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Post by zdogma on Mar 2, 2007 7:58:43 GMT -7
Welcome
The Ghia sound much like a tweed deluxe to my ear, but the feel is similar. Its a lot thicker at low volumes and doesn't get "fizzy" at higher volumes. More midrange, too. Sort of like an 18 watt Marshall meets tweed deluxe.
Starting point for tele is usually 11 oclock to 1 oclock on the dial, depending on how fat you like it.
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Post by kruzty on Mar 2, 2007 7:59:15 GMT -7
About the power cord - you can use one you have at home (maybe from a PC?) and just have them send you the original. Depending on what kind of pickups are in your tele, you might want to start a little past noon. I like mine about 1:00 for single coils, unless they are unusually dark. The nice thing about the CG is that there aren't a lot of knob combinations, so it is easy to experiment. Enjoy!
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Post by myles on Mar 2, 2007 11:16:29 GMT -7
Good morning all, I just picked up my new CG 1x12 Blonde combo yesterday. I had been thinking about one for a long time. First impressions: it seems big and heavy for a 1x12 (but I think that's a good thing) and it is drop-dead gorgeous! The wife even thought it was pretty-not sure if that's good or not... Notice there's no comment on the sound. It was very stormy here yesterday, and I was only in the dealer's store about 5 minutes. I wanted to get it to the truck before the next wave hit. We had sort of pre-discussed a trade deal on the phone and it went down quicky and smoothly. He was a true gentleman. Anyway, I dashed out in a hurry and forgot the power cord, so it's another 80 mile round trip for me today to pick it up. I'll have many questions I'm sure but for now just two quick ones: I've seen this amp compared to a tweed Deluxe (I love the simplicity). Any truth to this comparison? Secondly, any suggestions as to a starting point for the tone knob with a Tele? A little late to be asking, but how is ths amp with a Tele? All I read indicated it was great with anything. Well, thanks for listening and I'm glad to be here. Ed Ed... Welcome aboard! On the power cord ... they are standard IEC cords and you can probably get one someplace local for $5.00 or less. I have a Ghia and Tweed Deluxe .... they are very different amps but both magic. A Telecaster and Carmen Ghia are magic. I set my volume to about 10:00 and tone to about 1:30-2:00 and roll back the guitar volume a touch for great clean tones that are huge and full and then roll it up for rock tones that are not too extreme. If the amp's volume is at 2:00 you can get great singing hard rock tones from the amp with a Tele.
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Post by myles on Mar 2, 2007 11:20:48 GMT -7
Well, that's really good news about the 18 watt Marshall thing, given the music I grew up with and loved so much. Suffice it to say that I grew up in Macon, GA in the late '60's and early '70s'. I kind of thought this might be the sound based on the few clips I have been able to hear. Thanks for the tone tips. I thought about the computer cord but didn't know the guage requirement and was afraid of under-supplying a trannie and cooking something. Ed I find the 18 watt Marshall and the Carmen Ghia different. The Marshall has a less full mid range and the low end is not as full as the Ghia. On the Marshall I like the volume all the way up, tone set pretty high too, on the Tele rear pickup run it wide open volume wise but roll down the Tele tone control about 25% or so. I find the two amps to be complimentary but different. Sort of like the difference between a Vox AC-15 and the Marshall 18 watter. The Carmen Ghia is different from the vox as well as the Vox has an EF86 in the front end and a much different tone stack than either of the amps.
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Post by aj1169 on Mar 2, 2007 11:36:49 GMT -7
I play my Carmen Ghia with a Tele most of the time. This is my go-to setup. As for settings, I usually run the volume between 11:00 and 12:00 and put the tone control at about 1:00. This gives me a great sound on either of the Tele's pickups. Nice and warm clean with a little hair on the neck and a nice natural tube crunch on the bridge. Roll off the guitar volume and it cleans right up. With this setting, I can do anything from country to blues to all out classic rock.
