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Features: N/A
I don't know the year the amp was made. This class A amp is so simple,
it's perfect. Input, volume, tone and power switch on the front;
1 speaker out (8 ohm) jack on the back, and that's it. Like Mike
Zaite (Dr. Z) says: What more do you need?
This amp starts to break up at about 12 o'clock and gets nastier
as you turn it up. I like it at about 2-3 o'clock for the most satisying
blues/rock tone I've ever had. The amp is all hand-wired with top-quality
parts. Two EL84s in the power section and a 5Y3 rectifier. Two preamp
tubes (I'm using a Ruby 5751 in the input stage and a NOS GE 7025
now; 12AX7 types are good if I need more gain at lower volumes).
For only 18 watts, this sucker SMOKES! It's so loud, I can't set
in front of it and play because it hurts my ears.
I like straight-forward, no bells-and-whistle, non-master volume
tube amps. Just volume and a tone knob is all I need. I set the
tone at about 12 o'clock, depending on the room.
Sound Quality: 10
I'm a blues player. I only use two guitars - a Heritage H140 and
a Heritage H150, both are Les Paul types, loaded with Rio Grande
Barbeque Buckers. I use 1 meg. volume pots and capacitors to keep
the highs when I turn down the guitar, and this keeps things nice
and warm. The amp cleans up very, very nicely when I turn the guitar
down.
I LOVE class A amps. The distortion is so sweet...it's never harsh
or buzzy. But class A amps are a little hissy at idle, so whenever
I'd tried using effects, it got too noisy. So piss on effects...I
like it pure anyway.
Oh yeah, the matching speaker cab is a 2x12 with 30-watt Weber P12Ns.
THE BEST THERE ARE. I get the entire tone spectrum: warm, sweet
lows; fat mids and smooth highs. Who needs EQ? It just sucks tone
from the circuit anyway.
I thought my Mesa Blue Angel sounded great until I heard this...so
I ditched it and a Groove Tubes Soul-o 45 to get the Dr. Z. My search
for the perfect blues amp is over. The Mesa was way too noisy anyway.
Reliability: 10
Dr. Z stuff is built to last. Sure, you'll go through tubes pretty
quick because it's class A, but EL84s aren't expensive and they're
easy to find.
I'm thinking about getting another Carmen Ghia head as a backup,
but I think it would take a major natural disaster to make one break
down. If I lost this one, I'd have another within 24 hours. They're
affordable as hell at about $600, and far superior than many others
costing at least twice as much.
Customer Support: N/A
Dr. Z has always answered my e-mail promptly...sometimes within
just a couple of hours or so, even in the middle of the night.
I've had no problems and don't expect to, but if I do, from everything
I've read about Dr. Z, his customer support is top-notch.
Overall Rating: 10
Absolutely the best amp I've ever owned, period, and I've had a
shitload of 'em in nearly 20 years of playing, first in garage bands
as a kid, and later as a pro in front of real people.
This amp doesn't need anything at all. Don't mess with something
that's already perfect. And even at retail price, it's still one
hell of a value.
Features: 10
I was raised on Fender tone stacks.Truthfully I thought one channel,
one volume, one tone, one input and one 8 ohm output would not be
enough to create the versitility I wanted. It is the Perfect Blues
Machine! It is too simple! Depending on the tube setup you can vary
the amount of clean headroom you get. Just ask the Doc. Mine is
set up to breakup and compress early on.
All my Strats never and mean never sounded better! Ever! The Doc
wasn't kidding when he said P-90's sounded the best through this
amp. I have a custom shop Hamer loaded with P-90's that roar...
the rear pickup is especially fine. Currently I am using an open
back Mesa Boogie cab loaded with a single Celestion Vintage 30.
Very compact lightweight set up for practice and small stages.
Sound Quality: 10
Read others opinions for all the fancy sonic descriptions. It delivers
the tone Dr. Z promises... you can't dial in bad tone, plus it is
very loud. 18 watts of class A power is louder than you might expect.
