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Post by scottdownsouth on Jan 18, 2018 5:54:10 GMT -7
Gday Folks, Ive got my heart set on a Carmen Ghia for my next purchase. I was just wondering, I see a few people posting that they sold Carmen Ghias or Z-28s because they were too loud to get to break up volume at smaller venues. Im usually a fan of cranking the amp and using the guitars volume to dial in and out the amount of drive.
My plan is to run a boost pedal (Fulltone fatboost or Xotic AC) if I get in the situation where the amp is too loud. Having said that, Ive never heard the Carmen Ghia with pedals. Anyone here regularly using pedals with this amp?
Cheers, Scott. |
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Post by TelePrankster on Jan 18, 2018 6:05:30 GMT -7
I have both a Carmen Ghia and a Z-28. The Carmen Ghia takes dirt pedal well, the Z-28 takes them better in my opinion. Something like a Timmy or Hot Cake would be perfect with the Ghia though. Are you considering an attenuator?
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Post by John on Jan 18, 2018 6:11:00 GMT -7
It depends on what your definition of 'loud' is...it depends on what your definition of 'smaller venues' is. A Ghia can get much more breakup at a lower volume than a Z-28.
I too am a fan of cranking the amp and using guitar volume knob to control things. That said, I do like to have one overdrive available if I need a little over the top lead.
Speaker choice can also make a difference. There are some loud speakers out there (for a given amount of signal) like a 12" blue/gold/V30...then there are some that are really inefficient and are much quieter for the same amount of signal...like a 10" greenback. I had a 1x10 ghia combo with a gold and it was the perfect grab and go amp. I played a lot of gigs with it. When the drummer got a few beers in him, he got loud. There were only a few gigs where the little Ghia didn't quite keep up. I also had a brakelite in the cabinet, figuring I needed it because there's no master volume on the amp. And to tell you the truth, I NEVER used it at a gig. I always had it on bypass. I only used the brakelite at home.
So after all my rambling...I would say get the Ghia...REALLY get the Ghia...it's a wonderful amp. But if you're concerned about it being too loud, I'd get a brakelite, and consider selecting a speaker that will match your volume and tone needs.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 18, 2018 6:33:01 GMT -7
The Mad Professor/Bearfoot/One Control family of pedals (all designed by BJE) all have a lot of dynamics.
I use them mostly for solo boosts on a gig. On the occasion that the Ghia has been too loud all of those have worked well with a dialed in sound (w the GV on 5 or 6) that still let me turn up the guitar for solos.
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Post by scottdownsouth on Jan 18, 2018 7:34:51 GMT -7
Thanks for the replies folks.
Telepranskster, Im not a big fan of attenuators. I like the K.I.S.S. approach.
John, Im considering getting a head for the reasons you say about matching a speaker to suit the situation. Itd be nice to have a high efficiency 12" cab and a lower efficiency 10" cab. Options....and money.... :-)
I guess my main question was does the amp work well with pedals. Yes from Roscoe. Thanks!
Cheers, Scott.
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Post by Stephen on Jan 18, 2018 8:06:02 GMT -7
I just got my Ghia the day before yesterday. I played it with a Brake-Lite yesterday and never really got what I was after. Today, I used a Boss FRV-1 and an Ibanez TS-9 to practice with a slide and it was just what I needed. More later.
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Post by digs57 on Jan 18, 2018 8:26:47 GMT -7
From my experience the last time with 1/10 ghia it really was at its best pushing it with just (humbucker) guitar...les paul and it was on...
I use to use ep boost at smaller gigs...I did have a brakelite in mine but rarely used it...always ended up turning it off at gigs.
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Post by scottdownsouth on Jan 18, 2018 9:39:29 GMT -7
The more I think about it a Brake Lite might not be a bad idea..... takes me a bit longer than some to catch on. 
Cheers, Scott. |
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Post by jhanks on Jan 18, 2018 14:22:17 GMT -7
My best results for taming small venue volume with the Ghia were with a 10" greenback speaker and a Timmy pedal.
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Post by scottdownsouth on Jan 19, 2018 0:07:10 GMT -7
My best results for taming small venue volume with the Ghia were with a 10" greenback speaker and a Timmy pedal. I’m a fan of Greenbacks. I just put one in my Mini Z. Cheers, Scott. |
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Post by mrpendleton on Jan 19, 2018 3:07:02 GMT -7
I use an ocd and a plexi drive for small gigs with my ghia and it sounds great!
