QuoteSee below - mods added
Minty '74.
Pretty much original except a few changes such as the green lamp.
I also have an '81 Ibanez PQ9 on the way for a lead boost. I found the Boss PQ4 added a smoothness that my MXR 6-Band doesn't have - its an 'artifact' and the MXR is clearer, but I prefer the thickness of the PQ4 and I think the PQ9 is the same circuit, but I love Ibanez pedals. I'm gonna put the PQ9 in the same loop (of my TB loop switcher) as my AD9.
Oh, and I'm gonna sell that Celestion/Marshall G12M70 and put in a Celestion Classic Lead 80 later this week. The amp sounded great through a Celestion Gold too.
(http://i1185.photobucket.com/albums/z342/Jon_Weingarden/20140102_211242_HDR_zpswsunygjb.jpg)
(http://i1185.photobucket.com/albums/z342/Jon_Weingarden/20140102_211351_HDR_zpswti7oflj.jpg)
(http://i1185.photobucket.com/albums/z342/Jon_Weingarden/20140102_211535_HDR_zpst7umcry5.jpg)
(http://i1185.photobucket.com/albums/z342/Jon_Weingarden/20140102_211607_HDR_zpszf3u4pw3.jpg)
(http://i1185.photobucket.com/albums/z342/Jon_Weingarden/20140102_211703_HDR_zpsk7zt0bja.jpg)
(http://i1185.photobucket.com/albums/z342/Jon_Weingarden/20140102_211758_HDR_zpsovfrxbsx.jpg)
(http://i1185.photobucket.com/albums/z342/Jon_Weingarden/20140102_211823_HDR_zpsy04vw8ds.jpg)
(http://i1185.photobucket.com/albums/z342/Jon_Weingarden/20140102_211853_HDR_zpsjz8j2o1j.jpg)
(http://i1185.photobucket.com/albums/z342/Jon_Weingarden/20140102_211923_HDR_zpsyk6bkzkw.jpg)
Happy New Amp day! I thought you had one about 6-8 months ago?
My NAD is currently en route ;D
Quote from: fulltone1989 on January 03, 2014, 11:13:13 AM
Happy New Amp day! I thought you had one about 6-8 months ago?
My NAD is currently en route ;D
Thanks!
Your right!
Over the summer I had an SFTR in a headshell. I wanted more midrange though; the 6L6's had a broader frequency range than I needed, especially in the bass, which also meant the amp had way too much bass with my EVM12L (which I have in a 112 cab). I had just sold a 212 w/ V30's about 6 months prior and didn't want to go back to a 212. I found a buyer for the amp pretty easily.
Just before I had the SFTR, I actually had a different SFDR. It had a lot of mods: trem disconnect, V1 pulled, Celestion Gold Clone, midrange knob, bright cap removed. It also had an issue where the cabinet would vibrate when turned up past 3. I was going to get the cab fixed, but some German dude offered me a lot more than I paid if I would ship the amp to him (and he knew about the cab vibrations), so I sold it. Fortunately when I was buying this new amp, the seller cranked it up to about 7 and not only was the overdrive glorious, but the cabinet is very sturdy.
I've been using my MKIII with EL34's and the EVM12L in the 112 and loving it, but missing a grab-n-go combo setup, Fender reverb, simplicity (I keep tweaking the Mesa as much as just playing, lol). I'm not sure if I'll be able to afford keeping both the Mesa and the Fender in the long run.
What NADs are you looking forward to in the near future?
Quote from: Heady Jam Fan on January 03, 2014, 11:36:58 AM
Quote from: fulltone1989 on January 03, 2014, 11:13:13 AM
Happy New Amp day! I thought you had one about 6-8 months ago?
My NAD is currently en route ;D
Thanks!
Your right!
Over the summer I had an SFTR in a headshell. I wanted more midrange though; the 6L6's had a broader frequency range than I needed, especially in the bass, which also meant the amp had way too much bass with my EVM12L (which I have in a 112 cab). I had just sold a 212 w/ V30's about 6 months prior and didn't want to go back to a 212. I found a buyer for the amp pretty easily.
Just before I had the SFTR, I actually had a different SFDR. It had a lot of mods: trem disconnect, V1 pulled, Celestion Gold Clone, midrange knob, bright cap removed. It also had an issue where the cabinet would vibrate when turned up past 3. I was going to get the cab fixed, but some German dude offered me a lot more than I paid if I would ship the amp to him (and he knew about the cab vibrations), so I sold it. Fortunately when I was buying this new amp, the seller cranked it up to about 7 and not only was the overdrive glorious, but the cabinet is very sturdy.
