Dr Z MAZ-18 JR. 2x10. Opinions please.

[Soujurn]

For the money, is this a good amp? Or is there better to be had for less or the same money?
I've read the Harmony Central reviews, but I am always a little leery of reviews where everyone is loving the amp.
Makes me think that for that kind of money, anyone is gonna tell themselves it is the best thing since sliced bread. LOL.

Like I said before, I play mostly Strats w/stock PU's, but also sometimes a '96 Les Paul w/stock PU's, and I just got a '00 American Telecaster w/stock PU's.

 

[JacksonMIA]

Re: Dr Z MAZ-18 JR. 2x10. Opinions please.

Honestly, for that style I don't think there's a better amp in ANY price range. It's not a really high gain amp, but it's got a beautiful sounding overdrive, which you can bring out at fairly low volumes if you hit the front end with a pickup booster and/or an overdrive pedal. Don't let the 18W fool you, either. The amp is LOUD - plenty loud to gig with in almost any scenario.

Luke Duke and B Bent are two guys to talk to (I think there's someone else on here that has one, but I can't remember who). Luke has had his for a few years now (he traded a LP Custom for it and hasn't regretted it, if that tells you how good they are), so he knows it really well. B Bent just got his a few weeks ago, but I'm sure he's had time to get pretty familiar with it.

 

[Luke Duke]

Re: Dr Z MAZ-18 JR. 2x10. Opinions please.

It's a great amp. The Z's are all supposed to be very touch sensitive, the Maz Jr. I know to be by many hours of firsthand experience.

The amp has a very real tone, you hear exactly how good, or bad, your guitar and pups are. For the size it is VERY loud, and VERY present. The bass is pretty good too, especially for the size. The tone stack is very dynamic, and the cut knob is incredibly useful. You can monkey with that amp all day and STILL find new tones.

I've been told, by a guy who's ears I trust, that the Maz Jr head is voiced so that it sounds best with 2X10s. He said the 1X12 sounds ok, but given the choice he and all of his customers always grabbed 2X10s for their own use.

The biggest/only con to the amp is that it has the ability to EAT tubes, but for me it's a small price for such great tone. I run mine with JJs across the board. The JJ rectifier really gives the amp an extra tubey feel.

Hope that helps!

Luke

 

[Soujurn]

Re: Dr Z MAZ-18 JR. 2x10. Opinions please.

Yes it does help a lot. The amp I am thinking about is a 2x10 version. That was one of my concerns. I've played other 2x10's and 1x10's in the past and didn't always care for the sound.
The Fender Pro Jr. comes to mind. I hated the tone with my Tele. Stock Fender tubes though and that might have been part of it.

I want a small combo that I can play at living room volumes but not be limited if I need to use it in a moderate to largish size room, say a high school gym.

Also a concern is I don't want a amp to break up too soon. I was auditioning a Vox AC15CC1 and it broke up way too early for me using stock PU's in a Strat and Tele.

 

[JacksonMIA]

Re: Dr Z MAZ-18 JR. 2x10. Opinions please.

The Fender Pro Jr. comes to mind. I hated the tone with my Tele. Stock Fender tubes though and that might have been part of it.

I've found the same problem on the Blues Jr. Those stock tubes just don't cut it. I'd like to hear a Pro Jr. with new tubes.

I want a small combo that I can play at living room volumes but not be limited if I need to use it in a moderate to largish size room, say a high school gym.

I don't see a problem at all with the Dr. Z for that. You can hit the font end with some pedals and get really nice tone for practicing. Nothing's like wide open tubes, but it's pretty good. It's plenty loud enough for a HS gym, if you don't have one of those guitarists that thinks he needs two 100 Marshall stacks in your band.

Also a concern is I don't want a amp to break up too soon. I was auditioning a Vox AC15CC1 and it broke up way too early for me using stock PU's in a Strat and Tele.

To me, that amp's got plenty of headroom. Not Twin Reverb headroom, but it's definitely enough to work with. I'm not real familiar with that Vox, so I don't think I could make a fair comparison to it.

 

[B Bent]

Re: Dr Z MAZ-18 JR. 2x10. Opinions please.

Give me a little time and I'll jump back in here with my glowing opinion of my 2x10 Dr. Z, but I HAVE to come in with a real quick.....................
















PLEASE DO US ALL A HUGE FAVOR AND DO NOT EVEN CONSIDER THE AC15CC! IT IS THE BIGGEST HUNK OF GARBAGE VOX HAS EVER MADE!!!!
....IMO of course. Others seem to think the same too though!

 

[Luke Duke]

Re: Dr Z MAZ-18 JR. 2x10. Opinions please.

Yes it does help a lot. The amp I am thinking about is a 2x10 version. That was one of my concerns. I've played other 2x10's and 1x10's in the past and didn't always care for the sound.
The Fender Pro Jr. comes to mind. I hated the tone with my Tele. Stock Fender tubes though and that might have been part of it.

