Did the Jake E Lee mod to my Marshall JMP…

  • Thread starter Thread starter RedPlated
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psychodave said:
It sounds a lot like Michael R/T's mods...
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I like what I have been hearing from the smaller Marshall modders recently. They sound like good Marshall's and not like a modern djent machine.

That is just me though. Prefer vintage high gain and the Pandora I have is great, the amp in this thread sounds great, and the R/T mods sound great.

Still interested in the Monomyth tones too. To me they sound a touch more modern but not too much.
 
Yep and that shocked me initially. I’ve put 1 Megs to ground to make 500k but never a 220k. Have to say it works great, though. Taper of the pot is fine, no issues whatsoever. Could always throw a 250k pot in there if you didn’t want to use a resistor.

I’ve always realized slightly less gain, less bass and more clarity by lowering the gain pot value with a resistor to ground. Can be a good or bad thing depending on the rest of the circuit. Friedman runs a 1 Meg to ground on the MV of the BE100

I actually have a Friedman JEL production amp. Don’t really ever play it. I’ll have to crack it open and verify all the specs.
 
harddriver said:
Sounds great! I think the JEL100 was just a tweaked Smallbox circuit but Dave made is more raw liked a traditional Marshall since Jake still plays loud live and to my knowledge still boosts the JEL100 with whatever OD he is using at the moment just like he always has... black cat OD, Boss OD1, Boss SD-1 on an on.

Jake was using the Majik Box Body blow when I saw him in 2019 using a Friedman smallbox 50 watter. The way he was running the smallbox his low end was a little mushy but overall it sounded good. Jake is a big plexi and superlead player with JMP's in the mix as well. He sounded great with the EVH amp as well.
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That's what is so ironic. He gets a sig amp but still plays it on the plexi channel turned up almost to 10 and then boosted. He isn't using this hot rodded channel. Dave mentioned that in an interview and Jake mentioned that somewhere I saw as well. He likes it raw and loud. He was doing that with the smallbox too. The mush probably came from it being on close to 10. He's a boost-a-Marshall guy and always comes back to what feels right just like the rest of us!
 
RedPlated said:
Yep and that shocked me initially. I’ve put 1 Megs to ground to make 500k but never a 220k. Have to say it works great, though. Taper of the pot is fine, no issues whatsoever. Could always throw a 250k pot in there if you didn’t want to use a resistor.

I’ve always realized slightly less gain, less bass and more clarity by lowering the gain pot value with a resistor to ground. Can be a good or bad thing depending on the rest of the circuit. Friedman runs a 1 Meg to ground on the MV of the BE100

I actually have a Friedman JEL production amp. Don’t really ever play it. I’ll have to crack it open and verify all the specs.
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From my own experience, change the gain pots impedance changes the tone as well as feel. The lower the pot, the more mids and funky feel. Fortin actually uses/used another pot instead of a fixed resistor for his “feel” knob… which solely changed the gain pots impedance.

I’m asking these questions since I really like this mod and am considering trying it out on master volume 2204 amp clone I own.
 
I remember having to decrease that pot when I was messing with a Langner 4+CF type circuit that was very JEL-like in Low Input. It was a case where the Hi input actually sounded better/tighter than the Lo Input and decreasing that pot was the ticket. In Jose type mods or one-wire mods the grid load is 68k in that spot with volume control later.

@RedPlated Did you use the 470pF to ground on the cathode of the cathode follower? The JEL schematic I have shows it. Since you like bright and articulate you might not like this cap.

Amp sounds great. Still has the bright/raw 2203 flavor, just more.
 
Would there be a way to install a switch to go from the JEL mod back to stock 2203 specs? is that even possible
 
lespaul6 said:
Would there be a way to install a switch to go from the JEL mod back to stock 2203 specs? is that even possible
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Not that I can see. But you could add a few switches to accomplish it.

I made my personal mod machine with a four position rotary switch to change the cathode values on the second gain stage so that it starts with the stock 10k cold clipper. A second pull switch on the MV adds the "fat" cap. I find that leaving the stock .022 on the first coupler instead of changing it to .0022 negates the need for a depth mod or feedback mod IMO. Instead of the resistor across the pot, I add a resistor to ground before the traditional mixer combo to the input of the cathode follower. This would be similar to the "p" trim mod.

