Mod Squad

[ch willie]

No, not that series from the 60s.

I like it that many of you have the knowledge and ability to mod your own amps. You know enough about amps and tone that when you decide on a mod, there's a good reason for it.

But it drives me mad how much of a fad it is for people to do amp mods. I mean live and let live, but it's now a catalog of mods: I've had the Lipschitz mod, the Pornoski Mod, and durka durka durka.


I'm not criticizing anyone for getting a mod that makes them happy, but with so many, and I'm talking on other forums, it just seems like the thing everyone has to do, HAS to do.

Go ahead and mod if you need to or want to. It's none of my business. And I know that sometimes you just gotta mod. It's just that it really GRINDS MY GEARS, all these folks chasing tones they're never going to find.

[phantomman]

I'm conservative in my approach to altering an amp, with most of those efforts focused on differing cabinetry and alternative speaker configurations. The only "mod" per se that I've ever deemed necessary was the "Fritz" done to my DRRI to make the reverb and trem available on both channels and align their phase, plus installing a multi-tap O/T to safely allow a variety of speaker loads. I've also performed safety upgrades to vintage specimens but I do not regard those as "mods".

[Don]

I definitely enjoy modding amps but I've learned to not try to make them something that they're not. Just a few tweaks to suit my taste.

[ch willie]

Yes. The mods you guys do are logical. I'm on a Marshall site specifically for the JVM. It's mod fever over there. It's to the point that I'd like to ask them why they got that particular amp--seems like everybody wants it to sound like a different amp. I'm just scratching my head since the amp already sounds great. Some of the mods, like a choke, seem logical, but others are just endless, fruitless tone chasing.

[Doc W]

Fortunately, I am relatively ignorant of the insides of amps and I also have a healthy fear of electrocution. Mods for me are things that guys with technical knowledge do to make my amp sound or play a little bit better. Lots of us are in situations such as .."I like this amp but I wish it had a bit more headroom."

For lots of guys, modding is like fine-tuning a hot rod, and older amps really lend themselves to this. These guys take great pride in taking a stock amp and getting a little more out of it. I am all in favour of that, both for the pleasure it gives them and the knowledge that they contribute to all of us.

[ch willie]

I understand those mods, Doc, and I may even get something done to the Marshall for a couple of reasons.

I'm criticizing mods that change the entire character of the amp. And I think a lot of people are doing mods just because it's "the thing to do." It all smells of bandwagon mentality. For example, people are getting a black face mod done to the JVM. Why not play a Fender and get the real thing? I get a tone pretty close to blackface with the JVM for those times when I want it and don't have the Deluxe with me. It's close enough to satisfy the non-gear hound listener. The mods I would consider have to do with noise and feedback.

On the DRRI, I would consider the mod to bring vibrato / tremolo on the 1st channel too. Years ago considered clipping the bright cap, but the amp / speakers mellowed over time. Just a beautiful sound now, right amount of treble and bass.


Of course all liberties to anyone wanting to mod--none of my business.

On the particular site I'm talking about, it seems like high school peer pressure about mods. Man, you've got to get the Buttschitz Mod, and then you need the Chokesondick Mod. From my vantage point, it looks like a pissing contest.

[phantomman]

On the particular site I'm talking about, it seems like high school peer pressure about mods. Man, you've got to get the Buttschitz Mod, and then you need the Chokesondick Mod. From my vantage point, it looks like a pissing contest.

These are the same trendy hottentots who bought into the hype of the '80s that you had to have a rack-mount system with more fucking bells, whistles, and flashing lights than the instrument panel of an A380 Scarebus. Meanwhile there were those of us who soldiered on through that decade with our blackfaces and our silverfaces who never succumbed to such "wisdom". And where are all those rack-mount aberrations now? Mostly languishing at the back of some pawn shop, right next to all the 8-track players and VCR's that were put out to pasture by technology and circumstance. Meanwhile we're still playing those blackfaces and silverfaces and they've never sounded better. Fads always pass while substance will ever remain. It's the same with the current modding craze.

[ch willie]

Fads will come and go.

I've made a decision, no matter how old hat I am, to stick with analogue guitars and tube amps. I didn't fall in love with midis and advanced computerized guitars. That doesn't mean I'm against technology.. It means I love sticks and strings so much because that's what I grew up loving. I know all the new fangled axes will allow me to create and orchestra--I'm okay with using synths (or real players) for that.

