Just scored this 1974 Super Lead

  • Thread starter Thread starter screamindemon
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screamindemon said:
I was just checking out some tutorials of the PS100 looks very interesting but What if you prefer EL-34 power section doesn't kind of defeat the purpose of the Marshall EL-34 power section ? Looks like it has some great feature though.

I had a VHT 50-2-50 power amp and loved it but Was bummed they never made a 100 watt version with EL-34's I use to run my Langner preamp thru it when i was gigging.
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You're not using the PS100 power section. Just the attenuator portion. The power amp is a separate feature.
 
I wouldn't do any major mods to it. Just standard maintenance. Tidy up some small bits. If you need more gain use a pedal or a the hot mod.

But ultimately it's your amp do what you want that makes you happy. Especially if you are going to keep it.

I have the PS-2 50 watt and it works great. The power section kicks in like if you had a 15 watt amp and you want it louder. Just an incredibly useful device.
 
I posted on here about a month ago that I had just re-acquired a 50 Watt 1973 Superlead that I had sold to a very good friend who owned it for over 10 years. (I first bought it probably 15 years before selling it to him).

Anyway, when I was young and dumb, I had it modded and had 2 different master volume mods in it at various time - and it never sounded quite ‘right’ to me. SO before I sold it to me friend, I had it returned to stock specs by a very respected tech and Marshall guru. For 50 watts it is loud a f*ck.

Here’s my thought on modding these things: the ‘Amp in a Box’ pedals that are now available are literally head and shoulders above anything we had a decade or more ago. And the Marshall character and flavor that the a non-master superlead gives is pure Ecstasy. I have fed my marshall a Pinnacle Deluxe and a BE-OD Deluxe and both sound very, very different and both sound flat killer - better than when I had a cascaded preamp and master volume set up in that amp. The options are endless and again, those Amp in a Box pedals will sound 10x better feeding a Marshall. Because of the natural ‘bleed’ between the ‘Normal’ and ‘Bright’ channels on the Marshall, I find I can tailor the amount of sizzle and low end with the respective volume knobs, even without dedicated jumper cable between the channels. It’s more subtle and allows you to use a bit more of the knob without tearing your head off. I plug into the ‘Normal’ channel for some added fullness, warmth and low end, and then nudge the ‘Bright’ volume up to get the amount of glassy presence without jumpering the inputs.

As far as an FX loop - when you think about it, all the FX loop does is place an insert for time based effects AFTER your gain stages. That’s why you get harsh artifacts with a loop in a head with a post phase inverter style master. By putting your verb and delay on your board AFTER your ‘Amp in a Box’ you really are doing the exact same thing as putting those effects in the loop. I have experimented for hours with my non-master 50 and time based effects are pristine sounding after my crunch / dirt boxes.

Sorry for the long post - but I highly recommend leaving the amp bone stock and experimenting with a few Amp in a Box pedals before considering any mods at all. Then, if there are a few simple filter changes you can make to fine tune the tone stack, so be it. But I would not add any master volume / cascaded gain / FX loop to that amp.
 
Congrats! I also have a 74 Superlead. Mine is modded to use EL-34s. I also removed the bright 5000pf cap on channel 1, changed NFB from 100K / 4ohm tap to 47K / speaker jack, added a 0.68uF cap at V2 & I have input jacks internally jumpered (low volume 1 into high Vol 2)

I just installed a PPIMV for more versatility & to save on tube life.

Generally when I use my single coil Strats or Teles along with a drive pedal, I just use the master volume but when I use my guitars with hot humbuckers, I usually crank the master and use an attenuator.
 
screamindemon said:
Just picked this up today. Local guy had it even delivered it for $1800.00. Guy was 69 and used to play gigs with it in the 70's. He didn't even have a cab anymore so he brought it to me to try out. We plugged it in and his face lit up ! He jammed on it for a bit and I gave him the cash and you could see he was going to miss it but he said he was glad it went to good home. Cool dude and he had some chops too.

Thing is ear splitting load ! Sounded good but my ears are still ringing !

Now what to do to it ? keep it stock or do some mild tasty mods too it? Was thinking of cascading the gain stages and keeping a high low input. Don't want to cut it up or anything, just reversible mods. Going to replace the tubes , they are miss matched. should I convert to El-34's ?

What do you guys think ? What would you do ?
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Stock. After all the great modded Marshall’s I’ve owned, nothing touches my stock 72 Tremolo. Nothing.
Just add a pedal or two, that’s it. Funny thing is I’ve tried some expensive pedals in front of it; but the best combination ended up being 2 that combined cost less than 100 bucks. Lol
I also tried snipping the bright cap but it took away some of the aggressive nature…back it went. I had a nice stock 83 2203 and I sold it after the Tremolo bitch slapped it in every way. MV mods seem to take away something; I’ve owned some other metal panel NMVs with MV mods and they sounded flat even at high volumes.
I may add a power station at some point but stock it will stay.
 
