|
Post by jtokaji on Apr 24, 2007 7:27:44 GMT -7
I'm a new owner of a 2x10 CG combo, and absolutely love the tone.
However most times I can't crank the amp at home and occasionally would like to get an overdriven sound at lower volumes. It should be noted that I love the fully saturated tone of this amp.
Considering Airbrake or maybe a less expensive route with an OD pedal, perhaps a Tonebone Classic.
Any advice or input would be appreciated.
|
|
|
Post by kledbet on Apr 24, 2007 9:39:37 GMT -7
Hard to go wrong either way. The Airbrake is a great and its something that you should get at some point. Oh, heck just get both :-)
|
|
|
Post by Matt H. on Apr 24, 2007 10:48:10 GMT -7
I'd say go w/ an OD or a boost pedal. I have an Hotplate - (similar to a Z-break) and never use it w/ the ghia. Don't get me wrong, the Ghia sounds great attenuated, but it looses a little of that chime in the process.
I strongly recommend Xotic pedals - AC Booster and BB Preamp ;D
|
|
|
Post by kledbet on Apr 24, 2007 10:57:38 GMT -7
Matt H is right about loosing a little of the chime, the Airbrake is a little better than the Hotplate (I have both) but there is still a little loss. The pedals he mentions are great... a booster won't do what you need as it still raises the volume of the amp. Might want to try a Fulltone OCD if you can.... good luck.
|
|
|
Post by jtokaji on Apr 24, 2007 11:12:44 GMT -7
Thanks ya'll, that's exactly the kind of information I needed. Any opinions/experiences on the Tonebone Classic?
|
|
|
Post by zgrip on Apr 24, 2007 11:41:24 GMT -7
My airbrake has been collecting dust the last year. It takes too much of the ghia's punchy, chimey goodness away. I had my airbrake in the chain for a couple years, took it out and realized how much tone I was missing. Then I read here and other places the airbrake and ghia are not such a good match. Apparently the airbrake works much better with the other z amps. Any good od pedal will work beautifully with the ghia. Get a big fat clean tone cookin' and kick it in the pants with an od pedal. I personally use a Fulldrive II. The ocd seems to be very popular too along with the xotic stuff. Also try a 12bh7 in the v2 position as it gives the ghia more clean headroom and increased dynamics and makes it take pedals, especially od, even better.
|
|
|
Post by bustertheboy on Apr 24, 2007 22:20:50 GMT -7
I have a weber minimass which sounds good if you aren't attenuating too much. I like to use od pedals- ts808, ocd version3 and fuzzface clone. All of them sound better (more natural) with the amp at or near the edge of distortion. If you can have your Ghia there all the time, you don't need attenuation, if not I'd be looking at some sort of attenuator. I'd second the comment about the 12bh7 in v2 if you use a lot of pedals. Otherwise a nos12ax7 in v1 is great for straight into the amp, followed by 5751 in v2. Brett
|
|
|
Post by guitarstan on Apr 25, 2007 5:14:44 GMT -7
I have the full line of Xotic pedals and like them all for certain applications but for me with the Ghia I prefer the Fulltone OCD, it is a very subjective thing however and YMMV. Not into high gain at all I am from the old school of tube and speaker distortion.
|
|
|
Post by jtokaji on Apr 26, 2007 8:56:31 GMT -7
Thank for all the information. I think I will give attenuation a try. A friend of mine has a Hotplate, we'll see how it does. I will let you all know.
|
|
|
Post by rcrecelius on Apr 28, 2007 22:38:29 GMT -7
Thank for all the information. I think I will give attenuation a try. A friend of mine has a Hotplate, we'll see how it does. I will let you all know. I think thats a good move...especially since you can hear what it will sound like before you spend your money. I recently acquired a Ghia myself and have been using a airbrake to tame it a bit however anything more than 2 clicks down and like others have said, it loses some of that chime. Also worth noting about attentuation...if you like the sound of the amp cranked, some of your sound is the speaker gettng slammed...and attenuating will lose some of that speaker interaction...not always a bad thing, just something to think about.
|
|
|
Post by bustertheboy on Apr 29, 2007 14:26:27 GMT -7
Thank for all the information. I think I will give attenuation a try. A friend of mine has a Hotplate, we'll see how it does. I will let you all know. I think thats a good move...especially since you can hear what it will sound like before you spend your money. I recently acquired a Ghia myself and have been using a airbrake to tame it a bit however anything more than 2 clicks down and like others have said, it loses some of that chime. Also worth noting about attentuation...if you like the sound of the amp cranked, some of your sound is the speaker gettng slammed...and attenuating will lose some of that speaker interaction...not always a bad thing, just something to think about. I'd second that- when I auditioned 2x12 boxes with the Ghia head, I was listening with the amp on the edge of distortion. That's where something like the Greenbacks sounded best, otherwise they're a bit flat. Realistically any attenuator will alter tone both in the amp and because you aren't driving the speakers as hard, and guitar speakers are designed to be driven- they aren't hifi. Having said all that, I use an attenuator a lot with just a little attenuation dialled in. Brett
|
|
|
Post by jb on Apr 29, 2007 15:04:29 GMT -7
Try an OD first. The AC Booster works good with the Ghia. I have an Airbrake that I use with my Rt 66. I got the Ghia so I wouldn't need to use it.
|
|
|
Post by jimiata on Apr 29, 2007 15:35:25 GMT -7
I use my Barber Drive ( thanks again Quinto) for low volume overdrive. It works very well right down to normal speaking volumes. I also have a home made attenuator which works well as long as you don't crank it down more than a couple of notches...it really chokes up the Ghia. Not good!
