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Post by arussell on Feb 19, 2006 11:15:48 GMT -7
I just bought a 1x12 ghia combo with a blue celestion speaker off of ebay. It seems to have a green jewel light (kind of blue-green, actually), but has all groove tubes in it. After an initial shake-out period where it blew fuses all the time I had to replace the rectifier (thanks to everyone on here who helped with that problem), I've had a little time to play though it, so these are my first impressions:
I'm extremely impressed with the clarity of this amp's sound, especially with chordal playing, which is most of what I do. I really have never heard chords sounding this clear and balanced out of any other amp that I have used. Maybe that is the conjunctive filter? Whatever it is, the effect is really stunning. I also do a lot of fingerpicking on the electric, and am finding that the string-to-string response of this amp is much more even than my other "great" amp (an Ampeg superbreverb with a 15" speaker). With the Ampeg, I constantly have to monitor my right thumb so that the bass notes don't come out too loud.
I'm still working on finding the "sweet spot" on the tone control. I'm finding that what sounds best to me when I'm playing alone (a little to the bright side of center) isn't quite right for what I'm doing with my band, which seems to demand a little darker, more "congested" (for lack of a better word) sound, so I keep it a little to the right of center for that. In all cases, I can hear much more of the note articulation with this amp than my old one, and am really enjoying playing with that.
I recorded a friend playing several hours of Derek Bailey-style free-improvised solos through this amp on an Epiphone Joe Pass guitar yesterday. Interestingly, I found that the PAF-type humbuckers in that guitar seemed to be driving the amp a lot less hard than the MFD pickups in the G&L ASAT that I use all the time. I can get plenty of grit when the amp is halfway up by playing hard, but the Epiphone did not do this as much. I almost liked the sweeter humbucker sound better through the ghia, and am thinking of getting a 335 or something like that to play through it. As advertised, this amp is great for recording - what we got sounded basically perfect.
I'm going to try this amp out at a gig on Wednesday here in Austin (Cactus Cafe, opening for Baby Dee, which will be a great show if you are in Austin), and am really excited about it.
I tend to play pretty quietly, so haven't spent much time with the amp cranked. The one time I had it up all the way and was playing hard, I thought the speaker was starting to sound unhappy with me, so I haven't had it all the way up since. I do think that the distortion it produces is really beautiful sounding, but I usually go more for a setup where I get just a little grit when I play hard with the volume knob wide open, which this amp excels at doing at reasonable volumes.
That's it for now - great amp!
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Post by zdogma on Feb 19, 2006 11:53:57 GMT -7
sounds great. I'm glad you finally got it working. It will serve you well, I think, for that type of playing.
Post some clips or pictures, if you're able, I'd love to hear/see it.
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Post by arussell on Feb 23, 2006 19:07:33 GMT -7
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Post by zdogma on Feb 23, 2006 20:00:33 GMT -7
Nice. Complete with green jewel, I have a greenie too. +1 for sharing your pics and impressions.
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Post by myles on Mar 1, 2006 21:12:32 GMT -7
The Carmen Ghia has a few points worth mentioning for those to consider the first time they get their hands on one and especially if you can compare to some other amps.
1. The CG has the most balanced string to string balance of ANY amp out there ... new or vintage.
2. The CG has the most focused low end of anything out there. It has more focused low end than any of my Marshall amps as an example.
3. The clean tones with single coils and the volume below 9:00 are about a nice as you will ever hear. If you want it loud just mic it. The guitar player for Sugarland as an example uses two Vox AC-15 reissues and the CG is much louder.
4. Your particular amp will have a LOT of level as you happen to have the best speaker ever to hit a guitar amp .... a Vox Blue (or silver bulldog or other AlNiCO Celestion of 15 watts). This speaker is also VERY efficient ... 1 watt in = 100dB out.
Happy playing!
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Post by bluzsteel on Mar 2, 2006 19:58:04 GMT -7
Ghia ia killer with a closed 112
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Post by JASON (aka jgleaton) on Mar 2, 2006 21:46:27 GMT -7
Ghia IS ALSO KILLER with a 2x12.... I think ( if I am not mistaken as I often am) I saw that ZAC actually has a ghia 2x12 combo??? THAT would be COOL!!! wonder why doc doesn't make one...would think he'd sell the fool out of em... I'd probably have to have one... ?
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Post by myles on Mar 3, 2006 11:55:07 GMT -7
Ghia IS ALSO KILLER with a 2x12.... I think ( if I am not mistaken as I often am) I saw that ZAC actually has a ghia 2x12 combo??? THAT would be COOL!!! wonder why doc doesn't make one...would think he'd sell the fool out of em... I'd probably have to have one... ? Yes.... Zac has one of these .... there may be only 2 or so around and Brad may have the other. Zac would know if Brad has the other one or not.
