Dammit. Missed it by that much MORIN preamp

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itsgoodnow said:
Out of curiosity any idea on the differences?
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Here's the rundown on Morin amps. The preamps (~20 made) and Marshall mods came first, around 1990. By '92 he was doing four distinct mods, with the top-of-the-line mod being the "Head from Hell" (10-20 made) that has push-pull gain pots, tube effects loop, and Mercury Magnetics transformers.

A couple years later he prototyped a head version of the preamp with an added clean channel. These were built in gutted Laney AOR 50 watt heads and called the M70. There were a handful of these made.

He debuted two production heads at NAMM 1997: the M120 (8 made—final head version of the preamp), and the P100 (21 made—custom built amp inspired by the "Head from Hell" mod). They both have clean channels, effects loops, Mercury Magnetics transformers and Marshall-style EL34 power sections. In Mike's words, the M120 has bigger, clearer notes, and a less forgiving feel. The M120 has a single knob to the right of the inputs vs. two on the P100.
 
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Snave said:
Here's the rundown on Morin amps. The preamps (~20 made) and Marshall mods came first, around 1990. By '92 he was doing four distinct mods, with the top-of-the-line mod being the "Head from Hell" (10-20 made) that has push-pull gain pots, tube effects loop, and Mercury Magnetics transformers.

A couple years later he prototyped a head version of the preamp with an added clean channel. These were built in gutted Laney AOR 50 watt heads and called the M70. There were a handful of these made.

He debuted two production heads at NAMM 1997: the M120 (8 made—final head version of the preamp), and the P100 (21 made—custom built amp inspired by the "Head from Hell" mod). They both have clean channels, effects loops, Mercury Magnetics transformers and Marshall-style EL34 power sections. In Mike's words, the M120 has bigger, clearer notes, and a less forgiving feel. The M120 has a single knob to the right of the inputs vs. two on the P100.
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Hyper informative thank you
 
Snave said:
Here's the rundown on Morin amps. The preamps (~20 made) and Marshall mods came first, around 1990. By '92 he was doing four distinct mods, with the top-of-the-line mod being the "Head from Hell" (10-20 made) that has push-pull gain pots, tube effects loop, and Mercury Magnetics transformers.

A couple years later he prototyped a head version of the preamp with an added clean channel. These were built in gutted Laney AOR 50 watt heads and called the M70. There were a handful of these made.

He debuted two production heads at NAMM 1997: the M120 (8 made—final head version of the preamp), and the P100 (21 made—custom built amp inspired by the "Head from Hell" mod). They both have clean channels, effects loops, Mercury Magnetics transformers and Marshall-style EL34 power sections. In Mike's words, the M120 has bigger, clearer notes, and a less forgiving feel. The M120 has a single knob to the right of the inputs vs. two on the P100.
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Snave nailed it. Glad to see Mike getting some love. My JMP is the head from hell, and it is absolutely the scariest amp I own. By far the last amp I would ever sell.
 
alund said:
I messaged Oleg Myasnikov today. He said he has the specifications on the morin preamp. Looks like I might press my luck again. Will take 6 weeks to build
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If it turns out well I should add one to my collection, too. I'm happy with my Myasnikov preamps.

deliverance.jpg
 
DennisTheMenace said:
If it turns out well I should add one to my collection, too. I'm happy with my Myasnikov preamps.

View attachment 146479
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Amazing! I have his SLO preamp and I am happy with it. Great quality build and has some weight to it meaning he hasn't cheaped out. Those Morin preamps sound incredible from what I have heard as well.
 
alund said:
I messaged Oleg Myasnikov today. He said he has the specifications on the morin preamp. Looks like I might press my luck again. Will take 6 weeks to build
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Am I reading this right ? Is Oleg on board with making a clone? I’d be curious how he got those, mike gooped his stuff pretty good from what I remember. Here’s a few pics of the inside of mine for anyone that cares.

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Cost in what’s app. I’m also tempted on his poweramp. And really after this thread, I wonder if he has schematics of the actual morin heads….
 

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alund said:
Cost in what’s app. I’m also tempted on his poweramp. And really after this thread, I wonder if he has schematics of the actual morin heads….
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I would think the preamp or his actual line of amps would be easier to obtain than his mods, but then again I have no idea. Still, considering what part of the world he’s in, I’m skeptical. I’d love to hear him pull it off though and would gladly buy one.
 
VESmedic said:
I would think the preamp or his actual line of amps would be easier to obtain than his mods, but then again I have no idea. Still, considering what part of the world he’s in, I’m skeptical. I’d love to hear him pull it off though and would gladly buy one.
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I got mine a few days ago.. I suspected I was ok when it hit the Netherlands.
 
Snave said:
That particular preamp (serial #10) has been for sale a couple times. The previous owner reached out to me for Mike's settings sheet in 2018. He wasn't happy with the sound (too thin, he said) and the guy he bought it from (original owner) sold it because he liked his Morin Marshalls better. He resold it the same year. Take that for what it's worth.

Not all Morin preamps are equally killer, and Mike would be the first to tell you if he was servicing one of which he wasn't fond. I used to have two—sold the mushier and overly compressed in 2012 and kept the tighter/meaner one. You can hear a bit of this variance in the Michael Nielsen video where he compares Michael Toren's preamp (red light, more compressed sounding) with his own (orange light, tighter).
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I have had Mike Morin’s #10 preamp for 5 years. Purchased from Squid Music in Huntington Beach.

https://reverb.com/item/13482786-mi...reamp-vintage-and-very-rare-1-of-only-18-made

The preamp in this thread is not #10. This one has a plug on the face for an addition pot. #10 has the raw, never going to reproduce tone that is legend. If it comes up for sale, I will have surely taken my last breath.
 

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For what it’s worth, and it’s an insane price, the only other “head from hell”’mod amp I’ve seen other than mine is on reverb. I’m sure people that are in to mikes stuff like I am are already aware of this, but I just thought I’d share. Mike told me he only did 10-15 or so of them like mine, and this is the only other one I’ve seen. Ironically, it’s purple like mine as well.
 
VESmedic said:
For what it’s worth, and it’s an insane price, the only other “head from hell”’mod amp I’ve seen other than mine is on reverb. I’m sure people that are in to mikes stuff like I am are already aware of this, but I just thought I’d share. Mike told me he only did 10-15 or so of them like mine, and this is the only other one I’ve seen. Ironically, it’s purple like mine as well.
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Is that “head from hell” worth it? Apparently the one that is there now sold BUT was back on the market a few days later.
 
Did anybody reach out to see if that European guy could do an M70 ? I'd be down for that. I even have a gutted Laney AOR chassis I could send along...
 
paulyc said:
Did anybody reach out to see if that European guy could do an M70 ? I'd be down for that. I even have a gutted Laney AOR chassis I could send along...
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Are you talking about Oleg Myasnikov?
 
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