Dr.Z Carmen Ghia or 57 Champ RI?

[iceman79]

I bought a Dr. Z Carmen Ghia about a month ago and unfortunatly I'm not bonding with it. For 18 watts it has way too much headroom for my taste. Not to mention it's freakin' loud. I don't care for od pedals or attenuators. So I was thinking about selling it and picking up one of those new '57 Champ reissues. I know there are tons of Tweed Champ kits out there, but I don't have time or desire to mess with a kit. Anyway, should I dump the Z?

[B Bent]

Re: Dr.Z Carmen Ghia or 57 Champ RI?

I have owned that amp in a 2x10 combo. It IS loud, but boy does it sound good in the 3 o'clock range. It sounds like you very well may enjoy a Champ. I also sense from your post you want to crank to 10 and never look back all while not deafening yourself?

A Champ or MANY other small tube combos would fit this bill. I cant speak for the new Fender champs at all so someone else will have to chime in.

[JumpMarine]

Re: Dr.Z Carmen Ghia or 57 Champ RI?

Another option is the Zbrake lite attenuator. I put one on my Maz Jr(also 18w and freaking loud) and it added a whole new dimension to the gain at user friendly levels. It'll drop it down 12db at max attenuation.

[jeremy]

Re: Dr.Z Carmen Ghia or 57 Champ RI?

part of the reason those amps are so loud is the cabs. less sensitive speakers will cut the volume. as would an attenuator. both will shape tone as well to some extent.

the champ is a small amp and sounds like a small single ended combo. can be a great thing but dont expect big amp headroom or tone. great home and recording amp but small for stage use

[Gforce9]

Re: Dr.Z Carmen Ghia or 57 Champ RI?

Another option is the Zbrake lite attenuator. I put one on my Maz Jr(also 18w and freaking loud) and it added a whole new dimension to the gain at user friendly levels. It'll drop it down 12db at max attenuation.

+1 on the Brakelite. I put in a Mullard 12AT7 in V1 and swapped the V30 for an Eminence Red Fang. It's volume usable now. Who would ever think 18watts is too loud? If you decide to get something else, the Victoria tweed deluxe (5e3?) kicks booty at low volume......great tone!

[jeremy]

Re: Dr.Z Carmen Ghia or 57 Champ RI?

my 22w deluxe reverb is as much amp as i ever need and there are plenty of places where i cant push it where i want. speakers make a world of difference.

i have a 5e3 clone and they can be great amps and victoria makes a great amp. depending on the speaker (the red fang is a loud ass speaker but alnico can be so sweet). i would absolutely take a victoria 20112 over a champ ri. sweet circuit, great build, and one of the best alnico ri jensens. the p12q and p10q are some of the best of the current line up which unfortunately isnt anything like the old jensen line up but those two can be nice.

the champ is a great toy. the vic is a great amp

[eggman]

Re: Dr.Z Carmen Ghia or 57 Champ RI?

Howdy,

I won't part with my Carmen Ghia. I do agree that the Ghia has more headroom than many seem to acknowledge. I simply use my ES-335 and the headroom issue is effectively solved: Instant low-moderate volume raunch.