MAZ 38 NR MKII 38-watt Tube Head Review

Amazingly Versatile Tone Machine!!

I've had most Z amp models over the years. All were great. Some fit my wants and needs better than others. My favorites being the Therapy, ZWreck & JETTA. With honorable mention going to the Maz18 NR( The modern-day classic) and my first Z years ago, a blonde 2-10 Ghia. (Wish I still had THAT amp!) Second honorable mentions going to the Antidote, Remedy and Z28 of course!!! A few… read more others sprinkled in along the way, but the ones mentioned floated my boat specifically. But THIS amp.....Whoa... For me, it's everything. I'm sure it's partly the MkII recipe. It's so smooth. Yet plenty of highs, chime and sparkle....And the girth. There is no replacement for big iron, even at low volumes for my ears. The master volume is amazing. It was waiting on my doorstep when I got home from work yesterday. I quickly cranked it up and could not stop for over an hour. When I got home from a comedy club event, I played another hour at bedroom levels and smiles continued.... The 38 MkII reminds me a lot of the Therapy tone wise. I guess it's the Treble, Mid & Bass controls and the Volume & Master.......but it's got the EL84 thing going on as well. The half power switch is really cool as well. The amp sounds and responds the same, just half the volume. That's really cool, but with the volume and Master volume being so well executed, not sure how much I'll use that. To early to tell. Also the new EQ bypass switch is great! I love the new look and regular guitar cord functionality. I was surprised and overjoyed that a battery option was inside as well. I love battery usage, especially around the house. ( I just noticed the Dr Z website mentions the battery option, but I obviously overlooked that) I may order another to mount on a pedal board. This amp is really a extremely versatile tonal workhorse. Special thanks to Tyler Moore & Sweetwater for this amp!

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Wow!

OK, I've had this amp all of 1 day now. I had a call up from another band needing my services only to realize my main amp was enroute from a regular out of state gig and I wouldn't have access for another 2 days. Timing is everything in this business. I just happened to have purchased a MAZ 38 NR Head from Sweetwater on Thursday the 16. It was supposed to deliver on Saturday but… read more Fedex had issues and asked if Sunday was good. They delivered right after noon on Sunday (Wow, thank you Fedex) and I was able to use this head with a 2/12 Orange cabinet for the gig. Let me just say, this amp performed just as all the reviews say. It is loud as heck but easily controlled. I was able to get pretty much any sound I needed without spending a ton of time fiddling with it. I played a mid 70's Les Paul Custom and an old Telecaster with a few pedals on a Top 40s, 80's Rock, mainstream country type of thing while everyone made sure they were adequately social distanced. Sound quality was exceptional. Love the humbuckers out of this, however, this thing just slays single coils on the Tele. That guitar never sounded better. WOW!! I play a JCM800 and have for over 20 years. It may be time to retire that one. Never loved the Tele/JCM combo but needed it on occasion for specific songs. I played my Tele at least half the time. Never have done that. Don't get me wrong, this thing with humbuckers, sounds WOW as well. It is also an awesome pedal platform amp. I started the gig on half power. When I switched it to full power at half way through the gig, the sound guy actually asked me why I wasn't running it like that for the entire gig. Never had a sound guy not tell me to turn down. WOW! This thing is a beast at full power. I will be using a Tone King attenuator on most gigs with it because it is loud. I would definitely recommend this amp. Now, only problem I have is figuring out to fund the 2/12 ZBest cabinety purchase I'm fixing to make with Sweetwater. Thankfully, they offer the 6 months interest free thing. Timing and having an awesome company like Sweetwater is everything in this business. You need to buy one of these. I'm a Z guy now.

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Best sounding amp I’ve ever played

I"ve played many vintage apps over the years including some worth tens of thousands of dollars and this absolutely is my favorite. It can sound like an old Marshall, a Vox or a Fender Blackface deluxe or any combination of those flavors. EL84s give it pleasing punch and pick attack absent in so many other amps. It"s built like a tank and all hand wired so you can more easily service… read more it without worrying about pcbs and poorly designed chassis etc. Pair it with the speaker of your choice! Five stars!

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