Dr Z Amps
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Michael D Zaite, aka Dr Z (break the initials down - M.D. Z = Dr. Z.), has been tinkering with tube amps and electronics since he was 13 years old. His father owned a television repair business and later went on to became an equipment engineer in the medical field. After school Zaite followed in his father's footsteps and landed a job working with G.E. as a medical equipment technical support specialist. His day to day duties had him fiddling with some pretty high tech medical gear like cat scan and xray machines as well as nuclear cameras. Most of the medical equipment was actually tube based, and he was one of a small number of techs who knew how to service the machines.
Fast forward to today and Dr. Z is celebrating his 20th anniversary with an impressive line-up of professional players from Joe Walsh to blues ace Buddy Whittington and many more. Dr. Z's sonic influences are heavily rooted in the vintage sounds of amps from the 50s and 60s and his designs are an intentional blend of the "Holy Trinity"; Fender - Vox - Marshall. The amp that is now known as the Carmen Ghia was the company's first design, but it failed to take off because lower watt tube amps weren't as popular as they are today. Soon after the Carmen Ghia, Dr. Z released the SRZ-65 which with it's additonal wattage, immediately caught on and set the company in motion.
In 1990 Z was able to get a SRZ-65 to Joe Walsh through a mutual friend. Time passed and he never got any feedback on what Joe thought about the amp. Then two years later he received a call saying that Joe needed more amps for the '94 eagles world tour! That marked a turning point for Z where he chose to leave his well paying job with G.E. and begin to focus on building amps full-time. He had already built up a sort of cult following and with the Eagles tour and a review in Guitar Player Magazine he set out to establish a dealer network and expand his collection of amps. His move was well timed as makers like Matchless started to find a niche with EL-84 based boutique amps. He was able to successfully re-release his original design, the two El-84 based Carmen Ghia. Next came the Maz 38 with four EL-84's, reverb and 38 watts of juice.
The next turning point in the history of Dr. Z amps came in 2001 when Brad Paisley established a relationship with the company. Paisley has been an ardent supporter of the Z product line and has worked together with them to create unique models such as the Prescription ES.
Dr. Z amplifiers are widely sought after today and their reasonable price points (relative to the boutique amp market) make them a favorite of players far and wide.
View our entire collection of Dr Z Amps
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| Dr Z Carmen Ghia | |
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$610.00 (9 Bids) Time Remaining: 40m |
| 2008 Dr Z Maz 18 junior 20th anniversary 2x10 combo | |
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$1,600.00 Time Remaining: 27d 6h 30m Buy It Now for only: $1,600.00 Buy It Now |
| Dr Z 6545 RARE SRZ 65 Sixty Five KT 45 EL 34 JCM 800 Marshall Hiwatt | |
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$700.00 (14 Bids) Time Remaining: 6h 44m |
| Dr Z Prescription 1X12 Class A Combo | |
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$1,400.00 Time Remaining: 19h 33m |
| Dr Z Amps Brake Lite SA guitar amplifier attenuator | |
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$125.00 Time Remaining: 1d 16h 25m |
| Dr Z MAZ 38 Sr Guitar Amp Combo | |
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$1,400.00 Time Remaining: 27d 2h 34m Buy It Now for only: $1,400.00 Buy It Now |
| Dr Z Presecription ES head | |
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$1,100.00 Time Remaining: 3d 4h 51m Buy It Now for only: $1,500.00 Buy It Now | Bid now |
| Dr Z MAZ 18 Jr Guitar Amp Combo | |
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$1,350.00 Time Remaining: 3d 14h 32m |
[...] vintage amps which turn out to be very similar to those of Fender’s. One of these companies is Dr Z Amplifiers. The company was founded by Michael D. Zaite, the Dr. Z in question, and he has years of experience [...]
Pingback by Boutique Amp Reviews – Dr Z And Top Hat Amps @ arieftheo.com — October 20, 2009 @ 12:06 pm
[...] there that produce vintage amps similar to those by Fender. A great example of one such company is Dr Z Amps. The company was founded by Michael D. Zaite, the Dr. Z in question, and he has years of experience [...]
Pingback by Dr. Z And Top Hat Amps « Artciles Directory To Locate Best Articles — October 22, 2009 @ 6:03 pm
[...] out there that make boutique amps that are similar to Fender’s. One of these companies is Dr Z Amplifiers. The company was founded by Michael D. Zaite, the Dr. Z in question, and he has years of experience [...]
Pingback by Guitar Blog » Blog Archive » Boutique Amp Reviews - Dr Z And Top Hat Amps — October 24, 2009 @ 4:04 pm
[...] which turn out to be very similar to those of Fender’s. And a very good company that does this is Dr Z Amps. Founded by Michael D. Zaite, hence the Dr. Z, the company boasts many years in the industry of [...]
Pingback by Top Hat And Dr Z Amplifiers | Formby Online — October 24, 2009 @ 6:02 pm
[...] that make boutique amps that are similar to Fender’s. And a very good company that does this is Dr Z Amplifiers. Founded by Michael D. Zaite, hence the Dr. Z, the company boasts many years in the industry of [...]
Pingback by Top Hat And Dr Z Amplifiers — October 25, 2009 @ 12:00 am