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Post by adamross on Dec 30, 2005 2:59:31 GMT -7
I love my Carmen Ghia, it's always crystal clear sounding, however with humbuckers it can be piercing sometimes, to get a smoother sound should I use one of the following:
RC Booster Compressor Or something else?
The tubes in it are Philips JAN Rectifier 5Y3, 2 GT EL84s (rating 4), Electro Harmonix Gold 12ax7, JJ Tesla 12ax7.
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Post by rpavich on Dec 30, 2005 4:30:51 GMT -7
Adamross, I use the ghia with HB's and don't have a problem. What speaker are you using? Also, what tone caps are in your guitar? If you keep the tone on full because the tones get muddy when you turn them down; that's also probably a contributing factor.
But having said that; I have an RC booster and it has treble and bass controls on it that work well... Have you tried EQ?
bob
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Post by steveinnashville on Dec 30, 2005 10:06:43 GMT -7
A compressor should smooth out the dynamic differences in your guitar signal some. You could also try turning the volume down on the guitar (lowering their output) or turning down the tone (less treble= less piercing).
If you want a pedal to boost your amp that might help, I think there's one called the "Darkboost"... sounds about right. The Hellbaby compressor uses an op-amp for a "smoother high-end" I was told by the builder. I like its sound a lot.
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Post by jwr on Jan 1, 2006 15:26:29 GMT -7
The GT 12ax7M is a bit of a dark tube, I've got them throughout my JCM 800. Mellows out some of that piercing high end you get from those amps. Try a 5751 as well, should tame the front end of the amp a bit.
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Post by hollywood5150 on Jan 1, 2006 15:47:39 GMT -7
Where do you have your tone set. I play a Les Paul with the tone set around 1-2 o'clock. A compressor will level thing out. I have an old black label Boss CE-2 that does a great job. An RC boost will give you a fuller sound, and it also has bass and tone controls.
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Post by adamross on Jan 3, 2006 2:21:50 GMT -7
So a RC Booster gives fuller sound, a compressor levels it out, would an eq do both?
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Post by bluzsteel on Jan 10, 2006 6:17:28 GMT -7
what kind of guitar are you having a problem with the pickups ? Ghia seems to work great with Buckers
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Post by myles on Jan 12, 2006 12:40:09 GMT -7
Try a good 5751 in V1 for a start.
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Post by zdogma on Jan 18, 2006 16:08:15 GMT -7
Ghia's are very bright, I agree.
I find alnico 2 humbuckers very smooth with the ghia, the duncan alnico 2 pros are less than 100. I don't find them excessively dark with other amps. The seth lover and other vintage alnico humbuckers (with less winds, often no potting and alnico 5 magnets) I have found to be pretty piercing with my ghia.
You could also try a speaker switch - a G12 H or greenback would be a bit less bright. Of the alnicos, the webers are a bit darker, i find.
If you want a pedal, you could use an mxr 10 band EQ and get precise control of the high frequencies.. It will also act as a boost, if you want.
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Post by bluzsteel on Jan 18, 2006 18:34:37 GMT -7
I dont think the Ghia is bright at all , I guess if you counter clock the tone all the way maybe so , but you might want to look at the speaker , pickup combanation
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Post by anambrose on Jan 19, 2006 1:01:53 GMT -7
Fun Fun Fun 'till daddy took the Ghia away....My 2 Ghia's are run thru either single 12" cabs with EV SRO Alnico's or 2 8ohm Marshall 4x10" cabs and in either case I don't get overly bright icepick tones like I do from my 67 vibrolux reverb which is more watts thru 2x10"s.I generally run my Gibson's with the tone knobs full up just switching between the PU's the same for the Fenders.I sometimes play around with the other knob on the amp and find the sweet spot which can change from guitar to guitar venue to venue even with change in temp and humidity.If I feel the need to 'iron things out' abit I use a Carl Martin compressor pedal though any good one'll do.
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Post by bluzsteel on Jan 19, 2006 6:31:10 GMT -7
my 66 Vibrolux was waaaaaaay to bright , couldnt get use to it. out to pasture
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Post by G'OlPeachPhan on Jan 20, 2006 7:43:11 GMT -7
speaker swap would be the first thing to try... they are the single biggest factor in tuning the voice of your amp. also, try keeping your guitar tone control on "10" and roll the guitar volume control to "9"... That will sweeten the tone and smooth out the high end without making things muddy. That's just one of the great things about the Ghia - it responds really well to subtle guitar control adjustments. If you want a tube-related suggestion, try a NOS RCA Blackplate 12ax7 in V1... They're pricey, but you'll get many, many years of trouble-free, smooth-toned service from one of those in a Ghia so it's well worth it. Another aspect of the Ghia that I feel is great, but that can be a double-edged sword, is that it will expose sub-standard pickups for what they are... I have never played through an amp that rewarded pickup swaps as much as the Ghia does. It's certainly not mandatory for getting good tones, but I've found swapping pickups to be far more rewarding than using pedals when you're running into an amp like the Ghia... Not to say that there's not a place for pedals too, but I like to use them as different flavors, rather than tonal band-aids. To continue my ramble, the first time I plugged my cheap 335 copy newly equipped with a set of WCR Crossroads (replacing the cheap ceramic pickups that came in that axe), it was a tonal epiphany... Everything I liked about my tone through the Ghia was better, and any harshness that was there before was gone... Everything I DIDN'T like about my tone was as a direct result of my cheap pickups, and the Ghia was just exposing that. After I did that pickup swap on my 335, I literally had to force myself to play my PRS, as the pickups on that PRS just couldn't stack up to the tones I was getting from the WCR's... Not until I swapped the PRS pickups out for a set of WCR Goodwoods did my love for that axe return again. Long story short, an amp like the Ghia really exposes your axe and pickups for better or for worse... You might be able to get away with running cheap pickups through a Peavey Classic or Fender Blues Jr., but a Ghia deserves better in my opinion. Not trying to come across as an elitist, just trying to steer my fellow Ghia/Z brothers in a sweeter direction.
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Post by JoeYello on Jan 20, 2006 12:47:17 GMT -7
+1 Peach. I have R8 and R9 Les Paul's with Darkbursts. They sound great through the Ghia. Every nuance of your playing comes through. I have switched to audio taper volume pots and now have great tonal control of the Ghia by using my volume controls.
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