Case in point:
A few nights ago I opened for Smokin' Joe Kubek at a hometown club
that holds about 500 folks. I sat in with these guys sanchwiched
between two screaming Fender Twins. The sound guy laughed and told
me that if I needed some guitar in the monitors so I could hear
myself... just give a nod. I had my guitar full up and my Ghia cranked
to 2 o'clock and it kept up find.
Other friends of mine who own Ghia's are playing their low watt
babies on very big venues just fine. I been doin' this for 25 years...
this is the best blues rig for the buck... the best!
Reliability: 10
When I first got my Ghia, I had a little transient static that would
crackle... the Doc was right on it. Gave me suggestions to try but
it didn't cure the problem. He told me to ship it back and he'd
fix it right away. But I couldn't part with it.
I took it to my local fix it guy... it turned out to be a cold solder
joint in the tube socket. Check it out... after the doc apologized
to me, he mailed off a check to me right away and paid for the repair
bill. Every dollar of it! Get Fender to do that, eh?
Doc is a real person making real amps... call him, write him it
don't matter he'll give you answers, opinions, options to your every
inquiry. Most companies quit giving service like that decades ago.
Customer Support: 10
Read the above statement
Overall Rating: 10
I'm getting ready to buy a Route 66 this summer. Dr Z makes my guitars
sing... There's nothing to hate about this amp... ain't nothin'
wrong with it.
I am absolutely convinced that one tone knob can do it all, until
this amp I never thought that possible. And it's not just because
I play the blues either. Roots tone and sound require an amp like
this. I would definately purchase another Z if this amp was ever
stolen or lost. This is the amp for me... this is what I've been
hearing in my mind for 30 years. Now my ears and my audience hear
every night.
The search is over for me, now I can focus on my music without tonal
distraction.
Features: N/A
It would be misleading to give this amp a score for it's features.
It has tone and volume knobs, and input jack, output jack, on/off
switch, and light. I wouldn't call it loaded, but you don't need it
to be. You can, however, do quite a bit with just the volume and tone
knobs. It uses 2 Sovtek el-84, an RCA 5Y3 Rectifier, a 5751, and a
12ax7, and it runs Class A. The power transformer is HUGE. It's a
small head, but it's pretty darn heavy, mostly because of the transformer.
It's put together beautifully. I'd have to drop it off of a building
(or send it through UPS a few times ) to do any damage, but I'm not
planning on testing this any time soon. It's a great amp for small
gigs, or practicing around the house.
Sound Quality: 10
I couldn't give this anything less than a 10. It is absolutely beautiful.
I tested it with 3 guitars: a Hamer Special, a G&L ASAT, and
a borrowed Strat Plus with gold Lace Sensors. First: the ASAT. The
ASAT is already a huge sounding guitar, but this amp made it sound
even bigger. The neck pickup was smooth and fat, both clean and
with a little grind. It was most unbelievable clean, though, because
of how harmonically rich this amp is. I don't miss reverb whatsoever
because the tone is already so rich. The bridge pickup on my ASAT,
which I thought was a bit thin before, fattened up nicely. It's
not harsh at all like it is through a fender amp. Cranking this
amp is a different story. It absolutely sang. With the neck pickup
on and the tone rolled down a bit on the ASAT, I got a great violin-tone.
The guitar has slightly microphonic pickups that pushed it into
feedback pretty easily, but you don't even notice that it's feedback.
It sounds like the note is just sustaining endlessly. The bridge
pickup sounded very growly at this volume as well. Let me start
off by saying I *hate* Lace Sensors. I had a Clapton strat for a
while, and I couldn't stand them. Through the Ghia they shounded
huge, and I actually enjoyed playing it. For a while, I was playing
it more than any of my other guitars. I almost hated to give it
back to my friend. I think a strat with regular single-coils would
sound even better, but this was a great tone. The Hamer was strange.
