Amp Mods

[Don Corleone]

I'm looking for a modded Marshall (doesn't matter if its a modded Re-issue), unfortunately I haven't been able to find anyone in the UK who does mods.

Does anyone know if there are any guys I can contact in the US with regards to getting a UK Spec Mod done?

[jhale667]

Check out the Metro Amp forum, you should be able to find someone there, if not George Metropolous (sp) himself... :D

http://forum.metroamp.com/

[GAR]

George has been an up-and-coming ampguy for years, he's done amps for sale, and amps you build as a kit.

You might spend 1000 for parts and labor, it takes over 30 hours to mod an amp due to trial and error, parts substitutions and hand-matching of component values in the circuit plus the running around for parts that never seem to be available in the quantities needed.

I trust leejackson.com to ship one you want modded. However, in the UK I've found an ad for a guy selling an old plexi Laney Supergroup 100 you might check into that first for the same amount of money.

I wish I had four of 'em.

[Don Corleone]

George has been an up-and-coming ampguy for years, he's done amps for sale, and amps you build as a kit.

You might spend 1000 for parts and labor, it takes over 30 hours to mod an amp due to trial and error, parts substitutions and hand-matching of component values in the circuit plus the running around for parts that never seem to be available in the quantities needed.

I trust leejackson.com to ship one you want modded. However, in the UK I've found an ad for a guy selling an old plexi Laney Supergroup 100 you might check into that first for the same amount of money.

I wish I had four of 'em.

Thanks for that

I tell you Laney make some seriously under estimated amps, I found this about 2 weeks back, I think it blows the shit out of the 5150 III

[Coyote]

Check the Laney VH100...

[GAR]

I have one Lee Jackson modded JCM800 head, and one so stuffed full of boards and transformers there's literally no room left in the chassis to breath. Nobody'd believe the amount of engineering time dumped into it.

If I even showed a pic, you'd be all wtf on me about it.

Even so, I wish I had four Laney 100's to play out with because I dont want to damage the modded heads - to me they're irreplaceable.

I mean the Jackson one could be replaced, he's still around and willing but being that I've only got $1000 into it, it might cost about $3000 to replace today. First I'd have to get a vertical input JCM800 100watt head, about $1300 used street price, then give Lee another $1500 or more, plus shipping to Austin TX. it would really be more worthwhile to buy a Diezel to replace it.

One thing I've heard about Laney's and have found true with my own ear is they sound really really good about Volume 1 but try to crank it for crowd-volume say 5 or 6 the whole tone thing on 'em especially with the AOR 100's like in that pic of yours, that drizzling distortion really melts down fast to a rubbery gooey lack of clarity.

I could take four AOR100's and rebuild them to decency, but there again that's gonna cost time and parts to replace trannies and mod the board and change the tubes..

I could take my 100 watt head and direct-out it to a solidstate power amp and drive 8 cabinets that way if I wanted to but thats' alot less fun isn't it? I mean the whole joy in building a backline is wondering if it's gonna break down, otherwise whats the purpose of smashing your guitars up if everythings' working fine and you're happy as crap about it?

[GAR]

I think it blows the shit out of the 5150 III

The 5153 suffers from poor quality transformers, like most amps made these days under $2000 but try to tell that to Fender.

They used Pacific. Made in Mexico! Sloppy and not uniformly wound.. you get what you pay for.

The 5150 original ones from '92-93 first year used a good transformer set, they sound a little better than the ones that came later but not by much.

If somebody building my signature amp said "we can't use good transformers because that would make the price uncompetitive" I'd say "so what, if it sound thin and shitty nobody'll buy it anyways."

Hence, the lack of numbers on the 5153. The first 5 seconds I heard of it I didn't like it.

[BrownSound1]

I thought the new 5150 was using Mercury Magnetics transformers.

[GAR]

Absolutely not.

Mercury Magnetics is a small shop in Northridge with one engineer, one salesman and the owner Sergio who's dad started the business decades ago. They have about 8 wetbacks coiling copper onto spools all day long and audio transformers are actually a small part of what they do. They have GSA contracts for the military so Fender in Phoenix can go fuck themselves.

Sergio told me Fender initially asked about their Plexi-spec transformers but said "the price is too high."

So is their endorsee so what's the difference? If they don't sell shit, one dollar retail for the amp is too high since it doesnt' sound any good.

They can barely wrap a pickup worth a shit so I don't see Fender winding trannies anytime soon!