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Post by scottyc13 on Oct 18, 2024 8:23:26 GMT -7
I generally play at lower volume levels to be nice to the wife and neighbors. But sometimes you just have to crank that baby! Yesterday I turned the master of my Ghia up full and volume to 11:00 and this amp just sings. I set my pedals for just a hint of boost and the Ghia got thicker and more responsive. What a terrific amp.
I did this last week with my Z-Plus too. You can use the volume pot on your guitars to clean up as well. Great amps both of them.
This has been a public service announcement.
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Post by Don A on Oct 18, 2024 12:39:14 GMT -7
There's no substitution for volume!
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wally
Junior Member
Posts: 53
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Post by wally on Oct 19, 2024 20:01:05 GMT -7
Good on ya! I like to let an amp breathe, as well. 11:00 on my 2013 Ghia…no MV….is a bit light….for me. If the 2x10 Shorty cab with Weber 10F150Ts is too loud at some point past noon I like, I use a 2X12 solid pine open back cab loaded with Tone Tubby Blues Sky speakers, which are less efficient than those high efficiency Weber ceramics. The Blue Sky speaker cuts the volume by half by my guess, but the amp is in its work range…imho….and the Blue sSky speakers compress early. The Ghia is a different amp that way. And yes, controlling the guitar’s output cleans things up for rich, crystal clear chimney highs and rich clean lows. I need to run it through these low efficiency Alnicos more often….they bring out the cathode biased EL-84s best nature, imhoThe Ghia is an AMP…..no doubt; and different speakers lend different realities. A Brake Lite is nice, as is the Seymour Duncan 805 overdrive, for reaching the heat zone at lower volumes.
I recently picked a Rockett Uni-Verb out of curiosity..and the price was tooooo good. Versatile reverb, vibrato/chorus, output level control, and loop connections. So, would it be a sacrilege to install an effects loop and a MV in a dead mint 2013 Ghia??
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Post by scottyc13 on Oct 20, 2024 4:45:38 GMT -7
I found the PPIMV to sound better than the Brake Lite in the Ghia. I had Don install it last year. I A/B’d them and the MV keep more of the natural tone. Not sure about an effects loop. I don’t know enough about the circuit topology to know if it would be an effective loop.
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Post by Fabio on Oct 20, 2024 9:10:32 GMT -7
So, would it be a sacrilege to install an effects loop and a MV in a dead mint 2013 Ghia?? I am not an amp tech, so take my comment with a grain of salt, but I've had tube amps for a long time. In lower wattage amps, like the Ghia, it really depends on how the gain structure of the amp is designed. In some, more modern higher gained voiced amps, a lot of the gain comes from the preamp, so even with EL84's they can sort of get away with an effect loop. But if you really crank the amp, in my experience, it becomes less than ideal. With the Ghia, the power section is a big part of the total tone equation so even with the addition of the great MV Doc added, I don't think an effect loop would work good in this amp, and even if it could be done, it would take away some ''magic'' the Ghia has. I really like effect loops in a lot of my amps, but for some I think they are just better without, and the Ghia would be one of those. A little bit like a Plexi, some great clones and variations out there but some of the better ones didn't include a loop, because they understand it took away too much from this circuit. |
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Post by zzmatthewzz on Oct 20, 2024 17:39:08 GMT -7
Turned up my ghia today, too. Wife was on a run, and the kids were playing in their rooms. Play time for dad! Hooked it up to my 1x12 loaded with a Tone Tubby 40/40. Older non master turned up to about 11:30 hit with a little boost from a Lovepedal Kalamazoo Silver. Lordy, what a juicy sound!
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