.

[codyjarret]

Progress! Interesting that your amp had an 820R on V2 cathode. I've been looking at that and it seems it's another one of those things that varied depending on year.

You're right, they do vary from year to year and V2a is one of the bigger differences you'll see over the Major's life span.

 

[sg guy]

-sounds bad ass Michael, sounds a little more aggressive than yours-

 

[codyjarret]

-sounds bad ass Michael, sounds a little more aggressive than yours-

Thank you Bro!!

The amp turned out amazing, I think it actually sounds a little better then mine.

 

[midnightlaundry]

Toothy. It must be an articulate beast with that amount of Gain/Distortion in Ultra Linear.

I once modded a Cathode Biased Vox type amp to Ultra Linear with a Hammond Output Transformer, and it definitely cleared up the tone.

 

[jape23]

Okay, here's my Ibanez Jem through the newly modded Major.

Nice! I like this clip much better than clip #1, which featured the other guy's guitar. You have a JB in your Jem, right? Do you know what pickup is in that other guitar you used in clip #1?

I remember running one of my guitars with a low output humbucker into your Major; it didn't sound nearly as good as your guitars with higher output pickups.

 

[gtrwun]

Amp sounds great! Very cool of you to take the time to document this process.

 

[codyjarret]

Toothy. It must be an articulate beast with that amount of Gain/Distortion in Ultra Linear.

I once modded a Cathode Biased Vox type amp to Ultra Linear with a Hammond Output Transformer, and it definitely cleared up the tone.

That's the nice thing about these Ultra Linear amp designs, they have this clean monster headroom that somehow keeps it's integrity no matter how much gain you through at them.

 

[mooncobra]

Here's sound clip #1.

damn, that sounds GOOD!!!!!!

 

[codyjarret]

Okay, here's my Ibanez Jem through the newly modded Major.

Nice! I like this clip much better than clip #1, which featured the other guy's guitar. You have a JB in your Jem, right? Do you know what pickup is in that other guitar you used in clip #1?

I remember running one of my guitars with a low output humbucker into your Major; it didn't sound nearly as good as your guitars with higher output pickups.

Yeah, I like this second clip better as well.
My Jem has a Seymour Duncan SH-4 in it and I'm not sure what pickup is in my friends guitar, he told me but I can't remember.
His pickup is very bassy sounding and not very tight in the low-end at all, very hard to dial in this pickup. I do remember him saying it's a low output pickup tho. I'm going to recommend he ditch this bridge pickup and install an SH-4 in the guitar.
It will definitely match-up with his Major a lot nicer.

 

[codyjarret]

Amp sounds great! Very cool of you to take the time to document this process.

Thank you kindly my friend.

I'm glad you enjoyed the walk-through.

 

[codyjarret]

Here's sound clip #1.

damn, that sounds GOOD!!!!!!

Thank you!!

Yeah, it sounds a little better now that I edit out some of it.
I was playing around with the dials for the first few minutes of this video too much.

 

[codyjarret]

Here's one more sound clip of my Ibanez Jem and my Major recorded with the same setup in the same room.

 

[Hung Huy Tran]

The other guys guitar was too bassy at times but certain mid-rangey parts sounded good. The JEM is really balanced/consistent over the entire fret board. Great clips either way!

 

[harddriver]

Sounds great Mike! Can I ask which PPIMV your are using?

Is it the Rich mod PPIMV or the Lar/Mar(metro) PPIMV? If I see correctly your PI caps are still on the board so it can't be the Lar/mar PPIMV...

I know there is another version of ken fischer PPIMV that leaves the coupling caps on the board as well.

Thanks!

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

It definitely is more aggressive and grainier than yours. I think it is cool for that old school gain but I prefer your major. A little cleaner and a little less gritt/fizz. Also agree that this amp sounded better with the JB. Good sounding amp though don't get me wrong.

 

[fusedbrain]

Nice job Michael

Been busy for a couple days so just watched all the vids now. Really enjoyed the walk through and all the cool tones. Sounds great. Thanks for doing this.

To my ears, the main difference in the amps is the placement of the midrange hump in the tone. Your amp has the hump a little lower and has more grunt, where in the new amp, the hump is a little higher up and makes the amp a little more raw and aggressive. Both are great sounding for sure, and I think it's kinda cool that they sound a little different.

And your buddy's guitar could definitely benefit from an SH-4 in the bridge. Your Jem kills it with both amps.

 

[SpiderWars]

Sounds fantastic! Your JEM really woke it up!

I've been meaning to ask, how much added gain (and grit if any) is achieved by JUST swapping the PI tube to a 12AT7? That is, 12AT7 in a stock Major? And, similar to boosting a stock Major, would it be a bad idea to do that?

 

[jkdsteve]

Okay, here's my Ibanez Jem through the newly modded Major.

Sounds incredulous....can't be quoted enough this clip! \m/

 

[codyjarret]

The other guys guitar was too bassy at times but certain mid-rangey parts sounded good. The JEM is really balanced/consistent over the entire fret board. Great clips either way!

Thank you for commenting.

Yeah, SH-4 is definitely a better sound pickup all around.

The AT-1 sounds really good with both amps as well.

 

[codyjarret]

Sounds great Mike! Can I ask which PPIMV your are using?

Is it the Rich mod PPIMV or the Lar/Mar(metro) PPIMV? If I see correctly your PI caps are still on the board so it can't be the Lar/mar PPIMV...

I know there is another version of ken fischer PPIMV that leaves the coupling caps on the board as well.

Thanks!

Thank you!!

It's a Lar/Mar style.
Watch this video at the 3:30 mark for more info on my PPIMV.