Tweaking Super Lead specs

[Greazygeo]

Yeah, not a fan of the super aggressive bright caps either. My 69 metro build from yore, I settled on a 500 but I also wasn’t doing the V2a bypass cap either. It was still a flamethrower when cranked but was really versatile for edge of breakup, clean and AC/DC tones.

I put my 5k’s back in try them again recently. Yuk, kills all the chunk and replaces it with thwack. Most of mine have the .68 over the 820 except for the 67. They all had the 5k. Sure the volume can be set high to get around it, but then turning the guitar down for cleans it gets super bright again, blech.

 

[Greazygeo]

I like the higher filtering. 50uF + 50uF everywhere. If not more. Remember that Marshall runs the reservoir caps and screen caps in parallel-series, so even though you have FOUR 50uF caps for each, the total capacitance is still only 50uF. Except for the phase inverter, which gets 100uF.

I like 100/ 100 for mains..50/50 for the rest. Sometimes 32/32 for the preamps but not often.

 

[FourT6and2]

I like 100/ 100 for mains..50/50 for the rest. Sometimes 32/32 for the preamps but not often.

Which 100/100 do you use? I wonder what the time constant is for the 100/100 caps compared to the 50/50. It already takes a good 10-15 seconds for the caps in the stock amp to fully charge. 100uF caps might take quite a while...

 

[Dave L]

Lots to digest here, folks, killer info and several words of wisdom. Thanks! I probably should just leave it alone, maybe do some small tweaks, and leave the earlier sounds to my ´68 style amps.

 

[FourT6and2]

Lots to digest here, folks, killer info and several words of wisdom. Thanks! I probably should just leave it alone, maybe do some small tweaks, and leave the earlier sounds to my ´68 style amps.

If you've already got an older Super Lead, just mod this one. It's a '75 with a PCB, so it's not like it's super rare.

 

[Dave L]

If you've already got an older Super Lead, just mod this one. It's a '75 with a PCB, so it's not like it's super rare.

Well, not actual older Super Leads, but a Germino and a Bray which are in that style.

 

[Anje]

My opinion is that much of it is in the transformers. I've built amps and certain amps just have it and certain ones just sound fine. And tweaking circuit components never changed it, they all usually sounded best with stock values or EVH spec if you're into that. But the ones that had it just had it and the others just sounded fine.

I agree that the transformers (especially the output one) are a key component, but for that particular '72 50w example I referred to it's way beyond what I could associate an OT to impact; I'm talking about significantly more gain & OD, very fat singing lead sound. Sounds like a different model amp altogether next to all my other '67-71 50w Marshall that are also great ones

That 5K bright cap, ugh freaking terrible sounding. All high mid thwack thwack thwack on the low strings. Can’t stand that sound.
Sure if you play on ten and don’t have to hear the cap. 100 pf gives the gain and round low end for palm mutes. None of that thwackin shit.

As with everything it all depends on how one uses the amps agree, in correlation with the rest of the rig & playing style.
5k bright cap to me is "the" Marshall lead sound I have in mind when having that volume in the 6-8 sweet spot range depending on the amp / sound wanted. Great balance of agression & "fat thump" there on all strings to me. Lower value bright cap actually only "boosts" higher frequencies, looses that higher mids push to me.
Not so great if you turn the volume lower indeed; in that case I just prefer the "Bass" setup with no bright cap at all.

 

[SpiderWars]

For me the big ass bright cap is essential. Or no cap at all if I'm running it at low volume settings but I usually use a different amp for lower volume cleanish tones. I have my bright cap on a switch but I rarely switch it out.

I think the value of that cap shows you how Marshall intended for the amp to be used. It's a Super Lead, it's supposed to be distorted. And painfully loud. That was the design goal obv. They knew what that cap did.

 

[Racerxrated]

I like the higher filtering. 50uF + 50uF everywhere. If not more. Remember that Marshall runs the reservoir caps and screen caps in parallel-series, so even though you have FOUR 50uF caps for each, the total capacitance is still only 50uF. Except for the phase inverter, which gets 100uF.

I had a 72 50w that was full of orange drops instead of Mustards, so I restored it with the proper period correct parts. While I was at it, I lowered the filtering in the preamp from 50 to 32u. The feel totally changed for the better. I didn't hear any ghost notes either. My 68/69 has 50u in the pre now, but I've got a lower value ARS coming to experiment with. Mains/PI are 50, 100 though. With the mains at the stock 32u, the ghosting 'warble' at high vol was horrible. Like a broken chorus pedal.

 

[Racerxrated]

For me the big ass bright cap is essential. Or no cap at all if I'm running it at low volume settings but I usually use a different amp for lower volume cleanish tones. I have my bright cap on a switch but I rarely switch it out.

I think the value of that cap shows you how Marshall intended for the amp to be used. It's a Super Lead, it's supposed to be distorted. And painfully loud. That was the design goal obv. They knew what that cap did.

Exactly.
No bright cap neuters the amp...and, to my ears there is a difference at high vol between an amp with, and one without that cap. Supposed to sound the same regardless of the cap, at high vol but I hear a difference.

 

[harddriver]

For me the big ass bright cap is essential. Or no cap at all if I'm running it at low volume settings but I usually use a different amp for lower volume cleanish tones. I have my bright cap on a switch but I rarely switch it out.

I think the value of that cap shows you how Marshall intended for the amp to be used. It's a Super Lead, it's supposed to be distorted. And painfully loud. That was the design goal obv. They knew what that cap did.

Exactly.
No bright cap neuters the amp...and, to my ears there is a difference at high vol between an amp with, and one without that cap. Supposed to sound the same regardless of the cap, at high vol but I hear a difference.

It doesn't sound bad, it's just different and you either like it or you don't. Pulling the 5000pf bright cap essentially turns the amp into a slightly brighter SUper Bass. The Suhr SL68 MK 1 did not have a bright cap on the bright channel at all and it still sounded killer but the MKII added the 5000pf on a switch.
I had the 5000pf cap on my 69 build on a push/pull switch and I also had the normal inputs side for the bright channel of a Super Bass. I just always preferred the 5000pf cap switch in.

Here's the MK 1