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Features: 9
Feature wise, the concept behind this amp is the same as high end
audiophile gear - less is more. The simplier the signal path, the
better the sound. Bells and whistles degrade signal paths. This
amp has all the tools I need to get many great sounds.
Its a single channel amp, with input volume, master volume, treble,
middle, bass, presence, reverb, tone "expand" switch and passive
effects loop. The expand switch seems to effect midrange the most,
and helps to alter the mid character somewhat when using different
pickups. The tone controls are fairly responsive, more so than most
Fenders I have played through. The reverb is wonderful, not mushy
at all. The amp is much quiter than my Rivera M60, which helps in
recording situations. The amp has a fan running at half speed, which
can be easily unplugged when recording. The 2 12" speakers are built
by Weber VST specifically for Dr. Z and sound great. Smooth high
end and midrange, with bass that is neither boomy or loose. I tried
the effects loop with an old Yamaha FX500 unit and it worked fine,
considering the FX500 is a mediocre effects unit by today's standards.
Sound Quality: 10
This amp is in the medium gain department, and is ideal for players
in the blues, country and rock genres. It sounds like a very ballsy
Fender with a touch of the throaty Vox sound, yet can also be very
clean and silky. I don't care for the sound of the input volume
full up, but at around halfway the amp takes on a great edgy character
that responds well to picking dynamics. It is not as "big" sounding
as a Matchless, but does sound extremely full, rich and dimensional.
I had considered a Matchless SC30, but the high end response was
too bright for me and the clean sound was not as rich as the Dr.
Z. The MAZ 38 a 38 watt Class A amp, and it has plenty of volume
for clubs and stages, plus headroom for clean sounds.
For heavier overdrive and distortion sounds I currently use a Fulltone
Fulldrive 2. The pedal gives me great sounds with this amp, but
there are slight gain issues that are tricky, that I think are more
an issue with the Fulldrive than the MAZ. This amp provides a great
platform to run effects into. I also use the Voodoo Labs Analog
Chorus and Tremolo pedals, and they sound great with the MAZ. With
my pedals I am getting a wide range of tones from this amp that
suit my music styles perfectly (rock with country and blues influences).
The most dramatic thing I have noticed so far is that the Dr. Z
amp really displays the characteristic differences between my 3
guitars (Tom Anderson w/single coils, LP w/Antiquities and LP Special
w/P90s). The amp seems to favor single coil pickups, but everything
sounds pretty great through this amp. P90s sound outrageous through
this amp! I only need to adjust input volume to compensate for pickup
output difference and tweak the treble and presence knobs to switch
between these guitars. I rehearsed with my band last night, and
the difference between my Rivera amp and the Dr. Z was remarkable.
Many amps sound good on their own, yet don't deliver when up against
a hard hitting drummer or lose their edge in the presence of another
guitarist. This one is a keeper!
The Dr. Z website has sound clips of Buddy Whittington playing through
a Dr. Z MAZ 38 on the John Mayall "Blues For Lost Days" CD. Its
a real good blues CD and worth buying if you want to hear what a
Dr. Z amp is capable of in the hands of a good guitarist.
Reliability: 10
The amp looks flawless! Hand made construction for sure and no evidence
of lack of attention anywhere. Compents appear to be the best available.
Guitar Player did an inside peek at the chassis and reported super
clean wiring, so I default to their assesment. Buying a hand made
amp may seem like a leap of faith, but after looking at this amp
I am confident it will be more reliable than any amp I have ever
owned. I have spoken with Mike Zaite on the phone numerous times,
and he is a very personable guy, passionate about good tone. I have
heard from other Dr. Z owners that Mike stands behind his products
100%. I have to rate reliability on what the amp construction looks
like, and it looks like a 10.
Customer Support: 10
I had spoken with Mike Zaite about a number of options and tweaks
when ordering the amp. Mike was very accomodating and the amp came
as requested in the time promised. As noted above, I have to think
Mike's customer support will be the same.
Overall Rating: 10
I have been playing pro and semi pro for nearly 28 years. I have
owned a few good amps, and tried many of the recent crop of high
end production and boutique amps. This amp works great for me "as
is." I would suggest that if you are looking for an amp to seriously
give the Dr. Z amps consideration. My ravings are based on my personal
satisfaction, but if you like the sounds I like, you will really
dig this amp.
