Dr. Z goes in depth (really in depth), on the specifications and features of the newest amp in the line: the Z-Plus. #drzama www.drzamps.com/product/z-plus
I have been looking for a smaller amp and have been using a vintage Marshall JMP half stack, it’s gotten to be too much my wife treated me to a Zplus and my mind is blown! Such great tone and it’s only a plus that I’m supporting a fellow Ohioan! Keep up the great tone! 😀
When retubing the Z Plus, be sure and place the 5AR4 rectifier next to one of the 6V6's. I made the mistake of placing both 6V6's in front of the output transformer and thought the tubes went bad. This video helped in discovering that! Thanks, Doc.
just ordered my second one of these for a studio album/short tour back up. I can't stress this enough, this is a must play amp. This amp is immensely innovative and has a very unique and musical sound. you will not be disappointed in any way.
What is the tube order in the chassis?? G. Center sent the amplifier with all the tubes removed from their respective placement. The tube legend on the side of the amp doesnt help!
@@milliesdad8322 all v1-2 JJ 12ax7, v3 12at7, v4 JJ 12ax7, v5 sovtek 12ax7 LPS (a variation from the standard 12ax7) Power tubes: 6n14n (NOS Russian MIL El84), sovetek 5ar4 rectifier.
@@milliesdad8322 I have tried tungsol and eh preamp tubes but the JJ's give the Maz 18 a but more bite and edge in a good way. I'm still experimenting so I'll report back when I have found the magic.
Definitely something I'll need to save my pennies toward! Had the pleasure of playing through a friend's Maz 38 a few years back, and it was incredible. This one is more my size though.
Been playing the Z-plus for about a month now. Very rich clean sounds with an exceptional reverb. Everything right now is going into the front, with the amp playing well with everything. The one stand out thing is how thick the tone is without doing anything to it. Bring the mids down a bit to get back into the Fender territory. It really is everything a Princeton Reverb aspires to be without the harmonics being too over-bearing. (Yes I know it's a double-champ class A).
With the Z-PLUS you get champ style clean and drive with the amp set to half power, (1 power tube, Class A) and like a princeton at full power (2 power tubes, parallel Class A). It's a refined Champ/Princeton style amp!
Hey got the amp! It’s truly amazing thank you!!! I have a question about the bypass switch My eq still works when it’s engaged... however when you turn the switch knob clockwise to max then the eq dials don’t do anything... I was thinking once it’s engaged the eq knobs do not function.... any thoughts? Thanks again!!
We had a distributor about a year or two ago, unfortunately, I do not believe they are still in business. You can inquire to Humbucker Music to see if they can do an international deal. We do not do direct international sales. Thank you for your interest!
slickcross the Z-Plus is Class A parallel single ended with 6V6s in the power section and the Maz 18 has Class A/B push/pull EL84 power section giving them different harmonic and gain structures.
3:05 Why can't you add this kind of loop on the EMS? I'd love to know because this is really what I'd love to have. An EMS Head with the loop, that's it!
The EMS was designed in the classic vintage Marshall lineage, which did not have effects loops. If you were to play the amp with effects in the front, you would find there is plenty of power amp headroom to accurately reproduce your effects chain.
I believe you Doc, but the loop is really a show stopper for me. The way I want my rig to work, I HAVE to have amps with loop to use the return... but the EMS looks so sweet :/ PS: And it's not only about you, I said the exact same thing to Morgan with the lack of loop on his MVP23. I would perfectly understand to have a switch to take it out of the circuit for people that want the most "pure" signal and the closest of what was done back in the past... but at least have the choice. I perfectly concede this is just my "2 cents opinion" and anyone is different.
Ron Coleman I don’t know Ron. Jimi did it with more than 10k in equipment adjusted for inflation though! $680 for a 100 watt Marshall in 1969 is nearly 5k! Add two 4x12s ($470) and you are over 10k. None of our amps even break the 4k mark! Practically a steal!
@@DrZAmplification - Oh I agree that your amps are some of the best sounding and clearly made of the good stuff Doc. And worth every penny in tone. Hope to catch a used one somewhere down the road. Those old hand wired amps were just the way they were all made back then. Glad to see someone is making em like they used to! Kudos
I ripped a sold out theatre gig the other night with my Maz 8 to 700+ people. I’ve never had more compliments on my guitar tone. The little studio combo truly sounds unreal and I’ve never been more happy with an amp. factor in how small and light it is and it’s a no brainer. the price tag is totally fair in my eyes and is totally on par with the rest of the market for what you’re getting. I am seriously thinking of getting the Plus just to get a little bit more headroom for practice but on stage mic’d Up? Forget about it. Well done Dr. my first amp of yours and deff not my last. Any reason why you didn’t implement this using the 84’s?
We did try this, in fact. One of our prototypes started with EL84. Dr. Z felt that in the class A, parallel single-ended configuration that the 6V6s still retained that sort of EL84 chime and clarity while giving better range of clean/dirty and added robustness.
Dr Z Amplification thanks for the reply. Can you give me some insight, how would you compare the clean headroom on the Plus in parallel compared to the Maz 18? I absolutely love my Maz 8 but using it live and at practice it just doesn’t have enough headroom for me to use all of the varying degrees of boost and od that I need. I appreciate the time. Much love
xweezitupx they will break up around the same area (hi input: 12 with single coils, 11:00 with humbuckers), but being a class AB amp, the Maz 18 is more efficient and therefore louder in general (both clean and dirty).