Yes way, Jose... Bucket list grail amp incoming

  • Thread starter Thread starter RedPlated
  • Start date Start date
RedPlated said:
It’s here. Picked it up from Dave just about an hour and a half ago. I didn’t expect it to be as good as it is. Not super high gain. This one does not have the pre tone stack master or diodes. Dave said most of them actually don’t have either of those, which is surprising. I remember him mentioning in the Steve Vai Jose Marshall video that his Japanese importer has 7 Jose’s and none have those features.

This amp growls and sustains like crazy. I’m playing it at super low volumes because it’s late. And it’s still phenomenal. I’m surprised how low volume it gets. The master works really great. Very smooth taper and rolls in very linear-like. This mod isn’t that complex but there’s something magical going on. Harmonics fly out with ease. Notes just sing. Don’t care at this point what it is, I’m just enjoying it.

Huge thanks to Dave Friedman for servicing this piece of history and getting back up to 100%. On a side note in reference to the extra stage gain control, Dave said he’s seen several like mine, where the control is on the back. I’m fact, the one Jose did for him years ago was that way. The customer could request it on back so the amp still looks stock from the front. He also couldn’t remember exactly, but he believed the plate voltage on this one is around 500v.

I asked Dave about the Cameron thing. He said he’s 100% that Mark has never been in the amp and he could tell by the materials and parts used that this an original Jose Arredondo mod.

hI2vimfl.jpg


Here’s a quick iPhone teaser clip. Volume is whisper low. You can hear me hitting the strings in background. I haven’t cranked this thing up at all yet as it’s late. This is straight in with my R9 in D standard with a Suhr Aldrich. G12H30 anniversaries.

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That sounds awesome!
 
wow...just wow. You can basically feel the roar of the amp. The R9 sounds excelent too...congrats.
 
bubucci said:
wow...just wow. You can basically feel the roar of the amp. The R9 sounds excelent too...congrats.
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Yes! Roar is a great way to describe it. It has this meaty growly type thing in the room. And the feel/ touch response is fantastic. The pinch harmonics are so easy to pull off, even at this gain level. This is honestly the gain level I prefer. I love the dynamics and ability to get a single notes to bloom and decay. My own amp can get pretty damn high gain, but I rarely use it myself. I'm usually on the low gain settings. High gain clips sell, though, that's for sure.

I was playing a little with the extra stage gain control on back and found a really great low gain tone by rolling that back to around 2 o clock. There's no bright cap on that control so you can't go too low or you'll get dark sounding quick.

So, thinking about the Jose mod some more, it's somewhat like making a Super lead into a 1959/ 2203 hybrid. The idea is a stock Super lead with an extra gain stage in front and a pre-phase inverter MV just after the treble pot. We know that a stock Super lead is only 2 gain stages and a cathode follower. That first tube is only utilizing half of the tube, depending on which input you're plugged into. So if we add an extra stage up front, with another half tube, we get 3 stages and a cathode follower, same as a 2203. Now add a master after the treble pot, just before the phase inverter and you have essentially the changes that turn a 1959 into a 2203.

Now with the above being stated, this amp sounds and feels a lot different than a stock 2203. Naturally, the component values are different (cathodes/ bypass/ plate voltages etc..). The master works much better, and it has tighter bass, more dynamics than a 2203. Again, for as simple as the mod is, and how easily it could technically be replicated, it defies it's simplicity in the complexity of the sound and feel. There's no resonance circuit or other modern tweaks either. But it just sounds so sweet and harmonically rich.
 
RedPlated said:
Yes! Roar is a great way to describe it. It has this meaty growly type thing in the room. And the feel/ touch response is fantastic. The pinch harmonics are so easy to pull off, even at this gain level. This is honestly the gain level I prefer. I love the dynamics and ability to get a single notes to bloom and decay. My own amp can get pretty damn high gain, but I rarely use it myself. I'm usually on the low gain settings. High gain clips sell, though, that's for sure.

I was playing a little with the extra stage gain control on back and found a really great low gain tone by rolling that back to around 2 o clock. There's no bright cap on that control so you can't go too low or you'll get dark sounding quick.

So, thinking about the Jose mod some more, it's somewhat like making a Super lead into a 1959/ 2203 hybrid. The idea is a stock Super lead with an extra gain stage in front and a pre-phase inverter MV just after the treble pot. We know that a stock Super lead is only 2 gain stages and a cathode follower. That first tube is only utilizing half of the tube, depending on which input you're plugged into. So if we add an extra stage up front, with another half tube, we get 3 stages and a cathode follower, same as a 2203. Now add a master after the treble pot, just before the phase inverter and you have essentially the changes that turn a 1959 into a 2203.

Now with the above being stated, this amp sounds and feels a lot different than a stock 2203. Naturally, the component values are different (cathodes/ bypass/ plate voltages etc..). The master works much better, and it has tighter bass, more dynamics than a 2203. Again, for as simple as the mod is, and how easily it could technically be replicated, it defies it's simplicity in the complexity of the sound and feel. There's no resonance circuit or other modern tweaks either. But it just sounds so sweet and harmonically rich.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it's a pretty simple mod. The base amp just needs to be solid and the results will be solid. Do the same mode to a crap clone or a dud Marshall and it won't sound as good.
 
