anton
New Member
Posts: 13
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Post by anton on Jul 10, 2019 22:48:08 GMT -7
I have a 12" Ghia Combo with an Alnico Weber Blue Dog and its just to bright for my tastes. I was thinking about another speaker, and wanted to see if anyone had any suggestions.
I play a Baja Tele. The amp sounds fine up at around 9 oclock, with the tone knob on the amp between 12 or 1. When I turn it up more and get closer to noon everything just gets to bright, and I am mostly on the neck pickup. If I turn the tone down 75% on my guitar its workable, but still not ideal.
I thought I would try another speaker before deciding to sell it. Does anyone have suggestions for a darker speaker?
thanks
Anton
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Post by j4gitr (John) on Jul 11, 2019 0:39:37 GMT -7
I have a Ghia head. My 12" Z convertible currently has a WGS Blackhawk Alnico in it. I like the balance of that speaker, but that may be a bit bright for your taste. I just played it through a Peavey cabinet this past weekend. The cab is same dimensions as the Z cab, housing a Peavey Sheffield speaker, I believe. It was a little darker, but still sounded great. I've also played through Dr Z 12 and have been pleased with the results. The Z 12 you may find to your liking, and it's very affordable. I look to brighten my Ghia a bit, hence the Blackhawk. It's such a great sounding a simple amp that I believe you'll find a speaker swap will do the trick. You may also try a different tube in v1. Perhaps others here might have suggestions
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Post by John on Jul 11, 2019 3:21:17 GMT -7
When I had my Ghia, I always controlled the crispy treble with the tone knob on the guitar. To me, that's the best way control it. However, I think the Z12 speaker would be a good replacement. If you REALLY want to kill the treble, the ET65 from Warehouse Guitar Speakers would be a great choice. (It's a clone of the Celestion G12-65, at a considerably reduced price) That big dust cover will kill any high end/buzzy treble. wgsusa.com/et65
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Post by digs57 on Jul 11, 2019 11:20:46 GMT -7
Whats v2 tube in youre amp...good 5751 might take off some heat...
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Post by meanslide on Jul 11, 2019 13:01:33 GMT -7
Tone Tubby Alnico is the perfect Ghia speaker. Hemp cone takes away the unwanted top end.
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Post by John on Jul 11, 2019 13:17:55 GMT -7
Tone Tubby Alnico is the perfect Ghia speaker. Hemp cone takes away the unwanted top end.
Yeah, I remember I tried a TT alnico with my old Maz Jr. Didn't like the speaker because it was not bright enough. So maybe that would work in this situation.
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Post by Maddog on Jul 11, 2019 15:16:30 GMT -7
Cannabis Rex....
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Post by Rik on Jul 11, 2019 18:30:53 GMT -7
Z12
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anton
New Member
Posts: 13
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Post by anton on Jul 11, 2019 21:38:06 GMT -7
Thanks folks for the replies and suggestions.
Right now I guess I am probably leaning towards the Cannabis Rex. I can get one used and try one more speaker before deciding if this amp is for me or not.
As another point of reference I tried a WGS Green Beret in it as well and found that to bright. I recently played a Cure with a Z12 in it, and it was also a bit bright. And from what I understand the Cure is less bright an amp than the CG. I don't know, maybe the general Z voicing is not for me.
My other amp is a Richter 5E3 with a Jensen Jet, and it generally sounds good to me, though I do roll off the tone knob on the tele a bit if on the bridge pickup.
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Post by premiumplus (Dave) on Jul 12, 2019 4:12:19 GMT -7
The Carmen Ghia is really responsive to speaker and tube changes...moreso than a lot of amps. It's really a fabulous design. I've got an ET-65 that sounds great with mine.
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Post by Rik on Jul 12, 2019 18:20:42 GMT -7
G12H30 another really good choice
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Post by Mark (Basement Enthusiast) on Jul 13, 2019 7:26:32 GMT -7
This is interesting... I really don't mean to discount Anton's original issue, however I've found the complete opposite with my 12" 30 W Weber Alnico Blue Dog. My speaker would totally shelve (cut-off) the extreme high frequencies. And it wasn't an overly "dark" speaker because of this; on the contrary, it was relatively smooth, neutral, and creamy-sounding, with a nice British crunch. But it ended up great with my Ghia and Rx JR because of the fact that it cut the extreme high-end of what could sometimes be a too-bright or too-spiky amp.
