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Post by colinfromportland on Apr 4, 2024 21:59:18 GMT -7
Hi all,
I've been super curious about the Carmen Ghia, and am waffling about pulling the trigger on one...
I recently spent some time with a new 35th Anniversary Carmen Ghia (1x10 combo). It is a Great Amp, no question about it. If I could have 3 or 4 amps it would be a no-brainer.
My overall impression was "hi-fi". Everything is so clear and detailed. The build quality is obviously great. I'm used to single-ended Fender circuits with more of a "sweet" harmonic profile but something about the balance and clarity of the Ghia was magical.
My main quandary has to do with the high end. It was pretty crispy. If I love the hi-fi aspect of the Carmen Ghia but find the high end a little difficult to tame, would it be worth looking at other Z amps like the Maz?
I found that rolling off a smidge of the volume and tone on my guitar (Strat with Lollar blonde pickups) yielded some nice tones, but I wonder if having a Treble or Presence or Cut knob on a similarly high-quality el84 amp might be a better fit for someone who finds the Ghia's high end to be a little tricky.
Love this forum. Any and all advice / thoughts / feedback is much appreciated, Colin
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Post by John on Apr 5, 2024 2:31:00 GMT -7
I had a 1x10 Ghia. I too had the same issue where there could be at times, a bit too much crispy high end when using my tele. I turned the guitar tone down about 25-33% Problem solved.
I also had my strat modded to where the middle pickup tone control also controls the tone for the bridge pickup. As I understand it, it's very simple mod and any guitar tech can do it. So the same applies...turn the tone knob down just a bit.
Buy the Ghia...a year from now you'll be saying "I can't believe I was waffling about this amp!" Get out of the Waffle House...go to a Z dealership.
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Post by scottyc13 on Apr 5, 2024 3:50:56 GMT -7
How new was the speaker? I don’t have that issue with my Ghia head and Vintage 30 speaker. The Vintage 30 has some miles on it and my Tele sounds great through it.
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Post by colinfromportland on Apr 5, 2024 6:14:11 GMT -7
How new was the speaker? I don’t have that issue with my Ghia head and Vintage 30 speaker. The Vintage 30 has some miles on it and my Tele sounds great through it. I can't really say how much playing time it had at the store -- basically brand new, I'd guess. (WGS Veteran 10")
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Post by Chilly Gibbons (Todd T.) on Apr 5, 2024 7:31:26 GMT -7
Well, you can’t go wrong with either the Maz or the Ghia.😉
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Post by runninwiththerevil (Matthew) on Apr 5, 2024 7:34:45 GMT -7
The Ghia is really is the kinda of amp that you can really sculpt the tone with tubes and speaker. Most responsive amp I’ve ever found regarding tube changes, especially in V1. A speaker swap will do a lot with what you want to smooth out as well.
The Maz will give you more immediate control with the eq. Both are great options.
There seem to be a lot of Maz 38’s on the market right now. Don’t let the higher wattage scare you away. I never play mine super loud, love the extra headroom.
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Post by j4gitr (John) on Apr 5, 2024 12:47:39 GMT -7
The Ghia is very responsive to your guitars’ tone knobs as well as the twist of its own tone knob. I think it’s simple but brilliant structure makes it the great tone machine it is. My 1x10 is “Grab and Go” goodness. I imagine the 35th to be the same and then some.
You mention your familiarity with fender single end designs. In that case you might find the Z-Plus a nice option. Your only decision is which amp you will buy first, because you will be back for more.
BTW, waffles are for breakfast not amp buying. Enjoy your decision.
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Post by lowbudget on Apr 5, 2024 14:49:08 GMT -7
The Ghia is pretty much the last amp on the planet that should ever cause anyone to waffle.
Make sure it’s healthy, break in that speaker and shout back to us.
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Post by bubs42 on Apr 5, 2024 18:40:06 GMT -7
I have one FS, a head and it is in no way Harsh on the top end.
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Post by premiumplus (Dave) on Apr 6, 2024 2:31:21 GMT -7
The Ghia is deceptively good. The eyes say, "Only two controls?!?" but the ears say "Wow, there it is!"
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wally
New Member
Posts: 27
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Post by wally on Apr 8, 2024 5:44:05 GMT -7
Judicious movement of that Tone control on the Carmen Ghia amp is advised, imho. Small movements can be meaningful.
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Post by colinfromportland on Apr 8, 2024 19:14:53 GMT -7
LOL, this literally happened:
Yesterday morning while I was messaging with bubs42, making arrangements to buy his Carmen Ghia head, my wife and kids decided to make waffles.
