bear
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Post by bear on Jan 1, 2017 10:00:02 GMT -7
So I'm finally gonna pull the trigger on a used Ghia but I could use a little help deciding which version to get. I've got my eye on two used ones that are good deals right now. Neither one is local so I can't go try them out and decide that way. One is a 2012 1x12 combo with a v30 and new jj's. The other is an early 2000's 2x10 combo with the stock Z speakers. The older 2x10 combo is about $50 less too. Hopefully there are a few Ghia aficionados on here who can help me out with a couple of questions! Other than the addition of different ohm speaker outs in the back and the label change on the front, is there any difference in the older ghia amps vs the newer models? Sonically? What about suggestions just in general between going 1x12 vs 2x10? Anyone here have experience with both versions? I also like to play around with different speakers and plan to in the near future. I hear a lot about guys experimenting with speakers in the 1x12 combo but not much in the 2x10. Are the stock 10" Z speakers that good? Anyone ever try two 10" celestion golds in the 2x10 for example? Anyway, I know I probably can't go wrong either way and things like this have surely been discussed on here before, but I figured I'd still ask and see what the experienced Ghia owners out there had for suggestions. Thanks!
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Post by John on Jan 1, 2017 10:57:26 GMT -7
You can always swap out speakers (I'll get to that later), but the main difference between the amps is headroom. Old Ghias...like the 2000 model, have earlier breakup. (more overdrive at a lower volume) Some people like this, some don't. It's up to you. If you play in a relatively clean country band, the 2012 might be a little better. (although I would question the V30)Put another way, if you need louder volume (for a same level of overdrive), go with the 2012. If you play mostly at home or in a rehearsal/basement format with other musicians, the 2000 might be better. As for tone, they should be the same except for the breakup.
As for speakers:
The V30 is a popular choice for the Ghia (although I've never tried one with mine). The V30 has a very dominant spike in upper mids. Some like it...a lot of people hate it. But for those that do, they say it goes well with a Ghia. Also, it's relatively loud speaker for a given amount of power. (high db rating)
The 10" Z speakers have gotten rave reviews over the years. I personally have not played them, but like a said...a good reputation. I have rarely (if ever?) heard of someone swapping out Z 10's for something else. Z 10" speakers are also rather loud....for 10" speakers.
If you plan on swapping out speakers, only having to buy 1x12" will be a lot cheaper!
When I had my ghia, I had a 1x10 combo and I put a 10" gold in it. It was fantastic. So if you like the idea of 2x10" golds...it would be great.
The newer 1x12 should also weigh less..if that's important to you.
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bear
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Post by bear on Jan 1, 2017 11:12:30 GMT -7
Thanks John, I appreciate all the info! I definitely think I'd prefer more headroom with a later breakup so maybe the 2012 is the way to go? I do a lot of session work in Nashville so I think that would probably lend itself to getting more use with most stuff I record on being somewhere between a Country / Americana / Rock sort of vibe.... and yeah, weight and money aren't the biggest of factors in my decision this time around but it's certainly always nice to spend a little less and to have less weight to haul around!
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Post by John on Jan 1, 2017 11:30:30 GMT -7
If you do session work, I'd buy the 1x12 and yank out that V30 and put in a celestion blue. You won't need to try out any other speakers. (I always thought the V30 in an openback or combo was poor sounding anyway)
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bear
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Post by bear on Jan 1, 2017 13:27:49 GMT -7
Just bought the 2012 1x12 combo. Thanks for the help! Now I just gotta decide between a celestion blue and a celestion gold. I initially was thinking of going gold just because I assumed I'd lose clean headroom with the blue but maybe the difference is negligible between the two in that regard? I know a lot of guys here swear by the blue with the ghia. I do also have a couple good dedicated clean amps already so maybe the blue would be the best starting point after all?
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Post by simpleton on Jan 1, 2017 15:31:44 GMT -7
You might like the V30 in it. The Ghia will respond very well to speaker changes...as well as tubes. It's a great amp. Congrats and hope you stick around here. Lots of great folks for sure and we would love to hear what you are doing with your little Z.
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Post by John on Jan 1, 2017 17:04:09 GMT -7
I'd go with the blue.
