jose high vs. low gain?? ocean mod?? modern mod?

SpiderWars":2wje7vup said:
Equ1nox":2wje7vup said:
"So is a CCV a two channel Atomica then?" Basically, yes.

"the CCV sounds nothing like the Jose, Aldrich, Atomica or any of his other stuff." That could be due to a million things...full up build v. MODed, transformer set, pre-Brad v. Brad, Friedman/Cameron Atomicia has voicing changes, presence cap changes, etc. See above and CCV, Atomica, and Jose HG are basically all in the same ballpark except some have addl channels, etc.

" The CCV doesn't sound remotely Marshally to me at all." That's because although the preamp is the same, silimato to the Atomica or Jose HG, there is a tremendous amount of filtering on the B+ of the CCV that makes it tighter and agrier than a stock Marshall. Pre's are basically the same. It's sum of the wholes that makes it different.

" I wonder if maybe it gets compared to Jose's because of the diode clipping or maybe on paper it should be similar" No. It's because the preamp circuits are basically the same!

Cameron Jose HG - 3 gain stages plus cathode follower
Cameron Atomica - 3 gain stages plus cathode follower (production amp is a hybrid, no MM xfers, off the shelf MC xfers and 50% Cameron)
Cameron CCV - 3 gain stages plus cathode follower
Cameron Aldrich (CCM) - 4 gain stages no cathode follower
Cameron Old Bitch - 4 gain stages no cathode follower (this amp is a hybrid, no MM xfers, off the shelf MC xfers and 50% Cameron)
Good info. What do you mean by 'and 50% Cameron'?

Do the 4 gain stage amps have clippers?
No clippers on the Bitch or Aldrich. It's a plate fed tone stack so you can get 4 gain stages from 3 tubes. The Roccaforte HG100 uses the same principle and did this long before Cameron
 
scottosan":5xmxop5d said:
SpiderWars":5xmxop5d said:
Equ1nox":5xmxop5d said:
"So is a CCV a two channel Atomica then?" Basically, yes.

"the CCV sounds nothing like the Jose, Aldrich, Atomica or any of his other stuff." That could be due to a million things...full up build v. MODed, transformer set, pre-Brad v. Brad, Friedman/Cameron Atomicia has voicing changes, presence cap changes, etc. See above and CCV, Atomica, and Jose HG are basically all in the same ballpark except some have addl channels, etc.

" The CCV doesn't sound remotely Marshally to me at all." That's because although the preamp is the same, silimato to the Atomica or Jose HG, there is a tremendous amount of filtering on the B+ of the CCV that makes it tighter and agrier than a stock Marshall. Pre's are basically the same. It's sum of the wholes that makes it different.

" I wonder if maybe it gets compared to Jose's because of the diode clipping or maybe on paper it should be similar" No. It's because the preamp circuits are basically the same!

Cameron Jose HG - 3 gain stages plus cathode follower
Cameron Atomica - 3 gain stages plus cathode follower (production amp is a hybrid, no MM xfers, off the shelf MC xfers and 50% Cameron)
Cameron CCV - 3 gain stages plus cathode follower
Cameron Aldrich (CCM) - 4 gain stages no cathode follower
Cameron Old Bitch - 4 gain stages no cathode follower (this amp is a hybrid, no MM xfers, off the shelf MC xfers and 50% Cameron)
Good info. What do you mean by 'and 50% Cameron'?

Do the 4 gain stage amps have clippers?
No clippers on the Bitch or Aldrich. It's a plate fed tone stack so you can get 4 gain stages from 3 tubes. The Roccaforte HG100 uses the same principle and did this long before Cameron

Doesn't the Non Cathode Follower 4 stage gain go Back to "German Engineering" Reinhold and before?

My Cameron "Cantrell" 2204 is this way. The circuit feeds the input in a different manner...Way smoother than the three Cameron Aldrich's I flipped through. Genius design with a twisted Tone Stack lol. Well done Mark. It was one of a kind until I figured it out...Love It...

In fact I believe there are many circuits that are anode fed with no CF.

Here is my version of this circuit. I used Marshall 1987RI converted it to a Cantrell 2204 non cathode follower. Took me a couple months to tweak it where I wanted it, voltages etc...♪ My build straight in then 1960BV cab.

Sits great in a live mix as well. Now I am exploring all of the HG Jose takes on that circuit.

Respectfully.



