Mr. Scary Mod

[PurityS.L.G]

What’s your guys’ take on it? Does it dramatically change the tone or feel of the amp? I guess it depends on the amp you’re installing it in so I guess I should specify for use with a JMP2203 and the Badlander 100.

 

[Geo]

With all the choices of effects these days, I bet you can do better than modding a good amp.

 

[Rackman]

With all the choices of effects these days, I bet you can do better than modding a good amp.

It's a plug in mod.

 

[Solarflares]

Important to understand just what a cathode-follower actually does.
It is below unity-gain, and only compresses/squares off half the waveform.
Perhaps better to go through the whole amp, and raise gain wherever possible as it is - or put that $400 into another amp with suitable gain for your needs.

 

[RaceU4her]

i was asking about the hotmods in one of the marshall threads the other day, they sound pretty great to me

 

[The~Kid]

i was asking about the hotmods in one of the marshall threads the other day, they sound pretty great to me

Thats fucking sick *_*

 

[FourT6and2]

Important to understand just what a cathode-follower actually does.
It is below unity-gain, and only compresses/squares off half the waveform.
Perhaps better to go through the whole amp, and raise gain wherever possible as it is - or put that $400 into another amp with suitable gain for your needs.

Totally agree. Is a plug-in gain stage like this convenient? Yes. Is it non-destructive? Yes. But you'll get better results by tuning the entire circuit for that extra gain stage. But not everybody wants to mod an amp.

 

[harddriver]

Being that Georges's best tones were/are a Tubescreamer/OD808 into a stock Marshall SL, Plexi, 2203, SLO. That's plenty of gain for anything George has every done.

If you listen to Jon Levin's DSL100's they nail Lynch tones each and every time.

 

[Fiesta Red]

I put one in my JCM 800 Reissue. Makes it sound a whole lot better than stock. I have it turned up about 1/2 way. For a couple hundred bucks it's a welcome change.

Make sure you order the correct one -- standard or reverse. The website will tell you which one you need.

 

[Meanjoegreene]

It’s cool

I think it’s allows for using the 800 plus mod as the core sound. Then use a pedal for lead boost.

As opposed to an always on pedal for base tone then more stacking if needed.

 

[csguy0]

Works with many Friedman amps as well. I personally have one in my Small box.

 

[PDC]

I cannot imagine needing one in a Badlander - unless it is solely for the change in tone. Seems like the Badlander has plenty of gain on tap.

 

[stephen sawall]

Andy Marshall was the original designer. Mike Soldano made the original with a unique tube and said Andy was the best person to design it.
I borrowed one from Andy. He feels it's really voiced for the Marshall or something similar vintage. I tried it in several amps. It changes the gain and voice. Your cleans are gone. It's easy to get in the too much gain range flame thrower. In amps with a lot of gain like Rectifier I found them completely unnecessary. If you like a modified sound better than the compression and attack changes from pedals it can be pretty cool. The voice is going to be slightly more midrange dominant.

 

[DistortED]

I put one in my JCM 800 Reissue. Makes it sound a whole lot better than stock. I have it turned up about 1/2 way. For a couple hundred bucks it's a welcome change.

Make sure you order the correct one -- standard or reverse. The website will tell you which one you need.

This ^, it's not expensive and it's sounds great, but if you have the cash, a modded amp is the way to go.

 

[Solarflares]

It’s finicky, and very inaccessible. But what I’ve heard from a Mr.Scary modded 1959 SLP HW RI is really good. I preferred it to the Friedman Jose for sure.
If you like dialling different sounds at will, then the Jose is for you.
But I’ve learned to work on the basis that every valve amp I own has one great sweet spot, so for me, the Mr.Scary Marshall would be my choice. Set it and forget it.
You can set the Mr.Scary to the edge of instability, which is sometimes fantastic. The off the shelf Jose would be more ‘polite’.

 

[grimmchaos]

I love the Mr Scary Mod in my Badlander 50. I run the gain on it halfway up and use the Crunch channel for rhythms and leads. The gain on the amp is 2/3rds of the way up. Thickened it up just enough and feels great under the fingers, all without adding any noticeable noise.

 

[reilly]

I have one (not being used at the moment) sounded great in a friedman runt 50, also was nice in the slo30 but in that amp it wouldeffect the clean channel as well. I also tried it in a jcm800 and it was killer. I don't have the friedman anymore so the mr scary is sitting in a box.

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

Don't listen to the nay sayers...yes those modded amps can be great BUT this is a 100% reversable mod and it kicks all sorts of ass. I am very picky with not altering the core tone of my 800's and the scary is perfect for giving me that much more. No boosts on the floor for me with this in my combo. Might need a nudge for leads to keep it tight if you like gain but very natural sounding. Try it.

 

[Nick Morris]

The Mr Scary Mod is the quickest and easiest way to get tighter and/or higher gain without added noise. Improves the feel on most amps and has some adjustability with the low end and amount of gain. There is no downside to these. Turn its gain knob down all the way and it adds no gain. In rectifiers its amazing at tightening up and improving the muddy feel, being able to keep the amps gain knob lower. Badlanders become flame throwing chug machines. I have tested these mods (Hotmod EVO2 / Mr Scary / 1987 Caswell) in a large number of amps and have them permanently in 7 of my amps.
For amps that you already like the tone of and just need a good nudge, these are fantastic

 

[PurityS.L.G]

I have one coming in tomorrow. I'll let you know my findings