Features: 8
38 Watt all tube combo with custom designed 12" Alnico magnet speaker.
Single Channel Vol, Tre, Mid, Bas, Mas, Pres, Reverb controls. Effects
loop and 4-8-16 speaker jacks. The amp has 11 tubes, is point to
point hand wired on an aluminum chassis. The quality is great and
the components all appear to be first class. A variety of resistors
and proprietary coupling caps are used through-out. Its cool to
open up and just look at all the work that went into this! It appears
to have a pretty elaborate reverb circuit that Z has patented and
calls it Z-verb. The amp is a Great club amp with plenty of power
for a really great lead tone and a rich rhythm tone. It's compact
and loaded in a sturdy ply cabinet.
Sound Quality: 10
I use strats and a p-90 loaded hollow Tele. I play blues/rock in
a tavern band. I set the amp so that I can get a sweet, relatively
clean overdriven lead tone. The amp is turned up enough so I can
hang the notes a bit, and have some compression on the top end for
a juicy single note tone. When I roll my guitar down the amp cleans
up and I am able to get a good rhythm tone. The amp cleans up from
the guitar volume better than any amp I have ever played. The Lead
tone is tight, punchy, rich and very well balanced. It has the right
amount of everything. Its hard to believe the powerful low-end,
the midrange control is very powerful and the treble and presence
offer superb control of the high end. The P12Z speaker has a killer
Celestion tone....but the way Celestions are supposed to sound.
No weird tones, incredible low-end, smooth controlled highs, nice
presence and efficient. The speaker breaks up perfectly and has
the perfect blend of crunch, smoothness, and sweetness. I have tried
Celestions (V-30 & Classic 80) and other speakers in this amp
and none comes close to the P12Z. The P12Z has a Huge Alnico Magnet
and is manufactured for Dr Z by Weber VST. For those that really
like to rock, well this amp certainly screams when cranked. And
the amp and speaker seem to enjoy it! To sum it up, this amp produces
an absolute fantastic lead tone that will make your guitar talk
like its never done before. Every little thing you do comes through,
when you dig it barks, it is harmonic, tight, and has great definition.
As a bonus it comes with Z-verb. It doesn't need it but it's got
it. If you want to set up a cleaner tone with a huge reverb or crank
the amp with no reverb, it does both great, in fact it is my favorite
in amp reverb that I have heard. Not to twangy, very warm and natural
and very powerful. All together this is a very killer sounding combo
that is a blast to play and needs no overdrive pedals. Like all
of Z amps it has a feel and tone like no other amp, you really got
to hear for yourself, Its hard to say it sounds Marshally, or Fendery,
or Voxy, I would say its got a lot of each and a feel better than
any. Although I have never owned a Vox. I have never owned an amp
that that I have liked better than this. I have had this amp for
3 years, so it's not new amp excitement that's fueling this review!
Reliability: 10
Its hand made with the best stuff, hard to go wrong with that formula.
But I did have a problem, when I loaded the new P12Z speaker the
amp developed a crackle that turned to be a solder joint on a pre-amp
tube. It was either caused by the powerful low end of the new speaker
vibrated things, or it may have been caused by my little boy pushing
it over, which did send a few tubes microphonic. You know how it
is, come home late, leave the gear in the front room for the kids
to play with the next morning, my guitars are worse. Z was very
helpful though and said to touch up the solder on the pre-amp tube
pins. I could handle that job, and the crackle is gone. It's a tube
amp though so I always carry a few extra tubes and a spare.
Customer Support: 10
Couldn't imagine that it could be any better
Overall Rating: 10
In my opinion the MAZ 38 with P12Z is the best sounding amp for
me. And I like a Great Blues tone with reverb. This amps got it.
I have also had the MAZ 38 head on a 4x10 and I loved that too.
But this 1x12 is so compact and sounds big and strong. The P12Z
is the icing on the cake, man that speaker is killer. Not tons of
clean headroom, if you want that buy a Blackface, if you want a
killer tone to play single not stuff on buy a Z. I have owned Matchless
Lightning and Clubman, Toneking, Hoffman 30, Kendrick Bassman, Victoria
3-10, Fender new reissue amps and Blackface and Silver face amps,
tweed, Marshalls, hell even Peaveys and Boogies, I just can't seem
to get tired of My Z's...I own a MAZ Jr. also and right now those
are the only two amps I own. I will always be looking for something
else to buy but I doubt I will ever sell either of my two Z's.
Features: 10
The MAZ 38 Studio Deluxe sports a standard 1 input, vol, t, m, b,
mas, pres, and rev. It also comes with a foot switchable top boost.