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Post by JASON (aka jgleaton) on Mar 3, 2006 14:58:08 GMT -7
Oh Man.... Myles that would be THE MOST AWESOME AMP ON THE PLANET... I LOVE IT THROUGH 2x12's!!!! Do you think the doc would build a 2x12 combo for one of us Mere MORTAL's ? actually I'd LOVE to be able keep my 2x10 and just put it in a empty 2x12 too be able to switch back and forth with my ghia chasis.... I was thinkin about doing that with a head box but I just like the combo better.... Why do you think doc doesn't make it available in that combo... Is there a reason?
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Post by myles on Mar 3, 2006 16:56:15 GMT -7
Oh Man.... Myles that would be THE MOST AWESOME AMP ON THE PLANET... I LOVE IT THROUGH 2x12's!!!! Do you think the doc would build a 2x12 combo for one of us Mere MORTAL's ? actually I'd LOVE to be able keep my 2x10 and just put it in a empty 2x12 too be able to switch back and forth with my ghia chasis.... I was thinkin about doing that with a head box but I just like the combo better.... Why do you think doc doesn't make it available in that combo... Is there a reason? You may want to check with the Doc. I know it has to be a custom cabinet as the CG chassis is shorter than the chassis normally used in the 2x12 combos. It is amazing with two Vox blues in it. Loud as heck too when you crank it and even a lot of good clean headroom below 9:00 on the volume when I plug my CH head into an open back 2x12 of about the same volume (sort of AC-30 size cab) with two Vox bulldogs.
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Post by arussell on Mar 4, 2006 9:05:00 GMT -7
Played another show with it last night - just fantastic! The club we played in is known for terrible acoustics and there was never any "I can't hear what I am playing" moment, which was nice.
Agree on the clean tones. I've been getting a sound I really like with the volume rolled back little on my ASAT in the 2-pickup setting with the amp volume about 10 or 11 o-clock and the tone around 12 o-clock. I also can get a nice soft sound for fingerpicking by backing off on the guitar tone knob a little.
I recorded with this thing last weekend and the guitar sounds we got are breathtaking, in my opinion. The engineer just put an old Shure SM5B in front of it, off-axis, and we got an instant magic sound with no pedals, eq or anything (except a Zvex SHO boost pedal at a few points), especially when it was mixed in with a stereo pair of room mics. When we get this stuff more finished I will direct people here to whatever samples we post on our website. The other guitarist in the band used a ca-1980 vibro champ, also wonderful sounding for what she does (creating experimental but very pretty sounds with magnets, chalk, bows, hardware, etc.). Strangely enough she sounds much better through the champ than the ghia, but there is something about that amp that sounds like it was specifically designed for the sounds she makes.
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Post by G'OlPeachPhan on Mar 6, 2006 13:19:30 GMT -7
arussell - welcome back man! The Ghia IS a superb amp with no equivalents...
I dig what you said about the Champ though too... that amp certainly has it's place, and also does some things really well that no other amp does.
myles - all I can say is WHO is that in your signature now?!!!! Ivy is UNREAL...
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Post by Curt on Mar 6, 2006 14:36:07 GMT -7
Uhhh Chad +1 on Ivy Arussell, when we cut a demo last fall the engineer had never heard of, seen or heard a Z amp. He was kinda lookin down his nose @ it, after a few day's it was "Let's try it through that Blond.." EVERY track has the Ghia, they are Magic in the studio.
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Post by G'OlPeachPhan on Mar 7, 2006 9:11:23 GMT -7
Uhhh Chad +1 on Ivy Arussell, when we cut a demo last fall the engineer had never heard of, seen or heard a Z amp. He was kinda lookin down his nose @ it, after a few day's it was "Let's try it through that Blond.." EVERY track has the Ghia, they are Magic in the studio. Man, is she SMOKIN' or what?!!! If I had to pick between her or the Ghia though, it'd be the Ghia... Fortunately, my wife never forces me to make that choice! The Ghia IS magical to track with... just drop a large diaphragm (mic) in front of it and let 'er rip! I've gotta get back into my basement studio and start using it again. I've been lazy about recording lately. Anyone know where I can score a nice old 8-track cassette-based recorder for a good price? I need something like that for simplicity... tracking straight to Pro Tools is too much of a hassle and keeps me from recording more often.
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Post by billyguitar on Mar 7, 2006 11:43:53 GMT -7
8 track digitals are so cheap now that I wouldn't mess with problematic tape machines, just my opinion. I have a Roland VS880ex that does a good job for what it is but it actually is pretty hard to operate. You could probably find a used one for $400. Fostex has one for $300 that includes a mic, cord, headphones and travel bag, at Musicians Fiend. Tascam has a better looking machine also for $300. I think I'll wait for the next generation machines that'll run at 96khz/24 bit. Some are out already but when more are out the prices will come down. I need a 16 track to do the band.
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Post by Curt on Mar 7, 2006 14:06:30 GMT -7
I really need something to record with at home, I have zero knowledge here guyZ. Any hints are greatly appreciated. Record to lap top? By a fostex etc/ witha burner built in?
please make suggestions.
