Which Fortin Production Amp Is The Closest To The Cali Mod?

[gibson5413]

Just curious! I want a Cali modded Marshall super bad but maybe I can hold out for one of his production amps. Which of the production amps will get me closest in saturation to a Mesa Mark series amp? All of these Fortin and Cameron modded clips are killing me right now!

 

[Digital Jams]

Chad,

The Bones would be your beast and you can also talk with Mike about what you are looking for as he will price out options for you if you want something alittle different.

I wish you were not so far away, I would flat out send you mine to demo.

 

[Anonymous]

Chad,

The Bones would be your beast and you can also talk with Mike about what you are looking for as he will price out options for you if you want something alittle different.

I wish you were not so far away, I would flat out send you mine to demo.

Can you send it to me for a few days, bro?

Steve

 

[gibson5413]

Chad,

The Bones would be your beast and you can also talk with Mike about what you are looking for as he will price out options for you if you want something alittle different.

I wish you were not so far away, I would flat out send you mine to demo.

Thanks Scott! I think it would be right up my alley. I will contact Mike and see what he thinks. I have a line on a late 80s JCM800 that I would send for mod or just flat out go for a Bones. Would it be better to go for a modded Marshall or just go for the production model Bones?

Thanks for thinking of me. I appreciate the offer. I, too, wish I was closer. I wouldn't let you send this far. I wish I could have been at the amp fest.


sah5150 (Steve),

Any thoughts? You've heard my clips/playing style.

 

[killertone]

The Bones is a more modern sound whereas the Cali is based around the 80's DeMartini/Lynch tone. Clipping diodes aplenty in the Cali and none in the Bones.

 

[Anonymous]

Chad,

The Bones would be your beast and you can also talk with Mike about what you are looking for as he will price out options for you if you want something alittle different.

I wish you were not so far away, I would flat out send you mine to demo.

Thanks Scott! I think it would be right up my alley. I will contact Mike and see what he thinks. I have a line on a late 80s JCM800 that I would send for mod or just flat out go for a Bones. Would it be better to go for a modded Marshall or just go for the production model Bones?

Thanks for thinking of me. I appreciate the offer. I, too, wish I was closer. I wouldn't let you send this far. I wish I could have been at the amp fest.


sah5150 (Steve),

Any thoughts? You've heard my clips/playing style.

Get that 800 and send it to Mike for the Cali mod.

Steve

 

[Digital Jams]

Chad,

The Bones would be your beast and you can also talk with Mike about what you are looking for as he will price out options for you if you want something alittle different.

I wish you were not so far away, I would flat out send you mine to demo.

Can you send it to me for a few days, bro?

Steve

The headshell is starting to seperate at the lower joint so I am afraid the amp would fall apart if it was sent 3000 miles I need to fix it.

 

[Digital Jams]

The Bones is a more modern sound whereas the Cali is based around the 80's DeMartini/Lynch tone. Clipping diodes aplenty in the Cali and none in the Bones.

I agree but I also think you are getting the cali tone as well, the Bones can do the hotrod thing pretty well and the cool thing is that you are getting Mike's overbuilt design as well with premium parts

Of course you would have ordered the extra gain stage I bet if you went Bones

 

[killertone]

The Bones is a more modern sound whereas the Cali is based around the 80's DeMartini/Lynch tone. Clipping diodes aplenty in the Cali and none in the Bones.

I agree but I also think you are getting the cali tone as well, the Bones can do the hotrod thing pretty well and the cool thing is that you are getting Mike's overbuilt design as well with premium parts

Of course you would have ordered the extra gain stage I bet if you went Bones

My buddy is getting a Bones very soon and I can not wait to play on it. I'd love to play a Cali as well...

 

[tokyo tapes]

The Bones is a more modern sound whereas the Cali is based around the 80's DeMartini/Lynch tone. Clipping diodes aplenty in the Cali and none in the Bones.

I hear everyone saying this, but the Bones also have a 2-gain stage mode that gets it more into the plexi area which makes it more old school than the 80's era. Of all clips I have heard the Bones has a upper mid bite that to me sounds more plexi'ish than a clipping diodes design. I might be wrong here and people who actually played it might have a different opinion

 

[steve_k]

I've had my Bones for several months, and there ain't no Plexi in it. Breaks-up wherever you dial it in, crunch if you want and enough gain that you need a 50' lead to keep it from feeding back. Awesome amp indeed - but no Plexi or any other organic Marshall tone that I have found. I don't believe it was Mike's intent to make another Plexi clone.

