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Post by adam on Oct 10, 2022 16:00:53 GMT -7
Feeling compelled to offer some observations on the Ghia after owning one for over a year.
About a month+ ago I got a two notes captor x. I generally don't really care for those things and have tried a bunch like another 2 notes (more expensive model), OX, and Suhr reactive load. Nothing against those, but they left me flat somehow. The captor X, I could get along with.
Since then I've run every amp I own through captor, many amps multiple times, and just try to see what I can get out of them. All the amps sound great, no qualm there. It's a bit like running amp under a microscope if you will in that just the sonic volume doesn't really affect anything with your perception, nor the speaker or cab or sound of the room.
What I'm finding is that I just keep going back to the Ghia and am having the most fun playing that amp. It doesn't sound Marshall or Fender or Vox, but it just sounds "good' all the time. It responds well to any guitar, and you find yourself more focused on what you are playing rather than say manipulating bass/mid/treble trying to get a sound. Really fun swapping pedals in and out too because you kind of see what the pedal does by itself rather than spending eons of time messing with that combo of amp/pedal/guitar.
I think it took me a while to really appreciate the amp, but after a while of really honing stuff down, you can see why people like Walter Becker or Dean Parks used this amp a lot. It just kind of works and makes all kind of musical sounds. You can push the input with a lot pedals and they all can sound great. Or just play the amp and it sounds great all by itself too. A few high gain pedals I can't seem to mesh with this amp, but I also think high gain pedals kind of suck on their own, so there's that. At least my selection of pedals.
I might also add that I'm using a 5751 tube in V1 which take down some of the bite and grit of the amp and I think works better with humbukers in general too. Also ran the 5751 in V2 for quite a while and that's a really neat sound too, but it sort of found home in V1 for me.
Just wanted to pass some appreciation along for the amp. It's pretty special, very different, and just winds up being fun to play as a bottom line.
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Post by DRZ on Oct 11, 2022 7:05:12 GMT -7
I can have any Z amp I want in my music room. The amp I choose and love is the Ghia. It is the first amp I ever sold and has been built the same for over 30 years. In the beginning of DR.Z Amps I would go to Guitar Shows , before the show was open to the public the dealers were able to check out others booths and make deals . I would sell the Ghia's I brought to dealers who would use them to demo there Guitars during the show because of it's ability to accurately reproduce the true tone of the Vintage guitar. Plug in set the Tone control for the Guitar plugged in , set the volume for your need, turn around shut your eye's and just play . Z
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Post by GuitarZ on Oct 11, 2022 8:06:45 GMT -7
I might also add that I'm using a 5751 tube in V1 which take down some of the bite and grit of the amp and I think works better with humbukers in general too. Also ran the 5751 in V2 for quite a while and that's a really neat sound too, but it sort of found home in V1 for me. Gotta Love the Doc's post. And, your tube swapping is interesting. I'm usually looking for more gain. I typically use my Strat through the Ghia and can run the Ghia wide open with the help of my AirBrake or UA Ox. However, when I plug in my P90 Les Paul, I have to back off the volume from wide open and work the tone so that my Les Paul doesn't sound too 'hairy' on the bottom end. Your tube idea is something I'll have to try. And, after all of the posts on Desert Island amps and me saying it's a toss up, it hit me over the past couple of weeks that I can say my Ghia would be on that Desert Island with me.
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Post by The Bad Poodle Experience on Oct 11, 2022 12:11:27 GMT -7
I can have any Z amp I want in my music room. The amp I choose and love is the Ghia. It is the first amp I ever sold and has been built the same for over 30 years. In the beginning of DR.Z Amps I would go to Guitar Shows , before the show was open to the public the dealers were able to check out others booths and make deals . I would sell the Ghia's I brought to dealers who would use them to demo there Guitars during the show because of it's ability to accurately reproduce the true tone of the Vintage guitar. Plug in set the Tone control for the Guitar plugged in , set the volume for your need, turn around shut your eye's and just play . Z a 3-knob Ghia and a Joe Walsh signature Duesenberg!! Kudos.
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Post by Rockerfeller on Oct 11, 2022 14:54:26 GMT -7
And……it’s red….
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Post by Jaguarguy (Mike) on Oct 11, 2022 15:05:19 GMT -7
Kinda partial to Ghias myself .....
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Post by helmi on Oct 11, 2022 15:28:01 GMT -7
I can have any Z amp I want in my music room. The amp I choose and love is the Ghia. It is the first amp I ever sold and has been built the same for over 30 years. In the beginning of DR.Z Amps I would go to Guitar Shows , before the show was open to the public the dealers were able to check out others booths and make deals . I would sell the Ghia's I brought to dealers who would use them to demo there Guitars during the show because of it's ability to accurately reproduce the true tone of the Vintage guitar. Plug in set the Tone control for the Guitar plugged in , set the volume for your need, turn around shut your eye's and just play . Z 2 questions Doc. 1) do you prefer the ghia with the MV, since that what you have? 2) Is that you in the pic with the long hair and mustache?
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Post by adam on Oct 11, 2022 15:28:18 GMT -7
Kinda partial to Ghias myself ..... You could make the wet-dry-wet rig of doom with those and still have a spare.
