Talk me into or out of a Ceriatone 2202

[ledvedder]

Hey guys, for whatever reason, I'm really gassing for the 2202. I love that it's only 20 watts, yet has the JCM800 vibe. Now, I currently have a DSL40c and a Ceriatone Chupacabra 50. I'm afraid the 2202 will just be more of the same. The Chupacabra is great at the gain tones, but it doesn't really have any clean to mild breakup tones. And the DSL is just classic Marshall. Should I even be considering the 2202?

 

[FourT6and2]

2202 looks like a low-watt JCM800 with the addition of a few simple mods like resonance control, brights witch, and tone-stack lift. At the end of the day it will be similar to the Chupa with all the diodes switched out. Chupa will probably still be more gainy and looser in comparison.

BTW, the Chupa does have good cleans and mid gain tones. You just have to totally re-EQ the amp. Not something you can do mid-song, for example.

 

[ledvedder]

2202 looks like a low-watt JCM800 with the addition of a few simple mods like resonance control, brights witch, and tone-stack lift. At the end of the day it will be similar to the Chupa with all the diodes switched out. Chupa will probably still be more gainy and looser in comparison.

BTW, the Chupa does have good cleans and mid gain tones. You just have to totally re-EQ the amp. Not something you can do mid-song, for example.

I'd love to hear how you get good clean to mid-gain tones from the Chupa.

 

[FourT6and2]

2202 looks like a low-watt JCM800 with the addition of a few simple mods like resonance control, brights witch, and tone-stack lift. At the end of the day it will be similar to the Chupa with all the diodes switched out. Chupa will probably still be more gainy and looser in comparison.

BTW, the Chupa does have good cleans and mid gain tones. You just have to totally re-EQ the amp. Not something you can do mid-song, for example.

I'd love to hear how you get good clean to mid-gain tones from the Chupa.

Era switch in the center.

Run the master high like a NMV amp. Pretty much on 10.

Then play around with the gains and bright switches to find a balance. Only engage one bright switch (to the right) and leave the other one in the center. Then depending on which bright switch you use, that gain control will affect how dark/bright the amp is. Then run the other gain control as your master volume. You should be able to get nice, lush cleans (for a Marshall).

Finally, use your guitar's volume knob.

 

[Beyond Black]

2202 looks like a low-watt JCM800 with the addition of a few simple mods like resonance control, brights witch, and tone-stack lift. At the end of the day it will be similar to the Chupa with all the diodes switched out. Chupa will probably still be more gainy and looser in comparison.

BTW, the Chupa does have good cleans and mid gain tones. You just have to totally re-EQ the amp. Not something you can do mid-song, for example.

I'd love to hear how you get good clean to mid-gain tones from the Chupa.

Era switch in the center.

Run the master high like a NMV amp. Pretty much on 10.

Then play around with the gains and bright switches to find a balance. Only engage one bright switch (to the right) and leave the other one in the center. Then depending on which bright switch you use, that gain control will affect how dark/bright the amp is. Then run the other gain control as your master volume. You should be able to get nice, lush cleans (for a Marshall).

Finally, use your guitar's volume knob.

This^^^. What you're looking for is in that amp. It'll do plexi tones and mid gain tones nicely. Extremely versatile for a single channel amp. You just have to make some extreme changes to your settings for them.

 

[V2a]

I wanted to design something that filled that space between a 70s Marshall and an 80s Marshall, at 20 watts. I came up with something quite a bit different than the 2202 (and the Chupa, which has a more modern tone to it). So to answer your question, get the 2202 if you want a 20w 2204. But keep looking if you want something a bit different / more versatile.

 

[dstroud]

that 2202 looks killer to me. but doesnt your DSL have the clean/crunch channel to cover clean and mid gain? i had a 2203 and a DSL 100 at the same time and the DSL crunch channel and was very close to the 800.

 

[Zado]

2202 looks like a low-watt JCM800 with the addition of a few simple mods like resonance control, brights witch, and tone-stack lift. At the end of the day it will be similar to the Chupa with all the diodes switched out. Chupa will probably still be more gainy and looser in comparison.

BTW, the Chupa does have good cleans and mid gain tones. You just have to totally re-EQ the amp. Not something you can do mid-song, for example.

I'd love to hear how you get good clean to mid-gain tones from the Chupa.

Era switch in the center.

Run the master high like a NMV amp. Pretty much on 10.