Steve

 

[hopkinWFG]

sorry there but i thought it wouldnt be nice for me to intrude in other's thead and topic but i wouldnt wanna start a new topic here and it goes only an answer... sorry about my leeching post here hope you guys wouldnt mind here... as talked about fortin bones here... i was thinking if the bones stock without any additional gain option... would i get somewhere around the gain mayhem ala VHT's CL or even more? thanks there !!

 

[gibson5413]

I've had my Bones for several months, and there ain't no Plexi in it. Breaks-up wherever you dial it in, crunch if you want and enough gain that you need a 50' lead to keep it from feeding back. Awesome amp indeed - but no Plexi or any other organic Marshall tone that I have found. I don't believe it was Mike's intent to make another Plexi clone.

Steve

I see you own some Mark series amps. I know the Bones and Mark series are miles apart but I want that modded Marshall sound with enough saturation to cure my tone needs. Does the Bones have that? If not, I will just go the mod route.

 

[Gainfreak]

I've had my Bones for several months, and there ain't no Plexi in it. Breaks-up wherever you dial it in, crunch if you want and enough gain that you need a 50' lead to keep it from feeding back. Awesome amp indeed - but no Plexi or any other organic Marshall tone that I have found. I don't believe it was Mike's intent to make another Plexi clone.

Steve

I see you own some Mark series amps. I know the Bones and Mark series are miles apart but I want that modded Marshall sound with enough saturation to cure my tone needs. Does the Bones have that? If not, I will just go the mod route.

I can definitely answer your question

The Bones has its own thing going on and its not as saturated as the boogie or the Cali Mod with the Jose Style Master. Now being that Ive played Boogies as my main amps since 1992 I can tell you that I was a bit scared to try the Bones but I found that even though the Bones wasn't saturated Like the Boogie I could play it rather easily which shocked me

If you want the extra saturation and went with the Bones, Id gather you would either have to hit it with a pedal just a slight bit or have Mike tweak the amp to your liking. With that said, id be willing to bet you would be happy with either but If the Mark series does it for you, The cali would be my first choice because of how the Master works. You've got two types of gain saturations, Multiple Bright switches and a stock Marshall all in one amp.

With that said, I can't take anything from the Bones because it's an amazing amp. I'm just going by what I think you would like and I think the Cali is more saturated when it comes to gain.

The great thing is that you can always ask Mike

 

[parntz145]

I have a bones and I also have a Cali modded JCM800. They are two different animals for sure. Your not going to get that Marshall vibe out of the bones. Both have great tones going on with them, just different.

 

[tweed]

Wonder if the Cali mod could be done on a VM

 

[steve_k]

I've had my Bones for several months, and there ain't no Plexi in it. Breaks-up wherever you dial it in, crunch if you want and enough gain that you need a 50' lead to keep it from feeding back. Awesome amp indeed - but no Plexi or any other organic Marshall tone that I have found. I don't believe it was Mike's intent to make another Plexi clone.

Steve

I see you own some Mark series amps. I know the Bones and Mark series are miles apart but I want that modded Marshall sound with enough saturation to cure my tone needs. Does the Bones have that? If not, I will just go the mod route.

Gainfreak summed it up pretty well. I will just add that I like the Mark series amps because of the Mark tone. To me, it is like no other. Also, I like a driven Marshall tone as well, for some stuff. The Bones is just different. Thankfully, Mike didn't copy the 100 or so Plexi amps on the market, it is just a highly tweakable amp that will go from mild to wild in a hurry. I have the extra gain stage on it and it will have as much saturated gain as you want....yet still remains very articulate. The EQ on it is very responsive to subtle changes as well, sort of like the Mark EQ. A little goes a long ways. I really have yet to get the Bones zeroed in on where exactly I want it to be, but it is very pleasing across the board. And, I think Mike can make it want you want it to be....stripped down Armageddon in a box or with add ons and switching options to make it much more flexible. I pretty much got mine loaded with the switchable gain stages, gain boost, solo master, and probably other stuff. He hooked me up with RJM and a Gizmo and breakout cable for switching duty. Its a fine piece of kit....but don't look for Mesa tone or vintage Marshall. We got Mesa's and Marshall's for that.

When he gets less backed up on mod work, I am sending him my 78 Marshall Super Bass to get busy on. It is untouched and still has the original tubes, caps, transformers in it. Will probably do a Cali with it.

Steve