Anyone using Dr.Z amps?

[britinvasion]

The other guitar player in our band is as addicted to these as I am Ricks. In our few years together I never actually tried them until our last rehearsal. I plugged my 370FG into his Maz18Jr and played The Seeker by The Who and WHOA!!!! I couldn't believe how great it sounded.
We have another practice this Sunday and I'm bringing my 360/12AFG to try out. Anybody using these? I'd like to hear your opinions on them.
Sad to say he uses tele's exclusively (heathen ) but I wonder what an SG or Les Paul would sound like as well. Thanks!

[jps]

I have only read praise from all the usual press, these are great amps, made right in my home town!

[hjarnett]

are own brian harmon has or had a dr.z

[libratune]

I have several Dr. Z amps. They are fabulous! I am not an amp tech, but I know the guy who makes them (Mike Zaite). He has a small shop, 3 workers and everything is point-to-point handwired. He uses EL84s as the power tubes in most of his designs, so the typical Dr. Z amp sound is mostly like a Vox AC-30, Class AA and easily overdriven. He's been making these for 25 years and always coming out with something new. (Like Leo Fender, he doesn't play guitar!) The Z amps are designed for 6 strings and not for bass or 12-ers, though there are some models that are clean enough to play a 12-er through.

One of his amp heads, the KT-45, is billed as "capturing the rich tones of the WHO's 'Live at Leeds' LP. . . Vox AC-30/4 meets HiWatt."

You can get lots of info (and sound samples) on his amps at the Z website: http://www.drzamps.com.

As Jeff said, they are made in Cleveland Ohio USA!

[britinvasion]

Thanks for the input Ron! I was really impressed with the way my 370 sounded in his Maz18Jr. I have an AC30CC2 and love Vox, but the Z definitely had that flavor plus. I was considering an Egnater Rebel 20 because I like the way a Les Paul sounds in it, but not sure how my Ricks would work with it. Then I stumbled onto the Z, and maybe can get the best of all worlds. Just not sure which model.

[libratune]

Thanks for the input Ron! I was really impressed with the way my 370 sounded in his Maz18Jr. I have an AC30CC2 and love Vox, but the Z definitely had that flavor plus. I was considering an Egnater Rebel 20 because I like the way a Les Paul sounds in it, but not sure how my Ricks would work with it. Then I stumbled onto the Z, and maybe can get the best of all worlds. Just not sure which model.

Frank, If you liked the MAZ (short for "Mazerati') -18, you should try the MAZ-38. That has the extra punch, crunch and the bottom end you may be looking for. The Stang Ray is also good, a bit less power at 30 watts v. 38. Both designs use 4 x EL84s; the MAZ-18 uses 2. They all come in head-only and combo form.

Good luck finding that tone!

[wmthor]

As I understand it, Brad Paisley wanted to stop taking his vintage Vox AC30 on tour and that Dr. Z designed the Stang Ray to replace it.

[thisismusicinc]

I have a beautiful red Carmen Ghia 2x10 combo. Sounds great! Have never used it with a rickenbacker guitar though (need to get one first...)

But with a tele or my jerry jones, oh man. Can't wait to plug in a rick one day

[britinvasion]

Frank, If you liked the MAZ (short for "Mazerati') -18, you should try the MAZ-38. That has the extra punch, crunch and the bottom end you may be looking for. The Stang Ray is also good, a bit less power at 30 watts v. 38. Both designs use 4 x EL84s; the MAZ-18 uses 2. They all come in head-only and combo form.

Good luck finding that tone![/quote]

Thanks again for your opinions. I asked my band-mate to bring his MAZ38 as well tomorrow to practice. Ron- do you have or have you tried the Maz18NR (No reverb)? I hear they sound different than the reverb model.

[libratune]

The circuitry is supposed to be more efficient on the non-reverb (NR) Z amps. I have played through both reverb and NR MAZ-18 heads and I cannot tell the difference. There are dealers who tout the difference (superiority) of the NRs, saying they pack more punch. If there is a difference, I think it can be made up with adjustments to the tone controls. I frankly think this is a line of hype to sell the NR models, which are priced about the same as the reverb models.

[kelly]

I have a Maz 18 NR, and its a fantastic amp. I paid full list price for it which was only $1450 and I think its a complete bargain. I also got to pick my grill cloth and tolex colors. When you consider what you get for the money, its an amazing value. They sound great with all my guitars, but especially the single coils. The tone controls are super interactive. The cut control by itself adds a lot. You can spend a lot of time playing around with it and get great results. I use it all the time for playing clean stuff. Oh, and its really loud too. I thought an 18-watt amp would be great to crank and practice with in the basement, but I think I need to look at the Mini-Z, which has 2 knobs and 5 watts. Overall I don't think you can go wrong. I'm also thinking of getting an EZG which I think uses 6L6's and goes for the Stevie Ray tone but its probably too loud.

[IHeartRics]

If you go to Dr.Z's webite and look at the KT-45 comments, it states Joe Walsh had a hand in it's final voicing and stopped when he said "It's now Rickenbacker friendly".

[goofyfoot]

If you go to Dr.Z's webite and look at the KT-45 comments, it states Joe Walsh had a hand in it's final voicing and stopped when he said "It's now Rickenbacker friendly".

Visited the site page and sure 'nuff, there is JW's statement. Cool tidbit, brah. Thanks for sharing! I'm still thinking of the time I was so impressed with the MAZ-18 Jr. when I plugged into it a 360/6 at Truetone Music in Santa Monica. Hmmm.....Goofyfoot.

[britinvasion]

Ron- Thanks for your opinion on the reverb/non-reverb. I was torn between the two , as I do like having on-board reverb. Kelly , my friend told me no one discounts new Z's ,apparently thats part of the franchise deal , and your feelings it's a bargain is a sentiment echoed by everyone i've talked to that owns these amps. So prior to rehearsal today I tried my LP Std. in the MazJr thru a 4x10 Z cabinet. Amazing,plenty of punch , drive and sustain (think early Cream / Bluesbreakers). Next my 370 again- I tweaked the controls a little and now I'm deep into early Who! We switched to the Maz38 , even more clean headroom , but too loud for where I'm trying to get to with this next acquisition. Unfortunately I didn't get to try my 360/12 because we had to get practice started. Bottom line for me is I'm getting a Maz18Jr when I can come up with the scratch. Possibly the KT further on down road. I really want to express my thanks to all of you for your help!

[libratune]

Frank, happy to be of help.

It's true that dealers don't / can't discount new Z amps, but there are often some barely-used ones up on the bay and you might find a deal.