I ordered mine in "ruff black tolex" with salt and pepper Hiwattish
grille cloth. The amp looks very cool and is well built, yet has
a functional appearance that seems to say "PLAY THE HELL OUT OF
ME". Dr.Z modified the speaker outputs from the standard 4, 8, 16
ohm so that I could use both the 8ohm Celestion in the MAZ and an
extension cab with an 8ohm P12Q. Mine doesn't have an effects and
I don't miss it. The amp is more about tone and letting a player
express himself through the dymanics this amp is capable of.
Sound Quality: 10
I would agree with many of the comments others have made about the
special sound qualities of the MAZ 38. What has impressed me is
how the amp maintains its tonal character at about any volume or
setting. The tone controls and top boost just serve to refine rather
than to make any drastic changes. When practicing at home I usually
have presence control turned off but with the band or in a live
situation I turn it 1/2 to 3/4 to cut through.
The amp does have some vintage roots but this is ultimately Dr.Zs
own recipe. Dr.Z described the Studio Deluxe as his version of the
6v6 sound which you can hear. But as you get the volume over half
way you start hearing more of the "Brit Voicing" - especially as
you play in the upper registers - notes want to squash and that
glassy class A thang is happening. Chords are full and harmonically
rich although you won't hear the ultra high end sparkle of some
other boutiques. The The amp really seems to bring out the acoustic
character out of an electric. If I was an electric guitar manufacturer
I think you could use the MAZ to readily demonstrate the difference
between different woods used in your instruments. The amp is so
sensitive that you can literally hear the vibration of the strings
vs the mush and crunch you get out of many amps. Taking a lead on
this amp is a joy. A studio player would have to love this thing.
The notes have a clear sound that really cut through and sustain
in the nicest way with just the right amount of fullness, punch
and some squash when pushed.
I have noticed that the amp is almost ruthlessly revealing of any
weak link in your setup - which I view as a positive. A cheap or
unmusical pedal or guitar will sound that way through the MAZ where
it might have sounded just okay in another setup. The treble side
of the tone is definitely more of the vintage variety and not Fender
or MESA. It is more polite yet very present - hard to describe.
I've used the amp for home practice, band rehearsals and on gigs.
I had the opportunity to record it both at band pratice and live.
I really liked the sound. It works great for blues/pop/country.
It also sounds good to me for jazz work although it may not have
enough headroom for some. I turn the master past half and leave
the volume at about 1/3 and it sounds great. I occasionally sit
in with an 18 piece jazz band but haven't had the opportunity to
try the amp in that situation.
Reliability: 10
I can't imagine that it would be a problem. I a supply of tubes
just in case the obvious goes wrong on a gig. Dr.Z has indicated
that he can turn an amp repair around quite fast.
Customer Support: 10
I've talked to other really nice amp makers but Dr.Z is incredibly
personable and knowledgable about amp construction and what musicians
are looking for.
Overall Rating: 10
I've looked at many different amps in recent years and have liked
a few for various reasons. But the Z ultimately had the combination
of built quality , tone and functionality that I was looking for.
The boys in the band have taken notice and sincerely refer to the
amp as "THE REAL THING". You'd have to know them to understand the
significance of that compliment.
I'm having a great time just trying to do the amp justice - it definitely
inspires a player to turn on the creative juices. I liked the amp
and dealing with Dr.Z so much that I bought a Karmen Ghia a month
after the MAZ 38. They are both great amps.
Overall Rating: N/A
Dr. Z MAZ 38 head + Dr. Z custom 2x12 closed back speaker cabinet.
The head is gorgeous, with a wood panel on the front and black tolex.
It's pretty small too. I tested the amp with a strat-type guitar
(Don Grosh Retro Classic) with fralins vintage pickups (low output).
For your information I have owned the following amps in the near
past (I won't mention stuff I owned before because I can't even
remember what they sounded like): Boogie MkIII, Boogie MkIV, Budda
Twinmaster 10, Matchless DC-30 (when I mention Matchless below,
I mean the DC-30).
Tubes: 4 fan cooled EL84 power tubes, 2 12ax7 preamp tubes, 1 12at7
for reverb, 1 12au7 and 1 12ax7 for effects loop, 1 12ax7 phase
spliter, 1 GZ34 rectifier tube.
Front: High (which I use) and low gain inputs, volume, treble, mid,
bass, presence, master, reverb, standy and power switches. Back:
buffered effects loop send/return with level for both, 4 and 8 ohms
speaker outputs.