In case you don't know, a Hamer Special is a recreation of a 2-pickup
Les Paul Junior with P-90's. Dr.Z's website says it sounds great
with P-90's, so I was expecting this to be the best sounding guitar
though it. I plugged it in after the ASAT, and wasn't too impressed
at first. I didn't give it much chance until about a week later.
It turns out I just have an untrained ear. The Hamer is a fairly
new guitar for me, and I'm used to Fendery sounding guitars through
Fender amps, so this was different. While the tone isn't sparkling
clean like I'm used to, it was very rich. The harmonics are incredible.
Right now, it's my favorite tone. Some extra notes: Bass response
on this amp is great. There is *no* flatulence here whatsoever,
especially with the Dr.Z Cabinet. This amp is also very loud for
15 watts, easily giggable for small clubs. The tone control is interesting.
It's different than anything else I've played. It's not like a tweed's
tone control, but this comparison is unfair because it doesn't try
to be. I can get a couple of different, unique tones with it. A
few words on the cabinet: This must be the smoothest sounding speaker
I have ever heard. There is not a harsh note in it, it never farts
out, always creamy. Dr.Z and Weber VST did a great job on this one.
Complaints? Being really picky, I'd like the power cord to be a
little longer, but that's pretty trivial.
Reliability: 10
This amp will be running longer than I will, and I'm only 20! If
not, Dr.Z takes care of you. If there is a problem, he will fix
it, help you to fix it, send you somewhere that will fix it, and
sometimes send the parts to do it. The hand-wiring is near perfect,
and all components are high-quality. No need for a backup on this
one, only extra tubes just in case.
Customer Support: 10
It's doubtful that you will ever find a better guy to deal with
than Z in any business. He truly runs a one-man business, from answering
phone-calls to building the amps to even taking them to get shipped
personally. He answers emails promptly, is always willing to answer
questions on the phone. I am proud to own a product whose maker
is as passionate and enthusiastic about as Dr.Z is with his amps.
He truly loves what he does, and it shows in the product.
Overall Rating: 10
I couldn't give it anything less. I've been playing for 7 years,
I own a Dr.Z Maz 38, and have owned a Twin Reverb, Deluxe Reverb,
Vibroverb reissue, and a Blues Junior. This is really something
different for me. It's a great amp at a great price. I got one of
the last ones at $499, but would have paid $599 without hesitation.
This amp is one of the best at what it does, and I don't regret
the purchase whatsoever.
Features: 9
This amp has controls for volume and tone, an on/off switch, an
input jack and an 8 ohm speaker jack. It came equipped with a 5751
and a 12ax7 in the preamp, two el-84 power tubes, and a 5ar4 rectifier.
Sounds pretty basic, but that's all an amp with good tone needs.
The tone knob does more than just roll-off the highs. Dr. Z says
he modeled it after the sound of a wah sweep. I don't think it sounds
like a wah, but it will get you all the variations in tone you'd
get from the usual treble, mid, bass setup with one knob. If you
want 4 volume knobs, a five-band EQ, pentode/triode/class A/simul-class
blah, blah, blah in an amp then go buy one. Just don't expect it
to sound as good as this one even if you spend all day twiddling
knobs.
Sound Quality: 10
Tone is definitely the strongpoint of this amp. I played through
it for about ten hours with a G&L Legacy the first day I got
it. Every time I thought the sound couldn't get any better I'd tweak
the tone knob or switch pickups and be blown away again. With the
volume below half-way you get good shimmery, twangy clean sounds.
Perfect for funk or country stuff. Above halfway you start to get
some crunch depending on how hard you play. The tone gets very complex
and three-dimensional. Sounds beautiful for bluesy chords. Turn
it up farther and notes seem to sustain forever. There's a very
natural sounding decay into feedback (like B.B. King not Satriani.)
