Dr. Z Amplification Maz 18 Jr Reverb Combo

Direct from Dr Z amplification.
Because I wanted to have the best amplifier currently made.
$1200 us.

The tone is unmatched, sweet harmonics, tight punchy bottom even when cranked. Heavy duty construction, point to point, high quality custom parts.
I recently played an outdoor concert, the sound man wanted to know about my amp because it sounded so much better than everyone else, most used fender, a few mesa's.

Wish it had tremolo.

Aluminum chassis, Plywood cabinet, point to point electronics, extra long power cord. All tube of course, 2 el84's, gz34, 12ax7's. Celestion anniversary g12h (Z reccomended). Chicken head knobs, green levant, oxblood grill.

The sweetest amp I have ever owned and I have owned hundreds mostly vintage fenders and a few old marshalls.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

The Dr. Z Maz 18 is a tube combo amplifier that is basically designed to be one of the ultimate sounding clean/low gain amps. It is an 18 watt amp that is powered by two EL84 power tubes. It has a pretty standard control layout and being single channel, it's also quite simple and intuitive to figure out. It's got a gain control, an EQ control set of bass, middle, and treble controls, a master volume, a reverb, and a control named "cut" which basically acts as a presence control to provide a more "cutting" sound that sits in a mix better. It has 4, 8, and 16 ohm speaker outs and is loaded with a Dr. Z design speaker. It also has an effects loop as well.

UTILIZATION

Setting up the Dr. Z Maz 18 amp to get a good tone is dead simple. Being that it's a single channel amplifier with a very basic and time tested control layout, it's easy for any player to come in and dial in tones to taste. It's not a high gain amp, so unless you're using pedals it's more of a clean to very mild gain tone sort of amplifier. The controls are fairly standard like I mentioned and the tone-stack acts much like a typical Fender or VOX type amplifier in that it has a fairly neutral tonal range (IE: not too bassy, not too trebly) so it's good for a wide variety of guitars and a whole range of pickups from single coils to humbuckers to P90s.

SOUNDS

I've tried this guitar with various Fender and Gibson guitars with all different sorts of pickups from single coils to P90s to mini humbuckers to regular full sized humubuckers of different outputs. I haven't really tried it with pedals but from what I hear these are great pedal-friendly amps. I can imagine a good overdrive would push the amp into higher gain Marshall territory for us saturated freaks. As it stands alone, it's a fairly clean amp. With the gain at lower levels it has a cool vibe that is part Fender blackface, part VOX. As the gain is turned up it gets a bit more saturated, but it's still a very mild tone that at best is similar to a Marshall JMP as far as gain levels. It sounds surprisingly thick for a 1x12 setup, and it sounds great overall. I'm definitely a fan.

OVERALL OPINION

All in all I think the Dr. Z Maz 18 Reverb is a killer amp that is a great tool for any musician searching for an amp to get killer clean to low gain classic tones that bridge the gap between Fender and VOX. It doesn't quite have the gain I might like out of an amp, but not every amp is a high gain beast. From jazz to country to light rock, this amp does it and does it well. They are about $1,700 new which is a great deal. The amp can be had in a variety of speaker combinations as well as in a head/cabinet setup too.

DR Z is a company that builds some of the most affordable high quality low watt combos in the industry. They have such a great classic rock tone and what they are all about it pure tone. These amps prides themselves on being somewhat versatile but more user friendly tone machines. These amps are great for just about any style of music other than metal. They have a solid tone and many artists are using them on their records and live touring stages.

This amp is the exact same amp as the non-reverb version, but this simply just has reverb. You get all the same great features and tone but the added effect on top of it. There is a bit of a higher price on this one compared to the black version. It could be that is a custom color or availability. This amp is very popular with the country players. It has a great tone for guys you like to chick pick and get that chimy clean moderately broken up overdrive sound. This is also the same amp as the standard version but just in a nice looking blonde tolex covering.

