Maven Peal Instruments Zeeta 112 Combo

This AMP Sucks !! I bought a Zeeta Combo when they first came out. I ordered a custom cabinet with every possible upgrade. The Amp did not work when it arrived. The amp has never worked properly. It makes noise when it warms up and there is a horrible humm when it warms up. The input jacks are not metal and crackel if you move your cord or don't keep it perfectly still.

The wattage and sag features sound nice in theory but the amp does not keep the same sound when you adjust the wattage. At low wattages the edge goes away. I've tried to sell this but can't. It's been collecting dust in my Studio storage for over a year.

Ok, if you don't move or let it warm up. Lots of Humm, and lots of Crackel.

It didn't work when it arrived and has never worked properly.

DONT WASTE YOUR MONEY!!! For the same money buy a BRUNO or any other class A amp. Instead of buying the Mavel, take $3,000 and burn it / hit yourself in the head with a stick. You'll find it a much more rewarding experience. Feel free to post me for details.....

MAVEN PEAL...OH MY GOD!!! OH, before I forget OH MY GOD!!! Okay so I embellish a bit. The rating doesn't make sense 10=very versatile and 1 = limited. What does that mean??? If you're looking for a Marshall Plex 100W full stack with every known effects in a 5lb combo with an 8" speaker then that's versatile!!! Okay so the rating makes NO sense. Move on.org!!! I gave it a 10 because it's about the tone!!! TONE!!!

If you want the MOST BEAUTIFUL sounding amp at room volume this IS IT!!! OH MY GOD!!! Oh, before I forget...OH MY GOD!!! I'm playing an Anderson Hollow-T with a Seymour Duncan JB-3 in the bride position. The neck pickup and middle pickup (yes middle pickup-strat type configuration) is purly stock Anderson...OH MY GOD!!! Did I forget something? OH MY GOD!!! I'm not going to tell you about how "creamy smooth" the gain is, or how "pick & touch" sensitive the amp is. I'm not going to tell you about how this amp has "tone to die for" because every other review in the world has it. This is not a "death and mayham" amp. It's for those who play with touch, finese, beauty, oh that glorious sound of angeles laying roses at your feet as you asend past the pearly gates! It's simple guys Mic and Instrument input. Use the instrument, in case you forgot you're playing a guitar not a chain saw you metal head dumb as*. Instrument volume 1-12...I use roughly 8-10 depending on the compression I want. Tone (pull for gain) I set it to 12 since it seems to get dark (for me) if I roll off the tone (I think this is because I'm saturating the signal and losing tonal quality). OH MY GOD! Oh did I forget? OH MY GOD!!! The SAG setting is at 1 which is closest to a solid state rectifier setting as possible. The sag setting is intended to duplicate the effect of a tube or a solid state. For harp players I would suspect they would want more SAG. The wattage 0.5 setting 1-12 means your output wattage is at 0.5 at 1 going up to ~15W on this amp (it's using a Celestion Alnico Blue 15W speaker housed in a gorgeous finger jointed pine cabinet). Okay, before I forget, did I say "OH MY GOD!!!"? If I didn't then OH MY GOD!!! So we're at another very subjective assessment: TONAL QUALITY. I LOVE THE TONE OF THIS AMP! It's not super saturated so it's very tonally rich and articulate. Since my Anderson has both vinatge voiced single coils and a humbucker I can get a very traditional sound and at the same time a very compressed (NOT HEAVY METAL DUMB AS*) sound from the same amp and guitar. The combination is very sensitive to volume and tone on the guitar which means I end up adjusting the both the volume and tone knob when I switch between humbucker and single coil. Metal heads go home! Guitar players BUY THIS AMP!!!

I bought it used from a friend and I've had it for over a year with 0, DID I SAY ZERO?, problems.

??? I don't think they exist any more. :( :( :( :( :( Why is life so cruel???

OH MY GOD!!! OH MY GOD!!! OH MY GOD!!! Before I forget, did I say..."OH MY GOD!"?

This is a addition to my previous post!!! See SOUND Section Of Review!!!

GREAT FOR TELECASTER!!! BEST AMP I HAVE EVER USED IN RECORDING A TELECASTER IN THE STUDIO!!! REALLY NICE FOR STRAT SLIDE WORK TOO!!!! A++++. IT LIKES SINGLE COILS. BEATS VOX AT ITS OWN GAME!!!! For that sound, you can not beat it. It is really good for a classic Rock EL84 approach. My favorite. The SAG control can confuse. It is better to keep it low. Use it to take out SAG not to add. That is where it comes in handy. Lower you go with the knob, the more the SAG goes away. Better more focused tone that way. It is not the kind of knob you want to turn up.

This is a addition to my previous post!!! See SOUND Section Of Review!!!

This is a addition to my previous post!!! See SOUND Section Of Review!!!

