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King Loudness « Fender done better. »
Published on 10/31/11 at 19:08The Dr.Z Maz 18 head is a single channel EL84 powered tube head that excels at great Fender-like clean tones mixed with VOX esque chime in a package that won't blow your ears or wallet out of this world. It delivers 18 watts of power and has gain, master volume, bass, middle, treble, cut (a form of presence) and reverb controls (on the reverb model). It also has an effects loop and a footswitchable EQ bypass - very cool feature.
UTILIZATION
Getting a good sound out of this amp is very simple. Since it's single channel it really only has one core sound - a hybrid Fender/VOX clean tone that has a great natural breakup for classic rock tones as the gain is turned up. When set to full bore gain it's still quite mild but that can be remedied with a boost pedal of sorts. The EQ has a good response and feel and the tones are fairly constant regardless of where the dials are set - a great sign of a user friendly amp. It can be a little bit bright for some applications, but using the treble and cut controls along with the tone control on your guitar can alleviate this issue.
SOUNDS
I've tried this amp with various guitars. It seems to respond well with single coil equipped guitars like Strats and Teles for a country or blues sound. P90s also do a great job too. I find humbuckers can get dark kind of quick so you have to watch your pick attack when using a guitar like a Les Paul with this amp where it's so dark and thick. That being said it has a very pure and honest sound that reminds me a lot of the old Fenders that I've tried - pure tube tone. It's not a high gain amp at all, but it does do cleans and classic gain tones quite well, and can get into high gain territory with a boost.
OVERALL OPINION
All in all I think the Dr.Z Maz 18 head is a great deal for someone looking for a great low wattage head that does some killer Fender/VOX type tones. They are about $1,500 new which is a good deal for the quality of workmanship and tone that you're getting. Definitely worth a look for the serious gigging player who has the ear for tone and wants great sounds at a reasonable volume.
UTILIZATION
Getting a good sound out of this amp is very simple. Since it's single channel it really only has one core sound - a hybrid Fender/VOX clean tone that has a great natural breakup for classic rock tones as the gain is turned up. When set to full bore gain it's still quite mild but that can be remedied with a boost pedal of sorts. The EQ has a good response and feel and the tones are fairly constant regardless of where the dials are set - a great sign of a user friendly amp. It can be a little bit bright for some applications, but using the treble and cut controls along with the tone control on your guitar can alleviate this issue.
SOUNDS
I've tried this amp with various guitars. It seems to respond well with single coil equipped guitars like Strats and Teles for a country or blues sound. P90s also do a great job too. I find humbuckers can get dark kind of quick so you have to watch your pick attack when using a guitar like a Les Paul with this amp where it's so dark and thick. That being said it has a very pure and honest sound that reminds me a lot of the old Fenders that I've tried - pure tube tone. It's not a high gain amp at all, but it does do cleans and classic gain tones quite well, and can get into high gain territory with a boost.
OVERALL OPINION
All in all I think the Dr.Z Maz 18 head is a great deal for someone looking for a great low wattage head that does some killer Fender/VOX type tones. They are about $1,500 new which is a good deal for the quality of workmanship and tone that you're getting. Definitely worth a look for the serious gigging player who has the ear for tone and wants great sounds at a reasonable volume.