I've been itching to modify my amp...

Started by wampcat1, June 27, 2005, 10:08:04 AM

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Melanhead

... not sure on the Torres mods at all ... I didn't do any from the book really just did my own tinkering with the knowledge in the book ... I liked it mainly 'cause it was quite easy to read and understand. More from a guitarist perspective than an EE's way of saying things ...

I also have the Groove Tubes book, 2 Weber books and a repair book from Tom Mitchell.... All great reads :)

aron

I suppose one piece of advice I would give is to mod your "extra" amp first (if possible).

Otherwise you may find yourself in amp hell! This is where every amp you have has some sort of tiny problem.

YOU have to fix it before you gig! :lol:

Been there!

Ripper

I agree with Erik, sometimes it is best to not change anything.  I have refused to do mods for some people when they want to hack up a vintage old amp.  Tubes make a huge difference, as well as some subtle cap and resistor changes.  It's best to get a "beater" to start working on.

Taynors are great amps and make a good mod base, as do lots of no name tube amps that can be picked up for a song.  I've taken some of these and turned them into great sounding pieces.  I did an old Cobra head for a guy here awhile ago, and now it sounds like an old bassman.  He was very pleased.

Also remember that sometimes with amps, as with anything, more is less when it comes to the mods.

wampcat1

Quote from: aronI suppose one piece of advice I would give is to mod your "extra" amp first (if possible).

Otherwise you may find yourself in amp hell! This is where every amp you have has some sort of tiny problem.

YOU have to fix it before you gig! :lol:

Been there!

Great advice aaron -- I'm sure I can find an old beater somewhere...my son has a little 'gorilla' solid state amp...maybe this would be a possibility?  :lol:
I really know next to nothing about amp circuits, so this will be fun!!

Brian

Clipped

Quote
Great advice aaron -- I'm sure I can find an old beater somewhere...my son has a little 'gorilla' solid state amp...maybe this would be a possibility?  :lol:
I really know next to nothing about amp circuits, so this will be fun!!

Brian

That's exactly what I'm doing with a Marshall MG10 (10 watt, 6 inch speaker).

I drilled a hole in the back panel to add a speaker jack to disconnect the internal speaker and allow me to hook up a seperate 1x12 cab or larger if so desired. I'm also in the process of getting it all pulled apart so I can add Aron's "Smoothness" mod with a socketed cap (cap on the volume pot) and then will be looking into changing the frequency response of the contour control. Threw around the idea of putting a 6 inch Jensen MOD in it too, after I make sure the amp is ok with 4 ohms.

It's surprising how loud that little 6 inch speaker is (Closed back helps I imagine).

Have fun Brian -

Ron
To Each His Tone.

puretube

Quote from: cd...
Oh yeah, do yourself a favor, ask questions on AMPAGE (www.ampage.org) rather than a stompbox forum!

yep - don`t worry - you won`t stumble over me, there...   :P

Melanhead

Quote from: wampcat1
Quote from: aronI suppose one piece of advice I would give is to mod your "extra" amp first (if possible).

Otherwise you may find yourself in amp hell! This is where every amp you have has some sort of tiny problem.

YOU have to fix it before you gig! :lol:

Been there!

Great advice aaron -- I'm sure I can find an old beater somewhere...my son has a little 'gorilla' solid state amp...maybe this would be a possibility?  :lol:
I really know next to nothing about amp circuits, so this will be fun!!

Brian

You'll discover you probably know more than you think ;)

My "beater" was a 70's Vibrolux. I got it for $100 ( Can ) as it was beat to #$%@ and needed new speakers. It also included an old block logo MXR Dist +. I changed practically every component in it, modded to blackface spec, put in an FX loop, changed the normal channel to a boogie lead with high gain etc .... I doubt you can find a silver face fender cheap anymore as they now are "Vintage".

The first tube amp I found to work on was a '57 bassman 4x10 ... Got it for $50! ... needed work. I had no idea what it was worth but when I found out all I did was replace the filter caps and re-tubed it. Unfortunately the tolex covering had been ripped off the thing and it was recovered in brown! .... I sold it as I was buying my first home but wish I still had it.

I also found an old no-name amp head at a yeard sale for $20 ... I kept only the transformers in there and built my own 1 channel, 1 sound amp head ... I called it the "Melanhead" ... the name stuck :D

anyways ... good luck, it's fun but be careful, not something you wanna play with after a long day of work and a few beers :)

Doug_H

Quote from: wampcat1[ I'm sure I can find an old beater somewhere...

Brian

That's a good idea. One way to dip your toe in the pool without too much $ or risking one of your babies for a learning experience is to find an inexpensive amp to work on. Start with simple preamp mods and as you learn you can get deeper and deeper into it.

I did this with an Electar 10 but if I had to do it over again today I would probably look at something like the Pignose G40V. It's more of a flexible platform for experimentation w/2 6L6's and 3 12ax7's. You can get them for $320 brand new and I've seen used ones on Ebay for $175. Paul Ruby at ax84 just modded one into a JCM800 and he really likes it.

I agree with the general sentiment that you will get a lot more help at ax84 or ampage  than you will here.

