Vai's Eat 'em and Smile rig up for auction

[Ancient Alien]

Funny.............
I was back stage for that show 3 times and got a full tour of Steves rig by Steve....
Not even close to what he used....
It may have been a very small piece of what he used, but it is not his touring rig at all....

 

[verderacer]

As a person who owned a Lee jackson Modded Marshall and gigged with one for a few years, Id rather put the money on the auction to go to charity then to buy another L.J. amp Not trashing Lee but with typical modders of that decade some amps sounded killer and others not so much because IMHO the modders of that era did there stock mod and it stopped there. I guess only a few select people got special attention but if the modder was self taught, IT STOPPED THERE lol

I went to Jon Levins house in 1989 to buy a LJ mod from him since he was endorsed by lee and even though he hadthe same mod done to 11 of his amps they all sounded different. (reaffirming what i said earlier)

Mine was one of the better sounding ones but I must admit that there was one that sounded amazing but it went to a good friend of Jons at thetime and I missed out

Im with ya... Every one I have heard is different even across the same type of amp. One thing I dont respect from LJ is that he disguises many of the components so they cannot be replaced unless the amp is sent to him for repair. In some cases this has compromised the component itself and LJ does not consult with anybody else doing amp repairs on his gear, or at least that what he has told techs that I know when they called him to get information regarding repairs.

I am curious and wonder whats the deal with the cabs and speaker mounts?

 

[joepete77]

I don't know about this one but I know I had a lee Jackson modded jmp that would kill some of the modded stuff of today. I wish I had it still.

 

[Anonymous]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyCRSZjtYBI

well, whatever he was using there, i'd like to know....the cabs certainly look similiar! i've been chasing that core tone now for 22 fucking years since the day i watched this at 16 years old and still can't get it dammit.....1:20 on gives me the chills....esp seeing kinison looking all humble during it....wow.

 

[mentoneman]

this is the very VERY rare time i will compliment vai tone-

his live rig tone for the roth eatum tour was massive.

end of statement.

 

[Anonymous]

this is the very VERY rare time i will compliment vai tone-

his live rig tone for the roth eatum tour was massive.

end of statement.

Hell = frozen over.

Steve

 

[sandman]

this is the very VERY rare time i will compliment vai tone-

his live rig tone for the roth eatum tour was massive.

end of statement.

Hell = frozen over.

Steve

 

[MrDan666]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyCRSZjtYBI

well, whatever he was using there, i'd like to know....the cabs certainly look similiar! i've been chasing that core tone now for 22 fucking years since the day i watched this at 16 years old and still can't get it dammit.....1:20 on gives me the chills....esp seeing kinison looking all humble during it....wow.

Those two 800's in that video are Jose modded Marshalls. I heard that John Sykes bought those off Steve some time in the 90's.

 

[Anonymous]

i will always dig that tone. so, a jose modded 800 will get you there then?

 

[MrDan666]

i will always dig that tone. so, a jose modded 800 will get you there then?

Oh yeah, you can do that tone with a Jose modded Marshall. Doesn't have to be an 800, it can be a JMP or Plexi with the same mod. The Cali Mod will do that sound easy, since it's a Jose style mod anyway.

 

[glip22]

i will always dig that tone. so, a jose modded 800 will get you there then?

You have to watch on the Jose mods. There are several ways to do it. The modder really has to understand how the diodes interact and affect the wave lengths. A good Jose mod is one that makes other changes to the circuit so that the diodes intergrate for a postive sum of the whole. If you take an amp and just add a jose style master to it, it will probably sound like crap.Its more about the rest of the preamp circuit that matters most.

 

[MrDan666]

i will always dig that tone. so, a jose modded 800 will get you there then?

You have to watch on the Jose mods. There are several ways to do it. The modder really has to understand how the diodes interact and affect the wave lengths. A good Jose mod is one that makes other changes to the circuit so that the diodes intergrate for a postive sum of the whole. If you take an amp and just add a jose style master to it, it will probably sound like crap.Its more about the rest of the preamp circuit that matters most.

