Carvin X100B Head mods

  • Thread starter Thread starter singtall
  • Start date Start date
i just woke up and it says 584 minutes left. i have DSL and it's never slow like this. everything else is fast, but that upload is going slow. i thought it might be youtube having issues. i am uploading an 11 minute HD video though...
 
it almost finished then got an error....time for a virus scan.
 
Man that sounds awesome. I have an old combo version thats been sitting for a bit. I am going to make head out of it and try this mod in it. Thanks for posting this.
Brian is the man and how cool is that for him to help out like that. Just shows you what kind of guy he is...
 
i went back through the mods tonight and tried the optional 2 mods again just to make sure i wasn't missing out on anything...and i'm not missing out. the head sounds perfect without the two optional mods.

i played the blackstar ht-5 head against my modded X100BFG and they both have the same amount of gain...but the Carvin is quieter, has more tonal range, has a better clean channel.....by far, and of course the Carvin can get much louder, and the spring reverb is the icing on the cake.

i can't say enough how much i recommend these mods from BFG.
 
singtall":ljsjxp0e said:
it's finally up:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LL76f2na ... e=youtu.be
Click to expand...


Sounds awesome!!! Great playing!!! I have an old Carvin X100B combo sitting at my parents house in MI and that might be a good doner for a BFG mod. I heard Jerome Allen's JCM 800 1X12 combo that was modded by Brian at BFG and it smoked all of the amps at the "just a few amps' gathering. OF course it helped that Jerry is a shit hot guitar player, but he played through that the most and his SLO and Bogner 101B were used by others. Brian's mod's kick ass IMO!!
 
singtall":29xfwykf said:
check this video out, it's supposed to be a modded x100b, but it sounds totally stock. see if you can hear the midrange splat sound starting at about :27

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xRfxepA2dY
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These are two totally different models. This amp was modded for what my customer wanted and he's happy with it and still playing it almost 4 years later. You've never heard this amp stock, I can assure you it doesn't sound stock at all. Glad you found a tone with your amp you're happy with, sounds good.
Jerry
 
singtall":36u467g3 said:
i did an A/B/C test between the Carvin, Marshall JMD:1 head, and a Blackstar HT-5 head and i'm loving the Carvin. Marshall JMD:1 for most versatile with effects included. honestly, i could do just about any gig tomorrow with this head.
Click to expand...
Just wanted to chime in on my experiences with the Marshall JMD501. I gotta say, having gigged with the SV212 aand the SV212 Mkii and the HD500/DT25 combo, and now the JMD501, that the JMD gives me everything I want in the core amp tone. Yes the effects are a bit limited and lacking in variety, compared with what you can get with the SV series, or certainly the HD500. However I just played a show last Saturday with the JMD501 and the clean tone (hit with a boost from my Z.Vex Super Hard On) was absolutely amazing with my Strat. Likewise, I was able to dial in some picture-perfect Marshall distortion tones for the lead parts that were unreal to hear on the live stage. I did swap the stock speaker for an Eminence Texas Heat though. With the stock speaker the amp did not work for me, but with the Texas Heat in there it just sings. I mic it with an SM57 about halfway between the center and the edge and it sounds awesome through the PA clean or dirty. The clean channel also takes dirt pedals exceptionally well.

It's taken a lot of experimentation for me to find tones that work for all the music my band is playing, which is classic rock through top-40. There is so much diversity in this amp that it's not easy to pre-plan all of the patches at home. I have played around 15 shows with it and am still learning new tricks and tones. You can't gauge its depth at home, only the gig will really tell you what's what. At least that has been my experience. I try to dial in some approximate tones at home, then I tinker with them at the gig in the setting of the band mix. I did that again at the last show to find the new lead tone I used. I don't play the JMD too much at home, I use smaller amps for that, but at the gig it rules, sounds just perfect in the context of the band mix. I never experienced anything even close to that level of satisfaction with the SV series, either Mki or Mkii, or the HD500/DT25 combo. In fact I sold the HD500/DT25 rig after buying the JMD501 and comparing them side to side. As mentioned above, I did find it necessary to replace the **bleep** stock speaker with an Eminence Texas Heat. I also have a Cannabis Rex brand new in the box which I haven't even tried yet because I'm enjoying the Texas Heat in this amp so much. Love this amp! :clap: Pete
 
I've got a Carvin X100B amp......bought way back in 1985/86.
I'm the original owner.
Amp is in excellent condition..........looks brand-new despite having played quite a few gigs with it.
I was never, EVER, crazy about the gain channel, and like many of you have been on a quest to add more hair to this amp.
A few years ago I did the trujeque mod......I thought the amp sounded much better........but still needed more gain.
Maybe 2 years ago I had the amp serviced by Fuchs Amplification, less than 2 miles from my home.
Andy Fuchs went through this amp.....complete set of JJ's....bias adjustment.....the works.
He did a great job......the amp sounded fine, but even he said there's only so much that can be done with this circuit.


A few days ago I stumbled onto this forum............had never heard of the BFG mod before.

OK.....possible dumb questions.....but before I grab a soldering iron and explore my amp I want to be sure I understand a few things.

BFG mod - changes gain and tone/feel

C2 - .68uf or 1uf
This means I should replace what is currently there with either of these.......correct?

C5 - lift on leg
C8 - lift 1 leg
This means I should simply de-solder/disconnect 1 leg.....correct?

R3 - change to 100K and parallel with 2000pf
Obvious.....replace R3 with 100k resistor w/2000pf cap in parallel.

C7 - lift leg going towards V2 and insert a 470K resistor with a 470pf cap in parallel
This appears to have been done, but values do not match above suggestions.

R1 - change to 220k
Replace R3 with 220k resistor.

Much thanks to all who reply.
Any advice regarding mods for this amp are greatly appreciated.

msmith40
 
"...C7 - lift leg going towards V2 and insert a 470K resistor with a 470pf cap in parallel.."

Ehhhh.....If I'm lifting the leg of C7....isn't this the same as completely removing it?

So is it same to say: "Remove C7 and replace with 470K resistor with a 470pf cap in parallel....".......?

THANKS!
 
Lift c7

Make a resistor/cap assembly in the values specified in parallel. Solder one end to c7 cap still attached to its spot on the board. Solder other end of cap/resistor in parallel to the board. Now you have a cap + feeding the cap/res assembly of just the original cap.
 
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