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Post by telejas on Apr 16, 2008 20:40:59 GMT -7
I love my Rati, but sometimes I wish it was a bit "brighter" or "Chimey-er" while retaining the full bottom end it has too. Currently I've got a 12ax7 preamp and a 5751 phase inverter and an Eminence Red Fang Speaker. Is there anything I can try to make it "brighter"? FYI: You may have seen my Rati in the For Sale section (for trade).. I don't dis-like it one bit, and may pull the thread at any point. I kind of hope I have no iterest on one hand, and would love to try a Ghia on the other .
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Post by T-R☼CK ♫ on Apr 16, 2008 21:00:41 GMT -7
If you want chime and tonal complexity, the Ghia is where it's at. Honestly, I have never played a Maz of any genre. But....if 18 watts of DrZ tone will work for you, a CG + C/blue...Geez man, it just don't get no better. Don't take my word for it though. Ask Myles what HE thinks about the Ghia/Blue combo...Be prepared for some lengthy expulsion of how it is without a doubt, "the best amp ever created in the history of the universe". His words, not mine. Or, better yet, just visit his website and read his CG praise.......JMHO/FWIW/etc..... I bought a Ghia, site unseen and w/out ever having played one, based on the recommendations of the good folks here. I Will never, ever, voluntarily give it up....
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Post by groovergeorge on Apr 17, 2008 5:09:54 GMT -7
If you want chime and tonal complexity, the Ghia is where it's at. Honestly, I have never played a Maz of any genre. But....if 18 watts of DrZ tone will work for you, a CG + C/blue...Geez man, it just don't get no better. Don't take my word for it though. Ask Myles what HE thinks about the Ghia/Blue combo...Be prepared for some lengthy expulsion of how it is without a doubt, "the best amp ever created in the history of the universe". His words, not mine. Or, better yet, just visit his website and read his CG praise.......JMHO/FWIW/etc..... I bought a Ghia, site unseen and w/out ever having played one, based on the recommendations of the good folks here. I Will never, ever, voluntarily give it up.... Hallelujah...........I'll second that ;D Very groovy avatar by the way Tony
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Post by groovergeorge on Apr 17, 2008 5:15:33 GMT -7
I love my Rati, but sometimes I wish it was a bit "brighter" or "Chimey-er" while retaining the full bottom end it has too. Currently I've got a 12ax7 preamp and a 5751 phase inverter and an Eminence Red Fang Speaker. Is there anything I can try to make it "brighter"? FYI: You may have seen my Rati in the For Sale section (for trade).. I don't dis-like it one bit, and may pull the thread at any point. I kind of hope I have no iterest on one hand, and would love to try a Ghia on the other . I loved your clips by the way mate................have you tried a celestion gold with it?
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Post by foxx on Apr 17, 2008 9:07:33 GMT -7
I had wanted to do the same to my Mazerati. I replaced the V30 with an Eminence Tonker. It did pull a blanket off the amp, so to speak. I have also since got a LP with PAF's, and compared to my Godin Multiac Jazz, it has much more harmonic content. So, I am pretty biased and I've never heard a Ghia.
The rati has an inherent mid range hump with a smoother top end. I guess it depends on ones guitar and band context in regards to where your tone sits. I would try other speakers if you have the means.
Also, the rati needs to be loud to appreaciate it's tone. I
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Post by rcrecelius on Apr 18, 2008 4:50:35 GMT -7
I have a Rati on the way right now(2/10 combo) so I may be able to add something useful to this thread next week
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Post by rcrecelius on Apr 21, 2008 8:45:45 GMT -7
Ok, here it is next week I took my new(to me) Rati to Saturdays gig...I was concerned it might be too much, it was a private function(College fundraiser) and I didnt know what to expect...my oh my was I excited when I saw we were playing OUTSIDE! I had the volume at 3 oclock, tone about noon and it was great! Roll my guitar vol down to about 3/4 and got a good clean sound, crank it to get mean! I used my bluesdriver on a couple tunes but for the most part it was all amp...man it was a good time. Now back to your need for more brightness...when I first fired the amp up at home, it seemed very bright. At the gig with new strings, vol at 3 and the guitar vol rolled off some the clean sound was beautiful...my low E had that "piano like" timbre to it(man I love that) but once the full band starts up you dont really hear that high end detail but you do hear the strong midrange. I think I started with the tone up around 2 oclock but I soon turned it back to noon to brighten it up a bit. Mine has 2 Weber Alnico 10's in it...having 2 speakers I suspect I might have less compression than your single alnico speaker would. The Rati is not as bright/clear as the Ghia but, the Ghia would not have been loud enough for this gig...the Ghia has a certain clarity to it that I dont think you'll find in any other amp but the Rati definitely has its place. Have you ever tried a Ceramic speaker with your Rati? I'm sure that would brighten it up but of course you would lose the alnico majic in the process. At some point I'll run mine through my 2/12 cab w/Weber Blue/Silver ceramics in it but I think its definitely a keeper as is.
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Post by telejas on Apr 21, 2008 17:43:23 GMT -7
Well, I expiermented this weekend with my Rati.... I tried a few different speakers in it. I think a speaker change is in the near future. I put my Weber alnico blue dog in there and that was the tone I wanted!! All the alnico of the Red Fang (plus some) and that extra bit of high end that the Red Fang lacks. I then plugged it in to my Z 2x12 cab and liked that much better!! I'm starting to wonder if maybe I would have liked a head/cab better?? That way I can use it with a 1x12 or a 2x12 cab depending on the gig and do the same with the Stangray.
