New Amp Quest continued - Crate vs. Vox

[bluestrat]

This old thread reminds me of how really good my 15 Watt V-Series V1512 (Crate) continues to be.

Ditto !

[detuned]

Hey D, did you ever let us know how the Maz 18 sounded? I've been looking at them and wanted to hear what you thought?

Hmm. I thought I had. But, what the heck: here goes!

I'm pretty darn happy with the Maz so far. I don't get out a lot, & my time to monkey with the various settings is limited (I have two small boys who demand much more attention than my amps these days), but here's what I've found so far.

The Maz is the most versatile amp Dr. Z makes. Controls are Volume (pre), Bass, Middle, Treble (maybe not in that order, I don't have it in front of me right now), Master, and Cut. Everything works about the way you'd think, & the Cut control is adds or rolls off some extreme high end. It's where the Vox sound gets it's sizzle.

I've been calling it a reverse-modeler, as I can get just about any kind of sound, just one at a time. Fender tweeds, and BF, Vox, Marshall - it's all in there, but with the Doc's unique take on each included. This amp is extremely sensitive to pick attack & touch, so you'd best bring your "A" game, as every mistake is lovingly amplified as loud as the good stuff. Suckitude has never sounded so good.

Currently, I'm using it clean with my strats, with a pedal for dirt. It's not *quite* a Deluxe (maybe it's the EL84s instead of 6V6s),not *quite* an AC15, but it's a very nice sound, & with a bit of Cut dialed in, cuts like a knife through a band.

When I play my tele, I dime the pre & post gain, bring the mids back a bit, & dial down the Cut. This creates a nice smooth OD that you can control with your pick attack & the guitar's volume knob. If you want to hear what that sounds like (but much better played than I could), surf over to Youtube & search for Buddy Whittington. He often uses a Maz Senior (the 38 watt big brother to mine) on his Bluesbreakers gigs, which sounds pretty much the same - just 4 EL84s instead of 2.

Personally, I won't need a Senior. If I want a louder amp, I have a '65 Fender Showman that'll get as loud as you'd ever want. That thing'll drill holes in concrete with the right speakers. :-)

So overall: very happy.
Would I have been just as happy with something else? Well, I mentioned before that the Vox worried me because of the constrcution (plastic jacks, etc) & craptastic speakers on the $599 version, & I couldn't find a reasonably price DRRI while I was looking. The Crate sounded great, but when I went back, they were out of the model I wanted.

The Z sort of fell into my lap, & although I could have spent less & gotten something else I would *probably* have been happy with, I'm gald I spent the money. This amp feels like a keeper.

Hope that helps,


-D

[detuned]

Oh, &...

post #600!

[95strat]

That's great D....I'd love to "break" my amp in an effort to justify a new purchase!

[95strat]

Nice. Like the way you slipped in the #600.

Thanks for the run down. I'd love to get one. I'm trying to find a used one in my price range. I'll just have to be patient.