Latest report, I tried and loved the Dr. Z Maz 18. My only concern is it is a one channel amp, so when playing live I may need to do some learning as I have been using a 2 Channel amp for many years. It does seem like the volume knob will take you from clean to dirt, and then maybe a boost for leads or an additional OD pedal for extra oomph.
This is the best sounding I've tried to date
http://drzamps.com
The Dr. Z amps are awesome. The guitarist in one of my bands has used one off and on, recently on again because he wanted a somewhat lower watt amp for rehearsal. For that purpose it is sublime, and could easily translate to stage, but he has the Fuchs which is also sublime. But the Maz is a tone monster, and it has a surprising amount of headroom if you want the amp to give you largely a clean sound that you dirty up with pedals.
Personally, I'd set it for a little bit of grit, then use a Klon clone or an Xotic EP Boost, or both, to drive it further. It just depends if you need a really super clean sound, that's where having two channels really helps. If your basic sound has some grit, then you can largely get away with one channel. I'd personally pick the Maz every time over a Mesa, which I find somewhat sterile.
But it totally depends on what sound you want and what you'll be using it for. The Maz isn't for for super heavy saturation, the Mesa would likely be better for that.
Bill
Thanks for the input Bill. I don't need any heavy/metal type distortion, just some nice OD. Honestly, I think distortion is overused. I'll hear bands doing Zep or you name it, and the distortion is usually way too much.Originally Posted by Sputnik
I loved that you say Tone Monster, because the amp I played really seemed rich. It is the first amp since I have been trying them out recently that I thought really stood out from the pack. And the fact that you notice your guitarists tone, and find it so pleasing, these are the things I like to hear.
Cool! Good luck in your hunt, it's been fun following along!
If you can track one down to try, I suggest looking at Swart amps too. They are supposed to be really nice. If I was going to drop some change on a guitar amp, I'd be looking at Swart, Dr. Z, Carr and Tone King first. There are other brands like this out there, really boutique stuff, but you hear them and they just sparkle in a way most mass-produced amps don't. But again, there's a place for a Mesa or a Marshall if that's what you hear in your head. For the sounds I look for, these other makers better suit my needs, but it's a really personal thing and there's no wrong answer. And sometimes the extra cash doesn't justify itself. A Swart or Carr amp would be totally wasted on me, I stick with my little Blackstar, and just appreciate these boutique amps from a safe distance.
The guitarist in my other non-Prog band uses all Line6 stuff, and gets a bitchin' tone, but generally much more saturated. Here's a video of us shot Saturday night at our debut gig. I'm singing and playing bass, my wife is on keys. This was also my debut gig as a lead singer. You can shut it off if you can't stand it (at least the guitar tone is good).
https://youtu.be/BF_1d0bJSfA
Bill
I've just been looking at some YouTube demos of Phaez amps. I really like what I'm hearing. I was inspired by a local guy who uses one and gets a consistently great sound despite using several different guitars. Seems like the price is right too.
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Thanks for the tip - I will check out some clips. Always hesitant to buy something you can't at least play first - Dr Z is carried at one of my local stores
This isn't the one I've seen used, but I like how responsive these Phaez amps seem to be to things like picking attack and rolling off the guitar volume control for different sounds.
But I hear you. It's definitely better if you can play it yourself.
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Sounds great, but I really do want the opportunity to play what I am going to buy.
As much as I liked the Z, I just located a New Mesa Boogie TransAtlantic TA-30 Combo (1x12) and got to play it yesterday. Sounded sweet with my Tele, and I felt I was getting some really nice tones from it (albeit in a music store booth, not the best way to tell). These amps listed around $1600-$1700 when they were released, and they are asking $950 - great deal.
I am bringing another guitar down today with my digital delay to test the effects loop, and use humbuckers vs single coils through the amp. I really loved the sounds, it was the first time I have tried a Boogie. I know the recs and mark series seem to be the most popular, but this amp sounded great.
I had the big brother to that amp, the Royal Atlantic. Great amp, but way too much amp to haul around. The Transatlantic seems like the perfect size.
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Just looked at the specs on this. One thing that jumped out at me is that you can attenuate the wattage to 15, 30 or 40. This is a fantastic feature that will make the amp versatile in a lot of situations. I imagine 40 watts of Mesa tube power is pretty damn loud, and having a 15 watt option is really nice when you want to back it off a bit.
It's also 2-channel and has reverb. This looks like a sweet little amp at a very good price. Definitely try it out with your other guitars, but if you wind up getting this, I'd say you done good.