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Post by billyguitar on Mar 2, 2007 12:22:13 GMT -7
Any Radio Shack etc., has a power cord that will work fine. Just have the dealer mail yours and then you can stash a spare in your gigbag. Before computer parts and accessories were so common I left the power cord for my Marshall at home. We were playing on a boat at the Lake Of The Ozarks. I went to a hardware store and the closest thing I could find was a coffee pot cord. I smashed the plastic end off and shoved to two leads on the two outside pins inside the jack, hoping that the middle was the ground. It was and I got thru the gig fine. I wish I'd have had a spare cord!
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Post by Ridgeback on Mar 2, 2007 12:51:46 GMT -7
I second Myles' and zdogma's opinions on the CG vs tweed Deluxe. I play my Ghia head through the Weber 12A150 speakers in my Vicky Double Deluxe fairly regularly and don't find them alike at all. As usual with tone-related opinions, YMMV.
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Post by billyguitar on Mar 2, 2007 19:55:05 GMT -7
The CG and the Deluxe both have a bubbly feel but after that they diverge.
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Post by kruzty on Mar 3, 2007 6:50:13 GMT -7
Sounds like a ground loop issue. I notice that on my CG too, especially if there is a boost pedal on.
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Post by zdogma on Mar 3, 2007 9:03:00 GMT -7
Sounds like normal 60 cycle hum. You tend to notice it more with brighter guitars (like a tele) and brighter amps.
If it gets better when you touch the strings, that's typical, if it gets quieter when you turn the guitar in different directions, that will confirm it.
The MIM Fender Teles have fairly hot ceramic pickups, and they don't hum cancel in the middle position. I find them quite noisy, but you can get used to it most times. First thing to try is rolling back the tone control on the guitar a bit.
There are several other things that could help out. First, make sure there are no TV's, monitors, flouresent (or those new spiral bulbs), or dimmer switches around your amp or guitar. You can improve the cavity shielding of the guitar with foil or paint.
You can replace the pickups with a set that are noise cancelling in the middle (Seymour Duncan makes some models like this as do the boutique builders like Jerry Amalfitano). You can get single space humbuckers or noiseless pickups, also (but they don't sound quite as much like a tele.
I think the MIM teles are pretty good guitars, and are worth a little upgrade or two to get a sound that makes you happy.
Ground loops like Kruzty describes occur when you have multiple devices that have different grounds, like an amp and OD plugged in different outlets, or two amps. If that is the case, you can usually fix it by plugging everything into one bar or plug. And if you have an old house, make sure the outlet is grounded.
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Post by lowbudget on Mar 3, 2007 10:52:48 GMT -7
zdogma, you're right on the money. Since my last post I inadverdantly discovered that in fact the TV not far away was indeed causing part (a large part) of the problem, even muted. As I mentioned, it definitely gets quieter when the strings are touched, and yes, it changes as you turn the guitar different ways. I don't know why I never noticed any of this with my old Princeton Reverb, especially given that all single coil guitars are notorious for this, but I didn't.
I too agree that the MIM Tele is a great piece for the money, and worth some effort to get right. The quality seems amazing for the price. I'll retrieve my CIJ '52 RI from my son next week and see if it's any different.
I'm mainly relieved that it looks like there is no problem related to this new amp. This blonde CG combo has amazing tone, and is even pretty to look at just sitting there. I don't think I ever thought of an amp in those terms before.
Can't wait to get to know her better. Wish I had pulled the trigger way back when I first thought about it.
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Post by guitarboy02451 on Mar 3, 2007 13:50:47 GMT -7
Hey Eddie, Welcome to the Z-Forum! Congrats on the CG, I have the same model and color. I love it! All guitars sound awesome through a CG. I haven't heard a bad one yet.
The tone knob will fatten up your sound around 2pm. I usually keep mine at about 12 and work from there. For that old Beatles AC 30 sound, I roll of the tone all the way. Try playing Day Tripper with the tone rolled all the way off! You'll love it!
For pedals, almost any pedal will sit in front of the CG. Personally, I think the CG is a simple amp, so I feel the pedal setup for a CG should be the same. Xotic RC, AC and my EBS Dynaverb pedal. All the tone you'll ever need.
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