5150 mods... revealed w/ pictures

[rbasaria]

Wow...you guys are STEALIng these amps . I paid 600 shipped for a JSX and traded that for mine, and I got 50 bucks too...so I basically paid 550 shipped. And its pretty beat to hell. Wish I woulda held out.

 

[dawnofdreamx97]

Just scored 2 5150 blockletters, one for $450, and one for $350 shipped, plus I have the blockletter Mailman traded to me... its time to go Frankenstien on this shit!!!

Man! Where do you find'em at those kind of prices!!???

I see those prices as well. I paid $450 for mine. I passed on one for $350. They are run of the mill amps....people that pay more than $500 are nuts...unless is is in super mint condition.

Either way, I love how my 5150 sounds with the mods. I learned yesterday that I am now able to crank the gain on the rhythm channel and not get any flub. I then slapped a TIM out front and the amp crushed. I am dying to find someone with a SLO to compare.

<-------- when you coming by? I have Brads old Purple SLO here and an Uber and my Camerons and my FJA .....

 

[Erock]

awesome, thanks for posting this Dave! Great, now I have gas for a 5150 to mod, lol.

Thanks to Mark and Jerry too.

 

[dawnofdreamx97]

Just scored 2 5150 blockletters, one for $450, and one for $350 shipped, plus I have the blockletter Mailman traded to me... its time to go Frankenstien on this shit!!!

Man! Where do you find'em at those kind of prices!!???

I see those prices as well. I paid $450 for mine. I passed on one for $350. They are run of the mill amps....people that pay more than $500 are nuts...unless is is in super mint condition.

Either way, I love how my 5150 sounds with the mods. I learned yesterday that I am now able to crank the gain on the rhythm channel and not get any flub. I then slapped a TIM out front and the amp crushed. I am dying to find someone with a SLO to compare.

<-------- when you coming by? I have Brads old Purple SLO here and an Uber and my Camerons and my FJA .....

Anytime. You live in north nj correct?

yes!

 

[jabps]

Did the R9, bias, and 10 pf mods...

I like the tightness...but I would have left the sizzle. To me that's what give the 5150 it's grind. You can you leave the sizzle yet still tighten it up? Right?

 

[rbasaria]

Did the R9, bias, and 10 pf mods...

I like the tightness...but I would have left the sizzle. To me that's what give the 5150 it's grind. You can you leave the sizzle yet still tighten it up? Right?

Yeah, you can. It still sizzles. The settings werent the same between the 2 clips...I messed them up while I was moving the amp around and didnt think to check them before the second half. Ill be cranking it in the studio tonight. Its still not tight enough for me at apartment volumes, but we will see what the studio holds. Ill be sure to get some clips too. Everything is EASILY reversible, too, so should I decide to take something out, itll take a few seconds or so. I agree about the sizzle, and it definitely still sizzles like a 5150...it didnt change the core tone, just made it less muddy and less noisy, IMO. The distortion sounds a bit clearer. Keep in mind, at least for me, these mods didnt make a HUGE difference, but they did make a noticeable difference. I still dont think it sounds like Daves...but that could be a lot of things.

 

[C_F_H_13]

wow this whole thing is so cool, made me join the forum!

 

[glip22]

wow this whole thing is so cool, made me join the forum!

Bro, This forum is awesome. No bullshit like some of the others where you have to be super carefull how you word things or you get flamed. Not here. Great info, members, professionals. Great bunch of musicians.
Welcome.

 

[droptrd]

wow this whole thing is so cool, made me join the forum!

Bro, This forum is awesome. No bullshit like some of the others where you have to be super carefull how you word things or you get flamed. Not here. Great info, members, professionals. Great bunch of musicians.
Welcome.

+1

but you can still get flamed from time to time

Say something bad about devin townsend and see what happens

 

[Mailman1971]

...Say something bad about devin townsend and see what happens

Touche'.....

Or should I say........DOUCHE'.........

 

[Anonymous]

wow this whole thing is so cool, made me join the forum!

Bro, This forum is awesome. No bullshit like some of the others where you have to be super carefull how you word things or you get flamed. Not here. Great info, members, professionals. Great bunch of musicians.
Welcome.

+1

but you can still get flamed from time to time

Say something bad about devin townsend and see what happens

Yeah, Im pretty sure Digital Jams would sneak up on ya and slit your throat if you talk bad about the DTP!!!

 

[cliffc8488]

Are you sure the cap should be between 7 and 8? 10pF would have a negligible effect between grid and cathode as the tube's Miller capacitance will be far greater than that.

Between 6 & 7 makes sense as that will give a little high-frequency feedback thereby rolling off the highs.

