Love This Clip

[angelspade]

Love me some simplicity...

 

[Racerxrated]

Love me some simplicity...

The RIGHT amp though, is key....not all NMV Marshalls are created the same. His circuit was a 'happy accident' with some assembly line 'mistakes' that ended up adding a nice amount of gain. I put those same 'mistakes' into a 72 50w Marshall, just changed 4 values with a few resistors/caps and the amount of gain doubled. It sounded like the amp had a pedal in front, it was so gainy.

Of course, the amp has to be loud to get there...same with old Fenders etc....before that experiment, I believed Ed HAD to have his amp modded by Jose in some way to get all that gain; but now believe most of that sound was just the amp. Sure, he used the Echoplex etc to goose it a bit but most of that gain was already there in his 68 SL.

 

[angelspade]

His circuit was a 'happy accident' with some assembly line 'mistakes' that ended up adding a nice amount of gain. I put those same 'mistakes' into a 72 50w Marshall, just changed 4 values with a few resistors/caps and the amount of gain doubled. It sounded like the amp had a pedal in front, it was so gainy.

I don't study Ed's gear like some here...But I have never heard this. Interesting.

 

[Racerxrated]

I don't study Ed's gear like some here...But I have never heard this. Interesting.

I had a 72 50w that needed some 'restoration'...it was filled with orange drops so I sourced the proper Phillips 'chiclets' and Mustards....while I was swapping them in, I looked up the supposed 'Magic Marshall' values vs stock, and did those changes as well. The gain was on par with a slightly boosted 2204...but, the vol had to be loud to get there. Great sound though.

 

[RaceU4her]

The RIGHT amp though, is key....not all NMV Marshalls are created the same. His circuit was a 'happy accident' with some assembly line 'mistakes' that ended up adding a nice amount of gain. I put those same 'mistakes' into a 72 50w Marshall, just changed 4 values with a few resistors/caps and the amount of gain doubled. It sounded like the amp had a pedal in front, it was so gainy.

Of course, the amp has to be loud to get there...same with old Fenders etc....before that experiment, I believed Ed HAD to have his amp modded by Jose in some way to get all that gain; but now believe most of that sound was just the amp. Sure, he used the Echoplex etc to goose it a bit but most of that gain was already there in his 68 SL.

Kerry King said something about sending his main marshall back to them to dissect why it sounded better than all his others, and apparently they measured it to have "perfect" values across the board, i guess that is a rarer thing than made out to be

 

[OnePingOnly]

One of the inconsistencies lie in tolerances, in the specs/values of different components in a circuit. it really makes a difference, as in the above Kerry King example.

 

[psychodave]

The RIGHT amp though, is key....not all NMV Marshalls are created the same. His circuit was a 'happy accident' with some assembly line 'mistakes' that ended up adding a nice amount of gain. I put those same 'mistakes' into a 72 50w Marshall, just changed 4 values with a few resistors/caps and the amount of gain doubled. It sounded like the amp had a pedal in front, it was so gainy.

Of course, the amp has to be loud to get there...same with old Fenders etc....before that experiment, I believed Ed HAD to have his amp modded by Jose in some way to get all that gain; but now believe most of that sound was just the amp. Sure, he used the Echoplex etc to goose it a bit but most of that gain was already there in his 68 SL.

I agree with most of this. I do feel Jose did install a master volume in his amp with some zeners.

Put your self in Ed’s shoes. “Hey Jose, I love my amps sound, but it is too damn loud for some of these clubs. The sound guy keeps making me turn down. When I turn down, the amp just doesn’t have it. If I use a MXR Distortion + pedal out front it is just too noisy with the phase 90, flanger and echoplex. Jose: sure Ed, have you tried the Dimarzio super distortion pickup? What about those Ibanez and Mighty Mite pickups? They will help push the amp. Ed: yeah, I know about that Dimarzio pickup, but I don’t like it much. I do like the Gibson humbuckers. Jose: yeah, when you find the right Gibson PAF, it can really help drive the amp too. I can add a master volume and you can just turn it down a little for some of the smaller clubs to manage the sound. Thing is, if you do turn down, it won’t drive the amp the same, so I have a little trick that will make the amp sound more natural and have the same gain as your amp on 10 when the new master volume is only on 5. It will still be loud, but I’m sure you will like it. Heck, we can put it on the back of your amp without a knob and nobody will ever know. Then when you hit it big and start playing stadiums like Frampton and Cheap Trick, we can just remove it. Ed: great idea Jose, I just need to lower the damn volume some for when I play at the Whisky. Jose: no worries Ed, I will take care of it. Adios! ”

 

[Racerxrated]

I agree with most of this. I do feel Jose did install a master volume in his amp with some zeners.

Put your self in Ed’s shoes. “Hey Jose, I love my amps sound, but it is too damn loud for some of these clubs. The sound guy keeps making me turn down. When I turn down, the amp just doesn’t have it. If I use a MXR Distortion + pedal out front it is just too noisy with the phase 90, flanger and echoplex. Jose: sure Ed, have you tried the Dimarzio super distortion pickup? What about those Ibanez and Mighty Mite pickups? They will help push the amp. Ed: yeah, I know about that Dimarzio pickup, but I don’t like it much. I do like the Gibson humbuckers. Jose: yeah, when you find the right Gibson PAF, it can really help drive the amp too. I can add a master volume and you can just turn it down a little for some of the smaller clubs to manage the sound. Thing is, if you do turn down, it won’t drive the amp the same, so I have a little trick that will make the amp sound more natural and have the same gain as your amp on 10 when the new master volume is only on 5. It will still be loud, but I’m sure you will like it. Heck, we can put it on the back of your amp without a knob and nobody will ever know. Then when you hit it big and start playing stadiums like Frampton and Cheap Trick, we can just remove it. Ed: great idea Jose, I just need to lower the damn volume some for when I play at the Whisky. Jose: no worries Ed, I will take care of it. Adios! ”

Yeah, hard to say of course....there is that pic of the VHII sessions where there is a knob on back, or the shaft of one anyway. Had to be some type of mod haha....but we'll never know 100% what it was.

 

[angelspade]

Kerry King said something about sending his main marshall back to them to dissect why it sounded better than all his others, and apparently they measured it to have "perfect" values across the board, i guess that is a rarer thing than made out to be

Very cool...Marshall amps seem particularly partial to small value adjustments

 

[Geo]

I totally agree. So many good guitars and amps out there now, there is really no need for a distortion pedal.

If the amp isn't giving you what you are looking for, buy another amp.