 
Equ1nox":3qvq5ym4 said:
Cameron Atomica - 3 gain stages plus cathode follower (production amp is a hybrid, no MM xfers, off the shelf MC xfers and 50% Cameron)


Cameron Old Bitch - 4 gain stages no cathode follower (this amp is a hybrid, no MM xfers, off the shelf MC xfers and 50% Cameron)


Can someone explain to me the above bold underlined abbreviations please...Thanks.
 
Cameron Old Bitch and Atomica use Classic Tone transformers, not Mark's "usual" MM ( Mercury Magnetics) transformers, and are supposed to be a blend of Cameron and Friedman, xfers is short for transformers
 
paulyc":7cmqngpv said:
Cameron Old Bitch and Atomica use Classic Tone transformers, not Mark's "usual" MM ( Mercury Magnetics) transformers, and are supposed to be a blend of Cameron and Friedman, xfers is short for transformers


Thank you very much...
 
paulyc":yg9ghlvm said:
Cameron Old Bitch and Atomica use Classic Tone transformers, not Mark's "usual" MM ( Mercury Magnetics) transformers, and are supposed to be a blend of Cameron and Friedman, xfers is short for transformers

My OB had a Heyboer transformer I'm pretty sure.
 
Some of the Old Bitches had serious hum problems that were supposedly traced back to the Classic Tones, so maybe they changed suppliers ?
 
paulyc":2vmsc96i said:
Some of the Old Bitches had serious hum problems that were supposedly traced back to the Classic Tones, so maybe they changed suppliers ?

Interesting, I heard it was the other way around. That some shipped with bad Heyboers that had to be replaced. We need a Cameron wiki just to get all of this stuff straight! :LOL: :LOL:
 
LP Freak":3qq0vdmp said:
paulyc":3qq0vdmp said:
^ IF you believe Mark, which at this point no one in their right mind would do.
Wouldn't they sound the same then?

As an owner of both, the Aldrich modded Marshalls (by Mark) and the Cameron Old Bitches sound nothing alike.

Salos":3qq0vdmp said:
paulyc":3qq0vdmp said:
Some of the Old Bitches had serious hum problems that were supposedly traced back to the Classic Tones, so maybe they changed suppliers ?

Interesting, I heard it was the other way around. That some shipped with bad Heyboers that had to be replaced. We need a Cameron wiki just to get all of this stuff straight! :LOL: :LOL:

They were all pretty bad. My Atomica had its Classic Tone transformer replaced by Dave Friedman (around 2015) with another transformer by the same company: Magnetics Components... unsure if it's another Classic Tone.
 
"Interesting, I heard it was the other way around. That some shipped with bad Heyboers that had to be replaced. We need a Cameron wiki just to get all of this stuff straight!"

Maybe, but I can answer it for you...the Atomica and Old Bitch hybrid amps (hybrid as not 100% Mark design, but a blend of Mark and Dave Friendman and assembled by George Metropolous) used Heyboer PT and Magnetic Components choke and OT. This was during a period Friedman was adding additional taps to the transformers for channel switching/relys, etc. For whatever reason, I'm assuming because the chassis were all punched with specific holes, Friedman did not want the footprint changed, but when you add more and more stuff, something hs to give. In the end was horribly designed PT which was noisy and generated extra heat. Likewise, the amps were built wrong a Metropolous (filter cap grounds not installed, bright cap switches installed incorrect, incorrect cathode resistors, wrong values, etc). It was a cluster fuck and people paid good money for those amps. I know many were sent back to be fixed.

The Cameron/Friedman Atomica andOld Bitch should have been installed with the following from the factory and again, NOT Mark's normal Mercury Magnetics transformer (xfer) set.

PT - Heyboer - HTS-8205-1 DF
Choke - Magnetic Components - 40-18058
OT - 40-18026
 
Equ1nox":2rfvlnyx said:
"Interesting, I heard it was the other way around. That some shipped with bad Heyboers that had to be replaced. We need a Cameron wiki just to get all of this stuff straight!"

Maybe, but I can answer it for you...the Atomica and Old Bitch hybrid amps (hybrid as not 100% Mark design, but a blend of Mark and Dave Friendman and assembled by George Metropolous) used Heyboer PT and Magnetic Components choke and OT. This was during a period Friedman was adding additional taps to the transformers for channel switching/relys, etc. For whatever reason, I'm assuming because the chassis were all punched with specific holes, Friedman did not want the footprint changed, but when you add more and more stuff, something hs to give. In the end was horribly designed PT which was noisy and generated extra heat. Likewise, the amps were built wrong a Metropolous (filter cap grounds not installed, bright cap switches installed incorrect, incorrect cathode resistors, wrong values, etc). It was a cluster fuck and people paid good money for those amps. I know many were sent back to be fixed.

