General Information

In 2006, Brad Paisley contacted Dr. Z about building another amp. After talking about the design and the desired outcome Z asked his friend Ken Fischer to lend a hand. After Dr. Z built up the prototype, he sent it to Ken. Ken did his thing to it and sent it back…including naming the amp the Z Wreck. After a few more tweaks this amp was sent off to Brad and it has become a mainstay in his rig since 2006. When Ken passed away at the end of ‘06, Dr. Z put the amp on a shelf and walked away.

Over following years, the Z Wreck was mentioned by Brad in various interviews, appeared on a few TV shows, and of course quite a few album tracks. Dr. Z got numerous requests to put the amp into production, but always declined. Fast forward to May 5th 2010 and the Nashville flood; Brad’s original Z Wreck was unscathed in the flood, but all of his road amps were destroyed. Dr. Z quickly built 2 replacement Z Wrecks for Brad; the show must go on. Hearing this amps again, he thought…”why should such a fine sounding amp be left only for one person to play?” With encouragement from Brad, Dr. Z went over the notes he and Ken had exchanged via fax. He took into account all of the layout and design tweaks he could incorporate, laying the amp out on a clean sheet of paper with an all new aluminum chassis.  Click here to view the fax.

Every component on the Z Wreck was placed with the utmost attention to short wire lengths and increased separation between the front end and the output section. The heart of the amp is the output transformer designed by Ken for Dr. Z in the early 2000s. Onboard is a custom-designed power transformer which incorporates a multi-tapped secondary that allows for 2 different plate voltage settings: Comfort and Speed. Speed yields a strong attack with increased clarity and dynamic headroom. Every note rings clear in the clean settings and they absolutely scream when the amp is pushed into its natural overdriven voice. The comfort setting drops the plate voltage down for more of a vintage feel. The softer response and overall sweetness of the comfort setting really makes it difficult to put the guitar down.

The touch response of the Z Wreck is unequaled. Settings below 12:00 on the volume yield a rich clean sound with no signs of harshness. A 12 string Ric will be right at home for mid 60s Liverpool bliss. Once past 12:00 on the volume you can dial in excellent crunch all the way up to full blooming sustained drive sounds. Does the Z Wreck ROCK? YES!!! Does the Z Wreck TWANG? YES!!! The Z Wreck will deliver exactly what your hands and guitar give it. With the amp volume past noon you can roll your guitar volume back for articulate, chiming clean sounds then turn it up for excellent overdrive. The Z Wreck becomes an instrument in-itself, giving you an unparalleled connection from your fingers to your guitar.

Dr. Z has acquired a massive amount of NOS Russian 6n14n (EL84) tubes to use in the Z Wreck. These output tubes were chosen because of their superior sonic qualities and extended lifespan, easily doubling that of a standard EL84, and were often used in Ken Fischer’s builds. They come stock in all Z Wreck amplifiers.

*New for 2026: Over the last few years we have been incorporating our proprietary half power switch and a specifically tuned post-phase inverter master volume control as an optional upgrade to the original Z Wreck. As of this year, these mods, affectionately called “the Works,” come included on all Z Wreck amps. Enjoy the comfort/speed option along with a unique half power circuit and Dr. Z’s smooth, responsive master volume control, giving you the utmost control over the Z Wreck’s unadulterated power at any volume level.

Magazine Reviews

The Z-Wreck combo earns an Editors’ Pick Award from Guitar Player magazine as well as an outstanding review.

Guitar Buyer magazine in the UK provided us with a great review of the Z Wreck.

Vintage Guitar magazine’s excellent review of the Z-Wreck combo.

Testimonials

“This album [Frozen In Time] would never have been possible without Mike Zaite and his incredible amplifiers [Z-Wreck]. This is ‘Z’ sound I have always dreamed of having and Dr. Z put it in my hands. Thank you for your support and being such a great friend.”

• Adrian Raso