Recently Purchased Dr. Z Maz 18 Jr.

[strat56]

I recently purchased a used 2008 Dr. Z Maz 18 Jr. 1X12 (G12H30) w/reverb in red (I read on the Z-Talk forum the red ones sound the best :) ). I'm still in the honeymoon phase with it but I'm really liking it.

Have used it for a couple gigs and it sounds really nice, very open and full. Probably a result of the simplicity of the design. The tone controls are very responsive, the master volume works very well. The Cut control is very nice and adds to the versatility. One of the bands I play in does a big variety of music, classic rock, old and new country, oldies and pop and it works very well for all of them.

I've read also on Z-Talk that a 5751 tube in V1 is a great improvement so I ordered a relatively inexpensive NOS one to try, along with an NOS rectifier tube.

I hope this is it for me and amps. in the last few years I've spent way too much money on amps and not been happy with them. I think I need to stay off The Gear Page. :D

[Pietro]

Cool.

I really loved my MAX 38 Sr. Got rid of it because it was just too big and loud for me, and I mainly model these days.

But...

+1,000 on sticking a 5751 in there!

[dannopelli]

Honestly Jack, I think some of the stuff about that tube falls into the "dogs maybe can hear it" bucket. I tried it compared to a JJ and heard no difference. Amp had a bit more headroom, but nothing I could not dial out with the $15 tubes.

Now there is a difference between Russian/Slovakian tubes and Chinese, with the Chinese being warmer sounding. But I think if you just either leave the tube config they way they come from the shop, or switch to all Chinese in the preamp and Groove EL84S (6) in the power amp you'll be fine.

[strat56]

Cool.

I really loved my MAX 38 Sr. Got rid of it because it was just too big and loud for me, and I mainly model these days.

But...

+1,000 on sticking a 5751 in there!


Honestly Jack, I think some of the stuff about that tube falls into the "dogs maybe can hear it" bucket. I tried it compared to a JJ and heard no difference. Amp had a bit more headroom, but nothing I could not dial out with the $15 tubes.

Now there is a difference between Russian/Slovakian tubes and Chinese, with the Chinese being warmer sounding. But I think if you just either leave the tube config they way they come from the shop, or switch to all Chinese in the preamp and Groove EL84S (6) in the power amp you'll be fine.

The tubes were delivered today and I tried the 5751, a couple other old tubes that I had, 7025 and 12AX7 (these were pulls from a 1969 Bandmaster Reverb), a Sovtek 12AX7WB and a JJ ECC803S in V1 and I could hear difference between the 5751 and the JJ ECC83 that was in V1 when I bought the amp. I left the 5751 in there, the 7025 came in second, the JJ ECC83 third. None of the others did anything for me. It was very close between the 5751 and the 7025 but since the 5751 was NOS and the 7025 was a pull I left the 5751 in, using the JJ ECC83 as a backup. The 5751 is a JAN Phillips and it was only $28 so it only cost me maybe 10 or 12 bucks more than a Tung Sol Reissue 12AX7, which is my favorite current production 12AX7 tube.

I couldn't hear any difference between the Sovtek 5AR4 rectifier tube and the NOS JAN Phillips 5AR4 but I left the NOS tube in as they are supposed to be more reliable than new production tubes.

I tried a pulled 12AT7 ('69 Bandmaster Reverb again) and a JJ EC803S in the V5 (PI) position and neither sounded better than the Sovtek 12AX7LPS that was already there so I put it back.

I replaced the power tubes with a pair of TAD EL84 as I'd read on the Z-Talk site that these sounded really good. I couldn't hear much difference between them and the GT that I took out but I left them in since I have no idea how old the tubes were I took out or how much use they'd seen since they were put in.