Then play around with the gains and bright switches to find a balance. Only engage one bright switch (to the right) and leave the other one in the center. Then depending on which bright switch you use, that gain control will affect how dark/bright the amp is. Then run the other gain control as your master volume. You should be able to get nice, lush cleans (for a Marshall).

Finally, use your guitar's volume knob.

Thanks, gotta try this with my Yeti! Tho engaging just one bright switch at times makes the amp a lil dark if gain is low, dunno if with the chupa happens the same

 

[FourT6and2]

2202 looks like a low-watt JCM800 with the addition of a few simple mods like resonance control, brights witch, and tone-stack lift. At the end of the day it will be similar to the Chupa with all the diodes switched out. Chupa will probably still be more gainy and looser in comparison.

BTW, the Chupa does have good cleans and mid gain tones. You just have to totally re-EQ the amp. Not something you can do mid-song, for example.

I'd love to hear how you get good clean to mid-gain tones from the Chupa.

Era switch in the center.

Run the master high like a NMV amp. Pretty much on 10.

Then play around with the gains and bright switches to find a balance. Only engage one bright switch (to the right) and leave the other one in the center. Then depending on which bright switch you use, that gain control will affect how dark/bright the amp is. Then run the other gain control as your master volume. You should be able to get nice, lush cleans (for a Marshall).

Finally, use your guitar's volume knob.

Thanks, gotta try this with my Yeti! Tho engaging just one bright switch at times makes the amp a lil dark if gain is low, dunno if with the chupa happens the same

Chupa is inherently brighter. Yeti is darker, plus the bright caps are different values as well, leading to a darker sound. So with the Yeti you might have to use both switches or push the treble/presence more.

If it were me... I wouldn't build these amps with the same value bright caps on both switches. It's redundant. I'd put Yeti values on one switch and Chupa values on the other. That way you could mix/match.

 

[Zado]

Mmmm I should try that as a mod, might be interesting.. my only gripe with the yeti is that it sounds really dark if you dont use both switches, for my taste at least

 

[FourT6and2]

Mmmm I should try that as a mod, might be interesting.. my only gripe with the yeti is that it sounds really dark if you dont use both switches, for my taste at least

Yeah I agree. There are a bunch of things you can do to make the Yeti more aggressive. A couple simple things are to lower the value of the slope resistor and raise the value of one of the 2700pF bright caps. Then maybe lower the value of the depth cap a bit.

 

[napalmdeath]

Mmmm I should try that as a mod, might be interesting.. my only gripe with the yeti is that it sounds really dark if you dont use both switches, for my taste at least

I use both on my Yeti. Left to the far left, right to the far right, mode to the far right as well. I don't find the amp "dark" at all. I think "warm" is a better description. I have it dialed in with more low mids, than the typical high mids of the Marshalls. Of course, I use a 10-band MXR in the loop as well. That's really the icing on the cake.

 

[FourT6and2]

Mmmm I should try that as a mod, might be interesting.. my only gripe with the yeti is that it sounds really dark if you dont use both switches, for my taste at least

I use both on my Yeti. Left to the far left, right to the far right, mode to the far right as well. I don't find the amp "dark" at all. I think "warm" is a better description. I have it dialed in with more low mids, than the typical high mids of the Marshalls. Of course, I use a 10-band MXR in the loop as well. That's really the icing on the cake.

It's dark(er) than the Chupacabra. If you used those settings on the Chupa you'd want to cut your ears off.

 

[Zado]

Mmmm I should try that as a mod, might be interesting.. my only gripe with the yeti is that it sounds really dark if you dont use both switches, for my taste at least

Yeah I agree. There are a bunch of things you can do to make the Yeti more aggressive. A couple simple things are to lower the value of the slope resistor and raise the value of one of the 2700pF bright caps. Then maybe lower the value of the depth cap a bit.

I'm no expert about this by any means, but got my interest...I'll think about it!

I use both on my Yeti. Left to the far left, right to the far right, mode to the far right as well. I don't find the amp "dark" at all. I think "warm" is a better description. I have it dialed in with more low mids, than the typical high mids of the Marshalls. Of course, I use a 10-band MXR in the loop as well. That's really the icing on the cake.

With both switches in use the amp can even get too bright if not EQed accordingly. I just wish it was more usable without both switches engaged, as I'm more into JMP like sounds. Otherwise it's a monster amp

 

[scottosan]

The easiest way to add aggression to the yeti more agressive is to simply increase the 39k NFB reisitor. Because of the resonance circuit this higher the value of the resistor will add edge and some brightness