I've been using my MKIII with EL34's and the EVM12L in the 112 and loving it, but missing a grab-n-go combo setup, Fender reverb, simplicity (I keep tweaking the Mesa as much as just playing, lol). I'm not sure if I'll be able to afford keeping both the Mesa and the Fender in the long run.
What NADs are you looking forward to in the near future?
Cool! Grab and Go's are definitely, well, the way to go. It's always interesting reading your findings and amp insight.
I picked up a Fuchs ODS 50 mod from a Fender hotrod deluxe off TGP a few weeks ago!
Nice one Heady!
Quote from: fulltone1989 on January 03, 2014, 04:08:28 PM
Quote from: Heady Jam Fan on January 03, 2014, 11:36:58 AM
Quote from: fulltone1989 on January 03, 2014, 11:13:13 AM
Happy New Amp day! I thought you had one about 6-8 months ago?
My NAD is currently en route ;D
Thanks!
Your right!
Over the summer I had an SFTR in a headshell. I wanted more midrange though; the 6L6's had a broader frequency range than I needed, especially in the bass, which also meant the amp had way too much bass with my EVM12L (which I have in a 112 cab). I had just sold a 212 w/ V30's about 6 months prior and didn't want to go back to a 212. I found a buyer for the amp pretty easily.
Just before I had the SFTR, I actually had a different SFDR. It had a lot of mods: trem disconnect, V1 pulled, Celestion Gold Clone, midrange knob, bright cap removed. It also had an issue where the cabinet would vibrate when turned up past 3. I was going to get the cab fixed, but some German dude offered me a lot more than I paid if I would ship the amp to him (and he knew about the cab vibrations), so I sold it. Fortunately when I was buying this new amp, the seller cranked it up to about 7 and not only was the overdrive glorious, but the cabinet is very sturdy.
I've been using my MKIII with EL34's and the EVM12L in the 112 and loving it, but missing a grab-n-go combo setup, Fender reverb, simplicity (I keep tweaking the Mesa as much as just playing, lol). I'm not sure if I'll be able to afford keeping both the Mesa and the Fender in the long run.
What NADs are you looking forward to in the near future?
Cool! Grab and Go's are definitely, well, the way to go. It's always interesting reading your findings and amp insight.
I picked up a Fuchs ODS 50 mod from a Fender hotrod deluxe off TGP a few weeks ago!
Sweet. I saw a Fuchs ODS listed locally and was really interested in checking it out, but I didn't have cash and hesitated, missing my chance.
Quote from: Heady Jam Fan on January 03, 2014, 04:23:26 PM
Quote from: fulltone1989 on January 03, 2014, 04:08:28 PM
Quote from: Heady Jam Fan on January 03, 2014, 11:36:58 AM
Quote from: fulltone1989 on January 03, 2014, 11:13:13 AM
Happy New Amp day! I thought you had one about 6-8 months ago?
My NAD is currently en route ;D
Thanks!
Your right!
Over the summer I had an SFTR in a headshell. I wanted more midrange though; the 6L6's had a broader frequency range than I needed, especially in the bass, which also meant the amp had way too much bass with my EVM12L (which I have in a 112 cab). I had just sold a 212 w/ V30's about 6 months prior and didn't want to go back to a 212. I found a buyer for the amp pretty easily.
Just before I had the SFTR, I actually had a different SFDR. It had a lot of mods: trem disconnect, V1 pulled, Celestion Gold Clone, midrange knob, bright cap removed. It also had an issue where the cabinet would vibrate when turned up past 3. I was going to get the cab fixed, but some German dude offered me a lot more than I paid if I would ship the amp to him (and he knew about the cab vibrations), so I sold it. Fortunately when I was buying this new amp, the seller cranked it up to about 7 and not only was the overdrive glorious, but the cabinet is very sturdy.
I've been using my MKIII with EL34's and the EVM12L in the 112 and loving it, but missing a grab-n-go combo setup, Fender reverb, simplicity (I keep tweaking the Mesa as much as just playing, lol). I'm not sure if I'll be able to afford keeping both the Mesa and the Fender in the long run.
What NADs are you looking forward to in the near future?