So here's the current tube line up:
V1 - NOS JAN Phillips 5751
V2 - The tube that was in it when I bought it, no markings on it, after my ears rest I'm probably going to try something different in there
V3 - 12AT7 China is all it says but the reverb sounds marvelous so I'm not going to fool with that one
V4 - Sovtek 12AX7WB/7025
V5 - Sovtek12AX7LPS
V6,V7 - TAD EL84
V8 - NOS JAN Phillips 5AR4

The amp sounds better to me but my ears were tired by the time I was finished and my grandkids had come down and started banging on the drums so i'll give them another listen later. I do have a couple Chinese 12AX7's that I bought a long time ago, maybe I'll throw them in to the mix also.

[dannopelli]

Well I am glad you got the tones you like! Maz 38 is the Swiss Army Knife of amps. Takes pedals REAL well too. Only wish the reverb was footswitchable.

[tlp1]

I hope this is it for me and amps. in the last few years I've spent way too much money on amps and not been happy with them. I think I need to stay off The Gear Page. :D

Just bought MAZ 38SR for practice amp. VERY LOUD. Great amp.

Also recently got Two Rock Amethyst & Custom Reverb Sig v.2 50W heads.

Should do me well for a while. ;-)

[strat56]

Just bought MAZ 38SR for practice amp. VERY LOUD. Great amp.

Also recently got Two Rock Amethyst & Custom Reverb Sig v.2 50W heads.

Should do me well for a while. ;-)

The MAZ 18 Jr is a great amp. I wish it had more clean headroom but I knew EL84 amps weren't big on headroom from when I owned a Genz Benz Black Pearl. The lack of clean headroom is limiting when I can use it but when I do use it's a great amp.

Never played a Two Rock. I hear they're great amps however.

[tlp1]

The MAZ 18 Jr is a great amp. I wish it had more clean headroom but I knew EL84 amps weren't big on headroom from when I owned a Genz Benz Black Pearl. The lack of clean headroom is limiting when I can use it but when I do use it's a great amp.

Never played a Two Rock. I hear they're great amps however.

Try one if u can. Don't pay mind to all the two rock hate on the other forums.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rMbDmpV728

two rocks are pricey, but if u don't want to pay for a dumble, they are one way to go for something close to that sound.

I think the Z amps are one of the best values for it's specific design.

[curtisjames]

Try one if u can. Don't pay mind to all the two rock hate on the other forums.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rMbDmpV728

two rocks are pricey, but if u don't want to pay for a dumble, they are one way to go for something close to that sound.

I think the Z amps are one of the best values for it's specific design.
I also have a Dr Z maz Jr and love it. Jack of all beasts....and very user friendly....in regards to clean head room,I play on a K & M Jade which became Two Rock when they sold and went corrporate. They only made 25 of this specific head. Talk about clean head room.... and a brilliant reverb.... great great amp I picked up from a private owner.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIEEUAYbaoU

[tlp1]

I also have a Dr Z maz Jr and love it. Jack of all beasts....and very user friendly....in regards to clean head room,I play on a K & M Jade which became Two Rock when they sold and went corrporate. They only made 25 of this specific head. Talk about clean head room.... and a brilliant reverb.... great great amp I picked up from a private owner.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIEEUAYbaoU

The JADE...YES!!!

Awesome amp.

A very unique classic all its own.

[tlp1]

I also have a Dr Z maz Jr and love it. Jack of all beasts....and very user friendly....in regards to clean head room,I play on a K & M Jade which became Two Rock when they sold and went corrporate. They only made 25 of this specific head. Talk about clean head room.... and a brilliant reverb.... great great amp I picked up from a private owner.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIEEUAYbaoU

Is that you in the clip?

NICE, NICE sound, very good recording!!

Need more demo's like that.

You make Bill K & Joe M proud!

[chriswhite]

I am certainly not a hater, everyone prefers different tones. Do I think they're overpriced? yes. I had a Custom Reverb (the amp of my dreams) and I couldn't get a tone out of it that I was happy with and it was gone within 2 weeks. I was pretty disappointed.