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Post by myles on Apr 23, 2008 11:01:55 GMT -7
I love my Rati, but sometimes I wish it was a bit "brighter" or "Chimey-er" while retaining the full bottom end it has too. Currently I've got a 12ax7 preamp and a 5751 phase inverter and an Eminence Red Fang Speaker. Is there anything I can try to make it "brighter"? FYI: You may have seen my Rati in the For Sale section (for trade).. I don't dis-like it one bit, and may pull the thread at any point. I kind of hope I have no iterest on one hand, and would love to try a Ghia on the other . The Carmen Ghia and Mazerati are compared to each other by a lot of folks thinking that the difference is four output tubes versus two. They are very different amps in more than just this way. For one, the Mazerati has a feedback loop and there are other changes as well. I think the only time wattage is an issue these days is in a smaller venue where you are not mic'd effectively or at all. In all the large venues all we use for the most part are amps under 30 watts and LOTS of the time it is the 15-18 watters. You get the tone you want and then use a great mic or two and run it though the house. One thing you can do with the Mazerati that will brighten things up a touch is a Telefunken 12AX7 in V1 if you can afford one. It may be cheaper to change speakers!
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Post by myles on Apr 23, 2008 11:07:40 GMT -7
If you want chime and tonal complexity, the Ghia is where it's at. Honestly, I have never played a Maz of any genre. But....if 18 watts of DrZ tone will work for you, a CG + C/blue...Geez man, it just don't get no better. Don't take my word for it though. Ask Myles what HE thinks about the Ghia/Blue combo...Be prepared for some lengthy expulsion of how it is without a doubt, "the best amp ever created in the history of the universe". His words, not mine. Or, better yet, just visit his website and read his CG praise.......JMHO/FWIW/etc..... I bought a Ghia, site unseen and w/out ever having played one, based on the recommendations of the good folks here. I Will never, ever, voluntarily give it up.... Yeah ... I think you quoted me accurately on that one .... and one of my others goes something like .... if I could have only one amp to play for the rest of my life it would be a Carmen Ghia. But don't take my word for it .... Anybody that saw last Friday's John Mayall's Bluesbreakers show in So Cal with Buddy Whittington using a Carmen Ghia would get the whole picture especially when you compared the tone to the $3000 or so Tone King Meteor with it's open back 2x12 and a tricked out BF handbuilt Fender Vibroverb clone with MM transformers and Weber 15" speaker that was also $3000+ worth of hardware. So ..... don't take my word on that one either ... talk to either of the guitarists in those two groups that opened for John Mayall.
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Post by rcrecelius on Apr 23, 2008 12:48:22 GMT -7
One thing you can do with the Mazerati that will brighten things up a touch is a Telefunken 12AX7 in V1 if you can afford one. It may be cheaper to change speakers! Dang thats an expensive tube!
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Post by billyguitar on Apr 28, 2008 19:35:46 GMT -7
Yea but that's because of BW's world famous tone sausage fingers! He'd slay 'em with a Bandit and a Squire Tele!!
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Post by rcrecelius on May 7, 2008 5:48:40 GMT -7
telejas, just wonderin if you've done anytyhing to brighten yours up yet? After a few gigs w/mine I too wish it was brighter. Mine has weber alnico 10's in it...I'm thinking about switching to Weber ceramics for more clarity/headroom.
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Post by telejas on May 7, 2008 18:10:48 GMT -7
telejas, just wonderin if you've done anytyhing to brighten yours up yet? After a few gigs w/mine I too wish it was brighter. Mine has weber alnico 10's in it...I'm thinking about switching to Weber ceramics for more clarity/headroom. Hey man, I brightened it up a little..... I put some different power tubes in it. I got some JJ's for my Ray and put the stock GT's with, what should be, over half their life still in them and the Rati perked up on the top end and low end. I did find some 12ax7 and 12at7 preamp tubes in my gig box the other day I'm gonna try out maybe this weekend.
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Post by telejas on May 11, 2008 17:46:58 GMT -7
Just a follow up..... Before the tornado swept through on Saturday, we did a sound check. This is the first time with a band since the tube replacment and I was much more pleased at the tone of the Rati!! I could even turn the tone up a bit from where I had been running it to add some more low end, and keep it nice and bright.
Moral of this story: Use good tubes!! Mesa makes good amps, but stay away from their tubes. I wonder what my old Boogies would have sounded like with "real" tubes?
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Post by rcrecelius on May 12, 2008 8:37:49 GMT -7
Just a follow up..... Before the tornado swept through on Saturday, we did a sound check. This is the first time with a band since the tube replacment and I was much more pleased at the tone of the Rati!! I could even turn the tone up a bit from where I had been running it to add some more low end, and keep it nice and bright. Moral of this story: Use good tubes!! Mesa makes good amps, but stay away from their tubes. I wonder what my old Boogies would have sounded like with "real" tubes? I think Myles would say tubes dont matter as much in a Mesa due to the complex circuit...the simpler the circuit, the more the tubes matter. Thats good news BTW...I was told my Rati had new tubes in it but I didnt pay attention to what they were...I think they were JJ's.
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