The Cameron/Friedman Atomica andOld Bitch should have been installed with the following from the factory and again, NOT Mark's normal Mercury Magnetics transformer (xfer) set.

PT - Heyboer - HTS-8205-1 DF
Choke - Magnetic Components - 40-18058
OT - 40-18026


A wiki would be a great Idea. Very nice to have this information coming together.
 
keennay":4cgq4zco said:
LP Freak":4cgq4zco said:
paulyc":4cgq4zco said:
^ IF you believe Mark, which at this point no one in their right mind would do.
Wouldn't they sound the same then?

As an owner of both, the Aldrich modded Marshalls (by Mark) and the Cameron Old Bitches sound nothing alike.

Salos":4cgq4zco said:
paulyc":4cgq4zco said:
Some of the Old Bitches had serious hum problems that were supposedly traced back to the Classic Tones, so maybe they changed suppliers ?

Interesting, I heard it was the other way around. That some shipped with bad Heyboers that had to be replaced. We need a Cameron wiki just to get all of this stuff straight! :LOL: :LOL:

They were all pretty bad. My Atomica had its Classic Tone transformer replaced by Dave Friedman (around 2015) with another transformer by the same company: Magnetics Components... unsure if it's another Classic Tone.

Hi Keennay. It's been a while. I had 3 different Aldich's by Mark, just not the amp for me as the way the circuit input feeds produces a fizz I don't care for. Of course by the time I received them Mark told me he thought some one had gotten into the circuits probing around which would not surprise me as that is how I have documented and laid out all of the circuits.

My point here was to ask you how your ears perceive the Old Bitch (Mark hates that name lol) vs the Aldrich. I'm guessing the OB is much smoother non cathode follower like my Cameron Cantrell...
 
scottosan":3l3y0hb7 said:
SpiderWars":3l3y0hb7 said:
Equ1nox":3l3y0hb7 said:
"So is a CCV a two channel Atomica then?" Basically, yes.

"the CCV sounds nothing like the Jose, Aldrich, Atomica or any of his other stuff." That could be due to a million things...full up build v. MODed, transformer set, pre-Brad v. Brad, Friedman/Cameron Atomicia has voicing changes, presence cap changes, etc. See above and CCV, Atomica, and Jose HG are basically all in the same ballpark except some have addl channels, etc.

" The CCV doesn't sound remotely Marshally to me at all." That's because although the preamp is the same, silimato to the Atomica or Jose HG, there is a tremendous amount of filtering on the B+ of the CCV that makes it tighter and agrier than a stock Marshall. Pre's are basically the same. It's sum of the wholes that makes it different.

" I wonder if maybe it gets compared to Jose's because of the diode clipping or maybe on paper it should be similar" No. It's because the preamp circuits are basically the same!

Cameron Jose HG - 3 gain stages plus cathode follower
Cameron Atomica - 3 gain stages plus cathode follower (production amp is a hybrid, no MM xfers, off the shelf MC xfers and 50% Cameron)
Cameron CCV - 3 gain stages plus cathode follower
Cameron Aldrich (CCM) - 4 gain stages no cathode follower
Cameron Old Bitch - 4 gain stages no cathode follower (this amp is a hybrid, no MM xfers, off the shelf MC xfers and 50% Cameron)
Good info. What do you mean by 'and 50% Cameron'?

Do the 4 gain stage amps have clippers?
No clippers on the Bitch or Aldrich. It's a plate fed tone stack so you can get 4 gain stages from 3 tubes. The Roccaforte HG100 uses the same principle and did this long before Cameron
That isn't true. Mark sometimes put clippers in the Aldrich. I had one that did.

Steve
 
For what it's worth, I liked my OB a lot. Regardless of what it was supposed to be or how it was supposed to be built, etc. - I liked how it sounded. Only reason I sold it was to fund a CCV hunt.
 
sah5150":1kyb3ty9 said:
scottosan":1kyb3ty9 said:
SpiderWars":1kyb3ty9 said:
Equ1nox":1kyb3ty9 said:
"So is a CCV a two channel Atomica then?" Basically, yes.

"the CCV sounds nothing like the Jose, Aldrich, Atomica or any of his other stuff." That could be due to a million things...full up build v. MODed, transformer set, pre-Brad v. Brad, Friedman/Cameron Atomicia has voicing changes, presence cap changes, etc. See above and CCV, Atomica, and Jose HG are basically all in the same ballpark except some have addl channels, etc.