Cheers Jim
|
|
craig
New Member
Posts: 6
|
Post by craig on May 5, 2007 16:01:29 GMT -7
I like to use a THD Hotplate with my Ghia combo... it allows me to turn up the volume a little higher for practice, without going deaf. I think that my OD pedals sound better with the amp juiced a bit...not too much...maybe 9-10:00.
|
|
tnaluv1
New Member
Music is the best..... FZ
Posts: 49
|
Post by tnaluv1 on May 6, 2007 9:11:01 GMT -7
Hey, I have used all of the Tonebone line and they are all very cool. The classic is great. and the Hot Brittish is also very cool. I have engineered a record for a cat who used a Hot Brittish through a little Allen combo that was fantastic! I will be trying the classic on my Ghia next week, I'll let you know how it comes out....
Peace, Alex
|
|
|
Post by billyguitar on May 6, 2007 14:19:00 GMT -7
Last night I used my Ghia. It's a quiet club so I had the volume at about noon and the tone control at about 10:00, used a 1x12 cab with an EV. At that volume it was breaking up a bit but not very much at all. For solos instead of turning it up I used a compressor to just thicken it up a bit and make it sing. Sounded real good and not very loud! I play pretty cleanly and we do complex jump blues tunes so I don't need high gain. If I did I would probaly use a pedal so I could keep some clean volume.
|
|
|
Post by jtokaji on May 9, 2007 11:21:16 GMT -7
Well, I tried the Airbrake yesterday at the local shop with a RX and found that the tone was very similar with the volume turned down on the amp, or the Airbrake running with the amp volume turned up. So I decided on an OD pedal (Fulldrive 2 MOSFET)
But one question still lingers...Is there a difference between running an OD pedal in front of a turned down amp, or running an OD pedal in front of a cranked and attenuated amp?
Anyone??? I should test more I guess.
|
|
|
Post by Jan on May 9, 2007 13:06:25 GMT -7
Well, I tried the Airbrake yesterday at the local shop with a RX Really? Was that your Air Brake or did Midtown get a shipment in?
|
|
|
Post by jtokaji on May 9, 2007 13:15:04 GMT -7
Midtown got a shipment
|
|
|
Post by Jan on May 9, 2007 13:23:13 GMT -7
Thanks!
|
|
|
Post by bustertheboy on May 10, 2007 14:20:51 GMT -7
Well, I tried the Airbrake yesterday at the local shop with a RX and found that the tone was very similar with the volume turned down on the amp, or the Airbrake running with the amp volume turned up. So I decided on an OD pedal (Fulldrive 2 MOSFET) But one question still lingers...Is there a difference between running an OD pedal in front of a turned down amp, or running an OD pedal in front of a cranked and attenuated amp? Anyone??? I should test more I guess. I've done both using a weber minimass. With something like a tubescreamer (little bass) both work really well. With something like the OCD which has more bass and more'hair', I like to set the amp to just at or just before the onset of distortion. It is too edgy with the amp set clean and a bit too fuzzy with a strat or tele neck pickup on the bottom strings. If I set the minimass for minimal attenuation and the Ghia for that just on the edge sound, something like the OCD is amazing (especially on 18v). Two other factors - the fuzzy/farty sound seems to be only a neck single coil thing- back pickups or back humbuckers aren't fussy - all of the above is even more critical with something like a fuzzface- then I roll back the guitar's volume control a bit, which also works very well with the OCD Everything improves with a 12BH7 in v2 for more head room Hope this makes some sort of sense Brett
|
|
|
Post by DaSkip on May 12, 2007 11:47:25 GMT -7
I've got an Airbrake if needed, but I have a feeling when my CG finally arrives my RC and Honey Bee are gonna sound pretty sweet with it.
|
|
|
Post by jtokaji on May 17, 2007 19:11:51 GMT -7
Conclusion: You really need both to get a nice overdriven tone at lower volumes. OD pedals sound good, but they sound better with the Airbrake on and the CG about 10 o'clock. I ended up with a Barber Small Fry which I highly recommend. One thing about the Airbrake; like others said, it does take a lot of the "brilliance" of the CG away in bedroom mode, but it works great unless you engage the rheostat (bedroom volume). For clean noodlin' I prefer the Ghia turned down to 8o'clock, than turned up and taming it with the Airbrake running on bedroom mode.
|
|