Cool! Grab and Go's are definitely, well, the way to go. It's always interesting reading your findings and amp insight.
I picked up a Fuchs ODS 50 mod from a Fender hotrod deluxe off TGP a few weeks ago!
Sweet. I saw a Fuchs ODS listed locally and was really interested in checking it out, but I didn't have cash and hesitated, missing my chance.
Yeah the production ODS' are super pricey, and Fuchs said the mods get "about 80%" of the way there, so I took the plunge. There's a Vintage 30 in there now that I heard was bad for D-Style amps but I'm looking forward to checking it out! It's covered in snakeskin though which will look absurd, but at least it will sound better than it looks.
Nice - I was interested in the Fuchs and had a Mesa Mark III before I got this Vintage Sound Amp Vintage 22 - pretty much a hardwired PTP Deluxe Reverb built by Rick Haynes- Ch 2 '65 blackface circuit, Ch 1 Higher gain. It has the Diaz Trem mod, Middle Tone control, and dwell for reverb with a WGS V30 in it! Stoked to say the least!
Also have a Loop-master 6 switch TB looper and A/B on the way so I can use both channels of the amp! Happy New year to me hahaha!
(http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/humbucker_2268_23593937)
And here is my new guitar! Artinger shipping next week!
(http://i803.photobucket.com/albums/yy317/aderose76/Image7_zps338989ba.jpg)
Quote from: fulltone1989 on January 03, 2014, 04:41:04 PM
Quote from: Heady Jam Fan on January 03, 2014, 04:23:26 PM
Quote from: fulltone1989 on January 03, 2014, 04:08:28 PM
Quote from: Heady Jam Fan on January 03, 2014, 11:36:58 AM
Quote from: fulltone1989 on January 03, 2014, 11:13:13 AM
Happy New Amp day! I thought you had one about 6-8 months ago?
My NAD is currently en route ;D
Thanks!
Your right!
Over the summer I had an SFTR in a headshell. I wanted more midrange though; the 6L6's had a broader frequency range than I needed, especially in the bass, which also meant the amp had way too much bass with my EVM12L (which I have in a 112 cab). I had just sold a 212 w/ V30's about 6 months prior and didn't want to go back to a 212. I found a buyer for the amp pretty easily.
Just before I had the SFTR, I actually had a different SFDR. It had a lot of mods: trem disconnect, V1 pulled, Celestion Gold Clone, midrange knob, bright cap removed. It also had an issue where the cabinet would vibrate when turned up past 3. I was going to get the cab fixed, but some German dude offered me a lot more than I paid if I would ship the amp to him (and he knew about the cab vibrations), so I sold it. Fortunately when I was buying this new amp, the seller cranked it up to about 7 and not only was the overdrive glorious, but the cabinet is very sturdy.
I've been using my MKIII with EL34's and the EVM12L in the 112 and loving it, but missing a grab-n-go combo setup, Fender reverb, simplicity (I keep tweaking the Mesa as much as just playing, lol). I'm not sure if I'll be able to afford keeping both the Mesa and the Fender in the long run.
What NADs are you looking forward to in the near future?
Cool! Grab and Go's are definitely, well, the way to go. It's always interesting reading your findings and amp insight.
I picked up a Fuchs ODS 50 mod from a Fender hotrod deluxe off TGP a few weeks ago!
Sweet. I saw a Fuchs ODS listed locally and was really interested in checking it out, but I didn't have cash and hesitated, missing my chance.
Yeah the production ODS' are super pricey, and Fuchs said the mods get "about 80%" of the way there, so I took the plunge. There's a Vintage 30 in there now that I heard was bad for D-Style amps but I'm looking forward to checking it out! It's covered in snakeskin though which will look absurd, but at least it will sound better than it looks.
Oh man, yeah, snakeskin is pretty absurd, but I guess it could be funny.
Not sure why a V30 would be bad with that amp. I love the V30 with Fenders and Mesa's and an ODS is kinda in between IMO. People seem to suggest EVM12Ls, G12-65s, G12H30's or Golds with that kinda amp though if I remember correctly.
I looked up the G12M70 thats in my DR right now and saw one great review on a Marshall forum and a terrible review on TGP. Go figure, lol. I got the amp sounding pretty damn good, especially when its sitting on a chair rather than on the floor (flat or tilted), which keeps the bass tighter. But I know the speaker is definitely a limiting factor - the Celestion Gold was far better: livelier but smoother treble and a tighter bass, but the tighter bass could either be the M magnet vs the big Alnico magnet or the fact that the Gold was in a closed cab.