See SOUND Section Of Review!!!

I only tried it once. The sag knob is cool as well as the wattage control. Unique. That is features no one else has. That makes it a 10.

I did not like the way it sounds at all. I wanted to. It sounds almots Identical at a whisper as it does full blast, so that is amazing. I just did not like how it sounded. Too harsh in the upper mid range. I wanted to buy it cause it is sooooo cool. I just did not enjoy its tone. That must be just me though. I have very subjective ears. I perfer the sound of most other botique amps over this, but this amp does things nothing else can do. So I leave the sound as I felt it sounded. Although I respect a lot. A better tone and this will be a force in the amp world. I serious animal. Work on the tone guys!! You have great ideas!!

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Great for the apartment rock n roller. The best amp for low volume sound I know of. I mean this thing gets so low I can whisper over it, and it remains its tone. So, if you live in a sound restricting area this is that amp for you. For you guys it is a 9. For all of us who want to stay loud and don't have near by neighbors, not the best buy. This is for the low volume guys. So I give it a 9 for them. AND ONLY THEM!!!

I purchased this amp this past spring (2002), after much research. On its face, the amp seems to lack much needed features, or bells & whistles so to speak. As it sports only two volumnes, one tone, one saq, and one wattage. However, that is all that is needed, to obtain rich blends of tone at any volumne.

I have been playing 40+ years, and own several historic gibsons, and custom shop teles. I generally do not prefer stomp boxes, but enjoy the natural response between amp & guitar. This amp sings,honks, and growls. Especially with single coil PUs, and any volumne level. I also have a Kingsley, and this amp, although different animal, is top shelf. I have not enjoyed an amp with as much response, aside from the Kingsley, since my Mesa MKII of 1978-79.

Slight problem upon delivery, but was immediately rectified by David.

As I said above, the amp had a slight problem upon delivery. I tellephoned David Zimmerman, he immediately return my call. He identified the problem, said he would be at my place in about 3 hours with a new chassis. He was going to drive from Vt. to Ct. to service the amp. As I told him, I did not deem this necessary, he promptly arrainged FedEx PU, and returned within a couple of days, no charge. I have now had the amp several months, with no problems. Great company.

Again, I have been playing 40+ years, 10 professionally during late 60's through 70's, have owned numerous amps. Love this as much as an my old white bassman, MKII I used on the road. If lost or stolen, would definitely replace, despite its price.

This amplifier is a single channel, 1x12 boutique amp with amazing features. Mine came with a Celestion Alnico Blue. It has a patented sag circuit that allows the user to control the amount of sag in the power transformer which controls the "browness" of the tone. It also has a wattage control that allows the player to adjust the wattage from one watt to a very powerful fifteen watts. Then there is a single tone control that makes tone coloring very simple, which is fine with me. The unlimited combinations of these three controls give me infinite sound control. The amp does not have reverb or an effects loop but I am a straight-ahead player and very rarely use effects. I was looking for an amp with really great tone by itself. What I got with the Zeeta is an amp with superior tone that will deliver at low or medium high volume. The amp has two input jacks like a fifties tweed. One for instrument and one for microphone, which also offers a choice in sounds. The amp is totally quiet, even when cranked it is silent until I touch a string. It's almost like its on standby. I have read several product review and analysis articles on the Zeeta and from what I understand every component in the thing is of the best quality available and considerably better than other amps. The amp has exactly what I want in features. Not too many but just enough.

I read as much as I could on this amp including the GUITAR PLAYER "Bench Test" column in the August 2001 issue where the Zeeta was given GUITAR PLAYER'S Editors' Pick Award, before I purchased this amp. I have really gotten tired of cranking up one amp for one particular sound then turning to another amp for another particular sound or worse, having to play two or three amps together to get the sound I'm looking for. I wanted to have one amp that really had all that I needed in one package. Well, I got lucky. Every time I crank the Zeeta up and hit a chord I get excited. This amp has tone, tone, and more tone. Some players seem to need several channels to be effective but on multichannel amps I always seem to keep adjusting each channel to my taste until they all sound the same anyway. If I want to change the sound of the Zeeta I just listen to the tone I have at present then brighten or darken the tone with a twist of the sag control. The tone will be completely different but still as amazing and pleasing. I can add amazing crunch and SNARL by turning the wattage down and turning the volume up. The sound can be very dark or brighter and crisper. And yes I can and do find the elusive SRV tone when I want it. This is not an amp with lots of clean headroom but turning the wattage up and not overdoing on volume fixes that just fine. I usually want to play with a hint of grit anyway. By the way, this is not the old buzz-fuzz "mesquita on tequila" distortion. This is where it all started...power tube distortion. It can just be a little rough around the edges or bulging tweed deluxe or overdriven Vox. All of my guitars retain their own personality but sound great through this amp. Les Paul, Strat, Tele, ES 175 with Humbuckers or P 90's.