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anton
New Member
Posts: 13
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Post by anton on Jul 13, 2019 10:45:34 GMT -7
Yea Mark, I remember reading somewhere else that the Blue Dog shelved alot of high end. And I do like its tone with the volume on the amp lower, especially for mellow fingerpicking stuff. Its when things get cranked up that the high end becomes to much for me.
Ill do some more experimenting. If I try another speaker I am thinking the Cannabis Rex.
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Post by digs57 on Jul 13, 2019 12:43:57 GMT -7
still say you should try new tung sol 5751 in v2 as well
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Post by DRZ on Jul 13, 2019 16:11:27 GMT -7
Well Anton I do appreciate you asking for assistance here on the Z Talk forum. This is the place to receive the best advice about DR.Z Amp products. I hope you know the Carmen Ghia was the first amp I built and sold 31 years ago, in that 31 years there have been VERY few changes to the original build. And in that 31 years of building over 3000 Ghia's , I must say I don't recall ever being told it was too bright of an amp. I know I have been asked how to add more VOX like Brilliance to it many times, but that isn't what the amp was designed to do. Some of the suggestions to replace the PI ( V2 ) with a NOS 5751 will hollow out the tone , think scoped, and reduce upper Mid and Treble response. A NOS 5Y3 always adds a nice richness to the Ghia's overall tone. 6N14N output tubes are much warmer than the stock JJ El 84, but I'm sorry the JJ 84 works perfectly with the design of the sweeping Tone control. I believe your amp was purchased used and it is an older circa, so possible it was messed with from a previous owner. Also if the Correction Filter was removed from the output tube sockets , this could explain its lack of frequency balance.
My feeling is your Baja Tele is a ridiculously bright guitar, as you experience this in the Neck position . Have you tried a different guitar ? And if so did you have the same result ? You mention that you have the same issue with a Tweed Deluxe design, which I also find odd. They always seem very portly and a bit flubby for my taste, though Neil Young loves them driven with a LP.
Z
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anton
New Member
Posts: 13
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Post by anton on Jul 13, 2019 20:14:21 GMT -7
Hi Doc, thanks for offering your advice on this thread, that means alot and is super cool.
You are correct, I purchased this amp used. It never did occur to me that it may have been messed with, though that is certainly possible. I was thinking about getting a Post Phase Inverter Master Volume installed and was emailing with one of your techs about that. Maybe I will have that done and have you all give the amp a check up while its there.
I was also thinking my Baja tele might be to bright, and perhaps not the guitar for me. I do love the Tele form factor and feel. Through my Tweed Deluxe it generally sounds good, but I am mostly always on the neck pickup. Ill try the Carmen Ghia with some other guitars. Maybe I need to investigate a tele with humbuckers.
Thanks again.
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Post by LT on Jul 16, 2019 8:24:56 GMT -7
Great suggestion about the C-Rex. Very good sounding speaker. When I buy an amp used, I like to have the factory go through it if possible and give it a clean bill of health. I've done so with a Z Remedy as well as a couple of old MK1 Boogies. Well worth the time and $ IMO. Let us know what direction you go!
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Post by jhanks on Jul 29, 2019 8:16:32 GMT -7
Currently playing a Celestion Heritage Series G12M. Knocked off some treble and bass for me. Also at 96 dB, it lets me turn up slightly more.
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Post by twangsta on Aug 20, 2019 6:23:23 GMT -7
I don't know if this will help you but I'll share it anyways. I've been trying to use the Ghia in a hi-gain situation where most of the drive is coming from a pedal. If I had the Ghia at 9 o' clock, the amp would have a fizz I couldn't dial out. One day I turned the volume up to 3 o' clock and limited the level going into the amp, the fizz was completely gone!
I don't know if it's a thing with my particular Z but I've since then always left it that way in all situations, sounds better and better as I get to understand it over time.
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anton
New Member
Posts: 13
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Post by anton on Jan 15, 2020 23:18:26 GMT -7
I thought folks might be interested, I picked up an Eeastman t59 recently, which is a 335 clone, and it sounds much better with my Ghia than my Baja Tele does. Maybe that tele is just super bright, or I am actually not a Tele tone kind of guy. So I have really been enjoying playing the amp again, and the t59 is a great value. I still have the Weber Blue Dog speaker, thanks for all your input on that. Ill probably get around to trying another speaker sometime soon.