Cranked all the way up this amp gets really growly and leads are
mean and in your face. I tend to back off with the volume pot on
my guitar just a little bit for the sweet, singing leads. With 15
(loud) watts the cranked-up volume levels aren't going to make your
ears bleed or cause structural damage to your house. That's exactly
why I bought this amp. At any volume the amp is dynamic and punchy.
Unlike certain farty amps I've played, the bass response always
stays tight. It doesn't just sound good - it feels good.
Reliability: 10
Dr. Z covers all the bases. The amp was boxed and shipped encased
in two large pieces of foam that look like they were cut to fit
exactly. The U.P.S. man would've had to run over it with his truck
to damage it. Once I got my hands on it, it was a different story.
I'm kind of uncoordinated. Give me something fragile and expensive
and I'll have it broken in minutes. So, after getting this thing
unpacked I picked it up, took about three steps, and dropped it.
It kind of flew right out of my hands, at a height of about five
feet, did a half flip, and smacked into the hard-wood floor corner
first. Put a serious gouge in it (the floor, not the amp.) After
a lot of cussing, and checking for obvious damage I plugged everything
in and powered it up. I guess I didn't hurt it, but I wouldn't recommend
trying that at home. After playing to my heart's content I gave
the amp a careful inspection to see if there was anything I could
break. The chassis is recessed inside the cabinet a little more
than an inch at the front and the back - so there's no protruding
knobs to be torn off. There's a cross-brace across the back of the
amp - effectively preventing anything from jamming into the tubes.
The cord is held along the length of the cross brace with little
fasteners - so people like me won't reach in and jerk the cord out
along with a tube or two. The point-to-point wired innards look
cleanly built with a lot of attention to detail, but I'm no electrical
engineer. I've owned thirty-year-old amps that weren't built this
well and were still going strong, so I'm not worried.
Customer Support: 10
I trust Dr. Z. He's not as close as the nearest music store, but
I can call him any time or e-mail him and I know he'll take the
time to help. He posts frequently to the newsgroups with helpful
advice and never comes off as arrogant. I've also never heard anybody
say anything bad about him (a rarity on Usenet.) He phoned me about
a week after he shipped the amp to make sure it arrived okay and
I liked it. Of all the thousands of dollars worth of equipment I've
bought, I've never had a phonecall from even a salesman, much less
the man who built it.
Overall Rating: 10
I've owned some vintage amps that sounded this good when everything
was setup properly. And there are some other "boutique" amp builders
out there that put out this kind of quality. But you'd have to more
than double the $499 price of the Ghia to get that stuff and you
wouldn't have Dr. Z's solid reputation to back it up. This is a
boutique amp at a blue-collar price. I honestly don't know how he
makes any money on these things. Also, though I hate to admit this
is a factor when I buy an amp, this thing looks really cool. You
should get one now before some MTV god poses with a stack of them
and drives the price beyond the reach of the common man.
Features: 7
This amplifier offers just the essentials for good tone--volume,
tone, on/off switch, input and speaker jacks. The tone circuit functions
rather differently from the usual subtractive design. It acts as
a sort of parametric midrange sweep (resembling a wah-wah pedal).
