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Post by eggman on Aug 27, 2011 22:31:27 GMT -7
Howdy,
My Ghia gets along great with my Gibsons, but sounds a bit too trebly or "bright" with my Teles, is there an affordable way to tame the treble?
My CG head goes through a 1x12 Z cab loaded with an AlNiCo Silver Bell. Tubes: JJ EL84s which are possibly near the end of thier lifespan, NOS 5y3, 5751 & 12ax7. I adore my Ghia and am confidant that it can party just as well with Teles as well as Gibsons (335 & P-90 LP Spl.). Feel free to chime in!
PS: Simply rolling back my Tele's vol knob a bit is the simplest solution right now-and it's reasonably effective.
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Post by scotty on Aug 27, 2011 22:42:54 GMT -7
I found the Celestiom Blue far too bright for me. Tone Tubby, Greenback, Doc's 2x10s all awesome and with less treble. A G-12H30 is great too. More chime than the others but not ice picky like the blue was to my ears.
My suggestion is a speaker change.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 27, 2011 23:42:52 GMT -7
I have found a good balance between my SC245 and my tele with a G12H30 speaker. I do roll the tone on the tele down to about 7.
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Post by doctorice on Aug 28, 2011 5:12:57 GMT -7
Where do you set the Ghia's tone knob?
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Post by randalp3000 on Aug 28, 2011 8:07:25 GMT -7
If I'ts a newer one you could back date it to add a little more warmth. Here is something I copied from an ald post about the changes made to ghia's over the years. I have a vresion 2&3 and they sound way differant, the 2 is alot warmer and the 3 is a litte harsh in the top end. This was taken from this thread, ztalk.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=xperts&action=display&thread=29021I decreased the Global feedback resistor from 2.2 meg to 3.3 meg. 2.2 a bit smoother and slightly less output, 3.3 more edge and more output. On the 100K plate resistor of V1 , second stage , recovery stage after the tone control, originally there was a .001 cap across that 100K. It would roll of some highs and warm up the signal some, again less edge, smoother tone, and less output with it in. I removed because I heard may critic it for not enough high end and less VOXY sound. Read more: ztalk.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=xperts&action=display&thread=29021#ixzz1WKuBgvK0 |
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Post by eggman on Aug 28, 2011 9:48:03 GMT -7
Howdy,
Thanks for all the replies. DoctorIce: With my Mahogany Tele, I keep the amp's tone knob around 11 AM. I've tried it up to 1 PM, but this adds a more bass than desireable. BTW, my Mahogany Tele is my "darkest" Tele (Rosewood 'board, brass saddles and Twang King P/Us).
I popped in a NOS Sylvania EL84 duet which sounded a tad dark to my ears last Summer. That did the trick-with my Teles. Gibsons and Rickenbacker 360 sound great as always. Thanks again ya'll.
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Post by doctorice on Aug 28, 2011 17:25:48 GMT -7
Glad to hear you got the sound back to what you wanted. Enjoy  |
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Post by bgkyt1 on Oct 12, 2013 20:46:42 GMT -7
on my 2010 Ghia head, i tried clipping in caps and resistors to back date the amp, tried all different tubes except the rectifier, tried other mods, and the amp has a harsh top end when played agressively with my strat, on any pickup, through any cabinet. i have 6 other amps that don't have that problem. basically, the amp is useless to me with single coils. my les paul works fine with it. if the amp were to lose the overall hi end, i think the low notes wouldn't sound as good. it's like a certain peak frequency that's shrill and a little fizzy. it's a shame it doesn't work with single coils, so i'm considering selling it.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 14, 2013 9:58:04 GMT -7
Switch the V1 ECC83 with a 5751 just switch them V1 V2 it will warm it up.
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Post by bgkyt1 on Oct 14, 2013 16:30:56 GMT -7
thanks for the suggestion revrand. i tried it, and it still has the same problem, and i believe it's only because the first stage is not as hot. the amp has less gain, and just has the effect of lessening the problem. i would keep the amp if there's a fix or mod for this. it seems like a bug or flaw. no disrespect intended. and it seems like there are others who have a problem with the brightness. and trying it again today, it could be just a problem of overall brightness, and not just peaks like i thought before.