The only thing is I wish the reverb decay was shorter. I like the initial splash of the strings, but the long thick decay can make things muddy. The reverb comes alive past three on the knob, but is too thick by 4 on the knob. I have RI Mullards in the reverb slots which as supposed to be about as good as it gets, but maybe a lower gain tube would give the reverb knob a bit more accuracy in control. I don't want to do the reverb dwell mod on the grid resistor because I heard it really only acts like a second reverb knob. I suppose I could buy a short tank or try adding more padding to the reverb tank, but taking it out of the amp and laying it on carpet didn't help.
Quote from: tsbot on January 03, 2014, 05:22:45 PM
Nice - I was interested in the Fuchs and had a Mesa Mark III before I got this Vintage Sound Amp Vintage 22 - pretty much a hardwired PTP Deluxe Reverb built by Rick Haynes- Ch 2 '65 blackface circuit, Ch 1 Higher gain. It has the Diaz Trem mod, Middle Tone control, and dwell for reverb with a WGS V30 in it! Stoked to say the least!
Also have a Loop-master 6 switch TB looper and A/B on the way so I can use both channels of the amp! Happy New year to me hahaha!
(http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/humbucker_2268_23593937)
And here is my new guitar! Artinger shipping next week!
(http://i803.photobucket.com/albums/yy317/aderose76/Image7_zps338989ba.jpg)
Do you find the bass gets louder when the trem is disconnected? I definitely did on my SFTR when I did that mod and I never turned the trem on on my last SFDR. I don't think I'm going to mod my current DR, but wondering about the bass boost with that mod (if I want more preamp gain, I'll just pull the V1 tube). If I did an 'invasive' mod, I think I could go for the mid control first.
How do you like the Veteran 30? Have you compared it to a Celestion V30? I've heard it almost has a bit of a Greenback tone mixed in with it.
How does the reverb dwell knob work for you (per my above post, wanted to shorted the reverb decay, but increase the splash like Stephen Stills sound on Wooden Ships)? I might just drop the $30 or whatever it costs to get a short tank...
Loop Master is a cool company. After putting my pedals in a TB Loop Switcher, its indespensible if using more than a few pedals IMO - I hear much more clarity and detail from the guitar coming through. Are you going to use one channel overdriven and the other clean or one for a lead boost and the other for rhythm?
Congrats on the guitar! I love my Artinger - yours looks sick! What kind of wood is that?
Do you find the bass gets louder when the trem is disconnected? I definitely did on my SFTR when I did that mod and I never turned the trem on on my last SFDR. I don't think I'm going to mod my current DR, but wondering about the bass boost with that mod (if I want more preamp gain, I'll just pull the V1 tube). If I did an 'invasive' mod, I think I could go for the mid control first.
I did find that and actually have the trem in the circuit, just clicked on with no volume! - When using the mod it gives it a slight volume bump and does for sure add a little 'muddy' base feel - I thought I would like it, but if I were to do it all over again and had to pay for it, I would not get the mod! I do love the Mid Control - that was a must for me - my first amp was a Twin Reverb, then I got that Mesa Mark III - which I loved but it was too much for mainly bedroom playing and I didn't have a cab for it yet - I was using the 2x12 Twin Reverb as a cab haha! AND I was ALWAYS F'n with the Mesa Controls haha! I am totally happy with this Vintage 22 - Perfect for my needs and WAY lighter for heading out and jamming with friends!
How do you like the Veteran 30? Have you compared it to a Celestion V30? I've heard it almost has a bit of a Greenback tone mixed in with it.
I haven't compared it - only to the Twin Reverb, it breaks up nice and sustains nice at lower levels - I'd like to see a comparison because it isn't an expensive speaker and I'm of the adage that you get what you pay for - but maybe this time it doesn't apply.
How does the reverb dwell knob work for you (per my above post, wanted to shorted the reverb decay, but increase the splash like Stephen Stills sound on Wooden Ships)? I might just drop the $30 or whatever it costs to get a short tank...
I love the dwell knob - I have seemed to set it and forget it for the most part, but it definitely has a lot of effect on the reverb depending on where you put it!
