P

[cactuskeeb]

I've read that bottom one at least a dozen times.


It really is a wonderfully-done advertising and promotional piece.  Whoever put that together was a real ace.  Probably a retired/semi-retired exec that frequented the shop.

[sour d]

I'll drop it after this, but what about the harmony central reviews? Those people didn't notice a positive change in their amp? When I read it it seems like they did.


(The second link was for the pictures of the difference a stock reissue chassis and one with a ab763 replacement board)

[cactuskeeb]

It's very hard to find a bad review on Harmony-Central.  A lot of these reviews are simply done by business partners.  I hear what you're trying to say, and perhaps you're right but I have to be as critical as I can, otherwise the bad guys win and someone here ultimately ends up with with a very noisy amp that drives them crazy.  Not to mention, they are out 250+ dollars, and in this day and age, the thought of that happening makes me upset. 

If you want to upgrade your amp, the failsafe way is to change the speaker, replace the preamp and power tubes with NOS RCA, swap out the 12AX7 V2 preamp tube with a 12AT7, and replace all the transformers with mercury magnetics (start with the output transformer; that will make the biggest difference).

A word on carbon composition resistors: these things are notoriously finicky.  The only way to really be sure that they will not drift or open up completely in circuit is to measure them one-by-one and then heat cycle them, measuring them again at the end.  The ones that still measure within 20% of the original value are virtually guaranteed not to drift in circuit.   

[jadirusso]

You can put a 12AT7 in V2? I thought it needed 12AX7. What's the diff that the 12AT7 will make in V2? I use the vibrato channel exclusively since it has reverb..

[Walker done done]

Cactus - thanks for your continual input on amps, it's very enlightening. 

So here's my question - I just got this MKIII, and it has all the original tubes as well as the original speaker.  I'll be replacing the speaker w/ a Tone Tubby I think, but first I want to replace all the tubes.....but I've never had experience w/ EL34 tubes.  What advice can you give on these?  Thanks in advance.

[cactuskeeb]

You can put a 12AT7 in V2? I thought it needed 12AX7. What's the diff that the 12AT7 will make in V2? I use the vibrato channel exclusively since it has reverb..

The difference is slightly less gain, which is good for that channel because it tends to get a little brittle sounding when you crank it up.  I recommend a mullard 12AT7.  Get a couple of them so you can decide which one sounds best, then save the rest for emergency backup.  They don't need to be "matched" so don't waste your money on that option.  See the link below:

http://www.kcanostubes.com/products/70/NOS-Mullard-CV4024-ECC81-12AT7.htm

[cactuskeeb]

Cactus - thanks for your continual input on amps, it's very enlightening. 

So here's my question - I just got this MKIII, and it has all the original tubes as well as the original speaker.  I'll be replacing the speaker w/ a Tone Tubby I think, but first I want to replace all the tubes.....but I've never had experience w/ EL34 tubes.  What advice can you give on these?  Thanks in advance.

Hmm...yeah, I don't have any experience with those either.  As I recall, when I had a MKIIC combo I just pulled the EL34's and had two 6v6s on the far left and right.  There was some logic to doing that but I don't remember what it was (just Google "MKIII no el34" or something like that").  Right now, though, I would be interested in the different tones I could get from keeping the el34's so I say go for it but be prepared to drop a shit ton of cash on good ones because they're very popular right now.  These http://www.kcanostubes.com/products/293/NOS-Mullard-EL34-XF2-with-Double-Getters-Singles.htm probably sound incredible but 220 dollars a piece.  It's up to you to decide if that's worth it.  For the record, I think it is, and you know how much I bitch about the cost of other things.   

[Walker done done]

Cactus - thanks for your continual input on amps, it's very enlightening. 

So here's my question - I just got this MKIII, and it has all the original tubes as well as the original speaker.  I'll be replacing the speaker w/ a Tone Tubby I think, but first I want to replace all the tubes.....but I've never had experience w/ EL34 tubes.  What advice can you give on these?  Thanks in advance.

Hmm...yeah, I don't have any experience with those either.  As I recall, when I had a MKIIC combo I just pulled the EL34's and had two 6v6s on the far left and right.  There was some logic to doing that but I don't remember what it was (just Google "MKIII no el34" or something like that").  Right now, though, I would be interested in the different tones I could get from keeping the el34's so I say go for it but be prepared to drop a shit ton of cash on good ones because they're very popular right now.  These http://www.kcanostubes.com/products/293/NOS-Mullard-EL34-XF2-with-Double-Getters-Singles.htm probably sound incredible but 220 dollars a piece.  It's up to you to decide if that's worth it.  For the record, I think it is, and you know how much I bitch about the cost of other things.   