I am no luddite. I'll use the digital recorder and transfer tracks to the computer, where I'll process and mix--until I can afford an analogue tape recorder one day.

[concert410]

Ive got a Marshall DSL 15 head that has wayyyyy more gain than I'll ever use. I was reading where lot's of people are modding those amps like crazy to LESSEN the gain. I found the tone that I like somewhere just south of 9:00 on the gain dial. If I mod the amp, that sweetspot may move to 12:00 or 3:00, but it will still be the main sound that I want out of that amp anyway. It is not worth it for me to mod the amp. I guess it will increase the range of usable gain over the long run, but I would probaly gravitate to the same general area/tone. I wonder how many others are modding their gear to get the same tone at different settings without realizing it, just because it is popular to mod. About 10 years ago, I got "pickup-itis". After a couple years and a few pickup "upgrades", I eventually ended up right where I started. I learned to never buy anything that I don't absolutely love the way it is. The other lesson that I learned is that if you do mod, do not give away or trade the old parts. You stand a good chance of wanting to put your guitar/amp back to the way it was in the first place. It's that same feeling of regret you get when you sell a guitar and then later realize that it really was a great guitar and you'll never get it back.

[ch willie]

I played the pickup chase back then too. I spent a small fortune trying to turn a lemon Strat into a playable guitar with a decent sound--impossible.

I did a bit of pup swapping a couple of years ago and was really happy with the results. I don't plan on making any further changes. I've got everything I need, and I don't feel any itch to chase pups anymore.

When I buy a set neck, I'll get one whose pickups I like enough to keep.

As for the Marshall, I considered the gain reduction mod too, but since the amp is so versatile, I can adjust the gain to levels that I like (each of the four channels has a separate gain control).

[DanTheBluesMan]

I played the pickup chase back then too. I spent a small fortune trying to turn a lemon Strat into a playable guitar with a decent sound--impossible.

I did a bit of pup swapping a couple of years ago and was really happy with the results. I don't plan on making any further changes. I've got everything I need, and I don't feel any itch to chase pups anymore.

When I buy a set neck, I'll get one whose pickups I like enough to keep.

This sounds a lot like me about 10-12 years ago. I was really into the PAF fever but couldn't afford the real deal, but there was no lack of winders out there selling all kinds of pickups. I was also into the pretty figured tops. Through injudicious decisions based on looks, I traded, bought and sold my way through a plethora of guitars. Then money got tight and I had to let most of my gear go. I still had one high end guitar at all times, they were invariably modded for both sound and looks. I finally said the next really great sounding great playing guitar that I come across, I'm going to trade my top guitar for it, and change nothing on the guitar at all. No plastic, no bridge, tailpiece, studs, no pots or caps. If it didn't wow me bone stock, I wasn't interested. It didn't matter what it looked like. That's how I ended up with my black R0.

Now them fenders, they're a different story. They are totally begging for mixing and matching, like the lego blocks of the guitar world.

[phantomman]

Now them fenders, they're a different story. They are totally begging for mixing and matching, like the lego blocks of the guitar world.

Or a Chevy Nova from the '60s.

[Offshore Angler]

My two best mods: C10 mod to the DRRI, and recently removing the reverb tank in a Classic 30. Both turned adequate amps into great amps. C10 mod is a well known one, the Classic 30 mod was born out of necessity at a rehearsal and was discovered completely by accident, but what a difference.

[DanTheBluesMan]

My two best mods: C10 mod to the DRRI, and recently removing the reverb tank in a Classic 30. Both turned adequate amps into great amps. C10 mod is a well known one, the Classic 30 mod was born out of necessity at a rehearsal and was discovered completely by accident, but what a difference.

interesting, what necessitated a reverb tank-ectomy? Radioactive springs mutating into unfriendly lifeforms?

[Offshore Angler]

interesting, what necessitated a reverb tank-ectomy? Radioactive springs mutating into unfriendly lifeforms?

Pretty much.

[ch willie]

I was just looking through old threads, trying to figure out what a C10 mod is...

And I found an old thread with some very wise words by our own Phantomman:

Tone-chasing at the anal-retentive level is a fool's errand.

Just pick up your guitar, plug it in, jack it up, and wail.

Your audience isn't gonna give a shit about some nebulous sonic nirvana you think you've found so long as your riffs and your chording are solid.