I actually think Vai's amps were the Jose Mod without the diodes, but probably had the switchable Jose Master. He used to boost his Jose Mods, which leads me to think the diodes were not in his amp. With the diodes in there, you don't need the boost to get those gain levels.

 

[glip22]

i will always dig that tone. so, a jose modded 800 will get you there then?

You have to watch on the Jose mods. There are several ways to do it. The modder really has to understand how the diodes interact and affect the wave lengths. A good Jose mod is one that makes other changes to the circuit so that the diodes intergrate for a postive sum of the whole. If you take an amp and just add a jose style master to it, it will probably sound like crap.Its more about the rest of the preamp circuit that matters most.

I actually think Vai's amps were the Jose Mod without the diodes, but probably had the switchable Jose Master. He used to boost his Jose Mods, which leads me to think the diodes were not in his amp. With the diodes in there, you don't need the boost to get those gain levels.

Thanks Dan. You do have a huge volume cut from the diodes for sure. Are you reffering to a boost pedal out front or an internal boost in the circuit. If in the circuit how do you go about that? My Jose masters are push/ pull or on a switch. I think there is a knack to tweak the circuit to make the amp sound great with and without the diodes engaged.

 

[MrDan666]

Thanks Dan. You do have a huge volume cut from the diodes for sure. Are you reffering to a boost pedal out front or an internal boost in the circuit. If in the circuit how do you go about that? My Jose masters are push/ pull or on a switch. I think there is a knack to tweak the circuit to make the amp sound great with and without the diodes engaged.

Vai was actually boosting the front end with an OD pedal, i can't remember if it was a Tubescreamer or Boss OD/DS pedals. I seem to recall it being a Boss OD-1..

 

[Anonymous]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7UJqix55wQ

this clip ALWAYS tickled at my mind, and now i know why, to me, the tone sounds extremely similiar on the top end.
guess i found my next amp!

 

[Ventura]

Who is this Stephen Vy guy anyway

 

[glip22]

Thanks Dan. You do have a huge volume cut from the diodes for sure. Are you reffering to a boost pedal out front or an internal boost in the circuit. If in the circuit how do you go about that? My Jose masters are push/ pull or on a switch. I think there is a knack to tweak the circuit to make the amp sound great with and without the diodes engaged.

Vai was actually boosting the front end with an OD pedal, i can't remember if it was a Tubescreamer or Boss OD/DS pedals. I seem to recall it being a Boss OD-1..

I wonder if there is a way to boost the signal internally when you engage a Jose Master.

 

[MrDan666]

I wonder if there is a way to boost the signal internally when you engage a Jose Master.

To raise the volume back up again after the clip circuit cuts the volume? There are a bunch of ways, but none of them sound good IMO.

 

[Anonymous]

just for shits and giggles, since im kinda late to the party on some of this hip stuff...would anyone care to break down a Jose mod, and what exactly you guys are talkinga bout?

i've read some stuff about the cerrem mods, and some other mods that have been linked to ed, but, what exactly do the jose/arrco mods do?

 

[glip22]

just for shits and giggles, since im kinda late to the party on some of this hip stuff...would anyone care to break down a Jose mod, and what exactly you guys are talkinga bout?

i've read some stuff about the cerrem mods, and some other mods that have been linked to ed, but, what exactly do the jose/arrco mods do?

Clips the signal into perceived gain otherwise called distortion. Tweaking the preamp circuit with cap values, pot values, etc. to blend the clipped circuit with the gain stages, cathode followers, etc. to achieve an outcome of tone. When you engage the diodes crank the master volume up to compensate for the volume loss from the engaged diodes. Also you will have to bring up the highs and presence. The bass can come up some also. It can be awesome and cutting enough if you set it up correct. A blast to play.