What I find maddening is if JEL doesn't use this circuit, why the heck is it called the JEL mod? How did the circuit mod even come about? I'm still scratching my head....lol...

Here is my amp:

 
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fek said:
I like what I have been hearing from the smaller Marshall modders recently. They sound like good Marshall's and not like a modern djent machine.

That is just me though. Prefer vintage high gain and the Pandora I have is great, the amp in this thread sounds great, and the R/T mods sound great.

Still interested in the Monomyth tones too. To me they sound a touch more modern but not too much.
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I like RedPlated mods as there is this clarity to them that like you mentioned is very similar to R/T mods.

The Pandora and Monomyth style mods are a little more saturated but in a very nice way. The bottom end on the Monomyth mods is just thunderous.

I agree that each of these four modder's work still retains that Marshall bark and mid section that is the core of the tone. I am glad you are still enjoying that Pandora that I sold you.
 
I’m not noticing any weird mids or other issues with the 220k over the gain pot. I’d just throw an alpha 250k audio in there if it’s a concern.

I am running the 470pf over 100k cathode on v2. It sounds so good as is that I’ll just leave it. I had to use two silver micas in parallel there to get to 470pf. But I just ordered a whole bunch of 470pf 400v Wimas that will work perfect.

There isn’t a reasonable way to put the mod on a switch. Too many components in different parts of the preamp and power section for that to happen.

I personally prefer a depth mod over keeping a larger first stage coupler. I’ve done extensive testing with both first stage couplers. To me, the bass is less firm and more wooly with a bigger first stage coupler. Power amp low end is tighter on low strings.

rm5153 - this is what I really strive for is clarity. As well as feel and dynamics. My Detonator mod is pretty far off the norm as far as some of the component values. And I use nothing but the best parts inside. It’s hours and hours of alligator clips and testing that developed those values.
 
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Forgot to mention…. I added a SAT switch to this amp last night. Super sleeper hidden and fully reversible.
 
I used 20v zeners. I will try MPSA06’s also. I have a decent variety of diodes down to 6v or so.

Here is the same amp with the SAT switch added. Gain is now a push-pull to engage the SAT circuit. No extra holes anywhere, total stock look.

I started clip with SAT off. Gain at 6-7. Then bump gain to 8-9 to show how it fills out the lower frequencies.

Further in the video, I engage the SAT and lower gain control back to 6-7. You’ll hear the volume drop and adjustment to MV. This is at totally reasonable volume. MV is around 1 on dial.

Les Paul again with Suhr Aldrich.

 
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RedPlated said:
I personally prefer a depth mod over keeping a larger first stage coupler. I’ve done extensive testing with both first stage couplers. To me, the bass is less firm and more wooly with a bigger first stage coupler. Power amp low end is tighter on low strings.
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This response is what makes modding amps fun. Its all a matter of preference. I personally don't like depth mods. I find they add mud to the mix in most live applications. By leaving the stock value coupler, its a little thicker sounding, even if its at the loss of a little tightness. But, again, YMMV.
 
RedPlated said:
I used 20v zeners. I will try MPSA06’s also. I have a decent variety of diodes down to 6v or so.

Here is the same amp with the SAT switch added. Gain is now a push-pull to engage the SAT circuit. No extra holes anywhere, total stock look.

I started clip with SAT off. Gain at 6-7. Then bump gain to 8-9 to show how it fills out the lower frequencies.

Further in the video, I engage the SAT and lower gain control back to 6-7. You’ll hear the volume drop and adjustment to MV. This is at totally reasonable volume. MV is around 1 on dial.

Les Paul again with Suhr Aldrich.

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img-23.jpg


Approved !!!
 
Where did you place/insert the SAT circuit? Off of the Master Volume Pot?

Sounds good...you can hear the chewiness of the Duncan A-2 Slash pickup.
 
harddriver said:
Where did you place/insert the SAT circuit? Off of the Master Volume Pot?

Sounds good...you can hear the chewiness of the Duncan A-2 Slash pickup.
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It’s a non-Jose master so I have one side of the SAT coming directly off the cathode of v2 and other side to ground. I used a push pull gain pot to engage the circuit. Actually works really well, is hidden, and it’s fully reversible.
 
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