NAD - Marshall JCM 800 RI

[hatrick00]

i agree that boosts CAN sound good... but if i can get there without it, i much prefer that route. purely subjective info also, but in my opinion a boost in front takes away from the mojo of the amp.

And modding an amp doesn't?

depending on your goal, perspective, and mod it can either enhance or take away from that mojo, or make it something completely different....purely subjective man, if you dig the boost then do it. I was mainly commenting on a TS808 itself, which sorry but DOES take away mojo in my opinion. There are far better boosts out there. But something tells me this Marshall will still be going to Dave, and will be a complete beast when it comes back either way just have fun with what you are doing

 

[311boogieman]

HNJCMD

 

[Mr. Willy]

Leave it stock! And congrats.

 

[godgrinder]

Definitely, if you can get an amp to sound great by itself more power to you. But if you need a little more, I say try a couple boost pedals. Might take you where you need to go a lot cheaper than a mod. Mods do kill though, no doubt...still want to try a Cameron Jose some day!

If you think about how many boost/od pedals are $150-200 nowadays, it's not too bad to spend $600 to mod the amp. You could end up spending more in trying boost pedals haha...

 

[guitarplayerone]

Whoa, I'm curious about what I'm assuming is a Fortin-modded one below it

 

[Beyond Black]

i agree that boosts CAN sound good... but if i can get there without it, i much prefer that route. purely subjective info also, but in my opinion a boost in front takes away from the mojo of the amp.

And modding an amp doesn't?

depending on your goal, perspective, and mod it can either enhance or take away from that mojo, or make it something completely different....purely subjective man, if you dig the boost then do it. I was mainly commenting on a TS808 itself, which sorry but DOES take away mojo in my opinion. There are far better boosts out there. But something tells me this Marshall will still be going to Dave, and will be a complete beast when it comes back either way just have fun with what you are doing

Yeah, I I get ya. I find that boosting an amp with an eq retains the original mojo of an amp more so than any OD or TS. An eq doesn't tighten or color the tone like they do. Unless of course you're talking about the MK.4.23 OD pedal. That pedal is very transparent and just gives you more of what your amp is already doing.

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

Some interesting comments in this thread. Personally mod wise, if you already have a modded Marshall, why would you not keep one stock? If you layer a few amps in recordings you will come up with some awesome sounds. The lower gain amps just cut so nice and sound so big in recordings. Furthermore, with a hot pup, a stock jcm with the master on 7 and the mid and presence knobs dined, you get an unbelievable tone machine. I am talking that elusive Matthias jabs type tone. Try it out with this amp before you mod it. See if it has the goods.

As for modding, 4-600 seems to be the norm. As others have said, you are paying also for the experience of the modder not to mention the resale value. It is 15$ in parts but anyone who has modded an amp knows how time consuming it can be.

Boosts. They sound great but I do agree sometimes getting the core sound or core modded sound from an amp just sounds more organic. Lots of options here.

 

[ElectricVoodoo]

I emailed Dave about doing a mod to one of my Marshalls. His quote was $600. That's just insane.

I respectfully disagree. That is what they go for nowadays. Voodoo here in upstate NY is in the same ballpark.

FJA, also upstate NY, is a bit lower but has options that go to that price.

 

[Rick Lee]

I emailed Dave about doing a mod to one of my Marshalls. His quote was $600. That's just insane.

I respectfully disagree. That is what they go for nowadays. Voodoo here in upstate NY is in the same ballpark.

FJA, also upstate NY, is a bit lower but has options that go to that price.

IIRC, Voodoo gets around $300 to eliminate the volume jump on the EVH 50w head. That can't be any less work than what Dave is doing, but I understand his name is the gold standard and is worth what he can charge for it.

 

[Chubtone]

Some amp modder named Mark Cameron that some of you may have heard of says it is EXTREMELY difficult to mod a Marshall and have it sound BETTER than a good stock Marshall with a boost. He says that most of the guys doing mods out there shouldn't even bother because they don't attain this. His words, not mine.

 

[lespaul6]

What mod did you ask for? BE, HBE, C45, JBE, Naked???

 

[Chubtone]

Meanwhile he mods amps, and sometimes even returns the amps to the customers..

Who would go to Vegas if they knew they were going to win? It takes all the fun out of it.

 

[glip22]

Some amp modder named Mark Cameron that some of you may have heard of says it is EXTREMELY difficult to mod a Marshall and have it sound BETTER than a good stock Marshall with a boost. He says that most of the guys doing mods out there shouldn't even bother because they don't attain this. His words, not mine.

I think getting the low end right is the hardest part and where many fall short.

 

[Racerxrated]

Some amp modder named Mark Cameron that some of you may have heard of says it is EXTREMELY difficult to mod a Marshall and have it sound BETTER than a good stock Marshall with a boost. He says that most of the guys doing mods out there shouldn't even bother because they don't attain this. His words, not mine.

Cameron Aldrich's, a Fortin Cali and a Golub lead mod are the only modded Marshalls that were better than a stock Marshall and a boost or two. Over the last 7 years I've had at least one example from all the well known Marshall modders, except an original Jose A. I agree with this from my experience.