UTILIZATION

Power Output: 18 Watts
Output Tubes: 2 - EL-84
Preamp Tubes: 3 - 12AX7
Rectifier: 1 - GZ34
Controls: Volume, Treble, Mid, Bass, Cut, Reverb, Master Volume
Dimensions and Weight: 23" W, 20 1/8" H, 10" D; 47 lbs.

SOUNDS

This amp has a solid sounding reverb unit installed in the circuit. It adds a nice room filling effect that just compliments the natural tone of this amp. It has a nice blend of the power tubes and preamp valves. This is an amp that will take pedals very well. It has a nice effects loop to allow its user to insert delays and chorus sound into the effects loop and still keep the same preamp tone. For not being a whole lot of power it still packs a big punch in volume and tone. That amp sound very big and that may be one of their selling points. Their amps aren't a hole lot of power but have a brilliance of volume and girth that make them sound incredible.

These amps have a familiar control knob called "cut" which you may have seen on another amp called the VOx Ac30. This allows you to dial in some of that class grind. The "cut" knob may be the most useful and versatile tone shaping tool on any guitar amp. Throughout its range, it produces a large variety of sounds to satisfy players using all guitars for most every style of music. The "cut" knob is best used after the EQ is all set; turn it up for extra edge, turn it down for a more vintage sound.

OVERALL OPINION

You can pick these amps up new for right at around $1899. That is a great price for an amp that sound this good. It is a very usable gigging amp and will treat its owner quite well. I would recommend this amp to anyone who used to like the tone of a class A amplifier and wants a great deal of one of the best combo out there. This is going to appeal to those type of players and also the guys who like Fender but need a little bit more drive in the tone.

DR Z is a company that builds some of the most affordable high quality low watt combos in the industry. They have such a great classic rock tone and what they are all about it pure tone. These amps prides themselves on being somewhat versatile but more user friendly tone machines. These amps are great for just about any style of music other than metal. They have a solid tone and many artists are using them on their records and live touring stages.

This amp is the exact same amp as the non-reverb version, but this simply just has reverb. You get all the same great features and tone but the added effect on top of it. If you don't need or use reverb I would still purchase this one over the non-reverb because there is no upcharge to this feature. This amp is very popular with the country players. It has a great tone for guys you like to chick pick and get that chimy clean moderately broken up overdrive sound.

UTILIZATION

Details:

Celestion G12H30 (standard)
Power Output: 18 Watts
Output Tubes: 2 - EL-84
Preamp Tubes: 3 - 12AX7
Rectifier: 1 - GZ34
Controls: Volume, Treble, Mid, Bass, Cut, Reverb, Master Volume
Dimensions and Weight: 23" W, 20 1/8" H, 10" D; 47 lbs.

SOUNDS

This amp has a solid sounding reverb unit installed in the circuit. It adds a nice room filling effect that just compliments the natural tone of this amp. It has a nice blend of the power tubes and preamp valves. This is an amp that will take pedals very well. It has a nice effects loop to allow its user to insert delays and chorus sound into the effects loop and still keep the same preamp tone. For not being a whole lot of power it still packs a big punch in volume and tone. That amp sound very big and that may be one of their selling points. Their amps aren't a hole lot of power but have a brilliance of volume and girth that make them sound incredible.

These amps have a familiar control knob called "cut" which you may have seen on another amp called the VOx Ac30. This allows you to dial in some of that class grind. The "cut" knob may be the most useful and versatile tone shaping tool on any guitar amp. Throughout its range, it produces a large variety of sounds to satisfy players using all guitars for most every style of music. The "cut" knob is best used after the EQ is all set; turn it up for extra edge, turn it down for a more vintage sound.

OVERALL OPINION

You can pick these amps up new for right at around $1650. That is a great price for an amp that sound this good. It is a very usable gigging amp and will treat its owner quite well. I would recommend this amp to anyone who used to like the tone of a class A amplifier and wants a great deal of one of the best combo out there. This is going to appeal to those type of players and also the guys who like Fender but need a little bit more drive in the tone.