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Post by adam on Oct 11, 2022 15:31:11 GMT -7
I can have any Z amp I want in my music room. The amp I choose and love is the Ghia. It is the first amp I ever sold and has been built the same for over 30 years. In the beginning of DR.Z Amps I would go to Guitar Shows , before the show was open to the public the dealers were able to check out others booths and make deals . I would sell the Ghia's I brought to dealers who would use them to demo there Guitars during the show because of it's ability to accurately reproduce the true tone of the Vintage guitar. Plug in set the Tone control for the Guitar plugged in , set the volume for your need, turn around shut your eye's and just play . Z Any idea what year that Ghia is? Is it one of the good ones with the green jewel light? Love that duo jet looking thing in the back too.
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Post by adam on Oct 11, 2022 15:45:17 GMT -7
I might also add that I'm using a 5751 tube in V1 which take down some of the bite and grit of the amp and I think works better with humbukers in general too. Also ran the 5751 in V2 for quite a while and that's a really neat sound too, but it sort of found home in V1 for me. Gotta Love the Doc's post. And, your tube swapping is interesting. I'm usually looking for more gain. I typically use my Strat through the Ghia and can run the Ghia wide open with the help of my AirBrake or UA Ox. However, when I plug in my P90 Les Paul, I have to back off the volume from wide open and work the tone so that my Les Paul doesn't sound too 'hairy' on the bottom end. Your tube idea is something I'll have to try. And, after all of the posts on Desert Island amps and me saying it's a toss up, it hit me over the past couple of weeks that I can say my Ghia would be on that Desert Island with me. I think we all look for different things in an amp, guitars, and just tone in general. So a 12ax7 might be just the ticket for you and probably a lot of people, but I really like the 5751for whatever reason. I feel it's fairly similar in tone to the 12ax7, just a little more open and less gain and compression at the preamp stage. Turning it up probably yields a little more compression from the output section. It's worth a shot to see if you like it better.
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Post by DRZ on Oct 11, 2022 15:54:10 GMT -7
Any idea what year that Ghia is? Is it one of the good ones with the green jewel light? Love that duo jet looking thing in the back too. That is # 1 of 50 special 25th anniversary Ghia's built in 2013. That guitar is a Dusenberg Joe Walsh Sig.
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Post by DRZ on Oct 11, 2022 15:58:26 GMT -7
2 questions Doc. 1) do you prefer the ghia with the MV, since that what you have? That is how the original Ghia was built and I copied it on the limited edition 25th Anniversary release. Since I only play at home yes the Master Volume is nice. I did mod it with the new PPIMV works much better, 2) Is that you in the pic with the long hair and mustache? Good eye , yes it is I was 19 years old in that picture.
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Post by adam on Oct 11, 2022 16:09:56 GMT -7
Good eye , yes it is I was 19 years old in that picture. I was pretty sure it was George Harrison. Back in the day I hair really close to Ted Nugent. Those days are long gone and there's no way those pants would fit anymore either.
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Post by The Bad Poodle Experience on Oct 11, 2022 16:53:14 GMT -7
Back in the day I hair really close to Ted Nugent. Those days are long gone and there's no way those pants would fit anymore either. Tommy Shaw tells a funny Ted Nugent (hair) story in his appearance on Live from Daryl's House.
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Post by adam on Oct 11, 2022 17:45:42 GMT -7
Tommy Shaw tells a funny Ted Nugent (hair) story in his appearance on Live from Daryl's House. Found it, also hard to miss the maz38 on the stage.
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Post by msterling45 on Oct 17, 2022 7:20:10 GMT -7
Any chance we’ll ever get factory-run Ghia’s with a ppimv off the shelf?
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Post by DRZ on Oct 17, 2022 10:10:35 GMT -7
Any chance we’ll ever get factory-run Ghia’s with a ppimv off the shelf? I'm think of it for mid next year, and loaded in a 1x10 combo cab. Carmen Ghia MKII ha... Still thinking about it not sure it would sell . But my Ghia has the PPIMV and works great , better than an attenuator for at home use. Z
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Post by nick0 on Oct 18, 2022 16:28:25 GMT -7
I have a factory modified Ghia ppimv 2x10 combo. That thing really sounds nice. The master volume really makes it a friendly amp for at home and for keeping the volume under control on jam nights.
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Post by lowbudget on Oct 19, 2022 5:21:16 GMT -7
Any chance we’ll ever get factory-run Ghia’s with a ppimv off the shelf? I'm think of it for mid next year, and loaded in a 1x10 combo cab. Carmen Ghia MKII ha... Still thinking about it not sure it would sell . But my Ghia has the PPIMV and works great , better than an attenuator for at home use. Z I’m pretty sure it would sell Doc. Those 25th Ann. Ghias are still highly sought after and I think only linger on the market when guys get greedy and ask way too much for them. Maybe some kind of slightly special cosmetics singular to that amp, IDK. I know you’re kinda kidding but the MKII thing isn’t a bad idea. Just thinking out loud but that 1x10 combo Ghia you’re talking about would really be cool if you could find a 10” neo that you liked in it! And I know it probably wouldn’t be practical because of minimum order requirements with your cab guy but if you could somehow put that 10” neo in a 1/2” ply 1x10 combo cab, WOW! “Classic Ghia Lite” maybe? I already own 3 Ghias but I’d sure buy one. A lot of guys who bought Ghias 20-25 or more years ago ain’t getting any younger (ahem)! It always makes me crazy when guys have a great idea for their dream amp and pitch it to you without any regard for the practicalities of actually doing business day-to-day, and here I just did it! Apologies in advance…
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Post by runninwiththerevil (Matthew) on Oct 22, 2022 11:26:44 GMT -7
I found the v1 slot in the Ghia is one of the most responsive and interactive to tube swaps. Even different 12ax7’s will cause the amp to react differently.
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