Just look at the gut shot photos. Marshall left out like 75% of the mod. That's why it sounds like crap. A "Jose mod" is more than just a pair of diodes, a MV, and a bright cap.
That said, this would make a great donor amp for some real mods haha
Niiiice. And that's the stock spakers (G12T-75 and V30)?
EDIT: Oh wait that's the rear-loaded cab not the Uberkab? I have the same one actually. H75 Creambacks in mine.
Which Creambacks?
Both sound great in that clip to me. I do prefer the raunchiness of the VHT more though. My kind of sound! What speakers in that cab? Sounds great a great combo to me... Duvell + Mesa
Haven't tried an Uberkab, but I've had a bunch of regular rear-loaded Bogner straights over the years and like them a lot. I currently have an all black one loaded with G12H-75 Creambacks and a wheat-grilled one loaded with G12M-65 Creambacks. I prefer the H75s by a LOT.
I pulled the batting...
You absolutely do tap the (preamp) tubes. That's part of a microphonic test in an amp and in the valve tester. I took your advice to "RTFM" and from the manual, page 16:
"...tap the valve gently with a pencil to test microphony. Note: If there is any noise present in the valve some LEDs will...
With the 4-stage comment? No. Just saying that a plate-fed Marshall (4 stages) vs a cathode follower Marshall with an additional tube stage (4 stages) will sound and feel different.
I don't mind it. I use the same tip for like 99% of the work I do. The FX-100 also has a boost function if you need more heat and don't want to swap tips.
People were looking for more clips of this mod. With his permission, here's a great example from @Racerxrated showcasing the amp I built for him and various levels of gain.
Hakko 888D or FX-100 if you want the Ferrari version. The 888D is a great mid-level digital, regulated iron. You have temp settings and buttons and dials to deal with. The FX-100 is an RF induction iron. No temp settings. Nothing to mess with. You pick the pencil up out of the holder and it...
Good question. Maybe the Mesa Boogie Maverick, Hiwatt Super-Hi 50, Fortin Cali 50, mmmm can't think of any others off the top of my head but they're out there.
Part of the "Marshall sound" is the cathode follower. The tone stack needs to get driven/fed with a signal from the preamp. Traditionally, it's the signal off the cathode of the preceding stage. But that ties up a gain stage. Some smart people figured why not feed the tone stack from the plate...