I do know what Mark did to #008 verbatim. Some of it was no brainer basic stuff that was neglected in manufacturing and other stuff was design changes that he had nothing to do with. Something not a lot of people know is #008 was the first time he had ever even seen one on person much less played and poked around in one. He could not believe an amp manufacturer would put out an amp with such basic design/manufacturing problems. As he pointed it out to a simple guitar player that has almost no working knowledge of electronics, even I was cracking up. Within 15 minutes with a soldering iron it was insanely better. 8 more hours of doing what he wanted to do and the amp was moving into legendary status. No I will not say what he did as that is his business. I will share the things with the current owner if there are a few things I might have forgot. As far as the MM transformers there is a difference over the cheaper makes. It was replaced due to the original being bad. There is nothing special about the transformers that he gets other than a specific model and specs. They are off the shelf and available to anyone. No secret sauce there.
Why did I sell it? I have two other mods that are just as good. I am sure it will stay in a select tight knit group. Plus he would build me anything I asked for. Reverse engineer it? OK for what it's worth here's my take on that. I could give you all the world champion chili recipe and all the ingredients. Does that mean you all can win with it? No. He proved it to me many times. Imagine this. Amp on and apart. Guitar strapped on and soldering iron in hand. He is soldering in particular resisters and playing it in real time. Voltages are so sensitive and such tiny variances make such a huge difference. So soldering in the same value resistor or cap should produce the same tone right?? I have watched him change resistors of the same value and keep pulling it over and over because of the feel. I heard it. You simply can not teach what he does period. You all would solder in the correct value resister, he might go through 4 or 5 to get the sound and feel he wants. It is fact take it for what it's worth. Modifying the voltages at the input stage even fractionally translates to huge changes down the line. The variances in resistors in the input stage is enough to change things hugely. Experience allows him to exploit this and compensate for it throughout the amp. Can you build a car that can drive down the road with parts and instructions? Yup. Can you win the Indy 500 with it? He could. There is his value.
I am not here to defend Mark we are all entitled to our opinions. What can't be argued is his place in the tone world. He deserves to be up there with the handful of greats that have pioneered the way. We all take from our predecessors. Most make it worse. Some make it better. The greats set the bar to another level. In life... making music... even building amps.
Why did I sell it? I have two other mods that are just as good. I am sure it will stay in a select tight knit group. Plus he would build me anything I asked for. Reverse engineer it? OK for what it's worth here's my take on that. I could give you all the world champion chili recipe and all the ingredients. Does that mean you all can win with it? No. He proved it to me many times. Imagine this. Amp on and apart. Guitar strapped on and soldering iron in hand. He is soldering in particular resisters and playing it in real time. Voltages are so sensitive and such tiny variances make such a huge difference. So soldering in the same value resistor or cap should produce the same tone right?? I have watched him change resistors of the same value and keep pulling it over and over because of the feel. I heard it. You simply can not teach what he does period. You all would solder in the correct value resister, he might go through 4 or 5 to get the sound and feel he wants. It is fact take it for what it's worth. Modifying the voltages at the input stage even fractionally translates to huge changes down the line. The variances in resistors in the input stage is enough to change things hugely. Experience allows him to exploit this and compensate for it throughout the amp. Can you build a car that can drive down the road with parts and instructions? Yup. Can you win the Indy 500 with it? He could. There is his value.
I am not here to defend Mark we are all entitled to our opinions. What can't be argued is his place in the tone world. He deserves to be up there with the handful of greats that have pioneered the way. We all take from our predecessors. Most make it worse. Some make it better. The greats set the bar to another level. In life... making music... even building amps.