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Post by Stephen on Jan 19, 2018 7:01:37 GMT -7
My best results for taming small venue volume with the Ghia were with a 10" greenback speaker and a Timmy pedal. I’m gonna try Timmy with the Ghia today. What were your favorite settings? |
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Post by jhanks on Jan 19, 2018 11:53:02 GMT -7
My best results for taming small venue volume with the Ghia were with a 10" greenback speaker and a Timmy pedal. I’m gonna try Timmy with the Ghia today. What were your favorite settings? Using a tele... Volume 9:00 - 10:00 Gain anywhere from 9:00 - 12:00, but didn't love it much higher than that Bass 10:00 - 11:00 Treble slightly rolled off, maybe 8:00 - 9:00 Clipping switch in the middle position (liked the down position too, but more compressed and had a slight volume drop) |
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Post by captainron (Ron) on Jan 19, 2018 19:28:21 GMT -7
I’m gonna try Timmy with the Ghia today. What were your favorite settings? Using a tele... Volume 9:00 - 10:00 Gain anywhere from 9:00 - 12:00, but didn't love it much higher than that Bass 10:00 - 11:00 Treble slightly rolled off, maybe 8:00 - 9:00 Clipping switch in the middle position (liked the down position too, but more compressed and had a slight volume drop) That's the way to run a Timmy! I use pretty much the same settings on my MAZ, StangRay, and Plus. The bass gets a bit much at higher volumes so I have that around 12:00-1:00. |
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Post by TelePrankster on Jan 20, 2018 4:20:33 GMT -7
You can't go wrong with a Timmy. Not my favourite dirt pedal but it's really an easy bet for anything low/mid gain.
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Post by Stephen on Jan 20, 2018 9:25:03 GMT -7
Wow. Plus one on the Timmy!
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Post by captainron (Ron) on Jan 20, 2018 10:43:31 GMT -7
Wow. Plus one on the Timmy! Plus 2 on the Timmy! Don't use it past 12 on the drive but love that pedal 9:00-12:00 on the drive. |
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Post by TelePrankster on Jan 21, 2018 3:42:24 GMT -7
An it works with Bass too!
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Post by premiumplus (Dave) on Feb 10, 2018 16:28:30 GMT -7
I love pedals with mine, loud or soft.
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Post by Stephen on Feb 12, 2018 7:05:46 GMT -7
My best results for taming small venue volume with the Ghia were with a 10" greenback speaker and a Timmy pedal. Plus one on the Greenback too! |
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Post by doctorice on Feb 12, 2018 8:28:53 GMT -7
I used both a Brake Lite and pedals when I was using my Ghia for gigs. Ghia was set more toward the clean side, BL was used to match venue size and pedals for the usual. At various times, I used King of Tone, Xotic BB and RYRA Klon for boosts/dirt. Amp loved them all.
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Post by Snare227 on Mar 3, 2018 13:41:34 GMT -7
Absolutely, I gig with it all the time in that manner. A Ghia can make an excellent pedal platform for sure. I've got JJ tubes in mine with a 212 cab and Greenbacks. Sometimes I'll use a closed back 112 if the volume really needs to be low. Dialing the volume in around 9 oclock where it starts to fatten up nicely without saturating and adjusting the tone knob to match your guitar will give you a great canvas for hitting the front end with pedals and you don't have to peel the paint off the walls.
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Post by digs57 on Mar 3, 2018 15:09:12 GMT -7
Just picked up an ole black and blue classic timmy...sounds pretty right at home with it...timmy 1 then xotic rc boost...to EQ it...
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Post by TelePrankster on Mar 4, 2018 3:42:16 GMT -7
Just out of curiosity... anyone using Tube Screamers, Klons or mid-humpy pedals in general into a CG?
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Post by Snare227 on Mar 5, 2018 6:41:25 GMT -7
TelePrankster... mostly using humbuckers here, but I do mid bump pedals all the time with mine and it sounds great. Tone around 1 clock.
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Post by JSA61 on Mar 7, 2018 18:15:38 GMT -7
Just out of curiosity... anyone using Tube Screamers, Klons or mid-humpy pedals in general into a CG? I use a KTR, sounds great as a clean boost. I also use a Brake Lite and between the two, I can get a good OD tone. |
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Post by TelePrankster on Mar 8, 2018 2:25:15 GMT -7
Nice.
I use a Bondi Sick As (Klon inspired with active EQ) with the gain low and the volume high and an Air Brake to manage volume. It's a very good combo.
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Post by Joey Beverages on Mar 8, 2018 7:53:07 GMT -7
In the past I've used various pedals with a Ghia thru Z 112 cab both with dual 'bucker and single-coil guitars ...
what comes to mind at this point in time is Diamond J-Drive; AC Boost; BB Pre; and, various others .... like the CMAT Signa Drive
If ya got time, amps, pedals and the cables .... a two-amp set-up using a Carmen Ghia and a Z-28 can be a plenty toneful and fun combination ..... just my .02 .... ymmv ..... etc etc etc  
cheers always,
Joel edit: iirc, it was Myles who shared this dual amp idea a few years back |
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Post by TelePrankster on Mar 9, 2018 2:07:42 GMT -7
...a two-amp set-up using a Carmen Ghia and a Z-28 can be a plenty toneful and fun combination
This is exactly what I'm doing. |
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Post by Stephen on Mar 9, 2018 8:47:17 GMT -7
I took a small board to a jam last night; Boss TU-3 tuner, Ibanez TS-9, and Boss FRV-1 Reverb into a Ghia 1-10. I left the reverb and the TS-9 on and got dirt with the guitar volume. I was very pleased.
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