Maven Peal Zeeta Amp Gives Guitarists Control Over Power Amp Distortion
 July 3, 2000Maven Peal Instruments, Inc. has announced the Zeeta, a
15 watt 1x12 tube combo guitar amplifier. The Zeeta introduces the Sag
Circuit, a new power supply design that gives guitarists
unprecedented control over the vintage sound (and feel) of power amp
distortion in both tube and transistor amplifiers.
With a signal path similar to a three knob Tweed Deluxe with two inputs,
two volume controls, and one tone control, the Zeeta gives guitarists two
new knobs. Sag control allows guitarists to adjust voltage sag, or power
amp distortion. Lower amounts of sag give the amp a harder feel and
brighter sound, while higher amounts of sag fatten up the sound and make
the amp very responsive to the touch. In essence, Sag control allows the
Zeeta to offer a range of different amps all rolled into one versatile
package.
Wattage control allows guitarists to select the number of watts the power
amp is capable of producing. This control allows a guitarist to overdrive
the power amp at whatever volume is appropriate for the current venue.
Wattage control also allows guitarists to adjust the mix between the level
of power amp distortion and the level of speaker distortion. This control
is not a Master Volume control or any other preamp gimmick--but actual
control over the power amp.
Additional Zeeta benefits include:
- Elimination of power supply hum (essential for recording
sessions and just plain easier on the ears)
- Total freedom from varying wall voltages.
The Zeeta is made with audiophile quality components throughout, including
a handcrafted finger-jointed pine cabinet, hand-wired signal path
circuitry, a Celestion Blue Alnico speaker, premium matched Tesla EL84
output tubes and Sovtek 12AX7LP preamp tubes, to name a few. The price of
$3,950 includes a high quality flight case and shipping to your location
within the contiguous United States.
"The Sag Circuit is not just another power supply emulation or
preamp
effect, but a reinvention of the 50-year old power supply design used in
just about every musical instrument amplifier made today," explains David
G. Zimmerman, Maven Peal's president and circuit designer. "The results are
stunning--an unprecedented spectrum of organic sound--without having to
crank the volume. The Zeeta allows musicians to adjust between the
brightest sound and darkest sound, as well as every possible sound in
between."
The Maven Peal sag circuit (patent numbers 5,635,872 and 5,909,145) takes
MI amplifier technology into the 21st century by giving guitarists and
bassists genuine control over the vintage sound and feel of power supply
sag using today's components.
Most manufacturers still use basically the same power supply design Leo
Fender used in the early '40s to manufacture the K&F. However, consumer
safety regulations and the cost effectiveness of transistors have seriously
compromised that vintage sound. While some manufacturers try to emulate the
effects of power supply sag, none can actually create and control it while
eliminating annoying hum.
For more information, visit their web site at www.mavenpeal.com. | 