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Post by runninwiththerevil (Matthew) on Jan 16, 2020 8:50:44 GMT -7
When I built my Jazzmaster using vintage specs I was super bright with the amp I had at the time. I ended up switching out the 1m pots in the volume and tone for 500k more like what Gibson specs are. That fixed 80% of the issue. I ended up moving on from the ToneKing amp because it was still on the bright side. If you love the Tele maybe the pots might be worth looking at.
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Post by John on Jan 16, 2020 9:38:35 GMT -7
A Ghia with a weber blue dog....I don't know if I would try another speaker. (especially if you're satisfied with the BD)
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Post by digs57 on Jan 16, 2020 11:12:00 GMT -7
Took me another shot at the ghia 110 before I had bonding with it...tele,strat wasn't going to happen first shot at it...probably was my reluctance to try other tubes/speaker and most important "turning down my tone knob on tele"...les paul was gold though...something about humbuckers through ghia.
My new 110 is whole other animal...gold works like a charm
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Post by bubs42 on Jan 16, 2020 17:56:32 GMT -7
When I had my Ghia, I always controlled the crispy treble with the tone knob on the guitar. To me, that's the best way control it. However, I think the Z12 speaker would be a good replacement. If you REALLY want to kill the treble, the ET65 from Warehouse Guitar Speakers would be a great choice. (It's a clone of the Celestion G12-65, at a considerably reduced price) That big dust cover will kill any high end/buzzy treble. wgsusa.com/et65Great recommendation, also the ET90 is an even a smokier tone. The Reaper and Reaper HP are another great choice. I also really like the Reaper 55hz.
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Post by John on Jan 17, 2020 4:12:46 GMT -7
If you're worried about high end, I would not recommend the Reaper. It's a clone of the G12h30....A speaker that has reduced mids, and therefore the high end really sticks out.
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Post by bgkyt1 on Jan 17, 2020 9:22:44 GMT -7
as i have mentioned in an old post, i have the same problem with my 2010 ghia, bought new and stock. with single coils, if you crank the amp, the hi-end has the gnarly almost tortured 'jesus just left chicago' lead quality to it. which, unless i'm playing that song, is unacceptable. people said to turn the tone knob down on my guitar. that masks it a little, but the gnarly quality to the note is still there. by gnarly, i mean a fizz/alteration of the note...like the amp can't handle the signal. the small OT?
it doesn't seem to be noticeable with humbuckers. but i notice it with any single coil guitar, using any speaker cab.
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Post by meanslide on Jan 19, 2020 15:08:30 GMT -7
I don't know...when I listen to BW hitting a Ghia pretty hard with a Tele, like here, it's sounds flipping glorious. I think he has a KOT running and it's through a Z 2X10 cab. YMMV...
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Post by bgkyt1 on Jan 23, 2020 10:20:48 GMT -7
I don't know...when I listen to BW hitting a Ghia pretty hard with a Tele, like here, it's sounds flipping glorious. I think he has a KOT running and it's through a Z 2X10 cab. YMMV... agreed. and so do the Dean Parks videos. but my 2010 gets all ZZ Top JJLC on the high end.
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Post by perryr on Jan 23, 2020 18:45:50 GMT -7
as i have mentioned in an old post, i have the same problem with my 2010 ghia, bought new and stock. with single coils, if you crank the amp, the hi-end has the gnarly almost tortured 'jesus just left chicago' lead quality to it. which, unless i'm playing that song, is unacceptable. people said to turn the tone knob down on my guitar. that masks it a little, but the gnarly quality to the note is still there. by gnarly, i mean a fizz/alteration of the note...like the amp can't handle the signal. the small OT? it doesn't seem to be noticeable with humbuckers. but i notice it with any single coil guitar, using any speaker cab. Have you ever tried 6n14n output tubes?
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Post by eggman on Oct 2, 2020 9:26:20 GMT -7
Howdy,
Weber's 30 watt AlNiCo Silver Bell adds a little smoothness and bottom end to the Ghia. I have one in my 1-12 Dr. Z cab and it's great for British Invasion type clean tones a well as harder-edged rock. Increased headroom compared to the popular 15 watt Celestion AlNiCo blue, which also sounds very good.
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