Don't discount a greenback. Not as loud as a blue, but more ceramic punch. (If that's what you want.) But they share a lot of sonic similarities. Less bass, lush mids, early breakup. And it's cheaper than a blue. You can always find a greenback on ebay for cheap. If you're in Nashville, they should be plentiful on craigslist.
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Post by eggman on Jan 1, 2017 17:22:42 GMT -7
Bear,
John always give such good and well informed advice. This happy Ghia owner wants to weigh in. The Celestion blue is a great speaker for that slightly overdriven, raunchy Keef sound. It's also good for chimey clean tones. Another speaker to consider is Weber's AlNico silver bell rated for 30 watts and with their "pre-rola" treatment. The Silver Bell brings needed bass to the table,which you may not need in the studio.. It also manages to do happy, chimey clean tones even better than the Celestion blue. It's relative weakness is that slightly overdriven, edge-of-breaking up tone we all love: the Blue is better for that. Good luck and enjoy that Ghia. Don't be a stranger here at Z-Talk!
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bear
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Post by bear on Jan 1, 2017 18:59:07 GMT -7
Thanks so much for all the info and suggestions everybody, I really appreciate it! I think I'll at least give the V30 it's fair shot when the amp gets here and then go from there. I've used some of Ted Weber's speakers in the past in other amps and had great luck with them as well so I will definitely keep that in mind too. I'll check back in a week or so and let y'all know which way I went with it. Thanks again for the help!!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 2, 2017 8:25:40 GMT -7
Welcome to the forum, and Congratulations!
The Ghia is a fantastic amp.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 2, 2017 19:31:34 GMT -7
Thanks so much for all the info and suggestions everybody, I really appreciate it! I think I'll at least give the V30 it's fair shot when the amp gets here and then go from there. I've used some of Ted Weber's speakers in the past in other amps and had great luck with them as well so I will definitely keep that in mind too. I'll check back in a week or so and let y'all know which way I went with it. Thanks again for the help!! Not to muddy the waters, but of all the speakers I've used with my Ghia in the past 9 or so years, including (to the best of my recollection) V30, Creamback M, Tone Tubby (Red) Alnico, Mojotone greenback clone (all 12"), I like my current setup (Weber Blue Dog & Silver bell) 2x10s the best. They sound great together, and for my home recording application, it's great, because I can mic either or both speakers, depending on what I'm looking for. |
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bear
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Post by bear on Jan 3, 2017 19:21:39 GMT -7
Anyone here tried the Avatar Hellatone A25 with a ghia? Their version of a Celestion alnico blue but 25 watts apparently. There's a brand new one I can snag off a guy here in town for 80 bucks but I thought I'd check and see if anyone's tried one here first. Let me know if you have. Thanks!
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Post by John on Jan 3, 2017 19:45:36 GMT -7
Never heard of it. But for $80...you can't go wrong. Buy it!!!
...and just because I've never heard of it..that doesn't mean a thing. There's lots of stuff I haven't heard of.
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bear
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Post by bear on Jan 4, 2017 9:16:07 GMT -7
Never heard of it. But for $80...you can't go wrong. Buy it!!! ...and just because I've never heard of it..that doesn't mean a thing. There's lots of stuff I haven't heard of. Yeah that's what I was thinking. For $80 it's worth a shot! I was reading up on tube suggestions here in some other threads too.... my Ghia won't be here till tomorrow but I think it's got current production JJ's throughout and I'm pretty sure the preamp tubes are all 12ax7 (no 5751) and I think based on the serial number it's a 2012. Sounds like the PI was originally a 5751 but is now a 12ax7. From what I've read it appears you can still use either one it'll just sound different. Im thinking of getting a couple 5751 tubes to swap around and experiment with but what I want to know is if I try one for the PI spot, does it need to have balanced triodes? |
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Post by John on Jan 4, 2017 9:31:56 GMT -7
A balance PI will help sometimes..other times not. In theory, it should be balanced. If given the option, get a balanced. V1 does not need to be balanced...only the PI.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 4, 2017 13:38:03 GMT -7
Anyone here tried the Avatar Hellatone A25 with a ghia? Their version of a Celestion alnico blue but 25 watts apparently. There's a brand new one I can snag off a guy here in town for 80 bucks but I thought I'd check and see if anyone's tried one here first. Let me know if you have. Thanks! You stole that speaker for $80! I just ordered one for my Ghia today and paid double that (which is still a bargain compared to other C-Blue clones). Tone reports to follow! |
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Post by soupbone on Jan 4, 2017 21:17:39 GMT -7
I owned a racing stripe model Ghia and didn't like it nearly as well as the 2.0 version. I also don't care for it with Voxish speakers. Love it with ceramic silver bells and V30s. Not so much with C Blues and other alnico speakers.