The effect is somewhat hard to describe but very easy to use. Dialing
in good sounds is not a problem. The tube complement is 1-12AX7
(input and tone recovery), 1-12BH7 (phase inverter), 2- EL84 (output
tubes), and 1-5Y3 (rectifier). The EL84's run class A/B and put
out about 15 watts before clipping. Mine came with a Russian or
Chinese 12AX7, a NOS 12BH7 (this is a hi-fi tube used, I believe,
in some Magnatone amps; according to Dr. Z, the 12AU7 used in earlier
Carmen Ghias as a phase inverter is a drop-in replacement), Ruby
EL84s (probably Russian), and a Sylvania NOS 5Y3GT. The EL84's run
cathode bias and at a plate voltage of around 307 volts with the
5Y3 rectifier. Plate voltage can be increased by using a 5U4 or
5AR4 rectifier tube, or even a plug-in solid-state rectifier, but
there's no lack of punch even with the 5Y3, and Dr. Z suggests staying
with the 5Y3 in the interests of power-tube longevity. This particular
amplifier reviewed is the very first example of the second generation
of Carmen Ghias. For a number of years Dr. Z (Mike Zaite of Cleveland,
Ohio) has been making Carmen Ghias based on an old Hammond Reverb
chassis that was designed for organs. As the supply of NOS Hammond
chassis dried up and as demand increased for these little amps,
Dr. Z transferred the basic Ghia design to a new chassis/cabinet
layout. The new heads are a bit larger (measuring 18"W x 9"H x 9
1/2"D) and are covered in black tolex. The "increased chassis real
estate." as Dr. Z describes it, allows for "1) improved manufacturing
time and quality, 2) decreased noise floor, 3) better heat dissipation,
4) the ability to upgrade to higher spec parts, 5) improved wire
layout and separation which decreases parasitic oscillation and
stray coupling, 6) and the ability to upgrade the design at a later
date." The new chassis is a beautiful piece of work. It looks much
like the more expensive Dr. Z models--welded aluminum with point-to-point
wiring on a turret board. The power supply and tone circuits are
quite sophisticated, and the transformers are very large for a 15-watt
amp. In fact, they look like they belong on a 50-watt amp. It has
the same power transformer as the Dr. Z Prescription, and the output
transformer is a high-quality, interleaved reproduction of the old
Hammond design. The pots are CTS and the jacks are very solid. The
single speaker output jack is wired for an 8-ohm load, although
the amp is said to be rather forgiving of other impedances because
the output circuit utilizes what Dr. Z calls a "conjunctive filter."
Apparently, anything from 4 to 16-ohms will work without risk of
damage to the amplifier.
Sound Quality: 10
From a sonic standpoint, this is a remarkable amp--very dynamic
with great punch and tone. While this is certainly not a "Swiss
army knife" amp, it will generate a decent variety of tones. It
also gets very loud for a 15-watt amp, but it achieves this volume
capability through elegance of design and quality of components
rather than by roasting the power tubes. This is not just a practice
amp by any means, and smaller-venue blues gigs are well within its
range of capability. I play mainly a blues/country/roots-rock style
using a Telecaster with Duncan vintage pickups, and the Carmen sounds
great through a Mesa 1x12 extension cabinet with a 90-watt Black
Shadow Celestion. This is an amp you just don't get tired of playing.
With no master volume, the distortion is largely of the power-tube
variety. As one would expect with EL84s, the distortion at full-out
volume is more reminiscent of Vox than Fender, though the tone control
does a pretty good job of taming those intense upper-mids. The bass
response with a 1x12 cabinet is impressive. The bottom end is also
very tight and focused--no flatulence here.
Reliability: 10
While I haven't had it long enough to make any definitive judgment,
it appears to be built like the proverbial tank. The parts quality,
design, and assembly are top-notch. This is clearly an amp built
for the long haul. One small niggle should be mentioned. The fuse
holder extends out beyond the back of the cabinet by about 1/3 of
an inch, and thus there is the possibility of shearing it off if
one is not careful in carrying it. Perhaps Dr. Z will fix this in
a later production run.
Customer Support: 10
Dr. Z is clearly committed to standing behind his products. He's
a busy guy, but if you call he is glad to answer questions. He also
answers his e-mail in a timely way. One thing to consider is that
some of the parts in his amps are proprietary, and you will probably
want him to fix it (rather than the local TV and radio repair shop)
if anything does go wrong.
Overall Rating: 10
I hate to give anything a ten, but this amp really is quite remarkable.
It is also a great deal. The price on these has now gone up to $499,
but even at that price its a steal. This is a real "boutique" amp
at a production amp price. Would I buy it again? Of course, but
I doubt I'll have to. This is the sort of amp that one plans to
keep for a long time.
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Carmen
Ghia Reviews