New Dr. Z amp

[hippietim]

The UPS man dropped off a Dr. Z Maz SR 38. This is the 15th anniversary model with and effects loop and no reverb. The previous owner had swapped the stock speaker for a Weber Alnico Silver Bell. I haven't had a chance to dime it yet but so far this thing sounds amazing. Very touch responsive. Responds very well to volume and tone control changes on the guitar.

[horns666]

Re: New Dr. Z amp

Dude I know Mike Z very very well . I used to hang around his shop every day when I was a cop. He made me play all of his amps in the shop and wanted to know what I thought...One day I walked into his shop and there was Joe Walsh just sittin' there playin' the shop's demo Les Paul ..that was a trip..super awesome dude Joe was and funny!

I had a friend that was a blues player he own one of the very first Z amps ever made ... They are of of high calibre and he puts a lot of pride and work into those amps..

I remeber when he first made that small Carmen Gia amp named after his son Carmen..I played the very first prototype he made ..

Only thing is that I'm not a blues player by any stretch ..so I always had to use his tube screamer to play his stuff...

Very beautiful amps made by a super dude that really cares what and how he makes his amps ...but his amps are not for my needs at all ...I almost feel bad because I would like to have one of his amps ...but like I said I would need a stomp in the front for being hack shredder that I am...

but he a great dude that makes one fine quality poduct!!!

If you ever talk to him tell him Bill the cop said hey ..I haven't seen him in a few years now..I used to take my lunch and go to his shop everyday..Mike's such a cool dude!!!

[hippietim]

Re: New Dr. Z amp

Cool Bill - thanks for sharing that. I've talked with Mike a few times - very helpful dude (which is unfortunately rare in the music business). I used to have a Carmen Ghia - that was a beautiful sounding amp - I just wish I'd have bought the head or a 2x12 because I never dug the 2x10 that I bought. I have a KT-45 of his which sounds like a kickass old Hiwatt.

I've used the KT-45 to play heavy stuff before. I have a Soldano Supercharger I stick in front of it and it just crushes then. I haven't fooled around with this Maz too much yet - a buddy of mine had one and used it with the Soldano pedal and he loved it.

This Maz sounds absolutely amazing with my new Klon overdrive and korina explorer.

[horns666]

Re: New Dr. Z amp

Really ...wow ....well I kept harping on Mike to make an amp I could shred on .. [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

Maybe he listened me...I haven't seen him in a few years (since I retired) but I did call him last year to shoot the crap and ask him about a tube question..

He'll help you in a heartbeat ...he'
s a good man!!!

One thing I could say he knows what he's doin' and knows good tone and he takes lots of pride in his creations..

Bill

[speed monkey]

Re: New Dr. Z amp

[ QUOTE ]
The UPS man dropped off a Dr. Z Maz SR 38. This is the 15th anniversary model with and effects loop and no reverb. The previous owner had swapped the stock speaker for a Weber Alnico Silver Bell. I haven't had a chance to dime it yet but so far this thing sounds amazing. Very touch responsive. Responds very well to volume and tone control changes on the guitar.

[/ QUOTE ]

Awesome Tim! Give a report after you've spent some time with it.

What other amps do you own? I've been thinking about selling the Splawn and getting a low wattage head, but can't decide which one....any others you looked at?

Congrats!
Steve E

[hippietim]

Re: New Dr. Z amp

[ QUOTE ]
What other amps do you own? I've been thinking about selling the Splawn and getting a low wattage head, but can't decide which one....any others you looked at?

[/ QUOTE ]

In addition to the new Z I have a Marshall 1987x, Dr. Z KT 45, Songworks Little Lanilei 3350LT, Vetta II, and a Fender Pro Jr.

What are you looking for out of a low wattage amp? Metal? Rock? Blues? Clean? Channel switching?

My favorite low wattage amp is probably the Dr. Z Carmen Ghia or the Fender Pro Jr. The only thing you must do with the Pro Jr. is swap the speaker - the stock Jensen is lame - I put Celestion Vintage 10's in them and they sound great.

I've been thinking about a Splawn mod for my amp - the place is only a couple hours away so I think I'll drive there and check them out before I plunk down the bucks - seems like a lot of folks are selling them which makes me skeptical.

[hippietim]

Re: New Dr. Z amp

BTW, I just got this Little Lanilei amp before my move and have barely played it at all - so far it's pretty cool - not ready to pass judgement yet though.

[horns666]

Re: New Dr. Z amp

My old buddy Dave bought one of Mike's early heads ...one of the first ten I believe ...it was pretty ..it had a nice wood front panel ..it was the full size head ...he ran with a old 4-12 Marshall cab loaded with greenback" 25's...he loves blues and I thought it sounded very SRV sounding ...he used a Rotovibe and a old "Thomas organ" dunlap wah and a Tube creamer TS 9 re-issue when he wanted to play heavier ...

and his buddy was a major Eric Johnson nut he had the same head but had Mike carve his name into the wood panel ...he would dial that thing up to nail Johnson's violin-like tone ..turning up the mids and cutting the treble and he used a 60's Dunlap wah and a Echoplex..he used a 2-12 Z cab loaded with Jensens ...Blue Fames I think..it was quite a while ago..

Just some memories of some major Z amp diciples I knew..

Niel Zaza has a couple Z's as well...

BTW I remember them all being stocked with JJ Tesla tubes if I'm not mistaken ...Mike has several tube options but I remeber him being a big fan of teslas around 1990..