Loop Master is a cool company. After putting my pedals in a TB Loop Switcher, its indespensible if using more than a few pedals IMO - I hear much more clarity and detail from the guitar coming through. Are you going to use one channel overdriven and the other clean or one for a lead boost and the other for rhythm?
That is my plan - I should have it by end of next week -then its time to revamp my board! It goes like this right now: Whammy II > VOX wah > Fulltone MDV 3 > TC polytune > Analogman mod TS9 > Bogner Ecstacy blue > Keeley 4 knob comp > TC Vortex flanger (which may come off) > Boss DD 6 (which I'm looking to replace with more functional on the fly delay) > Boomerang III > Amp
The Whammy isn't in the chain right now bc it is super noisy and seems to destroy my signal haha - I am totally stoked to get the Looper and have a clean signal going into the amp - it's heaven when I only plug my guitar straight into the Vintage 22 - so I'm hoping to get that same tone with the switcher!
My boomerang splits the loop after I'm done recording into my Twin Reverb so I can jam/lead through the Vintage 22 and loop out of the Twin so I don't have loop and lead coming out of one amp - which I totally am digging right now!
Congrats on the guitar! I love my Artinger - yours looks sick! What kind of wood is that?
Thanks he is shipping it Mon/Tues next week!! I hope it plays as good as it looks! I kept stressing the neck needed to be between a Fender and Gibby - I dislike thin necks and got to play a Languedoc during the build and that neck is heaven so I hope it is VERY close to that! The wood is all Mahogany with Electric City RD 59 PU's - Matt is a huge Phish fan too and knows exactly what I was going after so I gave him most control over that since I don't know much if anything about PU's other that the PAF's I have in my Heritage 535 and that Trey plays Schaller golden 50's...
[/quote]
Quote from: tsbot on January 03, 2014, 07:02:05 PM
Do you find the bass gets louder when the trem is disconnected? I definitely did on my SFTR when I did that mod and I never turned the trem on on my last SFDR. I don't think I'm going to mod my current DR, but wondering about the bass boost with that mod (if I want more preamp gain, I'll just pull the V1 tube). If I did an 'invasive' mod, I think I could go for the mid control first.
I did find that and actually have the trem in the circuit, just clicked on with no volume! - When using the mod it gives it a slight volume bump and does for sure add a little 'muddy' base feel - I thought I would like it, but if I were to do it all over again and had to pay for it, I would not get the mod! I do love the Mid Control - that was a must for me - my first amp was a Twin Reverb, then I got that Mesa Mark III - which I loved but it was too much for mainly bedroom playing and I didn't have a cab for it yet - I was using the 2x12 Twin Reverb as a cab haha! AND I was ALWAYS F'n with the Mesa Controls haha! I am totally happy with this Vintage 22 - Perfect for my needs and WAY lighter for heading out and jamming with friends!
How do you like the Veteran 30? Have you compared it to a Celestion V30? I've heard it almost has a bit of a Greenback tone mixed in with it.
I haven't compared it - only to the Twin Reverb, it breaks up nice and sustains nice at lower levels - I'd like to see a comparison because it isn't an expensive speaker and I'm of the adage that you get what you pay for - but maybe this time it doesn't apply.
How does the reverb dwell knob work for you (per my above post, wanted to shorted the reverb decay, but increase the splash like Stephen Stills sound on Wooden Ships)? I might just drop the $30 or whatever it costs to get a short tank...
I love the dwell knob - I have seemed to set it and forget it for the most part, but it definitely has a lot of effect on the reverb depending on where you put it!
Loop Master is a cool company. After putting my pedals in a TB Loop Switcher, its indespensible if using more than a few pedals IMO - I hear much more clarity and detail from the guitar coming through. Are you going to use one channel overdriven and the other clean or one for a lead boost and the other for rhythm?
That is my plan - I should have it by end of next week -then its time to revamp my board! It goes like this right now: Whammy II > VOX wah > Fulltone MDV 3 > TC polytune > Analogman mod TS9 > Bogner Ecstacy blue > Keeley 4 knob comp > TC Vortex flanger (which may come off) > Boss DD 6 (which I'm looking to replace with more functional on the fly delay) > Boomerang III > Amp
The Whammy isn't in the chain right now bc it is super noisy and seems to destroy my signal haha - I am totally stoked to get the Looper and have a clean signal going into the amp - it's heaven when I only plug my guitar straight into the Vintage 22 - so I'm hoping to get that same tone with the switcher!
