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  • More Advice needed PLEASE!! Dr.Z Carmen Ghia or Swart Space Tone or STR?

I would really appreciate even more patience and advice from all on the forum (man, I've been cranky the last few days waiting to ask this while the forum has been playing up ? ?).

A little more on my needs first. I will probably not be playing live with an amp for a long time if ever, and am busy making up a small direct to PA pedal board that would also be versatile enough to plug in at home as well and that caters for both acoustic and electric (but that is another story altogether). So my needs are really for a smallish amp with great tone and also a full sound. A great clean tone is essential and the amp must be a valve amp. The break up or overdriven sound is also important but I only really use relatively mild overdrive (well mild to me ?) so extreme drive or distortion tones are not needed at all.

While I know the Dr.Z Carmen Ghia and Swart Space Tone or STR are totally different they are nevertheless the choice I am faced with. The Carmen Ghia will have a "Brake Lite" to attenuate and will probably be used with this on most of the time as I will really be using this for home use only.

The only issue I have is that small amps tend to sound small (the only problem I have with my Ashton Audio modded Fender Champ 600 - awesome sound but a "small" sound if you know what I mean, not soft as it can get very loud for domestic use but still what I term "small") but I have noted that the Swart has a 12" speaker which I am sure will make a huge difference.

Of course, I will get some change from the Swart STR Tweed compared to the Carmen Ghia but I really want to make the right choice.

Oh yes forgot - mainly for blues, and Knopfler'ish type sounds, possibly dabbling with a little jazz - (wow that all sound awesome - wish I could actually paly it as well as it sounds!!! ☹)


Advice, comments etc
    Very different animals, but both excellent. The Swarts have a bit of a midrange push (not as much as a Tweed Fender, but along those lines), which make them bluesier. The Carmen Ghia is brighter and sparklier, but with a very useful tone control that makes it a far more flexible amp than you would expect.

    The Swarts are great sounding amps across the range. The little Atomic Jr. is without doubt the best sounding small amp I've ever played, lacking only in a little low end extension - but not suffering for it until you compare it to its larger bretheren. The 12" speaker STR-Tweed, I didn't even realise was "only" a 5W until I asked which model it was - it's every bit as good as the higher powered 12" models. My favourite was the AST Master with the Celestion Gold, but I liked all the amps - I wasn't sure of the Tweed at first, but it turned out to have an EL-34 in (Marco likes playing his LP through that one apparently) and when changed to a 6V6, I was immediately home...

    The cherry on the cake is that most Swarts are auto-biasing amps so you can swap the standard 6V6 for an EL34 to get more of a Marshally crunch well suited to humbuckers or you can pop in a 6L6 to get more headroom. The simple designs also show the differences in NOS valves quite clearly, so you can have a ton of fun valve swapping. We didn't do it while I was there, but the rectifiers can also be changed to a 5Y3 to limit the headroom and get more sag.

    Speak to Gian, try them next time you are down and there's a good chance you'll walk away with one...
      Of course, the one huge advantage the Swarts have is that they are readily available locally to try out...
        Thx Alan - from the sounds of it, I may prefer the Swart sound but will do my usual You Tube auditions as well. Coming down to CT in a few weeks and may be able to arrange listen/test as well.

        I'm in no hurry - I just want to make the right choice for me and my needs.
          Carmen Ghia..... there is nothing small about that amp sound my side with the 2 10" speakers.....
          I used a vibrochamp a few weeks back (I actually owned it) that had a small amp sound.....


          The Ghia is a mean amp.... well made.... and pretty unique compared to other amps due to its simple layout and unique tone

          can you tell I am a Fan
            i always reckon if the DrZ is good enough for brad paisley it's good enough for me too........ ? does anyone we know(internationally famous guitarists) play swart amps to compare ......and i know a carmen ghia is not a Zwreck but similar tones from what i heard of em ........
              ?
              MIKA the better one wrote: Carmen Ghia..... there is nothing small about that amp sound my side with the 2 10" speakers.....
              I used a vibrochamp a few weeks back (I actually owned it) that had a small amp sound.....


              The Ghia is a mean amp.... well made.... and pretty unique compared to other amps due to its simple layout and unique tone

              can you tell I am a Fan
              LOL ...Mika I was waiting for your input ?

              Now all I need is a comment on the Swart from Brent and we have a balanced view!!! ? ? ?

              Aaaah Keira, I forgot we had similar tone tastes and that you would vote for the good Doctor's creation!
                I don't think either is really objectively better. Sounds like you need to decide between rocky road and tin roof ?
                  The Ghia is still a gigging amp - that's the one thing against it. Attenuators help, but something designed as a low power amp will always be first prize, IMO.
                    I know You Tube is not the best at all for comparisons, and I am trying to only take note of those where the players use a Strat or Tele (my preference), but contrary to some of teh comments above I am finding that the DrZ has a smoother clean sound and a much "warmer" and smooth overdriven sound. The ones I've seen on the Swart STR indicate a quite harsh crystaline clean sound and a very "rough" sounding break up on overdriven sound. The problem is there are just so many variables on a You Tube video that it is impossible to tell what is accurate.

                    Unfortunately the smaller DrZ apparently (the Monza and MiniZ) are really only for an overdriven sound as they break up quite quickly.

                    I also agree with you Alan, that it doesn't really make sense getting something that I am going to always be using an attenuater with.....

                    Mmmmm - I wonder if I shouldn't consider modifying the Champ 600 for an external speaker and carefully selecting an 12" external cab. ? ?
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