ThemBones
Full Member
Sometimes I eat gluten and I feel like I should be ashamed...
Posts: 233
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Post by ThemBones on Jul 19, 2018 11:41:58 GMT -7
Been back in the "Z family" for a few months now.
I picked up a carmen ghia 2x10 but use it as a pseudo head with a cabinet in another room.
Questions
1. I have had tube amps for years but not a ghia so I don't know for sure how to determine if it needs new tubes.
2. Are NOS 5Y3 still considered "better" for the rectifier. If so does brand matter
3. I have the choice of a g12h30 cab and a WGS ET65 cab. One better than the other? Been using the G12H30 but thought the ET65 may have some love.
Thank you!
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Post by bryan0418 on Jul 19, 2018 13:12:37 GMT -7
Welcome back!
The 5Y3 is the stock rectifier that comes with the Ghia. Brand isn’t so important as long as it works. Some guys buy a NOS 5Y3 and it lasts forever. You also can’t go wrong with a new production tube as well. A JJ recrifier is pretty inexpensive.
Some guys use 5V4’s in their Ghias to stiffen the amp up a bit. You could do that and/or replace the 5751 tube in V2 with a 12AX7 to drive the output tubes harder.
As for speakers, a lot of guys like the Celestion Blue or Grenback with a Ghia. The Vintage 30 also works well.
Enjoy.
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Post by digs57 on Jul 19, 2018 13:38:30 GMT -7
I have et-65 in both studio cab maz's and been really happy with that speaker...know nothing about it in ghia though...the first 110 ghia I had had 5751...the new one I have now 12ax7/v2 and it seems to have more clarity...
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Post by Jaguarguy (Mike) on Jul 19, 2018 15:27:02 GMT -7
Not sure about the speakers that you mentioned but I love mine with a gold!
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Post by Christopher on Jul 19, 2018 15:30:42 GMT -7
I love mine w a Gold, too.
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Post by meanslide on Jul 19, 2018 17:42:11 GMT -7
If the amp needs new power tubes, you'll pretty much know it. It'll start sounding 'off', i.e. not as loud, a little brittle. A new matched set of JJ's will bring it right back to life. (It's always a good idea to have an extra set of power tubes for back up, so just order some and try them out against the current set. For $25 you get the back ups and know for sure!)
Rectifiers don't add or subtract much in the tone department. Vintage ones might last longer but the JJ works just fine too.
I tried both speakers with a Ghia. I liked the G12H30 better than the ET65. The ET was a better match for the Z28, IMO.
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ThemBones
Full Member
Sometimes I eat gluten and I feel like I should be ashamed...
Posts: 233
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Post by ThemBones on Jul 20, 2018 6:19:45 GMT -7
If the amp needs new power tubes, you'll pretty much know it. It'll start sounding 'off', i.e. not as loud, a little brittle. A new matched set of JJ's will bring it right back to life. (It's always a good idea to have an extra set of power tubes for back up, so just order some and try them out against the current set. For $25 you get the back ups and know for sure!) Rectifiers don't add or subtract much in the tone department. Vintage ones might last longer but the JJ works just fine too. I tried both speakers with a Ghia. I liked the G12H30 better than the ET65. The ET was a better match for the Z28, IMO. To continue this, do NOS EL84s make much difference? You can find NOS EL84s fairly cheap it seems |
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Post by meanslide on Jul 20, 2018 9:08:44 GMT -7
If the amp needs new power tubes, you'll pretty much know it. It'll start sounding 'off', i.e. not as loud, a little brittle. A new matched set of JJ's will bring it right back to life. (It's always a good idea to have an extra set of power tubes for back up, so just order some and try them out against the current set. For $25 you get the back ups and know for sure!) Rectifiers don't add or subtract much in the tone department. Vintage ones might last longer but the JJ works just fine too. I tried both speakers with a Ghia. I liked the G12H30 better than the ET65. The ET was a better match for the Z28, IMO. To continue this, do NOS EL84s make much difference? You can find NOS EL84s fairly cheap it seems From what I've read NOS power tubes can be a little smoother than newer ones. They are still going to wear at the same rate though, so you'd be paying good money each time you need a swap. Depending on how much you play it, that could be every year. They seem to run in the $50-95 dollar range per tube vs JJ's at $13 bucks a piece. Others have said they use NOS power tubes for recording but switch back to newer tubes when playing with a band, when the difference would be much harder to tell. V1 and V2 (preamp tubes) can be a good place for NOS glass and will have the most effect on your tone. |
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Post by Stephen on Jul 20, 2018 10:01:14 GMT -7
There’s a post here from Dr Z himself and he says he prefers JJ EL84 tubes in the Carmen Ghia.
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ThemBones
Full Member
Sometimes I eat gluten and I feel like I should be ashamed...
Posts: 233
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Post by ThemBones on Jul 20, 2018 13:12:41 GMT -7
OK that makes sense and yeah NOS pre-amps don't seem to be overly expensive. stephen I will look for that |
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Post by Stephen on Jul 20, 2018 13:53:48 GMT -7
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Post by 63fenderman on Jul 25, 2018 23:13:01 GMT -7
In my ghia, I have a 5AR4 rectifier (was in it when I got it an old GE), V1 is a 5751 (NOS cant remember the brand right off), v2 is a 12BH7 and JJ's in the power section. Gained a huge amount of clean headroom and also made the breakup tone a little sweeter.
I have so experimented with a SS rectifier and I actually like that too. Very subtle difference though. Basically unoticabke to my ears.
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