Bill
The Quest has ended - I bought the TA-30 today after going back.
I just loved the tone/sound I was getting. And I think it was a really good deal all things considered, and it doesn't feel like a compromise. The Maz 18 was great, but it was going to run me an additional $1300 after purchase and an attenuator - I could not justify the extra cash for what I use the amp for.
Yes - the wattage is a great feature, as I get more grit/dirt in the 15w channel without really cranking, and if I want some nice cleans (which this amp produces), I can go to the 30 or 40w settings and keep it clean. I can't wait to get this thing cranking to see how it sounds with the band. I did a quick recording in Garageband just to get to listen to it, and I really like it.
Thanks everyone for following along, and throwing out your advice, much appreciated!!!
I've played for a few hours, dialing in some sounds, and I really like what I am hearing. Plenty of options for rhythym / lead tones, I think I am going to enjoy the ride with this one!
I think you did really well. For the price you paid, you got a more versatile amp. Now we need samples of you using it!
Enjoy!
Bill
I will get working on that!
The guitar player in the jam band my son used to play in was using the head-only version of that amp. He always got great sounds.
https://revibevt.bandcamp.com/album/...ars-02-18-2014
I was inspired to play some guitar last night and got more great and unexpected (for me) sounds out of my Mini Rectifier. Fun!
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Congratulations on pulling the trigger, Eric!
Mesa/Boogie makes great products; imo they're one of the top 5 amp manufacturers around. I've owned a few of them and I use rented ones on the road. I gigged steadily with my Mark IIc for around 20 years and the only problem I ever had was with tubes; sometimes a new tube is bad right out of the box. Speaking of that, you should replace the power amp tubes (and get the amp re-biased when you do) once every 6 months to a year, depending on how much you use the amp. The preamp tubes have a longer shelf life, but you can tell when one has gone bad because it'll usually make a microphonic feedback-like sound when it does.
Anyway, enjoy!
I like Mesa amps and need a ton of reliability. Some of them are too Fizzy, but they are very reliable.
Try them out.
The mini mark V is supposed to be great. I find I like their heads into a closed back cab better than their combo amps.
They do excellent cleans, mid gain and hi gain.
There are probably amps that do one of those a bit better, but I think it would be hard to find one that does all of them as well. YMMV.
Re: Tube screamers -> there are so many clones of this circuit out that are probably better than the Ibanez labeled stuff. Again.. YMMV.
I have a TriAxis/2:90 into 2 Mesa 4x12's as my main rig.
I have a Mark V (the big one) as an alternative to that.
An old Studio .22 which needs some maintenance.
A Lonestar 2x12
and a Fender 59' Bassman reissue.
They're all as different as switching guitars and that's using similar cabs/speakers.
Ohhh..
I'd love to get a MAZ 38.
and a Friedman BE-100.
and a Marshall JTM (vintage)
and a handwired Vox AC-30
and a Fender Twin (vintage)
and a Bogner Ecstasy
and a Divided by 13 RSA 23
and a Swart AST
oh.. and a Dumble Overdrive special
Sure - add 'em to the list.
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Thanks Ernie! Nice to hear from you, and with all your professional experience that you regard Mesa's so highly. I am really enjoying playing, tweaking with this amp, and liking the tones. I need to spend a lot more time finding settings I like, and in another week, my first band practice with it, another good test.
I don't know much about tubes, so I will keep an eye on how the amp performs, and ask around for a good tech to use.
I really liked the Dr Z's as well, tried the Maz 18, sounded great.
I had one, best amp I've ever owned (and I've owned many)! A year went by where I didn't use it (it's kind of inconvenient to cart a head, a cab and a pedalboard around for many of the gigs I do) and this guy wanted to buy it. I finally said okay, on the condition that I could borrow it from time to time. Next thing I know, he moves back to Norway where he's from and sells it to somebody else.I would've bought it back for more than I sold it to him for. That head costs about $4,000 now; no way I'll ever be able to scrape that much money together again. Of all the gear I sold and regretted doing so, that's my deepest regret.
Ugh.....I had one, best amp I've ever owned (and I've owned many)! A year went by where I didn't use it (it's kind of inconvenient to cart a head, a cab and a pedalboard around for many of the gigs I do) and this guy wanted to buy it. I finally said okay, on the condition that I could borrow it from time to time. Next thing I know, he moves back to Norway where he's from and sells it to somebody else.
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