" The CCV doesn't sound remotely Marshally to me at all." That's because although the preamp is the same, silimato to the Atomica or Jose HG, there is a tremendous amount of filtering on the B+ of the CCV that makes it tighter and agrier than a stock Marshall. Pre's are basically the same. It's sum of the wholes that makes it different.

" I wonder if maybe it gets compared to Jose's because of the diode clipping or maybe on paper it should be similar" No. It's because the preamp circuits are basically the same!

Cameron Jose HG - 3 gain stages plus cathode follower
Cameron Atomica - 3 gain stages plus cathode follower (production amp is a hybrid, no MM xfers, off the shelf MC xfers and 50% Cameron)
Cameron CCV - 3 gain stages plus cathode follower
Cameron Aldrich (CCM) - 4 gain stages no cathode follower
Cameron Old Bitch - 4 gain stages no cathode follower (this amp is a hybrid, no MM xfers, off the shelf MC xfers and 50% Cameron)
Good info. What do you mean by 'and 50% Cameron'?

Do the 4 gain stage amps have clippers?
No clippers on the Bitch or Aldrich. It's a plate fed tone stack so you can get 4 gain stages from 3 tubes. The Roccaforte HG100 uses the same principle and did this long before Cameron
That isn't true. Mark sometimes put clippers in the Aldrich. I had one that did.

Steve

I think Mark told me he did that to a couple and has built 2-3 three channel Aldrich's as well. I would guess the third channel being of Jose heritage of course would have transistors to clip. Likely channel 2 of the CCV...

By the way I dig the clips of your work. I would love to play a couple.

One of my Aldrich's had a 5 way rotary switch with different rated pf I think 220-800 caps to change the freq grind off of V2a/b. I bypassed it temp and it sounded much better without. My model with a 2nd clean channel just would not bond with my ears even a little bit. I love the Cameron I do own but would like to try some others but at 2K a pop it is a risky transaction to get a unmolested Cameron at this point as everyone wants to dig into them then flip them. If it rocks I keep it after I clean the goop away for any servicing that may need to be done...Later
 
"Aldrich - just not the amp for me as the way the circuit input feeds produces a fizz I don't care for."

That's the great thing about amps and uitar players. Everyone has their own tone in their head. For me, I'm a high-gain whore and I like the fizzies and sizzle ala Doug Aldrich tone (Randy Rhoads had this on the top end also).

"Mark sometimes put clippers in the Aldrich. I had one that did."

I can check my notes, but have had multiple Cameron's and don't believe any of them had peaker caps on them.

"Mark told me he did that to a couple and has built 2-3 three channel Aldrich's as well."

Yes, I had one from a dude out of Hawaii that I blueprinted. The three channels are: Plexi (2 gain + CF), Jose HG (3 gain + CF), Aldrich (4 gains).

"One of my Aldrich's had a 5 way rotary switch with different rated pf I think 220-800 caps to change the freq grind off of V2a/b."

Hmm, that's funny. I've never seen or heard of a 5-way. I did have a 1-off with like a 10-way, but it didn't function that way. Anyway, a guy asked me what he thought it was and I told him to change the frequency of the voltage divider to the second gain stage (similar to what you are talking about) and he liked it!!! lol :)

"would like to try some others but at 2K a pop it is a risky transaction to get a unmolested Cameron at this point as everyone wants to dig into them then flip them. "

That might me true, but I think risk is low. The price of the Cameron's stays high and you should be able to resale for the same or more than you paid. I have done this with every Cameron I've had even selling recent and have always MADE money on them even on $4,000 selling prices!!! :O :) Due to the reverse-engineering and what not that goes on and Mark being anal about his designs, I do not think any of the amps he's been producing the last few years contains the "total" designs for his fear of people stealing it. I've seen gut shots of newer builds of what is supposed to be some of his named MODs and they are not right.

"As an owner of both, the Aldrich modded Marshalls (by Mark) and the Cameron Old Bitches sound nothing alike."

That would be correct as the OB has a lot of Friedman influence in it, but more rounded. Mark's complete MOD or builds are tighter and more aggressive...which I like, but must say, once the OB has the appropriate iron in it and wired right and what not, it sounded really, really good! :)
 
Equ1nox":2zaxp6c7 said:
"Aldrich - just not the amp for me as the way the circuit input feeds produces a fizz I don't care for."

That's the great thing about amps and uitar players. Everyone has their own tone in their head. For me, I'm a high-gain whore and I like the fizzies and sizzle ala Doug Aldrich tone (Randy Rhoads had this on the top end also).

"Mark sometimes put clippers in the Aldrich. I had one that did."

I can check my notes, but have had multiple Cameron's and don't believe any of them had peaker caps on them.

