You added this yourself, right? Where did you mount it, front or rear? Where did you get the switch? Did you need to do anything else to prevent popping? Is there a schematic (maybe from another amp) I could refer to, to see how it's worked into the circuit?

...as you can tell, I'm considering buying a Ghia now... maybe a 30-watter later...

thanx!

I'll second Tremo's request - I'd like to add standbys to both of my Ghias....

"Muddy Waters INVENTED electricity!" -Willie Brown, Crossroads

Hi guys. The first one I had my amp tech do, and the second one I just duplicated what he did. As for the switch, I just found an appropriate SPST switch at my local Frys (electronics super store). I'm sure you could find a similar one at any decent electronics supply (maybe even radio shack). I placed the standby on the front panel of the Ghia, between the power switch and the lamp. I'm actually thinking of reversing this (I wish I would have listened to my amp tech) as even though I labled the switches I continue to flick on the stanby (closest to lamp) thinking it's the power!

My first Ghia already had a hole in the chassis, my amp tech only needed to drill through the face plate. The second one I had to drill through both the face plate and the chasis. One suggestion: clamp a piece of wood or something hard to the face plate to keep in from chipping while you drill through the face plate/chassis. I taped a baggie inside the amp to catch any chips/metal shavings, and then convered the top of the chassis with a towel to keep crud from getting inside the amp while I drilled. If I remember right my switch called for a 1/2" hole.

All you are doing is opening up the ground on one of the taps of the power transformer. I'm saying this from memory so don't quote me, but there was a tap from the power transformer, a red/yellow wire (I'll open one up to verify) that went directly to ground. You'll notice a groudning post on the side of the amp closest to the power switch, lamp, power transformer, etc. You are simply adding a switch to this tap. Disconect this wire from the grounding post, conect it to one side of your SPST switch, then add a new wire from the other side of your switch to the grounding post. Viola, standby added.

Keep in mind both of my Ghias are the older model with the single tap output transformer. I don't know if he changed the Power Transformer or not, but both of mine had the same PT.

I'll try and get a picture up for you guys to look at, but the wifey has the digital camera right now.
Bob

PS Maybe Perry can get some inside info. from the Dr. himself. I'm sure we aren't the only ones who thought about adding a standby to the Ghia. I know the Dr. says that the low voltage (or was it low power?) amps don't need one, but I'm sure it's just a way to keep the cost down. Why does the Maz 18 have a standby then?

Is it you or the equipment?

Guys,
Myles from Guitar Amplifier Blueprinting has a picture of the insides of a Ghia on his wesite:
http://www.guitaramplifierblueprinting.com/doctorzamps.html It's the chassis to the right of the cream colored Z best 2x12 in the vertical position, almost to the bottom of the page. Anyway, his appears to be of the same era as mine as it has the extra holes in the chassis and single tap OT, though his does have a removable power chord. Anyway, looking at the picture you can see the grouding post on the left side of the amp. You can also see the extra hole in the chassis between the power switch and the indicator lamp (this is where I placed the standbay switch). I can't make out the colors of the wires comming off of the Power Transformer but I bet there is a red/yellow banded one that is connected to the grounding post. This is the one to switch.
Bob

Is it you or the equipment?

Awesome! -- I'm printing this out -- Thank you, Bob

Yes, very cool and many thanks Dr. Faulkner!

"Muddy Waters INVENTED electricity!" -Willie Brown, Crossroads

This info will come in handy, since I just brought a cute little red Carmen Ghia head home... she is SWEET!!!

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Originally posted by tremolounge:
This info will come in handy, since I just brought a cute little red Carmen Ghia head home... she is SWEET!!!

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I can't recall, Tremo - is this your first Ghia or did you have one before? What kind of cab are you plugging it into?

"Muddy Waters INVENTED electricity!" -Willie Brown, Crossroads

It's my first Dr Z -- and it'll go into either an Avatar G212 (open back) with Weber Alnico Blue Dogs, or a Jenkins Highway 61 with a Weber ceramic Blue Dog and a Weber ceramic Silver Bell. Haven't played the Ghia thru the Jenkins yet, but thru the Avatar it sounds just about perfect....

quote:

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Originally posted by tremolounge:
It's my first Dr Z -- and it'll go into either an Avatar G212 (open back) with Weber Alnico Blue Dogs, or a Jenkins Highway 61 with a Weber ceramic Blue Dog and a Weber ceramic Silver Bell. Haven't played the Ghia thru the Jenkins yet, but thru the Avatar it sounds just about perfect....

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I don't mean to influence your decision (ok, maybe I do!) but I sold my Highway 61 after comparing it to the Z best 2x12. I also sold a Mesa vertical recto 2x12. The Z best just killed them both. I would save up for a Z best or try and find one used (like I did).

Is it you or the equipment?

Yeah, I played the Ghia thru a Z Best in the store (maybe that influenced my buying decision ). I'll have to read up on those cabs.

quote:

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Originally posted by tremolounge:
Yeah, I played the Ghia thru a Z Best in the store (maybe that influenced my buying decision ). I'll have to read up on those cabs.

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tremolounge, I re-read your post and the Highway 61 you are describing is exactly what I had: Jenkins modified Weber Ceramic Silver Bell and Jenkins modified Ceramic Blue Dog. I did some serious a/b comparisons between it, my Dr. Z Z best and a Mesa vertical recto 2x12.

First with the Webers the Jenkins sounded like a sheet was over the cab compared the Z best. In a fit of my anal retentive best, I put a Celestion V30/G12H30 combo in the Jenkins (these were broken in in the Mesa). This was an improvement imho, as the sheet was lifted off of the cabinet. But this also allowed me to hear the mid-range emphasis the HWY61 had. It sounded nasal compared to the Z best which had more lows and highs, and was slightly louder as well. I tried the HWY61 in both closed back and open back mode, and in both cases I just preferred the sound of the Z best. It sounded so much fuller.

I'm not knocking the HWY61, it's a great cab to be sure, especially if you want a mid-heavy cabinet. But I really felt I didn't loose any mids with the Z best and added lows and highs.

The funny thing is, I'm still using my 1x12 combo at church as the Z best is too full sounding and gets lost in the mix with the keyboard! Maybe I should have kept that HWY61 after all...

Happy tone huntin'!

Is it you or the equipment?

The good thing about having a studio is that you can have a bunch of different amps and cabs, and different combinations are going to fit different situations. For my personal use, I actually prefer the Avatar cab to the Jenkins -- but I'm sure that's because of the Weber alnico blues that are in there (although, it's also about an inch deeper than the Highway 61.

Getting this amp is a real ear-opener... I'm getting a loooper and some George L's, cuz now I hear every bit of noise coming from my pedals!