Ground Zero 1974 Super Lead

  • Thread starter Thread starter RedPlated
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RedPlated

RedPlated

Well-known member
Finally took a break on doing mods to get my own amp redone.

I fully rebuilt this one. New power tube sockets, preamp tube sockets, new hybrid PCB board with all new components, Metro loop, and my Dominant Aggressor mod.

Also put some killer black panels on it with a Modern Vintage LED indicator lamp. Converted to IEC which is super convenient.

Now that this one is done I’ve started on a complete ground-up build. I’m really excited for that one.



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Black out looks cool. I'm not familiar with your mods and would like to hear what your Dominant Aggressor mod sounds like. