BlueZet Posted May 21, 2004 Share Posted May 21, 2004 has anyone used this mod kit from Torres Engineering? what's your verdict? what exactly does it consist of? - due to recent cutbacks, the light at the end of the tunnel has been SWITCHED OFF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NMcGuitar Posted May 21, 2004 Share Posted May 21, 2004 I've heard of it, but I haven't actually heard anything about it (good, bad, or other). I've been playing a HRD for the past couple of weeks (I mentioned it in another thread - I'm going to buy it from a friend), and I haven't noticed any problem with it being "muddy". I've been using my Artcore (humbuckers) and my strat (single coils); obviously the strat sounds a little brighter than the Artcore, but even that sounds pretty clear and bright when I want it to. If you do the mod, let me know how much of a difference it makes. May all your thoughts be random! - Neil www.McFaddenArts.com www.MikesGarageRocks.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caevan O’Shite Posted May 23, 2004 Share Posted May 23, 2004 It's pretty cheap, and reversable, right? Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillWelcome Home Studios Posted May 23, 2004 Share Posted May 23, 2004 I remember an effects company that built their devices to plug in the reverb chain. Nice idea if you don't use the on-board reverb. Bill "I believe that entertainment can aspire to be art, and can become art, but if you set out to make art you're an idiot." Steve Martin Show business: we're all here because we're not all there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caevan O’Shite Posted May 23, 2004 Share Posted May 23, 2004 bpark@prorec.com/Bill- I know those worked on blackface and silverface Fender amps, but I don't know off of the top of my head if they'd work with the Hot Rod Deluxe; the Hot Rod-line used a solid-state reverb driver network, while the older bf and sf models used tubes and little transformers for the 'verb send and recovery. I can't remember, but the HR-line might not even have used the RCA-jack connections that those also used. Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueZet Posted May 23, 2004 Author Share Posted May 23, 2004 Originally posted by ''Call-Me'' O'Shite: It's pretty cheap, and reversable, right?cheap - yes, reversable - ??? probably, if you unsolder/resolder - but this is why I check, don't want to end up with a very big, expensive doorstop instead of an amp - due to recent cutbacks, the light at the end of the tunnel has been SWITCHED OFF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NMcGuitar Posted May 24, 2004 Share Posted May 24, 2004 Semi off-topic: What is a relatively good, and fairly inexpensive way to make the HRD quieter? (Speaker attenuator or something). I never seem to get the volume above about 2 (or 3 with guitar volume rolled down a bit). I know there has been a lot of positive feedback for the Air-Brake, but that's a bit out of my price range. Someone (Major Tom, I believe) posted a link to a speaker attenuator on ebay that was pretty cheap. Is this a comercially available item? Has anyone here used it? How much does it affect the tone? Anybody got other suggestions? May all your thoughts be random! - Neil www.McFaddenArts.com www.MikesGarageRocks.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caevan O’Shite Posted May 24, 2004 Share Posted May 24, 2004 Here ya go, Neil- Originally posted by Major Tom: Here's one alternative; an inexpensive, no frills attenuator on Ebay: Cheap Attenuator I happen to know the guy that makes 'em. I have not tried this particular unit that he makes, but I did own an old Scholz Power Soak that was also a resistive-load attenuator (as opposed to rective-load attenuation, which some pricier units use). The Scolz sounded better in the upper range of operation,; the more you attenuated the volume, the more it began to sound like a tube amp emulating a solid state one, if you will. But it did work, and as I said, moderate attenuation- which allows the speaker itself to still have an influential hand as a part in the output circuit- sounde quite natural. (You'll be getting less speaker-cone breakup, too, and the "Munson-Fletcher" effect will alter your perception of high- and low- "presence".) Again- "cheap, and reversable"! Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueZet Posted May 24, 2004 Author Share Posted May 24, 2004 Originally posted by NMcGuitar: Semi off-topic: What is a relatively good, and fairly inexpensive way to make the HRD quieter? (Speaker attenuator or something). I never seem to get the volume above about 2 (or 3 with guitar volume rolled down a bit). I know there has been a lot of positive feedback for the Air-Brake, but that's a bit out of my price range. Someone (Major Tom, I believe) posted a link to a speaker attenuator on ebay that was pretty cheap. Is this a comercially available item? Has anyone here used it? How much does it affect the tone? Anybody got other suggestions?I've been looking into this too and came up with some solutions: yellowjackets and THD have these devices that get your power in half, but they will change the sound since they take EL84 instead of 6L6 tubes - which is why i was interested in this mod... the problem with all these things is they are hard to find in Europe, so I can't go out and try them without buying OR as is the case with the mod, you have to start tinkering with the amp, and what if I don't like the result... right now i'm thinking of buying a 15W Laney tube amp (got my eye on a second hand one, just waiting to see if i can get some off the price...) I'll keep you posted - due to recent cutbacks, the light at the end of the tunnel has been SWITCHED OFF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caevan O’Shite Posted May 24, 2004 Share Posted May 24, 2004 Oh, yeah! (slaps head) I forgot all about those THD Yellow Jackets! Teahead had a set that he put in the very similar Fender Hot Rod DeVille 2x12 amp that he gigged with prior to getting his beloved Vox AC30TBX, and he loved the improvement they brought to the 'DeVille. In fact, I believe that their qualities lured him into thinking about the Vox in the first place... four EL84s in Class-A operation, and all... You should PM him about those. I think he sold his to someone, after he bought the Vox. Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NMcGuitar Posted May 24, 2004 Share Posted May 24, 2004 Caev, Thanks for the link. I can't really tell if it's a single item (that somebody built for themselves), or something that could be ordered from a store/dealer. The Yellowjacket thing is basically a converter so that I could use lower-powered tubes, which would also affect the sound of the amp, right? I'm not sure I want to do something that radical or permanent. I just want to be able to use the amp at lower volumes sometimes (say, in an show orchestra, or my livingroom) without the sound being radically different from when it's turned up more. And being a cheap bastard by nature, I don't want to spend a lot of money to do it. BTW - I know about the Fletcher Munson effect, but that can be largely compensated for by adjusting EQ at different volumes). I'm also aware that the physical action of the speaker will be different at lower volumes, but... c'est la vie. I don't expect perfection, but reasonably similar is my goal. May all your thoughts be random! - Neil www.McFaddenArts.com www.MikesGarageRocks.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chipotle Posted May 25, 2004 Share Posted May 25, 2004 You know, if you want the amp brighter, the easiest modification would probably be to put a 250pf - 500pf silver mica capacitor across the volume knob. The new JJ 6V6 is said to take up to 500 vdc on the plates, so it would probably work in one of those Hot Rod amps. You might try those to see if you can get a similar sound at a lower level. It might even sound better with the 6V6's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caevan O’Shite Posted May 25, 2004 Share Posted May 25, 2004 (Sorryt for highjacking your thread here, badblues; by the way, Dan Torres seems to know what he's doing- more so than me, that's for sure- and I think that the kit would be as good as your ability to install it, per your level of workmanship.) Neil- I believe that Major Tom makes those attenuator-jobbies himself; I'm pretty sure that he'll make one for you, he might even have one already built. Well, the Yellow Jackets aren't "permanent" at all; they are plug-in converters that EL84 tubes plug into, they just plug into the sockets for the output-tubes, and that's that, you're done. They auto-bias, and do so in Class-A operational range, no adjusting or anything on your part. (I think that they come with tubes in them, but I'm not sure.) Teahead said that the drop in overall volume wasn't huge- the amp could still be fairly loud, especially when really cranked-up in the 7 to 10 range, but it would compress a little more as you went up and really did make getting thick, fat, grindy tones more easily had, and at a more manageable volume level. He was much happier with the Hot Rod DeVille after using the YJs, both for their tone and their volume reduction. You might be able to find an old, used GT Electronics ("GT" as in "Groove Tubes") Speaker Emulator for a reasonable price; they allow you to take the speaker output signal and convert it to a line-level signal that sounds EXACTLY like you plugged the amp into a vintage Marshall cab loaded with low-wattage Celestions and close-mic'ed it. (I know, I have one. Myles has several.) You can use one with or without an actual speaker connected, and they use a real live speaker voice-coil to provide the reactive load. No digital, modeling, whatever; it's sort of a silent speaker that you can connect to another amp (stereo power amp), effects, PA, recording device, whatever... Some models (the newer, SE II) also have several stages of volume redcuction/attenuation for a real speaker (like the one in your combo-amp), as well. Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NMcGuitar Posted May 25, 2004 Share Posted May 25, 2004 Thanks, Caev! May all your thoughts be random! - Neil www.McFaddenArts.com www.MikesGarageRocks.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueZet Posted May 25, 2004 Author Share Posted May 25, 2004 hey caevan - hijack all you want man, as long as we can learn something - due to recent cutbacks, the light at the end of the tunnel has been SWITCHED OFF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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