Thx, Curt
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Post by G'OlPeachPhan on Mar 8, 2006 7:29:04 GMT -7
I've got a pretty solid protools setup for digital already... I was just looking for something analog to track to, as my straight-to-digital recordings are always missing something compared to my older recordings that I did on tape... even though I know far more about recording now than I did then. I actually just picked up a Tascam 424 MKIII for $150 yesterday, so I'm going to start with that. Curt, I don't know exactly what to tell you, other than getting into this stuff is kind of like opening a can of worms... When I first went to digital a couple years ago, I started with one of those small red Fostex MR-8 flash recorders... It was cumbersome, limited, and the quality of the preamps was below average at best... So my experience with standalone digital recorders was not a good one, but perhaps some of the more robust models are much better? The thing that hangs me up on the digital units are all the friggin' menu screens to navigate through... If you can find an all-in-one digital recording console that features analog-like simplicity in it's interface (i.e. no menus, and submenus with submenus), that's DEFINITELY what I'd recommend... Your other option is to go to cassette based analog. After the MR-8 I decided to build a dedicated pc for Pro Tools, and that's the can of worms I was speaking about... It's complicated to track direct to pc, and you just lose the artistic feel for some reason when your messing with a computer while you're trying to be in "music mode." Granted, the versatility is great, and there's nothing better than pc-based mixing and editing, but for tracking it sucks IMO... Not to mention that ever since I started tracking to digital I've been trying to find a way to get back to the warmth of tape saturation... there's nothing like feeding a nice warm signal into an analog machine, which is something you definitely don't want to do in the digital world --- you don't ever want to see the clip light come on... not even on the transients... digital distortion is painful way to ruin a great track. So if you're just getting into this thing, I'd almost recommend something like the Tascam I just picked up. I never found cassette recording problematic... I just figured I had to 'keep up with the times,' and I've regretted it to some extent ever since. I'd gladly give up all the bells and whistles for great sounding tracks. Oh, and to bring your music from cassette into the digital domain, I'm pretty sure with the Tascam 424 MKII and MKIII (which are pretty similar, but both MUCH improved over the MKI), you can transfer your mixes to your pc through the sound card... Here's more about the MKII and MKIII that got me excited about it: www.homerecording.com/analog.html
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Post by bluzsteel on Mar 8, 2006 7:34:16 GMT -7
I really need something to record with at home, I have zero knowledge here guyZ. Any hints are greatly appreciated. Record to lap top? By a fostex etc/ witha burner built in? please make suggestions. Thx, Curt Curt My last 2 CD'S were done on a Yamaha AW4416. they also make a Aw16g I belive . that is pretty cool ,Roland{Boss} makes a BR1600 Ive messed with and I liked it , it has all the bells and whistles. just make sure what you buy has a cd burner
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Post by Bill on Mar 8, 2006 8:03:47 GMT -7
I bought a Boss BR-1200CD in December. It only has 2 XLR inputs, so if you plan to record your full band live you'd be better off with the 1600 model, which has 8 inputs. Most of my recording doesn't require more than 2 mics so I went with the 1200.
I don't think you've been able to access Soundclick, but all of my clips were recorded with the 1200. Its a good machine, BUT, plan to spend a good bit of time reading the manual and experimenting. I'm using probably one tenth of what this thing can actually do!
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Post by Curt on Mar 8, 2006 8:37:38 GMT -7
Thanks for the tips and direction guyZ, That'll give me something to start with. While it would be nice to have the capacity to record the full band, I mainly want to capture inspiration when it hits as I tend to write a lot and it's seldom planned, just mindless jamming and something cool happens. Sometimes my lack of musical knowledge is a plus for writing I think, I don't know the rules !! LOL Thanks again.
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Post by zane on Mar 8, 2006 10:22:44 GMT -7
Thanks for the tips and direction guyZ, That'll give me something to start with. While it would be nice to have the capacity to record the full band, I mainly want to capture inspiration when it hits as I tend to write a lot and it's seldom planned, just mindless jamming and something cool happens. Sometimes my lack of musical knowledge is a plus for writing I think, I don't know the rules !! LOL Thanks again. lack-o-knowledge didn't seem to hurt those "beatles" boy's
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Post by bluzsteel on Mar 8, 2006 13:28:40 GMT -7
I bought a Boss BR-1200CD in December. It only has 2 XLR inputs, so if you plan to record your full band live you'd be better off with the 1600 model, which has 8 inputs. Most of my recording doesn't require more than 2 mics so I went with the 1200. I don't think you've been able to access Soundclick, but all of my clips were recorded with the 1200. Its a good machine, BUT, plan to spend a good bit of time reading the manual and experimenting. I'm using probably one tenth of what this thing can actually do! My 4416 only has 2 XLR'S only drag......I just use a small snake 1/4 to XLR
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