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Post by ampaholic on Feb 1, 2006 17:20:39 GMT -7
Myles or Dr. Z There has been a lot of discussion on the forum about the variety of different rectifiers being used in the Ghia. Many people have purchased new Ghias that have been delivered from the factory (or at least from the dealer) with something other than the recommended 5Y3. One view that seemed to make sense is perhaps that at the factory a specific rectifier is selected to achieve proper voltages or simply it just sounded better in that particular amp. If this is the case, and I know we all put tremendous faith in the Doc's judgement on tone, then it would seem that we might be advised to stick with the rectifier tube type that the amp came with? Your insight would be appreciated! Thanks
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Post by myles on Feb 1, 2006 21:50:58 GMT -7
I personally prefer the stock 5Y3. A GZ34 makes the voltages too high for my taste and the rise time is much faster than that of the 5Y3. Look at the voltages and rise times in the charts for each of the 5AR4/GZ34 and 5Y3 at www.guitaramplifierblueprinting.com/rectifiers.htmlThe tube life of the output set is also much lower with the GZ34. The amp is more than agressive enough with the 5Y3 and the touch sensitivity is much nicer from my point of view. Then again ... that is my personal take on things and I personally feel that the Carmen Ghia is the best amp I own .... Z or non-Z. I play it way over 50% of my playing time ... the other 50% of my playing time is divided between maybe 50 amps. I will say that the Mazerati and KT-45 get played more than the other amps too. The Delta 88 is used a lot as a hard rock amp. The Mini-Z is used a lot for studio work and is the amp my son uses almost exclusively ... then again, he is into more of the hard core stuff. The MAZ Sr. fills lots of live work roles where things are needed to fill Matchless DC-30 tones but also Fender Super Reverb Tones with an open back 4x10 cab. The RxES is not used by me much as it is always out on loan and is a favorite with just about anybody that plays the thing. Amps that get played a lot after the Z's are.... Fender BF Deluxe Reverb Fender Tweed Bassman Marshall JTM-45 Pierson Tweed Deluxe Pierson Tweed Champ Fender BF Twin Reverb Fargen Blackbird GT Soul-O Single Modded GT Soul-O 45 At the far end of the scale gathering dust: Mesa Mk 1 Any Marshall after the JCM800 series Bottom line .... I love the Ghia the most, play it the most, and it is totally stock other than a Telefunken 12AX7 in V1. My 5751 phase inverter came from Mike at www.kcanostubes.com and is balanced. Rectifier is a JAN NOS 5Y3. Output tubes are stock GT EL84S in a #6 rating.
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Post by ampaholic on Feb 3, 2006 4:53:11 GMT -7
Thanks Myles! Your logic certainly makes sense.
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Post by myles on Feb 3, 2006 11:39:13 GMT -7
Thanks Myles! Your logic certainly makes sense. You are quite welcome.
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