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Post by slider on Mar 30, 2007 8:48:50 GMT -7
Got the Gia and played my Les Paul through a 4 12 Marshall bottom for about 90 minutes. My impressions:
I am a plug and play guy. No pedals, no tricks, just keep it simple and play. This is simple which is very good for me. The tone knob is either very wonderful or not depending on the level of volume you play. So far it just seems like a treble bass knob rolled into one.
A lot of the reviews you read on the Gia says that it loves P90 or Strat type pickups. A lot of Amp reviews say that. Hmmm? I have a 63 Strat with Lindy Fralin Pups in it and will give it a try today. I will say that if an amp does not like my LP or PRS then it may not be welcome here long.
Nice cleans, good clear amp for chords, nice variety of tones at low to medium volume. Nice sustain. You will hear all the subtle things in your playing style. Played some Steely Dan, America, Wes Montgomery, Joe Pass, Steven Stills, George Harrison. Very nice at medium volume.
At louder volume I found it less versitle...so far. Played some Allman Brothers, Joe Walsh, Zepplin, Neil Young. Not powerfully enough to really drive the 4 12s like the Marshall 50 watt head does or my BiValve does. Could this be because the bottom is a 16 Ohm cab and the Gia only has 4 & 8 Ohm inputs?
Blues is supposed to be a strong point for th Gia. Here it was OK. I play the blues, but if I am not really in the mood my blues are un inspired so maybe it was me.
Got this amp to put in the living room on either a 1 12 or 2 12 cab. Think it will fit the bill nicely. Will it replace the Marshall.....not in this player's life time.
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Post by Matt H. on Apr 1, 2007 19:48:30 GMT -7
Nice Amp Huh?
It's a different animal than your Marshall for sure! You should try out some higher wattage Z's and you'll probably want to replace the Marshall. How about a Maz 38?
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Post by billyguitar on Apr 2, 2007 7:58:36 GMT -7
Marshall won't really replace the Ghia either. Very different amps as you know. You'll probably like it better with a different cab.
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Post by guitarboy02451 on Apr 2, 2007 12:13:49 GMT -7
Ghia will not replace a 50 watt Marshall. It will certainly sound better than one in a recording session but not replace it for a live session. A suitable Marshall replacement would be the RT66.
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Post by slider on Apr 2, 2007 19:21:53 GMT -7
I am going to invest in either a Z best or 1 12 cab. The Marshall is not getting replaced. It is a 1969 50 watter that just makes the Duane Allman, Hendrix, Page sounds like nothing out there. If I were gigging I would consider an SR65.
Played the Gia a lot over the weekend and shopped for cabs today at Maken Music in Chicago. Those guys know high end equipment really well and carry Dr. Z, Marshall, Bogner, THD and more. They told me that the Marshall bottom is not the most enjoyable cab for the Gia. If I get a 1 12, it will be an Avatar. 2 12 cab Z best.
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Post by dongiesen on Apr 2, 2007 21:16:48 GMT -7
Did you get a chance to try out a 1-12 cab with a Celestian Blue? There's a sweet sound
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Post by Jan on Apr 4, 2007 0:39:24 GMT -7
They told me that the Marshall bottom is not the most enjoyable cab for the Gia. I own neither a Carmen Gia nor a Marshall cabinet, so I have no dog in this race. But one thing I do know is that the current crop of Marshall cabinets are not what they used to be. Way back in my day, I had both a Marshall 412 and one of those humongous (was it 6 or 8?) cabinets with the 10" Celestions. Nothing Marshall I have heard lately is even close to what they used to be.
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Post by sae2111 on Apr 4, 2007 5:54:31 GMT -7
If you've only played the Ghia through a Marshall cab, you haven't really heard the amp yet. When I got mine I played it through a few different cabs and the Marshall 4x12 was easily the worst. I'm no knocking the cab, it sounds OK with some other amps, but it doesn't do the Ghia justice.
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Post by slider on Apr 4, 2007 17:26:25 GMT -7
They told me that the Marshall bottom is not the most enjoyable cab for the Gia. I own neither a Carmen Gia nor a Marshall cabinet, so I have no dog in this race. But one thing I do know is that the current crop of Marshall cabinets are not what they used to be. Way back in my day, I had both a Marshall 412 and one of those humongous (was it 6 or 8?) cabinets with the 10" Celestions. Nothing Marshall I have heard lately is even close to what they used to be. I bought my 4 12 Marshall Cab in 1973. I also have an 8 10 Marshall cab that I bought in 1971. You are correct, the new ones sound nowhere near the old ones. So I have a lot of dogs in the race and like all of em.
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Post by Jan on Apr 4, 2007 22:18:02 GMT -7
Way cool, slider. I wish I still had mine. I am really having myself an over think on where to go now for speakers. I will probably start with a stock Z Best and think about some blues or golds later.
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Post by tjstrat on Apr 5, 2007 19:56:54 GMT -7
I have a pair of 2x12s with ceramic Webers, and these speakers just kick the living crap out of anything I've ever tried before. I know that theses are based somewhat on Celestion typr designs, but a Z Best with a Blue Dog and Silver Bell and the Ghia pumping it is something you just won't get out of a lot of bigger cabs... IMHO...
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Post by Jan on Apr 5, 2007 20:51:54 GMT -7
I bought my 4 12 Marshall Cab in 1973. I also have an 8 10 Marshall cab that I bought in 1971. You are correct, the new ones sound nowhere near the old ones. So I have a lot of dogs in the race and like all of em. Three lessons there for me; never sell the good stuff, keep good, offsite records and keep better insurance.
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Post by sixshooter on Apr 6, 2007 6:01:14 GMT -7
I don't have alot of experience with Marshall amps, but when I was waiting for my CG to arrive, I thougt that it might replace my 66 Epiphone Pacemaker which sounds Marshall like(to me) when cranked. I was surprised that the best that I could do with the CG in terms of power tube distortion was to make it sould like the Pacemaker(with tone at 11:00 on CG). The low end of the Ghia sounded flabby when cranked. I found the CG to be noisy with a 12AX7A in V1. So I did a tube change in the Ghia. I put in a 12AU7A and a 12BH7A. I now use my CG for clean and still use the Pacemaker for overdriven single coil and humbucker stuff. The Pacemaker has EL84s and 1 12AX7A with solid state rectifier.
The CG has a modern (more scooped sound)with lots of low end, but the Pacemaker shoots straight up the middle(mids). I run both amps through an attenuator and then into the stereo effects return jack of a Fender solid state amp(for chorus), then into a stereo cabinet with a Weber 12A125 and a Vintage 30.
All of my tests were done with/without the attenuator and stereo amp setup. I will post a picture sometime. Thanks.
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Post by Don on Apr 7, 2007 5:04:32 GMT -7
slider -
I strongly recommend trying a 1x12 cab with a Celestion Blue. No doubt, Maken Music will have a cab with a Blue in it. Go down and run a Ghia thru one and you'll be hooked. This is an unbelievable combination.
I, too own Marshall amps, but these are two very different amplifiers. I have 5 Z amps, and haven't touched my Marshalls or Boogies in years. The Zs are that good.
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