After dusting off the Ghia Clone (Almost a year, I think!) for the 4th. Of July party, I have bee digging the Tones a LOT.
I'd like to hear what others have done with one. So, if you know of a Ghia clip with really stellar tone, plrase add it to the thread.

Here's one I found, with a very nice Bluesy tone. There is a really nice "Clarity" to Buddy's overdriven tones:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HMC0_dQpfo

This cover of "Standing On Shaky Ground" has a nice percussiveness to the notes. I like that!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtnnORty7XQ

Nice and Bright, here. A litle more "Fendery", to my ears. But, no harshness. More of a sweet high end:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ca_hyQA3KU4

Any more CG clips you would recommend? Something with a different vibe than these?

Tell me about your clone...There are some cool Carmen Chia samples at drzamps.com ...I want to get some "play time" on a CG ot seems like a great amp for what I'm lookin' for ( low wattage,but gigable,...tough but sweet tone...a little clean headroom but not sterile...etc)...something that would hang well with my "fez" pedal

"Stevie Rave On", is pretty cool. He does get a little of the SRV type tones from the CG here. At least, I assume it's a CG:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihimDhwQ75I

"Whole Lotta Love" clip. Pretty cool, with a different vibe. You can tell the amp doesn't have the same "Big" sound of bigger tubes. Kinda "sounds like" EL-84s here, I think:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZPlWk_s5e8

Who else plays a Ghia, that might have some clips out there?

I had a Ghia and liked it, but sold it when I bought my Maz Jr. There didn't seem to be much point in having both at the same time. I like a verb amp and I don't much like verb pedals; also the Maz has a much more usable tone stack than the Ghia, also I seem to have developed a preference for combos over head/cab setups, at least for practice/gigging. But if what you want is a stripped-down, basically bullet-proof head to go with your 112 or 212 cab, the Ghia's hard to beat. Buddy Whitiington plays the living crap out of his (he also uses a King ofTone, apparently).

Buddy doesn't use a KOT. The one in the vids was on loan to him for that gig to try out. The only pedal I've seen Buddy use is a TU-2.

quote:

Originally posted by Lefty:
Buddy doesn't use a KOT. The one in the vids was on loan to him for that gig to try out. The only pedal I've seen Buddy use is a TU-2.

No kidding? So he's all big ol' hands and volume knob?

Yup, and it's scary to watch and think...wow it's all him.

The Ghia has been my numero uno amp for about 6 or 7 years now. I use a 1x12 combo with the Celestion Alnico blue and love it. The simplicity of the amp means nothing gets in way of your guitars tone. I tried the Maz 18, but ended up preferring the tone I got from the Ghia. I ended up removing the Conjunctive filter from the output section on mine. The Doc doesn't recommend this, but I felt it opened the amp up some.

Sorry, no clips...

I know what you mean about the slightly "closed" sound of the stock Ghia. It's interesting to hear that there's a fix, even if it's not WZWD.

quote:

Originally posted by Fleabiscuit:
I know what you mean about the slightly "closed" sound of the stock Ghia. It's interesting to hear that there's a fix, even if it's not WZWD.

WZWD?

BTW, I found mine completely by accident. I bought my Ghia used and the previous owner removed the tubes before shipping. In my zeal to check the amp out I didn't check where the tubes should go and I put the 12ax7s where the el84s should go and vice versa. After firing the amp up I noticed a loud hum and a fishy/burning smell. I quickly shut her off and realized my stupid mistake. What fried was the conjuntive filter. I didn't notice it until I was in the amp doing something else and then called the good Dr. Z. He said that was the conjunctive filter and told me how to re-wire it. I did and didn't care for it. Keep in mind I run my Ghia clean about 99% of the time (I know it sucks ccause it sounds so killer cranked) so it may sound better cranked with the conjuncitve filter in place - I'm not sure. But for me clean no contest. And yes I did/do prefer the Ghia to the Maz.

Are you playing 'buckers or single coils w/ that Ghia? I'm mostly playing single coils these days (my LP Standard's too damn heavy), and to my ear they sound better through the Maz. Though again, Buddy Whittington and no doubt you and lots of other folks demonstrate pretty clearly that my ear is an imperfect implement. My own experience w/ the Ghia was that even EQ'd and run through a ZBest 212 cab, it sounded a bit boxy unless you cranked it to at least 2:00--and then it was hella loud. Probably an attenuator would've solved the problem--but in the meantime I bought my Maz, which sounds great cranked AND at bedroom volume. So I sold the Ghia and the ZBest (d'oh!) and freed up a good bit of cash for other gear. I'll probably get back into the head/cab business eventually--the wife and I both go back to work full-time this fall, so we should have a bit more discretionary cash then.

My main axe is a Tom Anderson Hollow Drop Top Classic that is SSH, though I've played Les Pauls, strats, Heritage 535s etc. through and all sound good. I get great tones from both single coils and humbuckers. I also have a Z best, but I'm not using it as it is overkill. The 1x12 combo is more than enough for my needs.

how do you think a Carmen Ghia would be run through a mesa 1x12 thiele cab?

I actually got the best results from my Ghia through a Mesa widebody 112 extension cab. Now there's one I wish I hadn't sold!

I'll second the Ghia could be called a bit boxy, but it's a very BOLD boxy. I preferred that boldness next to the Maz's overall tone, but bought my Maz because of the master. I've come to love the EQ also, where originally i thought the Ghia's punch would be more to my taste. The Maz can do a bunch of different stuff.
Plus, the Maz really has an excellent master volume. I was surprised how great it is. Doesn't sound weak at low volumes.
Also, i needed the verb..........

cheers

There is a local player I know, who sounds FANTASTIC. He plays a Ghia through a Thiele Ported Mesa Cab. Either a 1X10 or a 1X12. I can't remember which. I think you'll dig it!

quote:

Originally posted by Swain:
There is a local player I know, who sounds FANTASTIC. He plays a Ghia through a Thiele Ported Mesa Cab. Either a 1X10 or a 1X12. I can't remember which. I think you'll dig it!

The Z best 2x12 is a Thiele ported 2x12 and the thing sounds frickin' HUGE!