MIKE ZAITE AMP MAKER
“MAN, I DID SOME UNAUTHORISED MODIFICATIONS TO QUITE A FEW OLD FENDER AND SILVERTONE AMPLIFIERS… AND WHATEVER WAS LEFT AT MY HOUSE!”
Full disclosure: I first got to know Dr. Z founder and all-round main man Mike Zaite after reviewing his then-new Z 28 model right here in the pages of Guitar Magazine in the early 2000s, and we’ve been pals ever since. Through the course of nearly two decades since, I’ve been encouraged to note that while he’s had to roll with the punches of a fickle and challenging market – like any smaller amp maker – he has never lost sight of the objectives he presented to me all those years ago: “Just make a great-sounding amp that’s reliable, and simple, and bring it in at a great price.”
Now here we are in 2019, in Dr. Z’s 30th year of production, and he’s still delighted every time a guitarist ‘gets’ what he’s striven to put into a new design. He’s also still devoted to delivering the same level of professional tone and performance to the young up-and-comer and casual weekend player that he provides for repeat star customers such as Joe Walsh and Brad Paisley.
HELLO CLEVELAND
Much like Leo Fender or Jim Marshall, Zaite is not himself a guitarist. He is, however, a drummer and