And, for the life of me I can't find C15 anywhere on this schematic. It's probably right in front of me but I can't find it.

 

[rbasaria]

Maybe Ill try putting it between 6 and 7 at some point, but its back at the studio now. The differences are more noticeable at higher volumes. I made this clip. Much tighter, and clearer, but as you can see...its still all 5150!!

http://www.netmusicians.org/index.php?s ... value=8370

 

[Juggernaut]

Are you sure the cap should be between 7 and 8? 10pF would have a negligible effect between grid and cathode as the tube's Miller capacitance will be far greater than that.

Between 6 & 7 makes sense as that will give a little high-frequency feedback thereby rolling off the highs.

And, for the life of me I can't find C15 anywhere on this schematic. It's probably right in front of me but I can't find it.

Between 6 and 7 is going to have a greater effect than on 7 and 8. I prefer between 7 and 8...it gets rid of most fizz, but not all of it. The last little bit is "hair" in my opinion. Between 6 and 7 was too dark for my taste.

could you do both???

 

[glip22]

Are you sure the cap should be between 7 and 8? 10pF would have a negligible effect between grid and cathode as the tube's Miller capacitance will be far greater than that.

Between 6 & 7 makes sense as that will give a little high-frequency feedback thereby rolling off the highs.

And, for the life of me I can't find C15 anywhere on this schematic. It's probably right in front of me but I can't find it.

Between 6 and 7 is going to have a greater effect than on 7 and 8. I prefer between 7 and 8...it gets rid of most fizz, but not all of it. The last little bit is "hair" in my opinion. Between 6 and 7 was too dark for my taste.

You can't really go by Dave when it comes to brightness or darkness. His high end hearing is totally shot. At least that's what Jim Scumbag told me when we talked over the weekend and G12 Blackback speakers came up because he scored a killer deal on a vintage cab loaded with them.

 

[glip22]

Are you sure the cap should be between 7 and 8? 10pF would have a negligible effect between grid and cathode as the tube's Miller capacitance will be far greater than that.

Between 6 & 7 makes sense as that will give a little high-frequency feedback thereby rolling off the highs.

And, for the life of me I can't find C15 anywhere on this schematic. It's probably right in front of me but I can't find it.

Between 6 and 7 is going to have a greater effect than on 7 and 8. I prefer between 7 and 8...it gets rid of most fizz, but not all of it. The last little bit is "hair" in my opinion. Between 6 and 7 was too dark for my taste.

You can't really go by Dave when it comes to brightness or darkness. His high end hearing is totally shot. At least that's what Jim Scumbag told me when we talked over the weekend and G12 Blackback speakers came up because he scored a killer deal on a vintage cab loaded with them.

Nah. Just ask everyone at the HOM. They all heard my cab loaded with blackback 30's. Fortin, gainfreak, digijams, danyeo, Carl Roa, etc etc all thought the cabinet sounded killer.

They are all still trying to talk you into selling it. Great thread Dave. Very Very cool. I have to admit you have me searching for a signature 5150.

 

[lolzgreg]

Nah. Just ask everyone at the HOM. They all heard my cab loaded with blackback 30's. Fortin, gainfreak, digijams, danyeo, Carl Roa, etc etc all thought the cabinet sounded killer.

I am hurt that my name is not in that list. I guess that;s because I have yet to receive my membership card. PAGING H... PAGING H...

That cabinet does sound great, no doubt. One of my favorite sounding cabinets.

 

[lolzgreg]

wow this whole thing is so cool, made me join the forum!

Damn, they let anyone in this place

Howdy thar

 

[C_F_H_13]

wow this whole thing is so cool, made me join the forum!

Damn, they let anyone in this place

Howdy thar

Hahahaha how'd I know you'd be around here.

Side note:

Is there a FAQ: I should be reading or what?

 

[glpg80]

wow this whole thing is so cool, made me join the forum!

Damn, they let anyone in this place

Howdy thar

Hahahaha how'd I know you'd be around here.

Side note:

Is there a FAQ: I should be reading or what?

technically there are no rules. Brad (rareguitar) the owner keeps it light and lets things slide along like they should. post with a head on your shoulders and there wont ever be a problem

stuff Brad does not like though, are racist remarks threatened towards other members/any personal threats at all. do that and you get a vacation or a one way ticket.

as far as FAQ's - try to keep the OT in the OT section if you can. label on topic/off topic mix threads with "OT: thread title" in the main forum if you believe it holds weight to the forum and its worth searching for by someone else in the future and/or has the mentioning of music.

OT section of the forum auto purges threads not bumped after 6 months.

different crowds view the OT section, main forum, sub forums, etc - so where you post depends on the people you are trying to reach out to.

thats about it man. its really laid back here - welcome to the forums