Carmen Ghia or Blackface Bandmaster

Carmen Ghia or Blackface Bandmaster

  • Dr Z Carmen Ghia

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Blackface Bandmaster

    Votes: 11 100.0%

  • other (please state what and why)

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    11
cream123

cream123

JustAskinologist
I play mostly wierd indy rock stuff. I use a the occasional flanger or vibrato and a few distortion/fuzz pedals. I'm hoping that I'll be acquiringan Alesis Bitrman when I sell my Nomad head (hopefully to Fender_Punk).

I'm tired of my Nomad and eternally trying to eq it and never getting a decent sound. So I'm looking for a much simpler head. I haven't played the Dr. Z Carmen Ghia yet but I have played the Bandmaster. The Carmen Ghia was reccomended to me a forum bro. I will play it eventually, if I can find a dealer. Some idiot painted the Bandmaster head. So I'm getting for 500 from a guy here in town.

design likes and dislikes
Carmen Ghia:
Likes:
Simplicityand ease of use
The look
The resale value
the clips - I really like the sound.

Dislikes:
The price - It's probably worth it though
The simplicity - While I want a simpler eq section, I'm rethinking the whole one knob tone.

Bandmaster:
Likes:
The sound - holy crap. This thing shimmers and gets a nice dirt too. I love it!
The controls - simple enough but not too simple
The vibrato - made me feel like I was a drug addict when I tried it out for the first time
the look - the knob colors and what not. I don't like the paint
The price - $500!!!
Dislikes:
The paint - I might have it re-tolexed.


I'm really liking the sound of the Bandmaster (no pun)


What do you guys think?
 
Re: Carmen Ghia or Blackface Bandmaster

Buy the Bandmaster and have it re-Tolexed.
 
Re: Carmen Ghia or Blackface Bandmaster

BandMaster...I just got one recently...great amp.
What year is it?


Dave
 
Re: Carmen Ghia or Blackface Bandmaster

Hmmm, this one is pretty one sided lol......0:5:0. In favor of the Bandmaster. Interestingly enough (<----sarcasm alert) I was thinking the same thing. I just wanted to see if anyone had any experience with the Dr Z and would like to say it's better than the Bandmaster.
 
Re: Carmen Ghia or Blackface Bandmaster

there seems to be a strong bandmaster following. Anyone else
 
Re: Carmen Ghia or Blackface Bandmaster

What amp you want to play through is all up to you and being that Im pretty sure you have the Ghia listed based only oin the soudn clips and you have more than likely not played through one I suggest trying one out before racking your brain trying to decide what to get...however like I said...it's your amp so it's up to you.

I do want to tell you this though...IMO a painted Bandmaster head is not worth $500. You can buy nice clean BF Bandmasters all day long for les than $500, so...one that been painted and sounds like it has issues with the tremolo is worth $325-350 MAX!
 
Re: Carmen Ghia or Blackface Bandmaster

Am I the only one that doesn't see a single similarity between these 2 amps????

They're completely different ......

You want a cleaner amp that will work well with pedals, get the Bandmaster

You want an out of the box amp ready to get you dirty rhythm & a nice Marshally grit without pedals, get the Ghia.

40watt vs. 18w
6L6 vs. EL84s
5 or 6 preamp tubes vs. 2 or 3
Solid state rectifier vs. tube

What cab do ya' have?

I'm guessing the Ghia would thrive on a 4x12 w/Greenbacks....

The Bandmaster might go well with a wider variety....

The list will go on & on............ :dunno:
 
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Re: Carmen Ghia or Blackface Bandmaster

I don't like blackface Bandmasters. Not enough gain for modern guitar styles. Lew
 
Re: Carmen Ghia or Blackface Bandmaster

I have no experience with either, but with regards to the one tone knob thing, in theory it sounds kinda scary, having so few EQ options, but once you're playing it and you have it dialed in, you'll be glad...or at least that's how it worked out for me. It makes you be able to PLAY and not worry so much about your tone...this is of course all assuming you like the natural voice of the amp a lot too.

What's the most you can spend and does it have to be a head?
 
Re: Carmen Ghia or Blackface Bandmaster

Lewguitar said:
I don't like blackface Bandmasters. Not enough gain for modern guitar styles. Lew
Click to expand...

Sorry if I'm missing your point, but who buys a fender for gain and modern guitar styles?

I still think cream needs a bassman, but what ever.
 
Re: Carmen Ghia or Blackface Bandmaster

You're right Puck, they have NOTHING in common! I play a Dr. Z Maz 18 and it's the greatest amp I've ever played. I also have a Fender Super Reverb that will not be going anywhere. I use them both and they both sound amazing, but they're totally different beasts! I say get the Bandmaster and some dirt, but find a better deal on one. The Ghia is an AMAZING amplifier, but I find it to be a bit biased towards blues and blues/rock players.
 
Re: Carmen Ghia or Blackface Bandmaster

Don't confuse gain with distortion...NON Reverb BF/SF Fender amps have less gain that their reverb loaded counter parts...this is one of the reasons why a BF Bandmaster head can be had for such a low price...no reverb/less gain.
 
Re: Carmen Ghia or Blackface Bandmaster

Also, Terry is right...these amps are apples and oranges IMO, both are nice amps but have completely different eveything to offer the player...truth is this, if you like the Bandmaster go for it...however liek I said earlier, $500 is too much for a BF Bandmaster thats been painted IMO.
 
Re: Carmen Ghia or Blackface Bandmaster

the guy who invented fire said:
I do want to tell you this though...IMO a painted Bandmaster head is not worth $500. You can buy nice clean BF Bandmasters all day long for les than $500, so...one that been painted and sounds like it has issues with the tremolo is worth $325-350 MAX!
Click to expand...


Thanks for the heads up!
 
Re: Carmen Ghia or Blackface Bandmaster

cream123 said:
Thanks for the heads up!
Click to expand...

I looked on Ebay after making hat post just to make sure I wasn't crazy and there are SEVERAL ended auctions for BF Bandmaster heads in nice to real nice condition all of whioch were right around $500...a rough one shoudl bring 300-350...
 
Re: Carmen Ghia or Blackface Bandmaster

Bandmasters do not overdrive as easily as blackface Fenders with reverb. They don't even have a great clean tone, IMO. One of the blandest sounding blackface amps around. Buy one...you'll see.

I've owned most of the old Fenders. I know what I'm talking about.

But go ahead and buy one and see for yourself...that's how I learned.

Lew
 
Re: Carmen Ghia or Blackface Bandmaster

I hear ya Lew!

When I was younger I found a deluxe (Non Reverb) and was amazed by how much it lacked when compared to a Deluxe Reverb...some guys do like the non Reverb BF Fenders, but Im not one of them!

Lewguitar said:
Bandmasters do not overdrive as easily as blackface Fenders with reverb. They don't even have a great clean tone, IMO. One of the blandest sounding blackface amps around. Buy one...you'll see.
I've owned most of the old Fenders. I know what I'm talking about.
But go ahead and buy one and see for yourself...that's how I learned.
Lew
Click to expand...
 
Re: Carmen Ghia or Blackface Bandmaster

I thought it was amazing! At least the one I played. But I'm comparing to a Nomad 100. About anything sounds good right now.
 
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