I ate my waffles and bought the Ghia. All's well that ends well :-)
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Post by runninwiththerevil (Matthew) on Apr 8, 2024 20:30:37 GMT -7
LOL, this literally happened: Yesterday morning while I was messaging with bubs42, making arrangements to buy his Carmen Ghia head, my wife and kids decided to make waffles. I ate my waffles and bought the Ghia. All's well that ends well :-) Good move on all accounts. Waffles and buying a great amp from a good seller. You’ll love the Ghia.
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Post by John on Apr 15, 2024 5:57:03 GMT -7
I ate my waffles and bought the Ghia.
I think we have some country song lyrics!
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Post by tumeniamps (Tom) on Apr 15, 2024 6:04:48 GMT -7
I just have to say, I think a Ghia belongs in every amp collection. The tones available from this simple amp continue to blow my mind. I have a head, that I've added a PPIMV to, and I have a 35th Anniversary 1X10 combo arriving Friday. There is a very good reason the good Doctor has kept this amp in continuous production since the beginning. There is nothing a Ghia can't do in my opinion. If you have an older version without a master volume, I would strongly recommend sending it back to Don for the upgrade, it takes this amp to another level.
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Post by runninwiththerevil (Matthew) on Apr 15, 2024 19:29:47 GMT -7
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Post by colinfromportland on Apr 15, 2024 22:21:42 GMT -7
Well :-) ... the short answer is "great".
Can't resist doing the long answer too.
I'm not in a gigging stage of life, currently. I use an amp for practicing and recording. For the last couple years, my only amp has been a Victoria 5112. It's a 5f1 Champ clone with a 12" speaker. Very musical amp. And, with only 1 knob (volume), it actually has fewer controls than a Ghia :-)
The 5112 is sweet, but I had been noticing that my recordings tended to need some EQing to pull out low mids, and boost the highs a bit. And, I was finally feeling like it might be nice to have another knob or two!
I've always leaned toward simple rigs, never owned an el84 amp, and I was in a band a long time ago with another guitarist who had a Dr Z (Maz, I think) that sounded unbelievable, so the Ghia quickly got on my short list.
Since I got this Ghia I have been playing it through the 5112's speaker and cabinet, and then plugging the speaker back into the 5112. So, really comparing the two as fairly as possible I think. One thing I had forgotten about, but rediscovered elsewhere on this forum, is how much of a difference getting an amp off the ground can make. Ha - if I had remembered that old trick earlier I might not have been driven to get another amp. It does *a lot* to clear up the bassiness of the 5112. Luckily, it did not happen that way!
Yeah, I'm just nuts about the Ghia. "Hifi" is what I would say if I could only use one word. I thought the 5112 was hifi when I got it, and it definitely is, in its way. It forced me to focus on my right hand dynamics ands control more than I ever had before. Both amps are very responsive, but there is more detail coming out of the Ghia for sure and I expect spending time with it will make me a better player as well (or, at least more aware of my shortcomings!).
Tonally, there is a veiled quality to the 5112's sound that becomes clear when going back and forth between the two. I know it's an apples to oranges comparison. Just sayin'. I still think there *might* be some upper register parts where, if you're going for a "sweet" Fendery tone, the Ghia might not do as well. I don't know...
The Ghia can sizzle, for sure, to my ears. Rolling the volume off a bit on the guitar, and actually using the tone knob (haven't done that in years) seem to be essential. Now that I'm used to that though, it's all gravy.
Other amps that I've owned and loved: a Boogie Mark IV, couple silverface Princetons. I think something they all share, which is kind of what I need in order to fall in love with an amp, is some kind of magic when you let clean or edge of breakup chords sustain. This Carmen Ghia has plenty of that.
It's close to perfect for me, no doubt about it.
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Post by simpleton on Apr 15, 2024 23:07:06 GMT -7
Finding the speaker that accentuates the frequencies you prefer is important with the Ghia…it took me some time to adjust fully to the tonal shift moving from my Divided by 13 SJT to the Ghia, but in the end I have never recovered from owning the Ghia. Every amp I have owned since then has been compared to it and nothing has put me in as good a place (playing wise) as the Ghia did.
Once I sorted out the speakers and in my case the cab and guitar that i connected with best….it was the perfect amp for me. A bit of a Marshall/Vox combination rather than the Fender feel…however, the clarity of notes will be something that keeps your ears intrigued and in the end the ease of use and reliability make it the “perfect” amp.
At some point I thought I needed more watts and sold my Ghia and Monza to buy a Therapy…but I just missed the Ghia. Later I moved on from the Therapy and bought a Cure…still couldn’t get the Ghia taste out of my mind. Now years later with my Swart Antares….i STILL miss the Ghia.
I hope you have a great and long term connection with yours. Mine taught me a lot about what I wanted to hear.
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