I'm telling the OP this because I play a lot of modern country with cleanish tones and in case it just doesn't click, don't give up on the Ghia. I've played all of doc's "country" amps and the Ghia is probably my favorite. Which era Ghia and which speaker makes a giant difference.
Cheers.
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bear
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Post by bear on Jan 5, 2017 18:18:42 GMT -7
Got my Ghia today... had a dead rectifier in it when it showed up but a quick trip down the street to the amp shop took care of that. Anyway, the amp sounds great and I liked things about both speakers I tried (V30 and Hellatone A25) but I don't think I've quite found the perfect fit for it just yet. The V30 has a nice punch to it but it's pretty harsh in the highs and especially the mids. I like the character of the alnico speaker a lot but it breaks up at a pretty low volume (it's 25watts) but I feel like the V30 isn't a great deal better in that regard at 60watts. I'm wondering if you guys might have some suggestions for me? I think after all the a/b-ing between the two speakers I would say I think an alnico is definitely the direction I want to go but maybe higher wattage will get me a little more clean headroom? Maybe a Celestion Gold? I had a gold in a Stangray I used to have and loved it. I've also heard a lot of praises for the Weber silver bell and Weber blue dog. What wattage might be the best for a little more headroom? Basically I'd like to be able to keep that awesome single tone knob in the noon position sweet spot but retain just a little more low end and have the highs rolled off just a bit. Maybe a couple tube swaps could help with the clean headroom too? Right now it's JJ's across the board except for v2 having the stock 5751 (jan I think it is) that came in it. Any thoughts on this would be a big help. Let me know what y'all think. Thanks guys!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 5, 2017 20:20:58 GMT -7
As far as alnico goes, I liked the Tone Tubby (red). 50 Watts. I thought it was Slower to break up than other speakers I'd had. It's also really loud (100db), which I liked a bit less. A good sound, though!
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Post by John on Jan 6, 2017 4:05:40 GMT -7
Gold
Blue Dog
Silver bell
Any one will sound great. It's down to personal preference. If it were me, I'd go with either the Gold or the Blue Dog
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Post by j4gitr (John) on Jan 6, 2017 4:53:57 GMT -7
I'm running a WGS Blackhawk Alnico with my Ghia in a worship setting. Tone knob just one side of noon or the other, depending on guitar. I find it very smooth. Check out their customer exchange section in the Q & A forum. You can save some money if you don't mind a customer return.
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Post by Marshalldog on Jan 6, 2017 11:19:25 GMT -7
Get both what the hell, you only live once and its only money...LOL!!
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Post by meanslide on Jan 6, 2017 11:57:37 GMT -7
I second the Tone Tubby recommendation. I've tried many speakers in the last 10 years I've owned a Ghia and the TT inches out over the CGold by just a notch. Both are great though with the TT being a little smoother overall.
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bear
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Post by bear on Jan 8, 2017 18:00:31 GMT -7
Right on guys, thanks so much for all the great suggestions! I wound up ordering a Celestion gold for the Ghia today. I really honestly like things about both the V30 and the A25 even though they are totally different from one another. I Like the punch of the ceramic V30 but it's a little tough on the ears in the upper mids and treble. On the other end, the Alnico 25 watter has a wicked open rawness to it but sweet sounding at the same time if that makes any sense haha! The only trouble I have with it is getting enough clean headroom before the growl starts. I guess that's why I'm going with the gold. Hoping to have just a bit more cleans on tap but have access to that C blue sort of growl when I need it.... that's my rationale on it for now anyway. Thanks again fellas for all the help!
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Post by Don on Jan 15, 2017 23:58:18 GMT -7
I pulled my Celestion Blue out of my Ghia combo and installed one of Doc's new black label Z 12" speakers.
Wow, what a pleasant surprise!
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Post by premiumplus (Dave) on Jan 16, 2017 7:30:26 GMT -7
The Z-12 sounds great with every amp I've tried it with. It really sings with the Therapy and Maz 18NR too.
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