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Racerxrated said:
Stock. After all the great modded Marshall’s I’ve owned, nothing touches my stock 72 Tremolo. Nothing.
Just add a pedal or two, that’s it. Funny thing is I’ve tried some expensive pedals in front of it; but the best combination ended up being 2 that combined cost less than 100 bucks. Lol
I also tried snipping the bright cap but it took away some of the aggressive nature…back it went. I had a nice stock 83 2203 and I sold it after the Tremolo bitch slapped it in every way. MV mods seem to take away something; I’ve owned some other metal panel NMVs with MV mods and they sounded flat even at high volumes.
I may add a power station at some point but stock it will stay.
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:rock: A man with an ear for tone! "Racer X, are you my brother?"

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screamindemon said:
Just picked this up today. Local guy had it even delivered it for $1800.00. Guy was 69 and used to play gigs with it in the 70's. He didn't even have a cab anymore so he brought it to me to try out. We plugged it in and his face lit up ! He jammed on it for a bit and I gave him the cash and you could see he was going to miss it but he said he was glad it went to good home. Cool dude and he had some chops too.

Thing is ear splitting load ! Sounded good but my ears are still ringing !

Now what to do to it ? keep it stock or do some mild tasty mods too it? Was thinking of cascading the gain stages and keeping a high low input. Don't want to cut it up or anything, just reversible mods. Going to replace the tubes , they are miss matched. should I convert to El-34's ?

What do you guys think ? What would you do ?
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If it's distortion you're after, get yourself a Crother Double Hotcake pedal and an Analogman King Of Tone (or 68 Pedals King Of Clone) pedal. Run a good echo for some slap-back, and your off! There are dozens of amps that do the MV thing... What you have there should be treated as a holy relic. Thou Shalt Not Modify A Marshall Super Lead 100. :)
 
There’s a reason so many great players over the years just used a stock NMV Marshall….even after owning many modded Marshall’s there was alway one stocker that was magic…DeMartini, Lynch, etc..crank it and add a pedal or PQ3 or whatever to goose it and you’re golden.
 
Yeah, I defiantly got to get an attenuator. I just don't have any experience with non master heads. I definitely want to keep as original as possible.
I just need to be able to squeeze the tones out of it at moderate volume levels. My intention was never to cut it up.

Thanks for all the replies, I do feel fortunate to have scored this head.
 
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I have never had to use an attenuator because all of my Marshalls are either modded of have master volumes like the 800.
 
Devin said:
Pair it with a Powerstation and send the rawk
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Question when you use the PS100 you are just using the attenuator feature? Not reamping ? Because i don't get the concept of taking an EL-34 head and re-amping with 6550's. Seems it would change the tone. Granted this head has 6550's now but I think I will change then to EL-34's.
Again no experience with Attenuators or reamping devices. Thanks
 
screamindemon said:
Question when you use the PS100 you are just using the attenuator feature? Not reamping ? Because i don't get the concept of taking an EL-34 head and re-amping with 6550's. Seems it would change the tone. Granted this head has 6550's now but I think I will change then to EL-34's.
Again no experience with Attenuators or reamping devices. Thanks
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It is exactly re-amping, just like people used to do with big SS power amps. You get the tone of your amp's power section and the PS just makes it quieter or louder. It's transparent enough to not make much of any difference to the tone unless you want it to (using the switches and presence/depth controls)
 
screamindemon said:
I have never had to use an attenuator because all of my Marshalls are either modded of have master volumes like the 800.
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No attenuator needed. Just get the pedals that I mentioned above, and you'll be good to go. Add an EQ pedal if you like. If you want to push the back-end of the amp, I recommend using an isolation cabinet. If you do use an attenuator, don't decrease the volume too much... They're not meant to turn your amp into a distortion box. Get a RX Amps Brown Box, and drop the line-in voltage to around 110VAC to 117VAC.
 
screamindemon said:
Yeah, I defiantly got to get an attenuator. I just don't have any experience with non master heads. I definitely want to keep as original as possible.
I just need to be able to squeeze the tones out of it at moderate volume levels. My intention was never to cut it up.

Thanks for all the replies, I do fell fortunate to have scored this head.
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I did buy a ‘Jettenuator’ clone that works fine; but with mine I can still get usable tone with the bright channel on 0 and the normal channel just barely cracked. With the stock 5K bright cap in, it goes from low volume to rip your face off barely turning the dial lol. You can bridge the channels and play with the upper and then compare to the lower; or don’t bridge and plug straight in. Different tones but all killer, double boosted of course.
Power Station is definitely on my want list.
 
Racerxrated said:
I did buy a ‘Jettenuator’ clone that works fine; but with mine I can still get usable tone with the bright channel on 0 and the normal channel just barely cracked. With the stock 5K bright cap in, it goes from low volume to rip your face off barely turning the dial lol. You can bridge the channels and play with the upper and then compare to the lower; or don’t bridge and plug straight in. Different tones but all killer, double boosted of course.
Power Station is definitely on my want list.
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LOL, double boosted ! so literally you have to use two boost pedals to get the Amount of distortion and drive we are used to ?
 
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