Doug

Paul Marossy

I guess I should also say that none of my mods were radical, they were more like subtle things - changing a cap and/or a resistor here and there. Or like adding a bias adjustment pot to my '74 Twin Reverb.

Doug_H

Quote from: R.G.Do yourself a favor - go buy "The Ultimate Tone" volume 1 by Kevin O'Connor at the Power Press Publishing web site. It's about $50, but it's some of the most cost effective education you'll ever get.

Info-wise the KOC books are good but for $50-$60 I expect readable graphics. That's as opposed to (apparently) low-res scans of lecture slides with poor penmanship, missing component values, etc, etc...

Not a bad book but I expect a better presentation for the money.

Doug

wampcat1

Quote from: Doug_H
Quote from: wampcat1[ I'm sure I can find an old beater somewhere...

Brian

That's a good idea. One way to dip your toe in the pool without too much $ or risking one of your babies for a learning experience is to find an inexpensive amp to work on. Start with simple preamp mods and as you learn you can get deeper and deeper into it.

I did this with an Electar 10 but if I had to do it over again today I would probably look at something like the Pignose G40V. It's more of a flexible platform for experimentation w/2 6L6's and 3 12ax7's. You can get them for $320 brand new and I've seen used ones on Ebay for $175. Paul Ruby at ax84 just modded one into a JCM800 and he really likes it.

I agree with the general sentiment that you will get a lot more help at ax84 or ampage  than you will here.

Doug

A pignose? Hmm..I'll have to give that a try!! :)

Yes, I realize that ampage or ax84 is a more 'amp-friendly', but I was looking more for advice from folks who are pedal tinkerers and have messed around with amps mainly.

Thanks,
Brian

wampcat1

Quote from: Melanhead

You'll discover you probably know more than you think ;)

My "beater" was a 70's Vibrolux. I got it for $100 ( Can ) as it was beat to #$%@ and needed new speakers. It also included an old block logo MXR Dist +. I changed practically every component in it, modded to blackface spec, put in an FX loop, changed the normal channel to a boogie lead with high gain etc .... I doubt you can find a silver face fender cheap anymore as they now are "Vintage".

The first tube amp I found to work on was a '57 bassman 4x10 ... Got it for $50! ... needed work. I had no idea what it was worth but when I found out all I did was replace the filter caps and re-tubed it. Unfortunately the tolex covering had been ripped off the thing and it was recovered in brown! .... I sold it as I was buying my first home but wish I still had it.

I also found an old no-name amp head at a yeard sale for $20 ... I kept only the transformers in there and built my own 1 channel, 1 sound amp head ... I called it the "Melanhead" ... the name stuck :D

anyways ... good luck, it's fun but be careful, not something you wanna play with after a long day of work and a few beers :)

The melanhead...that's a cool name!! :)
I wish I could luck into an old bassman for $50!!!! Great find!

Thanks,
Brian

Mark Hammer

Just something about the Canadian Maritimes and Bassmans, I guess.  I bought my 59 in Moncton for $30.  Not sure if it is relevant, but the family name "Melanson" or "Melancon" is an extremely common one in western Nova Scotia, P.E.I., and parts of New Brunswick.  Perhaps the "Melanhead" name comes from that?

Those wanting to get into amp tinkering should also note that there is a great deal one can do without ever plugging in a soldering iron, at least with respect to tube amps.  There are a great many preamp tubes of varying gains which can be subbed at different positions to provide more and less aggressive sounds.  There are also fairly simple mods to things like tone controls, or bright switches, that can shape the tone without having to be too concerned about things like plate voltages, etc.  Of course one still has to be mindful of the fact that one is working inside something whose caps can save up a nice big shock for you, but assuming that one observes all safety precautions, there ARE lower level experiments that one can embark on which don't risk blowing either your tubes or speakers or transformers.

Melanhead

Yup! ... it comes from my last name Melanson ... and I'm originally from Moncton! ...

Regan

Like posted earlier, never use your main amp as your modding platform, it tends to turn into a never ending road with many twists and turns, not all of them great, and definitely some potholes along the way.
If you purchase a fixer upper don't worry at all about the amp being a "name brand", chances are you would ruin any resale value it will ever have- not meaning to be a jerk, just being realistic. I like to buy amps that are already working, and go from there. Saves money in the long run as tubes and transformers are expensive.
If your not worried whether it looks like  a guitar amp or not, keep your eye open for old tube pa's they have all the expensive parts you need and are cheap. Same with old tube organs, the power amps in those are great platforms.
Regan

Doug_H

Quote from: wampcat1
Yes, I realize that ampage or ax84 is a more 'amp-friendly', but I was looking more for advice from folks who are pedal tinkerers and have messed around with amps mainly.


Well, in that case, except for the high voltages, there are similarities between preamp and pedal tweaks. Output section, phase inverter, power supply will be new territory though.

Doug

Mark Hammer

While we're talking about books, the recently issued book by longtime amp veteran Gar Gillies (available from the Garnet Amps website) looks pretty good.  Has anyone here bought it, and if so any critical comments/praise they'd like to provide?