Dr Z?

MrBump

These things sound bloody brilliant. I'm thinking seriously about a new amp, but I'm struggling with what I actually want. Most clips of the usual suspects leave me a little cold. 

But the old school chime and crunch of these amps is absolutely awesome. 

Pricy as hell though...  can anyone think of similar amps that won't lead to divorce?

hywelg

They're not that pricey. There's a Maz 18 in the classifieds for £700. My EZG went for about £1k. Problem is there's not that many of them about. 

I'd really like to try a few others. must factor in trip to Peach as soon as they're settled into their new place.

MrBump

Peach has moved? They're just down the road from me, or were...

Misty

They're totally brilliant amps, provided you don't want the multi channel switching and loads of knobs approach. I have two of them, and for me simplicity, build quality and great tone are their forte. The range really includes something for everyone, there's loads of info on the z-talk forum. Hyweig is right, the unfortunate thing for owners is their resale value can be a bit on the low side, don't know why. Not many of them turn up on the used market, so it's a case of being very patient or buying new. They seem to be low profile generally in the UK, though not in the US. I've noticed they seldom get discussed on this forum.

MrBump

Thanks, will have a nose on that form.

Pete24v

And if you gig, get spare output valves and fuses. (maz 36 reference) 

hywelg

Pete24v said:

And if you gig, get spare output valves and fuses. (maz 36 reference) 

You should do that for any valve amp. And at least one of each type of pre-amp valve and the rectifier if it has one. My EZG was utterly reliable.

hotpickups

Friggin' loud amps though –  Awesome

TimmyO

I had a Maz 18 NR combo for years - utterly brilliant amp - a bit like Matchless in that you need to be on your game (or you will improve as a player) if you want to get the most out of it though.

Colms2005

I had 2 Carmen Ghia's . One I brought in from the US with a 2 x 10 cab and another I bought from Peach. 
I sold both as I couldn't control the ice pick sounds of these amps. I am sure that other Z's are great. I have a Z- verb which is a great valve reverb unit, but I would not recommend a  Carmen Ghia.
I am very impressed with the Tone King Royalist , very easy to use EL84 amp gives everything you could want in Brit sounds from bedroom to club levels. You can pick these up second hand, the 18 watt is plenty loud.

IvisonGuitars

Don't rule out Bad Cat, especially the Black Cat and the Cub III. Absolutely outrageous sounding amps and criminally underpriced on the second hand market, some totally bargains to be had, a couple here in the forum as we speak actually.

Wazmeister

Loved the Monza, loved the Maz, loved the EZG.

Very loud though...

Misty

Pete24v said:

And if you gig, get spare output valves and fuses. (maz 36 reference) 

I have to say that my 10 year old Maz 38 has been utterly reliable, though I always carry spare valves and fuses; not needed them yet. Also, my Carmen Ghia sounds great to me; I agree it can sound ice picky, but careful choice of speakers and valves can make a noticeable difference, as can the tone control on your guitar. It's worth checking out the videos on the Z site.
Just my opinion, and of course I'm biased.

leerocker

my two faves are the ezg and the zlux , Ezg is hands down the best blackface tone ive had and takes pedals like no other amp i have owned and ive been through a few, i was foolish and traded mine in and it sold straight away, luckily i managed to find another ,The ezg has a really good volume taper so you can use at home late at night , as has the zlux which will probably be next on the list once ive sourced an es295!

Pete24v

hywelg said:

Pete24v said:

And if you gig, get spare output valves and fuses. (maz 36 reference) 

You should do that for any valve amp. And at least one of each type of pre-amp valve and the rectifier if it has one. My EZG was utterly reliable.

3 full sets of power valves (and the odd one or two that were replaced mid gig)  in 7 or so months, and way too many fuses. As mentioned in another thread, the amp was checked over by 3 different techs, who all said the amp was fine. 

The amp before it, and after it have needed nothing in the way of valves, and certainly not fuses. 

And I gig pretty much every week. 

The EZG is a Fender based amp, the maz I had was more vox will el84's. Everyone who looked over the amp said its running the valves really hard, but all correct voltages etc. 

Maybe it was just a bad example, but it did sound great. 

When the spare amp I was having to take to every gig was getting more work the Z just had to go. 

Pete24v

Misty said:

Pete24v said:

And if you gig, get spare output valves and fuses. (maz 36 reference) 

I have to say that my 10 year old Maz 38 has been utterly reliable, though I always carry spare valves and fuses; not needed them yet. Also, my Carmen Ghia sounds great to me; I agree it can sound ice picky, but careful choice of speakers and valves can make a noticeable difference, as can the tone control on your guitar. It's worth checking out the videos on the Z site.
Just my opinion, and of course I'm biased.

I don't doubt you @Misty, my Carol Ann (Z replacement) has done two solid years of gigging this coming Jan, and it also has been utterly reliable.

DaiCapp

I have a Therapy - as others have said, they seem load for their stated outputs, they sound incredible and they do a number of different amps to cover different styles. Therapy is 6L6 loaded and does low powered Fender Twin very well plus it has the added bonus of being really easy to get good tone from with a fairly minimal control panel. All told, great amp, very reliable and amazing sound...

jb1336

@MrBump its my maz 18nr head in black thats up for £700, I see you're based in essex, im about 5 miles from Colchester with a studio out in the sticks & a port city 2x12 cab, you're welcome to come try it out on 11

 

DaiCapp

@jb1336  - yours looks great value, the Maz has the reputation of the most versatile of the Dr Z amps. I was tempted by one when I got my Therapy but in the end I decided I wanted something more Fender-like.

Great offer to get it cranked, my door would be open too but I'm in Sheffield and mines not for sale so it'd be a long way to travel just for a play on an amp!

stickyfiddle

I've loved every Dr Z I've tried. I recently bought a BadCat Cub3 but the Maz 18 was a close second on the options list.

ICBM

I've hated every one I've tried. Nasty spiky, clangy sounding.

Also all the ones I've seen for repair have not been particularly well made, run the valves unnecessarily hard and in at least one case has a stupid choice of speaker... a G12H-30 in a 38W amp - unsurprisingly it was blown.

I don't get the hype at all.