Ghia vs Club Royale

[ghiastrat]

Hi, I'm a long time Ghia (1x12 combo) owner looking to add another amp to he stable and I'm thinking of picking up a used TopHat Club Royale 2x12 (early 2000s model with solid state rec) that's for sale locally. Has anybody played these two amps ? How do they compare tonaly ? I'm a little concerned that they may cover the same ground. Thx

 

[rawkguitarist]

Is it a Club Deluxe or a Club Royale? Either way, the 2000'ish solid state rectified Club models most likely will be able to stay a little cleaner than the Ghia. The Ghia has a little more oomph in the lows, but you'll be able to get a more "refined" clean combo tone with the TopHat.

The Club Deluxe has more of a Fender meets Marshall vibe and the Royale has a more Vox meets Marshall vibe. All TopHats seem to have a bit of Vox and Marshall to them no matter the circuit. IMO, it's a signature TopHat sound.

And BTW, my favorite TopHat Club era is the one you're looking at. I have two of them and much prefer them to those before and after them... against conventional wisdom, but it's my honest assesment.

 

[Bobbyoso]

I agree with Aaron about the vintage Royales, as well. I bought a 2001 (1x12", in my case) about three years ago, and as a result of hearing/playing mine, a guitarist I worked with bought a new, deep cab EZ81-rectified CR, and we used thm on a project together for approx. a year.

It's a great amp, and he loves it, as do I--but we both think mine has just a little something "extra" about it. Now, I've never spent the time dialing in his CR that I have with mine, so I don't know if my opinion would change if I took it home for a month and 6-10 gigs. But it sounds a little less unique and dynamic than mine, IMO (and his).

FWIW. But yeah, it's a different amp, a very different circuit, in a lot of ways than a Ghia. The CR master vol is very good, and makes it a pretty versatile amp in terms of gain/volume independence.

 

[ghiastrat]

Thx Guys ! Exactly the kind of input i was looking for.... just submitted my offer

 

[rawkguitarist]

Thx Guys ! Exactly the kind of input i was looking for.... just submitted my offer

Just curious though, is it actually a Club Royale or a Club Deluxe?

 

[HHB]

I've got an '01 Royale 112 , best amp I've ever tried much less owned

 

[ghiastrat]

Oops meant to respond to that ... I'm looking at the Club Royale 2x12 (not Deluxe)

 

[Bobbyoso]

Pretty sure you'd be happy with either, and the CD would be a change from the Ghia's EL84's. That said, the CR and the Ghia are very different EL84 amps. If that CR is in good shape, you're gonna be hard-pressed not to love it.