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Post by straightblues on Nov 29, 2005 11:02:09 GMT -7
I have a Fender Blackface Champ and a Fender Black Face Deluxe. I play traditional blues (ie Muddy Waters, BB King, Albert King, Taj Mahal sort of stuff.) I am playing a lot of house parties and small bars lately. My Champ is just a little bit too quite and the Deluxe doesn't want to break up at lower volumes for me, so it is just a little too loud. I don't like pedals or attenuators so please don't suggest them.
I am looking for an amp that will break up at low volume for the smaller gigs and still have the power to play some medium sized bars. Therefore, I am looking into the Ghia. I love the sound clips and the way it sounded when I played one at an outdoor event.
Can you get the Ghia to breakup at lower volumes? (I play on the verge of breakup and am looking for traditional blues tones.) Can I swap some tubes and get the right speaker for this amp to work well at smaller jams, house parties and small lounges or does it just need to be cranked to get the great tones it delivers? How does the Ghia sound with an attenuator if I am forced to use one?
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Post by myles on Nov 29, 2005 11:40:56 GMT -7
I have a Fender Blackface Champ and a Fender Black Face Deluxe. I play traditional blues (ie Muddy Waters, BB King, Albert King, Taj Mahal sort of stuff.) I am playing a lot of house parties and small bars lately. My Champ is just a little bit too quite and the Deluxe doesn't want to break up at lower volumes for me, so it is just a little too loud. I don't like pedals or attenuators so please don't suggest them. I am looking for an amp that will break up at low volume for the smaller gigs and still have the power to play some medium sized bars. Therefore, I am looking into the Ghia. I love the sound clips and the way it sounded when I played one at an outdoor event. Can you get the Ghia to breakup at lower volumes? (I play on the verge of breakup and am looking for traditional blues tones.) Can I swap some tubes and get the right speaker for this amp to work well at smaller jams, house parties and small lounges or does it just need to be cranked to get the great tones it delivers? How does the Ghia sound with an attenuator if I am forced to use one? The Ghia starts to break really nicely at about 9:00 on a Strat when you hit the strat hard. You do not need any type of attenuator from my point of view. Using speakers like V30 / H-30 that are highly efficient will give higher levels but the Carmen Ghia is not at all speaker fully (it loves most anything) soi for a smaller room where you still want to crank it up you can use a speaker such as a Jensen P12R AlNiCO which is smooth but about -6dB off a Vox Blue.
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Post by straightblues on Nov 29, 2005 12:08:38 GMT -7
Thanks Myles:
What about putting a really high gain tube in the V1 slot? Is this going to give me earlier breakup of the type I can use for traditional blues?
I have a set of telefuken El84's in another amp that break up quick, would this also be a sollution?
What power tubes and v1 or v2 tubes would you suggest for my application with this amp?
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Post by Curt on Nov 29, 2005 14:27:40 GMT -7
Don't overlook a Mini for what your doin' there, killer 'lil blues amp and WAY louder than you think. I have gigged mine although I usually gig a Ghia.
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cliff
New Member
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Post by cliff on Dec 6, 2005 19:22:42 GMT -7
Well, I have a couple Champs that I use for rehearsal, mostly cause I'm lazy. Seriously though, they do fine. I also have a '67 DR that I used a lot for gigging. My Ghia covers a wider range than the DR, in my opinion. It breaks up early (for sure) for small venues and can be loud as heck, for those medium-sized clubs. Of course, it doesn't have a whole lot of headroom, but I play in an "English style" blues band, and we don't do "clean". I've had to use an attenuator many times with the Ghia, and it works fine. I used to play with no pedals at all, but like many, I'm now totally into the Holy Grail pedal quest. It makes life interesting. Let's see, does that answer all your questions? Oh yeah, speakers. Your choice of speakers will have a lot to do with the volume...i.e. Celestion Blue - efficient and louder, Greenback - less efficient and less loud. Good luck.
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Post by steveinnashville on Dec 6, 2005 19:27:18 GMT -7
I used a Weber Blue Dog (Celestion blue clone) for a day or so... sounded great, but the amp broke up almost immediately... kind of a cranked marshall tom petty type grind. cool sound, i needed SOME headroom... the speaker is under the wattage of the amp, which may have been part of it, but it's OK with those speakers and a lot of people love it. The speaker will have the absolute most influence on your headroom- that's what I discovered after trying several... I recommend going ahead and buying the Ghia- you will love it.. and try it out with a bunch of speakers... I like the Z-Best 1x12 cab a lot.
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Post by straightblues on Dec 6, 2005 20:49:32 GMT -7
Well I bought the 1x12 combo off of Ebay. I paid $900 shipped. I think this is an ok deal. It has a Celestion Vintage 30 speaker in it. I play traditional blues. On the verge of breakup stuff. Not blues rock. Is the Celestion going to work for that or will I be looking for a Jensen type speaker? If I need to swap it, what speakers should I look at?
Also, which tubes should I put in this thing. I have a few Mullard 12AX7's for V1 if that isn't going to be too much drive. Also, I have heard of people using 12BH7, 5751 or 12AT7 in V2. Any recommendations for V2. Finally what EL84 for traditional Fender tones as opposed to more agressive Marshall tones?
Again, I am looking for this amp to breakup at about 10-12 watts with a nice bluesy overdrive. As well, I will need to be able to use it for louder stuff without it going too over the top. I know I am asking a lot and there are trade offs. But I want to try the hardest to do it with just the amp.
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Post by JChance on Dec 6, 2005 21:08:20 GMT -7
In my experience, the Vintage 30 is probably not what you'll want in that amp for what you are playing with it. They are typically midrangey & bright, and efficient/loud as well. I'd go with something like the Weber 12A125 or Jensen C12Q for a little more "American" blues sound, and maybe consider a Celestion G12H30 (which is a little darker than a Vintage 30) or something like a 30 watt Weber Blue Dog or Silver Bell. On the Webers, go alnico if you want fatenning/comression, or ceramic if you want bolder low end and overall more headroom.
Jayson
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Post by straightblues on Dec 6, 2005 22:16:30 GMT -7
Thanks. I have several 12" Webers to chose from. 12F150, Blue Dog, Texas and a Chicago(all ceramic). I have a couple Alnico 15's that I can try as well. I am sure one of them will sound real good with this amp.
Does Dr. Z offer different speakers in his combos or is it only the Vintage 30?
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cliff
New Member
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Post by cliff on Dec 7, 2005 18:11:27 GMT -7
I agree that generally a ceramic speaker will give more headroom than a comparible alnico. I used to play my Ghia through a Weber Cali 15", and it was pretty cool. With the array of speakers you listed, you should be able to find something you like. If you just plug and play, and don't push the amp with a pedal, I bet you'll be happy.
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Post by steveinnashville on Dec 7, 2005 18:22:12 GMT -7
I agree... I have a 12" C12CA JBL clone WeberVST speaker... I tried it in the Z-Best and the Ghia was clean all the way up- no breakup! This was the opposite case of the P12B- broke up really early! All great sounds. I chose a speaker that was sort of in between the two, although I'm not sure if it's resposible for the ghosting I've been getting (I need to try it in a different room- too many things are rattling and vibrating)...
I wound up putting the C12CA in my Leslie 120 cabinet- the Champ II sounds really nice driving it- way better than the crappy 10" speaker that was in that one (probably non-original, definitely has some cone problems from being blown I think, you can tell much better at higher volumes, well higher volumes for that amp anyway 18w)...
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