# What amp equivalent is a Dr Z Carmen Ghia?



## TheYanChamp (Mar 6, 2009)

I bought one a few years back and loved it. The only problem was I couldn't use it much as I wasn't in a band and lived in an apartment. Im looking to build my first amp build and would love those sort of results.

Also, even with the equivalent circuit, could I likely expect a similar sound given the quality of Z amps? Thanks.


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## guitarman2 (Aug 25, 2006)

I owned a Carmen Ghia years ago and I had the opposite problem. I was in a band and the amp wasn't quite enough power to keep up. But at home it was just right. Yeah I like it loud. It was definitely a beautiful sounding amp though. I used it with a Z Best cab and a 2X12 open back Z cab loaded with Celestion Blues. I don't know of an equivelant amp but the carmen ghia is as basic as it gets. Based on a hammond organ chassis.


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## Distortion (Sep 16, 2015)

I was interested in building a Z Ghia clone als0 due to the price of them on the market. After lots of net surfing and You Tube all the builds did not sound even close to the tone of the Ghia. I pulled the plug and bought a Fender Pro JR 3. which has a similar control system. Could not be happier with my purchase for $300


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## cboutilier (Jan 12, 2016)

I think @Shredneck is our resident Z nut.


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## epis (Feb 25, 2012)

Dr Z Amps - Carmen Ghia | La Révolution Deux


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## TheYanChamp (Mar 6, 2009)

Distortion said:


> I was interested in building a Z Ghia clone als0 due to the price of them on the market. After lots of net surfing and You Tube all the builds did not sound even close to the tone of the Ghia. I pulled the plug and bought a Fender Pro JR 3. which has a similar control system. Could not be happier with my purchase for $300


Thats what I was worried about and I didn't think of checking youtube first. Im not concerned with the complexity, I just really love the amp. It sounded great with all my guitars and took pedals really well. I found it to have pretty damn good headroom without breaking up through my oversized 4x10 cab, but I could see how you couldn't do pristine clean with a full band. Theres just something about the way Z's bloom and have a really pronounced mid-range to cut through.

And yeah, you must like it loud because at the time I would have to rent a rehearsal room just to open it up and I played pretty loud in the apartment.


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## Distortion (Sep 16, 2015)

this guy does a lot of builds but they don't sound like no Ghia. People claim the Ghia started out as a Hammond organ amp. Uncle Doug is his you tube channel.


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## epis (Feb 25, 2012)

Sorry, but this video isn't representative enough, that amp isn't even close to Ghia, only one preamp stage and paraphase invertor are giving a lot less gain comparing it to Ghia.
I didn't build Ghia, but I did build Zwreck and Maz 18 reverb, both did sound great. Important thing is speaker, I used Celestion anniversary G12H, perfect match for amps with two EL84s in output.


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## nonreverb (Sep 19, 2006)

I've got a couple of those AO-44 lying around the shop....come to think of it, I have a couple of the venerable AO-35 too. Maybe I should re-purpose one for shits 'n giggles.


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## epis (Feb 25, 2012)

Yep, Hammond organ transformers are great for guitar amps !


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## Distortion (Sep 16, 2015)

checked flee bay, and 1 used Ghia head for $1500 cdn and another 300 for shipping and import duties. They sound good but not that good.


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## WCGill (Mar 27, 2009)

The Hammond AO 35 PI and output section are identical to the Carmen Ghia. The good doctor just grafted a guitar preamp to it. I never thought the Ghia sounded all that great, esp. with the stock Sovteks. A set of Mullard EL84's made me sit up.


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## Distortion (Sep 16, 2015)

Seen couple heads on Kijiji Ont recently. they both asked $900 and one droped price to $750 firm and the add went down after a couple days. Probably sold for that money. Myself it was a want and not a need so I let it pass for now..


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