My boomerang splits the loop after I'm done recording into my Twin Reverb so I can jam/lead through the Vintage 22 and loop out of the Twin so I don't have loop and lead coming out of one amp - which I totally am digging right now!
Congrats on the guitar! I love my Artinger - yours looks sick! What kind of wood is that?
Thanks he is shipping it Mon/Tues next week!! I hope it plays as good as it looks! I kept stressing the neck needed to be between a Fender and Gibby - I dislike thin necks and got to play a Languedoc during the build and that neck is heaven so I hope it is VERY close to that! The wood is all Mahogany with Electric City RD 59 PU's - Matt is a huge Phish fan too and knows exactly what I was going after so I gave him most control over that since I don't know much if anything about PU's other that the PAF's I have in my Heritage 535 and that Trey plays Schaller golden 50's...
[/quote]
Interesting. I'd love to hear more about the dwell knob if you have the chance. When I hear spring reverb, I hear two parts. If the reverb is driven hard enough, the first thing I hear is the splashy, springy sound. The second thing I hear the the cavernous decay. Hypothetically the dwell know should shorten the decay, but I've seen reviews where people say it really just generally decreases the amount of reverb. I was hoping to have a bit less volume and length in time on the cavernous decay and a bit more of the splashy sound from the springs.
Yeah, I definitely trust Matt's opinion. Him and I talked a lot about the electronics Trey uses and he was thinking about implementing some of that. Not sure if he ever did. Trey initially used Golden 50's but switched to Duncan 59's which sound identical.
Heady - Yea it think it decreases the amout of reverb - for instance if I have reverb all the way up say on 9 out of 10 and dwell on 1 - there really is no reverb, but with dwell on 3 or 4 it begins to come through and on 10 its full on....It does seem to shorten it a bit and not be so cavernous but a bit more present when you use the dwell in conjunction with the reverb...
I sent you an email with an iTunes clip that I made real quick through Garageband into a Sennheiser e609 into Scarlet 2i2 - giving you a feel of reverb on with dwell off and all the way on - I went though a few different variables - don't judge the playing haha! Hope that helps some!!
Awesome man, thanks.
It seems like it does diminish that 'cavernous' decay while also diminishing the overall amount of reverb. In other words, it sounded like the lower the dwell, the higher you need to set the reverb, but the more 'splash' to 'cave' ratio. I think I would probably set the reverb around 8 and dwell around 4 to get the sound that Stephen Stills got on Wooden Ships.
When I woke up this morning, my tracking info confirmed my Celestion CL80 Speaker and Weber Beam Blocker were "out for delivery."
I got home from my girlfriend's house and was anxious with anticipation, so I decided to take out the old speaker and realized I don't have any tools yet at my new house. "Ok," I figured, "I'll burn some time at Home Depot." I got the essentials and came home, only to realize that the studs were in the baffle in such a way that I couldn't remove the speaker without taking out the chassis.
I pulled out the chassis and reminded myself, "you weren't going to mod this amp." I repositioned the studs and grabbed the chassis to put it back in and thought, "what if I want a tremolo disconnect mod - I never use the trem and I get annoyed by the faint ticking... it would be so much easier just to remove the tremolo now while I have the chassis out." My soldering iron was already hot from unsoldering the speaker, before the tremolo circuit could stutter, "stop" it was disconnected.
Then my brain started ticking. "I have these long wires left over from the tremolo and I already have the V1 preamp tube pulled, so I'm not using the Normal Channel or any of those potentiometers... If one of them is a 1meg Audio Taper, I could do the reverb dwell mod in a jiffy - the old school tank sounds awesome, but just too much decay..." Sure enough, the volume pot was a 1 meg Audio Taper, so I yanked out:
- The 1meg Grid Resistor.
- The lead going from V3's pin 7 & 2 (Reverb Driver) to where the Grid Resistor met the 500pf capacitor.
- The wire from V1 to what was just previously my Normal Channel's volume pot (2nd, wiper, terminal).
- The wire going from what was previously my Normal Channel volume pot (3rd terminal) to the treble pot.
And then I soldered:
- The wiper (2nd terminal) of what was now my Dwell pot to pin 7 & 2 of the Reverb Driver (V3).
- The 3rd terminal my 'new' Dwell pot to the 500pf capacitor.
Obviously leaving the 1st terminal of the new Dwell, previously Volume pot grounded.