I don't gig but play through the amp every night seven days a week. Every night I play some tunes with the volume cranked but with just one watt of power and some songs with everything on ten. If that won't shake something loose, nothing will. The amp, from the solid pine cabinet up gives me the confidence I need.

Since this is a proprietary design and the concept of the amp is brand new, I have had some questions about controls and possibilities on sounds. All my calls have been returned promptly and all inquires have been answered at length and I never felt like I was being rushed as with some companies.

I have been playing for thirty-six years and have used or owned most of the vintage and new equipment that I hear others yearn for. I have been looking for one amp with the sound that REALLY turns me on with the best tone available. I have found it in the Zeeta and the really neat thing is I can have that sound at low volumes without irritating my tinnitus. If I lost this amp I would surely order another.

This amplifier was built in 2000. This is far from being the most versatile amplifier. But it does provide an unusual degree of control within its range. It is a very powerful tool for rock, blues and any other kind of music requiring a degree of power tube distortion. It is a single channel amp with two unusual features: a power control that allows the user to vary the wattage from 1 to 15 watts; and a sag circuit that allows the user to control the "brownness" of the tone, varying from a relatively bright and punchy sound from its two EL 84's, to a very brown sound of the kind created by Fender tweeds. The value created by the combination of these controls is ability to achieve a wide variety of power tube distortion, at reasonable volume levels. This was why I purchased the amp, and it delivers on that promise. It does not have a great deal of clean headroom, although clean tones can be achieved by turning down the volume and turning up the wattage. Use of a volume pedal or the guitar's volume control gives the user a great deal of control over both volume and distortion. Although it has only one channel, a pull-out on the volume knob cranks the distortion up considerably. This would actually be a nice feature to have on a pedal.
It has both an instrument and microphone input, like a fifties tweed.
It does not have reverb. It does not have an effect loop. I occasionally use an outboard reverb tank with it, although this is not an amp you can surf with.
It has a single tone control, which is adequate for me.
The maximum power level of fifteen watts is also adequate for me. It would certainly need to be miked for larger rooms.

I use this amp with a wide variety of guitars, including Andersons, a PRS hollowbody,a Klein and a Girlbrand. It sounds like itself with all of them, yet allows the character of each guitar to show as well. The basic point of reference for this amp is a Fender tweed. What David Zimmerman has done is to improve and provide more versatility to the sound of a Tweed Deluxe. By using El 84's, and providing both sag and wattage controls, you get very controllable power amp distortion, and a sound that ranges from a tweed deluxe to an overdriven Vox. I've already noted that this amp is not for those who need a lot of clean headroom because you're usually at least on the edge of distortion. You can take the distortion to quite extreme levels, probably more than most people would ever need. But it's important to remember that this is power tube distortion, which is not what a lot of players accustomed to master volume or multi-channel amps expect to hear. While I personally prefer this type of distortion, some will not.

I have used the amp heavily over the last eight months, but I do not gig so cannot comment on its roadworthiness. The first amp I received had a flaw, which was fixed quickly. I've had no problems with its since then.

This is one of the most responsive manufacturers of equipment I have ever encountered. David Zimmerman provides truly personal service, and is absolutely determined to make it work right. For example, he was willing to switch speakers, at no cost to me, if I was not satisfied with the Celestion Blue he installed. He fixed the initial flaw in the amp completely at his own cost and extremely quickly.

I have been playing for thirty years and own too much gear. I would certainly try to replace the amp if it were lost. It's a unique product, as far as I know. For those of us who have sought controllable power tube distortion at volume levels that will not lead to divorce or police action, this is the holy grail. I hope the company thrives so that others get to experience this.

Serial Number 001, Mic and Instrument inputs with separate volume controls. One tone control. Two controls for Sag and Wattage at the output stage. Latter two controls allow for high drive distrortion at reasonable volume levels. Vintage 30 speaker. 15 power packed watts.

The Zeeta's Sag circuit allows me to get an incredible crunch and excellent sustain at low volumes using either my 62 reissue Tele or my beat up 70's Gibson Sonex. A friend plugged his re-tooled Mexican Strat into it and got a wonderfully clean edgy sound. I can turn the Sag down and output wattage up to get a nice warm Blues feel with the treble down or push the treble to get a clean country twang. The raspy crunch is ideally suited to Rockin' Blues in the style of the Stones or Yardbirds.

I've only had the Zeeta for a few months and had no problems.

Dave worked with me personally to make sure that the amp fit my needs and has repeatedly stated his desire to make sure that I'm happy with the amp.

The Zeeta is a wonderful amp, that I'd recommend to anybody looking for an amp in that price range. It provides the classic sound missing in so many newer amps, but adds the technological feature of the Sag circuit to allow a hack like me to feel like I'm cranking it up while not keeping the kids awake.