being a more recent convert to Dr Z, I was interested in something a little higher gain to add to my Dr Z stash.
I could always get a great rock sound from the Maz 18 Jr, but I wanted to see if something could replace the gain the Mesas (except the Filmore) brought to the table.
So I decided to roll the dice and pick up a CAZ 45 online.
Like my other Zs, it did not disappoint. It was not anything like a Mesa, and I mean that in a very good way. The gain is much more organic and far easier to precisely dial in a variety of tones. With my past amps, there would be one or two magic settings and you wouldn't want to touch the dial. With the CAZ, I found myself inspired to twist the knobs and find new great sounds. And the more time you invest in trying the controls, the more fun you'll have.
The FX loop is an appreciated feature. While I always insisted on built in reverb in my past amps, I find I don't miss it very much on the 2 Dr Z's I have that don't have it. Still, being able to plug in a delay pedal in the loop expands the usability of the amp even further and it sounds great.
I do agree with others on this forum that the clean settings are good for such a gain focused amp. It's very hard to beat the Z plus and Therapy for cleans. But all in all, if you had to bring one amp to do a bunch of different things, you would be hard pressed to find a better amp than the CAZ.
I'm looking forward to more time with the amp, but my first impression is if you are looking for an amp that gives you the ability to precisely shape your gain to fit many different scenarios, you need to start with the CAZ 45.
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Post by pcns on Jan 19, 2023 22:10:24 GMT -7
I had my CAZ fired up this evening.
great amp!!
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Post by doctorice on Jan 20, 2023 16:53:12 GMT -7
I do agree with others on this forum that the clean settings are good for such a gain focused amp. It's very hard to beat the Z plus and Therapy for cleans. But all in all, if you had to bring one amp to do a bunch of different things, you would be hard pressed to find a better amp than the CAZ. I'm looking forward to more time with the amp, but my first impression is if you are looking for an amp that gives you the ability to precisely shape your gain to fit many different scenarios, you need to start with the CAZ 45. You've nailed it. It's a very special beast and shouldn't be pigeon-holed as a high-gain amp. I have never encountered another amp that provides more options to tailor how the amp responds to one's guitar(s).
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Post by Norrin Radd on Jan 22, 2023 8:11:24 GMT -7
You guys are killing me here…
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Post by John on Jan 22, 2023 8:30:54 GMT -7
You guys are killing me here…
C'mon...you only need one kidney....
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Post by KeithA on Jan 22, 2023 13:36:56 GMT -7
I’ve been tempted for a CAZ for a while. The only reason why I haven’t pulled the trigger is I’d want it ‘blacked out’ as opposed to the normal S&P/black finish. My dealer has the stock version in their warehouse in central Canada. However, I’d want the special order but just can’t seem to get the gumption to go through with it (doing the special order part). If my dealer had the blacked out version in stock….I’d already own one 😊
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Post by adam on Jan 24, 2023 17:24:06 GMT -7
Look ma, no pedals!
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Post by KeithA on Jan 24, 2023 17:31:07 GMT -7
That may be the best sounds I've heard come out of a CAZ45 yet
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Post by adam on Jan 24, 2023 18:21:16 GMT -7
That may be the best sounds I've heard come out of a CAZ45 yet I don't know about that, but there's about another hour of video like that where I'm just turning knobs and fooling around. How useful that is, I don't know, but I've seen enough comments about the previous videos like "that's not a demo, the need to just move the knobs around, no backing track" (whatever). Or "he didn't move a knob at all through 10 tunes, what is that?". I'm kind of like, I got a sound, and I play these 10 different riffs and they all sound pretty close to me wether the original amp was a soldano or old plexi or a fender and I think that's pretty cool. It somehow comes across as a negative where I think it's a positive. That was sort of the overall impetus for trying to make a video like this, but I also look at it like if someone is considering shelling out considerable hard earned money on something, I'd like for them to get a feel of what that piece of gear really sounds like and maybe that leads them to buying one or deciding it wouldn't work for them. Last thing I'd want is someone to buy something and then not be happy with it, and I'm sure Z feels the same way.
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Post by Chilly Gibbons (Todd T.) on Jan 25, 2023 2:56:33 GMT -7
Well, I thought the fooling around sounded great and was inspiring. Watched it several times to figure out which knobs were being turned and was impressed by the versatility.
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Post by adam on Jan 25, 2023 7:05:41 GMT -7
Another small one for fun. I think I just like seeing the CAZ go to the top of the list for a couple minutes.
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Post by frankie on Jan 25, 2023 11:16:28 GMT -7
Another small one for fun. I think I just like seeing the CAZ go to the top of the list for a couple minutes. Great variety of sounds in both videos Adam. It's hard to demonstrate all the shades in a demo but you are definitely doing it.
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