[tlp1]

I am certainly not a hater, everyone prefers different tones. Do I think they're overpriced? yes. I had a Custom Reverb (the amp of my dreams) and I couldn't get a tone out of it that I was happy with and it was gone within 2 weeks. I was pretty disappointed.

Of your dreams before you heard or checked out the amp? If so, not smart.

[chriswhite]

Of your dreams before you heard or checked out the amp? If so, not smart.
I had heard the amp before. I just hadn't played it with my stuff before. The tone that I've always wanted is John Mayer's but the problem is that while, yes, he does use Two-Rock he also daisy chains it with a dumble and sometimes something else. I had dreamed and drooled for a Two-Rock for a couple years but they're so expensive I just assumed I'd never get one, and I finally did.

I am never bothered by buying/trading/selling amps. I think its a great way to try a bunch of different things, and thats what this was. I tried it, didn't like and sold it for something else. From what I heard online and the tones I was looking for, I just couldn't get there with the one I had acquired.

[tlp1]

I had dreamed and drooled for a Two-Rock for a couple years but they're so expensive I just assumed I'd never get one, and I finally did.



I had heard the amp before. From what I heard online and the tones I was looking for, I just couldn't get there with the one I had acquired.


Yeppers......something very wrong.................:cool:

[chriswhite]

Yeppers......something very wrong.................:cool:
nahhh, it just wasn't for me, thats all. Maybe one day I'll try another one, not a CR. I will say that my Maz 38 will never leave me tho, I plan all new amps around that one. I've been thinking about converting it to a head and getting a Z-best cab for it.

[tlp1]

nahhh, it just wasn't for me, thats all. Maybe one day I'll try another one, not a CR. I will say that my Maz 38 will never leave me tho, I plan all new amps around that one. I've been thinking about converting it to a head and getting a Z-best cab for it.

get ur hearing chk'd out

got any clips of ur playing on u-tube?

[chriswhite]

get ur hearing chk'd out
who knows, maybe my hearing is bad.

got any clips of ur playing on u-tube?
unfortunately, no

[chriswhite]

come to think of it, I did have issues. When I got it the contour knob wasn't working and I spoke with Two-Rock and we got it sorted out. Maybe there was something more wrong with it?

[dannopelli]

... I've been thinking about converting it to a head and getting a Z-best cab for it...

One thing a lot of guys don't realize is you can't mount most DRZ combo electronics in a DRZ built head enclosure. The heads are mounted from the bottom and the combos from the top. This causes the faceplate to be upside down. (Do a Google search on images for a MAZ head and MAZ combo and you will see what I mean.) So if you choose to do this you will need to have a custom head enclosure made so you can mount it properly. Be sure you leave room for the fan too.

I've seen some of these before. I am sure there are others.
http://www.miyakodesigns.com/pricing.html

[chriswhite]

One thing a lot of guys don't realize is you can't mount most DRZ combo electronics in a DRZ built head enclosure. The heads are mounted from the bottom and the combos from the top. This causes the faceplate to be upside down. (Do a Google search on images for a MAZ head and MAZ combo and you will see what I mean.) So if you choose to do this you will need to have a custom head enclosure made so you can mount it properly. Be sure you leave room for the fan too.

I've seen some of these before. I am sure there are others.
http://www.miyakodesigns.com/pricing.html
yep, I was already aware of that. I was just gonna have an upside down head. There are plenty of those out there.

[strat56]

There is a member named Harvey on the Z-Talk that makes head cabs and other cabs for Z's.

He quoted me under $300 for a Pine wood cab with dovetail joints, brown leather handle, feet, wood valance w/wood "Z" and hand rubbed tung oil finish on a tubes down head cab for my MAZ Jr 18.

Seems like a very reasonable price to me, going to order one soon.

[llew]

Iv had a maz 18 for a few years now,it's a phenomenal piece of kit,great live amp really dynamic. Recently got my first Tom Anderson (classic s) pairs up really well with the maz.