"Mark told me he did that to a couple and has built 2-3 three channel Aldrich's as well."

Yes, I had one from a dude out of Hawaii that I blueprinted. The three channels are: Plexi (2 gain + CF), Jose HG (3 gain + CF), Aldrich (4 gains).

"One of my Aldrich's had a 5 way rotary switch with different rated pf I think 220-800 caps to change the freq grind off of V2a/b."

Hmm, that's funny. I've never seen or heard of a 5-way. I did have a 1-off with like a 10-way, but it didn't function that way. Anyway, a guy asked me what he thought it was and I told him to change the frequency of the voltage divider to the second gain stage (similar to what you are talking about) and he liked it!!! lol :)

"would like to try some others but at 2K a pop it is a risky transaction to get a unmolested Cameron at this point as everyone wants to dig into them then flip them. "

That might me true, but I think risk is low. The price of the Cameron's stays high and you should be able to resale for the same or more than you paid. I have done this with every Cameron I've had even selling recent and have always MADE money on them even on $4,000 selling prices!!! :O :) Due to the reverse-engineering and what not that goes on and Mark being anal about his designs, I do not think any of the amps he's been producing the last few years contains the "total" designs for his fear of people stealing it. I've seen gut shots of newer builds of what is supposed to be some of his named MODs and they are not right.

"As an owner of both, the Aldrich modded Marshalls (by Mark) and the Cameron Old Bitches sound nothing alike."

That would be correct as the OB has a lot of Friedman influence in it, but more rounded. Mark's complete MOD or builds are tighter and more aggressive...which I like, but must say, once the OB has the appropriate iron in it and wired right and what not, it sounded really, really good! :)

Enjoyable read and perspective... thank you.
 
NewReligion":2dwghn4t said:
Equ1nox":2dwghn4t said:
"Aldrich - just not the amp for me as the way the circuit input feeds produces a fizz I don't care for."

That's the great thing about amps and uitar players. Everyone has their own tone in their head. For me, I'm a high-gain whore and I like the fizzies and sizzle ala Doug Aldrich tone (Randy Rhoads had this on the top end also).

"Mark sometimes put clippers in the Aldrich. I had one that did."

I can check my notes, but have had multiple Cameron's and don't believe any of them had peaker caps on them.

"Mark told me he did that to a couple and has built 2-3 three channel Aldrich's as well."

Yes, I had one from a dude out of Hawaii that I blueprinted. The three channels are: Plexi (2 gain + CF), Jose HG (3 gain + CF), Aldrich (4 gains).

"One of my Aldrich's had a 5 way rotary switch with different rated pf I think 220-800 caps to change the freq grind off of V2a/b."

Hmm, that's funny. I've never seen or heard of a 5-way. I did have a 1-off with like a 10-way, but it didn't function that way. Anyway, a guy asked me what he thought it was and I told him to change the frequency of the voltage divider to the second gain stage (similar to what you are talking about) and he liked it!!! lol :)

"would like to try some others but at 2K a pop it is a risky transaction to get a unmolested Cameron at this point as everyone wants to dig into them then flip them. "

That might me true, but I think risk is low. The price of the Cameron's stays high and you should be able to resale for the same or more than you paid. I have done this with every Cameron I've had even selling recent and have always MADE money on them even on $4,000 selling prices!!! :O :) Due to the reverse-engineering and what not that goes on and Mark being anal about his designs, I do not think any of the amps he's been producing the last few years contains the "total" designs for his fear of people stealing it. I've seen gut shots of newer builds of what is supposed to be some of his named MODs and they are not right.

"As an owner of both, the Aldrich modded Marshalls (by Mark) and the Cameron Old Bitches sound nothing alike."

That would be correct as the OB has a lot of Friedman influence in it, but more rounded. Mark's complete MOD or builds are tighter and more aggressive...which I like, but must say, once the OB has the appropriate iron in it and wired right and what not, it sounded really, really good! :)

Enjoyable read and perspective... thank you.
?? I had 4 Aldrich and a one off, and one of my Aldrich's was an early mod, and had a 5 way rotary on the back. Not sure what it did in the circuit but seemed to brighten or darken, taking it into modern territory if needed. He did this amp back in 93 I was told. One of the first 3 he did.

I have a Mig 100 Ocean incoming, and when this amp was for sale here long ago it was mentioned that Mark could no longer do the true Ocean mod anymore because of an unavailable part, and that this amp was an early Ocean.
I've heard Ocean's are very close to a Jose. Never had a Jose, really looking forward to this amp.
 
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