NAD: Dr Z Maz 18 Jr NR

M@tt C

M@tt C

Well-known member
I know, I know- I didn’t think Dr Z stuff was really ‘rock’ orientated either. But it sure is!

I had picked up a used DSL 20CR a few months ago to use at rehearsals and at home rather than dragging my 1987x/ 2x12/ attenuator setup around. It was pretty decent after a tube and speaker swap, but I started to think about some of the small stages we play and the idea of a ‘good’ combo took root.

I was trolling the local GC websites used amps section (there are three in the CLE/ Akron area) and came across a Dr. Z Maz 18 Jr at a decent price. Figured I‘d give it a shot, and if it didn’t work out I’d return it. I knew they were really well-built (point to point wiring, quality components, etc) and as a bonus Dr. Z is located in CLE.

So I took it home and spent most of the afternoon fooling with it.

My hot take:

GREAT amp!

For context I played my Knaggs SSC with Aldrich pickups and my D’Avanzo with a humbucker/ single setup.

  • Not as ‘squishy’ as my 1987x, but super responsive and clear.
  • It is LOUD! Thank god for the master volume.
  • More natural gain than I expected. Really healthy crunch, almost as much as my 1987x attenuated with the master at about 6. Clean to mean is just ridiculously good.
  • It seemed to like boosts better than overdrives. I ended up using my Friedman Golden Pearl in boost mode to put me into higher gain, and a Suhr Koko boost in mid boost mode for leads. It absolutely ripped like this.
  • It came with a Celestion Blue- I’ve never player an amp with one. It sounded great for cleaner stuff, but not with the amount of gain I use. I swapped in a Scumback M75 (a higher power greenback) and was much happier.
  • As an unexpected bonus the previous owner had a JAN 5751 Phillips in V1, a 12ax7 grey plate RCA in V2, and a 12ax7 RFT in the PI position. Score! I ended up moving the RFT to V1 and popping a Sovtek LPS into the PI slot. A little more gain, a little more body. Didn’t check the power tubes or the rectifier, but this cat had good taste!
  • The loop sounds great! I ran my Eventide Micropitch and Strymon El Capistan through it and really like it. I’ll have to do a little rewiring of my board though, so for now everything is in front of the amp (but still sounds good).
  • I didn’t really experiment with the boost footswitch (an eq bypass, from what I understand) but I will today.
The trial by fire will be rehearsal this afternoon. We play everything from classic rock, 80’s rock/ hair band stuff, dance, a little funk, and some modern country and I’m anxious to see how the Maz works out.
 
I’d like to try a Z some day. The new 80watt single channel has my attention, but that’s a lot of $ for a one trick pony.
 
Congrats man. I’ve always like the way they sound…paisley…the good ole boy-red neck in me I suppose. Lol. Probably a little different tone than what you’re getting I imagine
 
Quick update- It was killer at rehearsal.

Van Halen, Bon Jovi, Petty, Morris Day and the Time, Black Crowes, Luke Bryant- all were no sweat between the natural drive and the guitar volume, and the Golden Pearl.

The solo boost was pretty cool, but I'm on the fence with the voicing as it bypasses the eq.

But overall it's very much a rock amp if you want it to be, but with a lot of flexibility.

Now I gotta sell some other gear!
 
Jccobb2 said:
I’d like to try a Z some day. The new 80watt single channel has my attention, but that’s a lot of $ for a one trick pony.
Click to expand...
IDK, it's based on a rare (for good reason) early/transitional Vox AC-100 MkI (80-100W) from 1963 - 1965.

I'm in search of an AC-100 MkII "fixed bias" built from 1967- or a clone.
 
I love the Dr Z stuff. I wish he’d made a higher gain offering, but I plugged a high end Tele into a Maz in a platinum room in GC just fucking off and got stuck playing that little setup for over an hour. Killer sounding combo, congrats on the Dr Z!
 
Maz 18 is a great amp, ive played them in stores and my brother owns one and i liked it alot, my brother also a prescription es that i kept in my house for about a year and it was a cool amp boosted.
 
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