Question About the Cameron Jose mod

[braintheory]

I’ve heard some people say the CCV can cover the Jose mod sounds but thought the Atomica was supposed to be based off the Jose mod? This is confusing to me because I own a CCV and tried an Atomica once years ago (never tried a Jose or Aldrich mod) and remember the Atomica sounding very different from my CCV. Any thoughts? Also, my CCV doesn’t sound like any of the Jose clips I’ve heard

 

[chumbucket]

The original "atomica" amp that Mark had seen before it got restored to stock. Google it.
Not the production Atomica amp that Brad King sold under the Cameron name.

 

[steve_k]

Do you own an original CCV or a production run? There is a difference.

Anything Jose is going to be based on diode clipping to generate the various gain types in a Jose derivative amp. This is found on the CCV and any Jose style amp. While the Atomica was based on this as well, I don't think it is a shining example of one.

Aldrich and Old Bitch and anything like that, are all tube gain in structure and are totally different.

Most Jose mods will use what voltage is available from the donor amp. In a Marshall, you are looking at around 450-470. Jose's original designs boost the PV up into the mid 500''s. Mark's original CCV's run around 540-560PV to replicate that.

Original Jose's also used two gains and two volumes for contour, in addition to the Jose master. There's a lot of control with these 5 pots over the tone and definition. This not easily replicated by a garage hack on an amp with a single gain, a bright switch and a master volume.

 

[braintheory]

Do you own an original CCV or a production run? There is a difference.

Anything Jose is going to be based on diode clipping to generate the various gain types in a Jose derivative amp. This is found on the CCV and any Jose style amp. While the Atomica was based on this as well, I don't think it is a shining example of one.

Aldrich and Old Bitch and anything like that, are all tube gain in structure and are totally different.

Most Jose mods will use what voltage is available from the donor amp. In a Marshall, you are looking at around 450-470. Jose's original designs boost the PV up into the mid 500''s. Mark's original CCV's run around 540-560PV to replicate that.

Original Jose's also used two gains and two volumes for contour, in addition to the Jose master. There's a lot of control with these 5 pots over the tone and definition. This not easily replicated by a garage hack on an amp with a single gain, a bright switch and a master volume.

The CCV I have was originally from the Brad era but then sent to Mark Cameron who I think modded it or something. It sounds though pretty the same as I remember the original run CCV that I tried sounded. So the Atomica doesn't really have a Jose type sound? If not, what kind of sound was it going for?

I tried an Old Bitch once and didn't like it as much as the original run CCV that I got to compare with.

 

[EXPcustom]

Mark and I had the idea of rebuilding or recreating the original "Atomica" with an early SLP I found on Craigslist down to the Atomica stencil. Here is a clip:

I have no idea who has this amp now.

 

[metalmaniac93]

Do you own an original CCV or a production run? There is a difference.

Anything Jose is going to be based on diode clipping to generate the various gain types in a Jose derivative amp. This is found on the CCV and any Jose style amp. While the Atomica was based on this as well, I don't think it is a shining example of one.

Aldrich and Old Bitch and anything like that, are all tube gain in structure and are totally different.

Most Jose mods will use what voltage is available from the donor amp. In a Marshall, you are looking at around 450-470. Jose's original designs boost the PV up into the mid 500''s. Mark's original CCV's run around 540-560PV to replicate that.

Original Jose's also used two gains and two volumes for contour, in addition to the Jose master. There's a lot of control with these 5 pots over the tone and definition. This not easily replicated by a garage hack on an amp with a single gain, a bright switch and a master volume.

The CCV I have was originally from the Brad era but then sent to Mark Cameron who I think modded it or something. It sounds though pretty the same as I remember the original run CCV that I tried sounded. So the Atomica doesn't really have a Jose type sound? If not, what kind of sound was it going for?

I tried an Old Bitch once and didn't like it as much as the original run CCV that I got to compare with.

Friedman would know what sound the Atomica was going for as it is basically a Cameron/Friedman hybrid. Still a killer amp though...Has a different sound. Lots of people dig the Atomica.

 

[FourT6and2]

I’ve heard some people say the CCV can cover the Jose mod sounds but thought the Atomica was supposed to be based off the Jose mod? This is confusing to me because I own a CCV and tried an Atomica once years ago (never tried a Jose or Aldrich mod) and remember the Atomica sounding very different from my CCV. Any thoughts? Also, my CCV doesn’t sound like any of the Jose clips I’ve heard

That's probably because the "Jose" mod or master is just a single pot, maybe two resistors, and some diodes. That's it. It won't sound the same in every amp because the rest of the amp is different. So while amp X and amp Y and amp Z might all have the "Jose mod," that doesn't mean they are going to sound anywhere close to each other. If you put a Jose mod on a Fender Twin and then put one on a Bogner XTC... they aren't going to sound the same.