I screwed the beam blocker to the front of the baffle (removing two studs to do so), installed the new speaker, popped the chassis back in and rocked the fuck out.
Plus I got to use my new tools.
Pre-mod pics:
(http://i1185.photobucket.com/albums/z342/Jon_Weingarden/20140109_135942_HDR_zpsgtvbiz7w.jpg)
The resistor looks like a little brown tic-tac with a light brown, black, green and silver stripe.
(http://i1185.photobucket.com/albums/z342/Jon_Weingarden/6cd1d146-6562-4f9a-8d3a-e8b9c13b2744_zpse876153a.jpg)
The capacitor is hard to see here, but its a light brown 'disc' kinda thing connected at the same junction as the resistor and lead in the image below.
(http://i1185.photobucket.com/albums/z342/Jon_Weingarden/f9197178-c2a5-4162-b5f1-8e8c9220c43d_zpsd75bfa5d.jpg)
The lead should be easy to find, especially if you've located the resistor and cap (if you haven't trace the lead to them).
(http://i1185.photobucket.com/albums/z342/Jon_Weingarden/5ae9f22e-c63e-44bb-be66-8911bd752c05_zpsa6fa3f0b.jpg)
Sounds great. The Dwell knob takes away a bit of treble and has a similar effect in general to the standard Reverb knob, but together they give a decent amount of control. I find I get a nice bit of splash in the initial reflection without an overwhelming cavernous decay/tail with the dwell on 7 and reverb on 5.
I can't tell for certain if the Beam Blocker is working because I changed the speaker too, but I'm definitely getting a more tonally balanced sound from various angles. There is still some beaminess, but not as bad and it doesn't sound dark and muddy anymore when I stand off to the side. I don't hear any weird phasiness I got the 5 inch beam blocker - figured it would work best, especially with the large dust cap on a CL80. I know people are really split about beam blockers and those who dislike them swear by the Jay Mitchell foam doughnut, but that looks ridiculous and, contrary to those who use a foam doughnut, I think the treble comes from the center just near the dust cap - when I put my mic there, its brighter and when I move it out, it gets darker.
I think the CL80 sounds fantastic too. Its used and seem pretty broken in, but I'll see if it mellows even more in the next few days. The G12M70 sounded kinda luck mush, the CL80 is smooth but authoritative. Despite the rolled off high end, there is more treble clarity too. All around I think its a great speaker, especially for this application. Way to go Bogner amps - Trey's Shiva made me pull the trigger on this one. Might be my new favorite Celestion.
Oh yea. If this wasn't a long enough post for ya, I'm getting a couple new pedals over the next few days. Probably be writing up a review, comparison on those too! I'm replacing my vintage/original Script Phase 45 with an vintage/original early Block Phase 90 and my vintage/original MXR early Block Envelope Filter with an '84 Ibanez AF9.
I do open her up again, I might just have to repurpose the Normal Channel's treble or bass pot as a midrange pot! I'll have to brush up on whats involved in that mod, I think I need to add to the tone stack.?.
PS - obviously if you try this mod, be safe and careful. You need to know what your doing or you will get shocked and die, probably urinating on yourself and thats an embarrassing way to be found - all pissy and smelly and dead. Your better than that. Solder Safely, doubt be found dead in your own urine.
Strong work! Glad to see you put the dwell in it!!
Very cool Heady! If you want to add a midrange knob, I think using a 25K ohm pot with a .022 mf capacitor into the middle terminal would do the trick. If you want to add a new pot, I think it would just run parallel to the bass pot too.
Quote from: IamWILSON on January 11, 2014, 07:31:37 AM
Very cool Heady! If you want to add a midrange knob, I think using a 25K ohm pot with a .022 mf capacitor into the middle terminal would do the trick. If you want to add a new pot, I think it would just run parallel to the bass pot too.
Thanks man!
I'm getting better at this stuff (still a novice), but I don't know all the lingo. Mind if I pick your brain?
You said "parallel to the bass pot." Is that different than a typical midrange control? If so, how? I was pretty much going to follow the Twin Reverb schematic, which seems like its in series: http://www.thevintagesound.com/ffg/schem/twin_reverb_ab763_layout.gif (http://www.thevintagesound.com/ffg/schem/twin_reverb_ab763_layout.gif).
I was also going to leave the 6.8K resistor between the bass and midrange pot to set the minimum midrange to the amp's stock tone.