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Post by KeithA on Oct 14, 2013 19:03:47 GMT -7
thanks for the suggestion revrand. i tried it, and it still has the same problem, and i believe it's only because the first stage is not as hot. the amp has less gain, and just has the effect of lessening the problem. i would keep the amp if there's a fix or mod for this. it seems like a bug or flaw. no disrespect intended. and it seems like there are others who have a problem with the brightness. and trying it again today, it could be just a problem of overall brightness, and not just peaks like i thought before. I like that bite/edge. I had wanted a Ghia for a while and it was this video that really turned me on to them. I really like the single coil vibe as opposed to the humbucker. I have my Mini Ghia LE now and love it with single coils. I guess every amp is not for everybody  |
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Post by bgkyt1 on Oct 14, 2013 19:25:39 GMT -7
KeithA, thanks for the input. The Dean Parks video is why I wanted a Ghia. I played an older Ghia at a store a few years ago, and that's what sold me, however, when I bought one online in 2010, it did not sound like Dean's nor like the one in the store. Or at least, I didn't have a sense that it was overly bright in the store.
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Post by bgkyt1 on Oct 14, 2013 19:37:05 GMT -7
I'd be curious to know from the Doc or a tech if a cut control or a different value cap on the tone control (if it would still have enough highs with humbuckers) would solve it.
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Post by jesslm02 on Oct 14, 2013 21:01:23 GMT -7
I'd be curious to know from the Doc or a tech if a cut control or a different value cap on the tone control (if it would still have enough highs with humbuckers) would solve it. Doc has made a few changes to the circuit over the years. I remember an old thread where he noted what had been changed. Basically just a capacitor or two I think. I remember him saying the latest change was to make the amp brighter because it made it more vox-like. I'll see if I can dig that thread up... Sent from my Galaxy S4 using Proboards |
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Post by bgkyt1 on Oct 14, 2013 21:33:14 GMT -7
Thanks jessim02, but I tried those. The alligator clip version anyway. I didn't want to solder it without trying it with clips first. I could hear the effect of less gain but thought the brightness was still there.
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Post by jesslm02 on Oct 15, 2013 8:25:27 GMT -7
If you just paralleled them in with the same cap or resistor that wouldn't be the same as replacing it. That old component would still be affecting the circuit.
Sent from my Galaxy S4 using Proboards
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Post by jesslm02 on Oct 15, 2013 8:57:32 GMT -7
I also have my CG running through a silver bell (ceramic) and while it is bright, I haven't thought that it was too bright. Just typical telecaster tone. Even with the g&l asat with the mfd pickups, which are brighter than alnico pickups, it still sounds good to my ears. Bright but not brittle and still has some fatness in the mix. I can roll the tone knob to the right and it adds more fatness and loses a little highend. But in any situation if I think its too bright I can roll the yone knob a little.
I also just recently swapped the v1 and v2 tubes so that the 5751 is in v1, and I really like it for single coils and running pedals.
Are you the original owner of the CG? And where do you usually have your tone knob set?
Sent from my Galaxy S4 using Proboards
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Post by bgkyt1 on Oct 15, 2013 9:21:43 GMT -7
Correct, but the back-date mods were just adding a cap in parallel, and/or changing the feedback resistance, which adding a resistor in parallel would accomplish.
I'm the original owner. I set it around noon for the strat. It doesn't seem to lose any highs, just rolls off low end.
I tried the tube swap, it just dropped the gain. I think the sound coming out of my cabs would shred anyone's ears if there was a direct angle, and seems to fizz out when it's louder, and aggravated with the AirBrake. And one speaker usually sounds dull with every other amp. My strat currently doesn't have the tone controls hooked up, and I wouldn't want to have to roll back both of them all the time. I'm just thinking that if my other 6 amps don't have this problem, this one shouldn't. But, I'm not sure I want to mod it drastically.
If a guitar tone knob works for me without muffling the low notes, I might hook one back up in the guitar and try that. It will be the first time I have had to use a tone knob on a guitar.
Thanks for the replies.
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Post by Baconator on Oct 15, 2013 9:56:06 GMT -7
It's entirely possible that the Ghia isn't the right amp for you. That said, I found myself in a similar position when I started gigging with a tele. I generally have my Ghia's tone knob set at 1-2:00 and I personally don't find it too bass-heavy. I do roll the tone off a tiny bit on my tele sometimes, but not very much. When I started going between an SG and tele on gigs I found that adjusting the pickups a little on the SG got me to where I could get good tones out of both guitars without having to adjust amp settings. Now while I find the Ghia to be a little bright sometimes when I'm playing at home I have never really noticed it being too bright when I'm playing with others. It's in a band setting that the amp really shines for me. For playing at home unaccompanied I'd probably find that I liked certain amps better, but in a band mix it works quite well for me. Good luck.