The cabinet has 2 speakers, one of them is a Celestion 25 watts,
the other one doesn't have the back label, and the previous owner
didn't know what it is. Dr. Z suspects it is a Celestion that was
especialy made for PRS cabs back when they made amps, and it's a
cross between a 30 and a 70 watts. Sounds good to me.
The amp is pretty loud for 38 watts as are most classA handwire
amps in this category. Also, it is very quiet.
First of all: if you like preamp distortion or multi-channel amps,
this one is not for you. This amp has 1 channel and the preamp section
will stay clean no matter what preamp volume you are at, unless
you use really hot pickups or a booster in front of it.
The tone controls in this amp are the most useful I have ever seen.
Compared with the Matchless, I found it easier to get good sounds
with the Z. In fact, it sounds great at any tone controls' settings.
I even tried weird combinations like presence and mid at maximum,
and treble and bass at minimum, or the other way around; not a bad
sound came out of the thing. I have never been able to get rid of
that shrill brittle sound in the Matchless. The presence and treble
controls are very effective allowing from dark to mellow to fat
to thin. The bass and mid controls are more tone shaping and more
subtle. These tone controls are nothing like the Matchless tone
boost controls which makes you sound like you're playing a different
amp every bit you turn them (which is cool to play around, but a
pain if you just want to add a bit of bass or treble in the middle
of your playing).
At low volumes, the MAZ sounds great: clean, bright, yet warm, reminicent
of a Matchless but with a bit less piercing punch, and a bit more
sustain. Well, the 2 amps are EL84 class A so you'd expect that
they wouldn't sound worlds apart. The beauty and the magic of this
amp are revealed when you crank it. The harmonics and the 3 dimensionality
of this amp must be heard to be appreciated. The clipping of the
power tubes happen so smoothly that it tempts me to say that I don't
even know what distortion is when I am playing it. Sometime I won't
even know whether I am playing dirty or clean. Again, comparing
with the Matchless (it's the last amp I owned), the Z does not have
that mushy sound. Its preserves the bottom end and sounds great
for Blues/Rock. I thought it even had a little bit of a Marshall
JTM45 vibe, and some old Fender tones were there for sure as well,
but without that shrill fender sound when brought to hard clipping.
This amp won't distort like a Marshall though, even with vol+master
floored; now put a Fulldrive2 or a Tubester in front of it and we
can talk, but that could be another review :) .
I should also say a word or two about the reverb and the effects
loop. The MAZ has a great spring reverb. It only has one control
but it is very useful. I particularly like just a tiny bit of reverb,
so I leave it at around 8-9 o'clock. The effects loop is one of
the most transparent I've ever seen. No matter how you have your
input volume (preamp), the effects loop input level will be controled
by its own send control, so you can crank the volume of the amp
without overloading your effects processor; very cool.
I've had the MAZ for about a week, I played it everyday since I
got it and I like it more everytime I play. This has never happened
to me with my previous amps.
If you are in the market for a handwired amp for Blues and Rock
or for country (see comments about mods below), definetely check
out the Dr. Z MAZ. It's a sweet tone machine. Z also makes some
other great amps like the Prescription (Marshall meaness galore),
and the 65 watt SRZ (Hiwatt crunch galore). Ah, let's not forget
the new kid in the family: the Carmen Ghia. Talk to the Dr.
Dr. Z Amps phone: 216-429-2922 email: drz@icgroup.net
I am not associated with Dr. Z by any means. We just ended up talking
quite a bit while my amp was in his shop; and that calls for a little
history: I bought this amp+cab used, but mint, well not quite; for
some reason (maybe damage during shipping) the amp wasn't working
properly and I shipped it to Dr. Z for a repair. The repair was
made and Dr. Z even including a mod in the amp to warm it up a bit,
and that was based in our conversations about tone and what I was
expecting from the amp. That was also when he let me know that my
amp was the first MAZ he ever built (yes! #1 !! I call that luck
:-) ).
Below is an email message I got from Dr. Z about the mod he made
in my MAZ:
"If a player tells me want's a warm sponger clean sound I add it
(the mod), if they want a spankier dynamic tone, and mention Matchless
and Vox in the conversations I don't. In Nashville I sell a ton
of amps, most very punchy and dynamic, works well with a electric
finger picking style. In Chicago a mod like yours works well, Bluesier
style rich with Reverb. It's not allways easy to determine a players
taste, but I try hard to ask the right questions, even borrow the
same guitar or pick-up set-up, as close as I can approximate, and
tweak it to taste. I believe that's what Custom Amp building is
all about, tayloring a responce to a players request, and the type
of guitar,and effects he uses."
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MAZ-38
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