As far as the pot's value, I was originally going to go with a 10k: a lot of the mod directions I found suggested that and its stock for a Twin Reverb. However, that is barely more than the 6.8K resistor (which would be about 7/10 on a Twin's midrange control). A lot of people seem to suggest 25 or even 50k, but I think 50 would be too much: I'd think it would make the other tone controls less effective and would be tricky to dial in.
However, I think the Intensity pot in my amp, which I'm now not using, is 50K. So my next thought was to add a capacitor across terminal 1-3 to 'attenuate' the attenuator's upper range (or value). But I read this can throw off the pots sweep, so I decided not to do this (I'll have to order a 25K pot). What is the purpose of the .022mf capacitor in your suggestion for a mid control? You said it would go to the middle (2nd, or wiper) terminal, so I'm assuming it would not function to diminish the pots range. What is the other side of the cap soldered to? The bass knob?
You don't happen to have a schem for this mod?
Thanks man!
Jon
Awesome work! I definitely respect guys that mod their own amps, I'd be too wary - the farthest I go is my own Bias. Are the mods easily reversible if you go to sell?
Quote from: fulltone1989 on January 11, 2014, 10:46:17 AM
Awesome work! I definitely respect guys that mod their own amps, I'd be too wary - the farthest I go is my own Bias. Are the mods easily reversible if you go to sell?
Actually nearly all the mods discussed for Fender amps are reversible. The irreversible ones are ones that require additional holes in the chassis and there are so many unused holes that almost any mod is reversible. I actually reversed both mods this morning to try some other stuff :D
I undid the dwell mod and trem disconnect.
I liked the dwell, but it had three effects: shortening the reverb trail/decay, decreasing treble, and decreasing the reverb in general. I liked the first effect and could reverse the third effect by turning up the standard reverb knob, but that increases noise. I disliked losing the treble and with less gain doing into the reverb circuit, I got less of a springy initial reflection, which is what I wanted.
The trem disconnect did add gain to the preamp which made it sound stronger and punchier, but it also added bass and made overdrive tones a little less smooth. I decided pulling V1 was good enough for increasing gain in the preamp. On one hand, I could have decreased the bass, but I use the tone controls (particularly on Fender amps) just as much to make the preamp feel, play, function its best as much as to shape the sound. For example, the amp is most dynamic and expressive when the knobs are set where they make the most noise (unplug the guitar, turn the amp on, turn the volume all the way up, turn the eq knobs and you'll hear the noise-level jump at a few spots across the sweep - the amp plays best with the knobs set right at those spots, which is 2.75 out of 10 on my bass knob). I assume the bass is attenuated by the trem circuit because it adds more R-C Networks to the signal chain. Anyway, I preferred a smoother sound with a tighter bass than the umph that the mod provides.
I really like the CL80 speaker still and I haven't tried taking the beam blocker back out, but I like it in there - seems to have a really nice effect moderately diminishing the beam, and not just absorbing treble, but diffusing it.
I also did a 'trem-fix' mod today that just adds a .022uf cap from the 10meg resistor that meets the trem-bug to ground. I think it completely stopped the mild clock-noise (ticking) I heard before.
Decided I definitely like the bright cap removed. Even setting the treble higher after removing it, overdrive sounds smoother.
Lastly, I have an RCA jack in the trem pedal plug with the wire leads soldered together (its not going to a pedal). This keeps the trem on so I can just reach over and turn up the intensity.
Oh yeah - I popped the RCA Short Grey Plate 12AX7 from V1 into V2, replacing the Tungsram/Amperex. It sounds much clearer and a bit smoother despite being a bit brighter. Incredible sounding tube! I also tried the RCA 12AT7 in V1 (all these says are USA 12A*7, kinda like what is said about the tube Trey has in V2), but I preferred the RCA 12AX7. The RCA AT7 beat the Tungsram though. The Mullard RI came in last place; it was clearer sounding than the Tungsram but sounded a bit more brittle and clinical, not as smooth, warm or dynamic.
Finally, I tried out the original Fender 6V6 tubes, but I think they were really on their last legs - I preferred the JJs. The Fender's just sounded a bit weak, but I'll keep them as back up tubes.
You are the MOD GOD!
Quote from: Happyorange27 on January 13, 2014, 10:40:19 AM
You are the MOD GOD!
Haha, your work on your bjr is definitely more complex and impressive, just figured drs are popular amps here and I should share.