Sweet, thanks for the tips.  At $220 a piece, that'll be a decision process.  As for pulling the EL's & replacing w/ 6v6's, I'm not sure if it's a good thing to do as it specifically states in the manual not to do that - did it also state that in your MKIIC as well & you just ignored it or...?  I thought about doing this as well until I read that.  Let me know your thoughts, and thanks again.

[cactuskeeb]

Yeah, I know exactly what you're talking about as far as the manual is concerned.  I remember reading that when I got my Mark III head.  Didn't have a manual for the IIC so I kind of went with the flow.  Actually I think I just asked the gurus at the Rhombus and got my answer within minutes, as usual.  Speaking of the Rhombus, I think I want to find out if Emil trashed that whole forum when he suddenly shut it down to start his retarded "Emil's Tabs" site.  Oh my god, you guys are too young to know about the Rhombus but it's like everything that gets asked or talked about here was talked about there.  I'm sure that I am over-glorifying it a bit (there was a lot of nerd-confrontationalism, people telling other people to fuck off and stuff). The best thing was the music theory section.  Talk about smart fucking people...

Anyway, while I'm thinking about emailing that faggot, I'll tell you that I'm certain* you can pull the two el34s.  Just flip the half-power switch.  Hold on, I'm waiting for my network drive to load some old images of the Mark III.  Then I'll be able to confirm the placement of the tubes.  I'm 99.99% certain* its the two outside sockets.



*If it explodes in your face, I am not responsible....


ADDENDUM:



Whoa, ok.  Not 6v6, 6L6.  And yes, they can go on the outside like this when the amp is in class A mode, provided you have the simul-class model.  But honestly, walker, I would get some el-34's.  I mean, I was a fool let this amp go without rocking that aspect of it.  When I hear what Trey's doing with the mesa these days (yes, I am coming around, slowly), I REALLY wish I had this amp and 500 dollars worth of retardedly lush-sounding el34s, you know, like he does. 

[Poster]

Cactus, you do know that my amp tech at Tube Depot opened up the Heritage and its a mutant combination of a mesa boogie and a trainwreck circuit right? Didnt I email you about that amp with the cathode drive mode?

[jadirusso]

Any idea how much a good amp tech charges for labor?  this guy has $120/hr listed on his website. closest one I could find to me but I don't know if that's a bit high or not.. http://www.guitarrepair.com/

[Poster]

sounds way too expensive to me. ill drop maybe 120 altogether for a trip to the tech

[cactuskeeb]

Any idea how much a good amp tech charges for labor?  this guy has $120/hr listed on his website. closest one I could find to me but I don't know if that's a bit high or not.. http://www.guitarrepair.com/

The max rate for 99 percent of techs is 60 dollars an hour for labor.  And you would only pay that much--that is to say, 60 per hour--for someone with an engineering degree.

[strangedesign]

i was also thinking about moding mine. I mainly want to fatten the sound and wold like it to break up a little more at lower volumes. I found this site that describes some mods you can have done.

http://www.schematicheaven.com/modifications.htm

I thought this was interesting. Any of you ever tried this? I read it on several amp sites. My amp and guitar are in the shop and I haven't had a chance to try it out.

This is an easy mod which requires no soldering. It'll give your Dual Channel Non Reverb amp a Fatter tone. Since reverb equipped amp channels are out of phase, this mod Will Not work on them.

           1. Using a short patch cable, patch the #2 Input of the Normal channel into the #1 Input of the Vibrato channel.

           2. Plug you guitar into the #1 Input of the Normal Channel.

           3. The Volume and Tone knobs on both the Normal and the Vibrato channel will now effect your sound. So turn down the Normal channel and adjust the Vibrato Channel Tone and Volume first. Then bring up & adjust the Normal channel Volume and Tone. (If you experience any feedback while doing this, remember that the Vibrato channel is voiced a little brighter than the Normal channel. Lowering the treble and volume on the Vibrato channel a little will reduce any feedback).

This will give most Dual Channel Non Reverb Fender amps a fatter tone that's kind of equivilent to using a mild overdrive pedal. It only takes a patch cable and 2 minutes to try it & see if you like it. And it's completely harmless to you amp.

[Poster]

What your talking about is commonly referred to as "jumping" an amp. lots of the players who use the old marshall heads like to jump input to get more gain out of a plexi or jcm whatever.

on a deluxe it isnt going to help fatten anything. your better off having a tech do the simple mid range boost mod and adding in some nice tubes. next id look at either a new speaker or replacing that reverb tank with a 5 spring for better long reverb.

i have something called a feedback lift that gives my amp totally different voicing. the breakup sounds more akin to a fender tweed when its engaged. I used on my new album on a track called "muskrat scramble" its a great way to nail that super clean jazz sound.