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Post by jesslm02 on Oct 15, 2013 11:04:11 GMT -7
Correct, but the back-date mods were just adding a cap in parallel, and/or changing the feedback resistance, which adding a resistor in parallel would accomplish. I'm the original owner. I set it around noon for the strat. It doesn't seem to lose any highs, just rolls off low end. I tried the tube swap, it just dropped the gain. I think the sound coming out of my cabs would shred anyone's ears if there was a direct angle, and seems to fizz out when it's louder, and aggravated with the AirBrake. And one speaker usually sounds dull with every other amp. My strat currently doesn't have the tone controls hooked up, and I wouldn't want to have to roll back both of them all the time. I'm just thinking that if my other 6 amps don't have this problem, this one shouldn't. But, I'm not sure I want to mod it drastically. If a guitar tone knob works for me without muffling the low notes, I might hook one back up in the guitar and try that. It will be the first time I have had to use a tone knob on a guitar. Thanks for the replies. Hmmm... IDK man. I know we all hear things different. One man's "ice pick in the ear" is another man's clarity. And as the post above says it really just might not be the amp for you. It does seem somewhat strange though. It has been this way the whole time you've owned it? You could always send it in for a checkup. Components can drift out of spec, fail, etc... When you say "harsh and fizzy" that really makes me think bad component, solder joint, tube, etc. I'm on my third ghia (sold one to a buddy, sold the other to get the LE 25th Anniversary model) and they have all been close in tone, with no harshness or fizziness. They were older models, early 2000s. The new head sounds great too though. Sent from my Galaxy S4 using Proboards |
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Post by bgkyt1 on Oct 15, 2013 18:09:14 GMT -7
when i first bought it, i had a stacked humbucker in the strat which was dark, so i didn't notice it. and i was just recording rhythm tracks. the amp probably has less than 20 hours on it. i noticed the harsh clipping hi-end after i put true single coils back in the strat. if i just play soft on the strings, it almost seems fine, but picking strong really clips the highs.
i don't think it's really like an old-school marshall ice-pick sound, but the high-end clipping. i tried the les paul with it again, and it sounds totally fine.
also, i just temporarily clipped in a cut control and it could get rid of all the hi-end, but i could still hear something clipping in the sound. the same clipping harshness that i heard on the hi-end, i heard in the muffled signal. maybe that's the issue.
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Post by bgkyt1 on Oct 15, 2013 18:42:08 GMT -7
i did try all different tubes except the rectifier. and i wonder if the OP and others who have modified theirs are hearing the same thing, which makes me think it's not just a bad solder joint. i might try letting a local tech listen to it.
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Post by headshrinker (Marc) on Oct 15, 2013 20:14:07 GMT -7
What single coils are in the Strat? Have you tried the amp with another Strat or single coil guitar to eliminate the guitar or pickups as the problem. Also how do you have the pickups set relative to the strings. Getting Strat pickups too close to the strings can make some unpleasant sounds. Lastly some Strat pickups sound very harsh. We just ripped a pair like that out of a USA Strat that the other guitar player in the band I'm in started using because it sounded real harsh, whereas his other Strats don't.
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Post by bgkyt1 on Oct 15, 2013 20:55:18 GMT -7
i have a dimarzio area 61 or 58, the stock lace sensor, and duncan classic stack, which replaced a dimarzio area 61/58. i thought the pickups might be it, but the stock lace sensor has the same problem. the guitar is pretty balanced on the frequencies. i have the height lower than suggested, and lowered them more just to see if that was it, but still...
and they sound great in all the other amps (clones: lightning, marshall 18, jcm 800, tweed deluxe, bf deluxe) i'll take it to a store and try a tele there, and have a tech listen.
thanks for the ideas...
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Post by bgkyt1 on Oct 17, 2013 22:32:25 GMT -7
My apologies to everyone. I had the Strat's tone controls disconnected, just wired them back up, and that seems to have solved it. It was like going from active pickups to passive. My Ghia is now not crazy bright and clipping like it was. Sorry for blaming the amp. I should have known.
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Post by jesslm02 on Oct 18, 2013 8:08:02 GMT -7
My apologies to everyone. I had the Strat's tone controls disconnected, just wired them back up, and that seems to have solved it. It was like going from active pickups to passive. My Ghia is now not crazy bright and clipping like it was. Sorry for blaming the amp. I should have known. Stuff happens man. Glad you got it sorted out. Sent from my Galaxy S4 using Proboards |
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