 

[Racerxrated]

I’ve heard some people say the CCV can cover the Jose mod sounds but thought the Atomica was supposed to be based off the Jose mod? This is confusing to me because I own a CCV and tried an Atomica once years ago (never tried a Jose or Aldrich mod) and remember the Atomica sounding very different from my CCV. Any thoughts? Also, my CCV doesn’t sound like any of the Jose clips I’ve heard

That's probably because the "Jose" mod or master is just a single pot, maybe two resistors, and some diodes. That's it. It won't sound the same in every amp because the rest of the amp is different. So while amp X and amp Y and amp Z might all have the "Jose mod," that doesn't mean they are going to sound anywhere close to each other. If you put a Jose mod on a Fender Twin and then put one on a Bogner XTC... they aren't going to sound the same.

I'd say it's a little more complicated with Cameron though. I get the Jose mod and what it entails, but Cameron would sit and tweak the circuit ad nauseam until he got the sound he was looking for. That's why his mods would stand above most other builders.

 

[psychodave]

I’ve heard some people say the CCV can cover the Jose mod sounds but thought the Atomica was supposed to be based off the Jose mod? This is confusing to me because I own a CCV and tried an Atomica once years ago (never tried a Jose or Aldrich mod) and remember the Atomica sounding very different from my CCV. Any thoughts? Also, my CCV doesn’t sound like any of the Jose clips I’ve heard

That's probably because the "Jose" mod or master is just a single pot, maybe two resistors, and some diodes. That's it. It won't sound the same in every amp because the rest of the amp is different. So while amp X and amp Y and amp Z might all have the "Jose mod," that doesn't mean they are going to sound anywhere close to each other. If you put a Jose mod on a Fender Twin and then put one on a Bogner XTC... they aren't going to sound the same.

I'd say it's a little more complicated with Cameron though. I get the Jose mod and what it entails, but Cameron would sit and tweak the circuit ad nauseam until he got the sound he was looking for. That's why his mods would stand above most other builders.

I agree. It's not like he has 30 parts he is changing and doing the exact same thing on every amp. Marks mods are more like art. lol

 

[FourT6and2]

I’ve heard some people say the CCV can cover the Jose mod sounds but thought the Atomica was supposed to be based off the Jose mod? This is confusing to me because I own a CCV and tried an Atomica once years ago (never tried a Jose or Aldrich mod) and remember the Atomica sounding very different from my CCV. Any thoughts? Also, my CCV doesn’t sound like any of the Jose clips I’ve heard

That's probably because the "Jose" mod or master is just a single pot, maybe two resistors, and some diodes. That's it. It won't sound the same in every amp because the rest of the amp is different. So while amp X and amp Y and amp Z might all have the "Jose mod," that doesn't mean they are going to sound anywhere close to each other. If you put a Jose mod on a Fender Twin and then put one on a Bogner XTC... they aren't going to sound the same.

I'd say it's a little more complicated with Cameron though. I get the Jose mod and what it entails, but Cameron would sit and tweak the circuit ad nauseam until he got the sound he was looking for. That's why his mods would stand above most other builders.

Yes, I understand that. But that's not the point I was attempting to convey—that being: no two "Jose Mods" are going to sound the same. Because even if you pretend like every Jose Mod is the same, the rest of the amp isn't. So if you did the exact same Jose Mod to a 50-watt Marshall that you did to a Sovtek Mig 50, they wouldn't sound identical. And that was the OP's question, was it not? He wanted to know why the Atomica and the CCV don't sound the same even though they both have "Jose Mods." Well the simple answer is that... *drumroll* they are different amps.

Then yes, there's the fact that one builder's "Jose Mod" might be different from another's. You can select whatever values you want for the pot, for the diodes, etc. to change the sound you want. And yes, maybe one builder never does the same exact "Jose Mod" every time, as you are saying concerning Cameron.

 

[Superunknown]

I have an original CCV and a Cameron HG Jose Modded Marshall SLP...they both sound incredible but they are extremely different. My Jose sounds very much like the clip above.

 

[Chester Nimitz]

Well as long as it wasn't modded ...

 

[Elric]

Mark and I had the idea of rebuilding or recreating the original "Atomica" with an early SLP I found on Craigslist down to the Atomica stencil. Here is a clip:

I have no idea who has this amp now.

Lol. Like 15 seconds into this, my ears were like "if you really love us: make it stop. please." FWIW, the Cameron modded amps generally sound phenomenal to me on most clips. Gonna go to YT right now and see if I can find some other Atomica clips... thankfully that one didn't make me wan to flip any gear.