Awesome score, congratulations!! The clip sounded great too. That’s a cool amp worth hanging onto no matter what, WILL it to your kids when you’re gone.
 
You've gotta be pinching yourself just seeing that in your collection. Keep it in the original headshell. Jose had it in his hands. Congratulations again on owning such a piece of history. Sounds fantastic.
 
RedPlated said:
It’s here. Picked it up from Dave just about an hour and a half ago. I didn’t expect it to be as good as it is. Not super high gain. This one does not have the pre tone stack master or diodes. Dave said most of them actually don’t have either of those, which is surprising. I remember him mentioning in the Steve Vai Jose Marshall video that his Japanese importer has 7 Jose’s and none have those features.

This amp growls and sustains like crazy. I’m playing it at super low volumes because it’s late. And it’s still phenomenal. I’m surprised how low volume it gets. The master works really great. Very smooth taper and rolls in very linear-like. This mod isn’t that complex but there’s something magical going on. Harmonics fly out with ease. Notes just sing. Don’t care at this point what it is, I’m just enjoying it.

Huge thanks to Dave Friedman for servicing this piece of history and getting back up to 100%. On a side note in reference to the extra stage gain control, Dave said he’s seen several like mine, where the control is on the back. I’m fact, the one Jose did for him years ago was that way. The customer could request it on back so the amp still looks stock from the front. He also couldn’t remember exactly, but he believed the plate voltage on this one is around 500v.

I asked Dave about the Cameron thing. He said he’s 100% that Mark has never been in the amp and he could tell by the materials and parts used that this an original Jose Arredondo mod.

hI2vimfl.jpg


Here’s a quick iPhone teaser clip. Volume is whisper low. You can hear me hitting the strings in background. I haven’t cranked this thing up at all yet as it’s late. This is straight in with my R9 in D standard with a Suhr Aldrich. G12H30 anniversaries.

Click to expand...

Cheese and fucking crust that sounds awesome!
 
Wow- everyone's said it, but that's just incredible- both the story and the way that thing sounds. Enjoy the hell out of it.
 
Kris (Fondled Duck) stopped by today so I could tweak his Hellion a bit. He jammed on the Jose and was blown away by the sustain and good feed back at low volumes. He was getting some serious dynamics out of it.

I decided to leave the head shell. I did wipe it down and glue down some of the loose tolex last night so it doesn’t get worse and tear further. Came out great.

1D3NPRsl.jpg


RCNK9Fal.jpg
 
Good god. Bet that was pretty cheap. Sounds great. Like really good. I am super jealous.

So reza got the other, huh? I will have to check out his YouTube and see the demo.
 
RedPlated said:
It’s here. Picked it up from Dave just about an hour and a half ago. I didn’t expect it to be as good as it is. Not super high gain. This one does not have the pre tone stack master or diodes. Dave said most of them actually don’t have either of those, which is surprising. I remember him mentioning in the Steve Vai Jose Marshall video that his Japanese importer has 7 Jose’s and none have those features.

This amp growls and sustains like crazy. I’m playing it at super low volumes because it’s late. And it’s still phenomenal. I’m surprised how low volume it gets. The master works really great. Very smooth taper and rolls in very linear-like. This mod isn’t that complex but there’s something magical going on. Harmonics fly out with ease. Notes just sing. Don’t care at this point what it is, I’m just enjoying it.

Huge thanks to Dave Friedman for servicing this piece of history and getting back up to 100%. On a side note in reference to the extra stage gain control, Dave said he’s seen several like mine, where the control is on the back. I’m fact, the one Jose did for him years ago was that way. The customer could request it on back so the amp still looks stock from the front. He also couldn’t remember exactly, but he believed the plate voltage on this one is around 500v.

I asked Dave about the Cameron thing. He said he’s 100% that Mark has never been in the amp and he could tell by the materials and parts used that this an original Jose Arredondo mod.

hI2vimfl.jpg


Here’s a quick iPhone teaser clip. Volume is whisper low. You can hear me hitting the strings in background. I haven’t cranked this thing up at all yet as it’s late. This is straight in with my R9 in D standard with a Suhr Aldrich. G12H30 anniversaries.

Click to expand...

Sounds great. Has “tone” and really sings. :rock:

How is it with a pedal to push it into high gain?

Let’s see some detailed gut shots. ?
 
Sounds killer! Have you/are you and Reza going to compare them?

And good call on the cabinet. You have plenty of Marshalls...now you have an uber rare Narshall.
 
mooncobra said:
Good god. Bet that was pretty cheap. Sounds great. Like really good. I am super jealous.

So reza got the other, huh? I will have to check out his YouTube and see the demo.
Click to expand...
Well it’s by far the most I’ve ever paid for an amp. I honestly wasn’t expecting it to sound like anything super special because the mod has been replicated a million times. It was a mix of the history, rarity, collectibility etc…that really had my interest piqued. But it does sound great and that’s just a big bonus.

Yeah Reza has it’s twin. 2 Jose’s within about 5 minutes of each other. I think most are out here in CA just because of where Jose was located. But I’m sure they’re starting to spread out as collectors grab them.
 
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