I want a small combo that I can play at living room volumes but not be limited if I need to use it in a moderate to largish size room, say a high school gym.

Also a concern is I don't want a amp to break up too soon. I was auditioning a Vox AC15CC1 and it broke up way too early for me using stock PU's in a Strat and Tele.

The amp can be played clean, or dirty. Both tones are great, but the headroom isn't huge on a smaller amp like this one. How early is too early anyways?

I like Fenders and all (I own 2), but a Pro Jr, or Blues Jr isn't even in the same class. They are both under 20 watts and use EL84s, but that's where the similarities end. The Z is PTP wired, the speakers are specially made, the components top notch etc. Z also uses something called lens technology to increase the projection/tone of his cabs.

Luke

 

[tone4days]

Re: Dr Z MAZ-18 JR. 2x10. Opinions please.

hey luke and b-bent .. does the 2x10" maz jr. take equally well to both double humbucker guitars and as strats/teles? or does it shine more with one type over the other?

t4d

 

[Luke Duke]

Re: Dr Z MAZ-18 JR. 2x10. Opinions please.

hey luke and b-bent .. does the 2x10" maz jr. take equally well to both double humbucker guitars and as strats/teles? or does it shine more with one type over the other?

t4d

I like it with both types of pups myself. P90s sound really good too, lots of snarl and bite.

It isn't a high gain amp by any stretch of the imagination, so using it with pedals and humbuckers gives you a lot more OD/Dist, the amp takes pedals well too BTW. It has a tube rectifier so you get that sag and compression that makes the amp feel alive.

That said it isn't an amp for everyone, as Christian made clear, but if you like EL-84 based amps it's definitely one to look at. Also the non-reverb models have more gain than the reverb models.

Luke

 

[B Bent]

Re: Dr Z MAZ-18 JR. 2x10. Opinions please.

hey luke and b-bent .. does the 2x10" maz jr. take equally well to both double humbucker guitars and as strats/teles? or does it shine more with one type over the other?

t4d

This particular Z amp has been badged by many as THE Strat amp, but I really like the sound of my Tele through it over my friend's Strat that I am keeping right now. The Strat doesn't sound bad I just prefer the Tele through it.
The only buckers that I have played through it was my roommate's Ibanez. It's a high end model Ibanez w/ Ibanez PUPs. It doesn't sound half bad at all to be honest. The extra signal that the buckers throw at the amp make for a little more breakup early on, but it still sounds nice. I bet it would really shine with a good set of Duncan buckers.



When I 1st fell in love with the Max 18 Jr.several months ago I hadn't found my "main" amp yet and was just a touch too nervous at the time to commit solely to this amp after I went through the Tophat letdown. Yall know how much I like Blackface Fenders' cleans so for me to come away from the 18 watt Z thinking mainly about what a great clean tone it has should say something. Matter of fact I never cranked one of these amps until I bought mine. I bought it only with the memories of how full and punchy the cleans were. On the other hand when Christian and I were going to our local shop trying these out he really didn't like the amp, but did say that he was feeling the OD that this cat was capable of. The first time I cranked up the preamp on this guy to produce "the goods" I was grinning from ear to ear. It is a nice biting, but not thin at all, singing OD! When you tell someone that this amp is 18 watts and EL84 based they are probably going to instantly have a mental stereotype. Proceed to plug in and hit that first chord and they will instantly forget the stereotype. Chords ring clear and have a very note for note distinguishing clarity. Crank up the gain and it crunches beautifully with just enough top end and plenty of low end thump. The thing that keeps blowing me away is the fact that it doesn't sound at all weak next to my 40 watt Lux w/ 2x10's. Matter of fact it had more bottom end punch than the Lux. That may not be too terribly fair of a comparison due to the Lux's speakers, but you get the point. Oh yeah!1 Comparing this amp to a Blues Junior and especially a Pro Jr. is not being fair to either of those Fenders. Both are great amps, but tonally the sound nothing alike IMO and plus the Pro and Blues for that matter will sound boxy compared to the Z.


In conclusion I think if i would have tried the maz 18 w/ 2x10s back several months ago when I was going through amps like diahreah looking for mine I would have commited to it and probably wouldn't have ended up with the Lux. I am VERY glad I have them both now. So it looks like fate won this time!!

OH BTW I played it out at church last night for the first time and it just smoked!!! I mean it really smoked!!! i was in love and all grins baby!!!

 

[Soujurn]

Re: Dr Z MAZ-18 JR. 2x10. Opinions please.

Tomorrow, (Saturday the 22nd) is going to be the first chance I will have to take the time to really audition the Maz jr. If you all wanna take a look at it, you can see it online at http://emeraldcityguitars.com/drz_maz18jr_2x10.htm

This is the place in Seattle to hang and play guitars and try stuff out. They don't always have a lot of vintage gear since that stuff never lasts long in the shops anyway. But they have some great stuff that isn't even on the web pages and the greatest staff in the world.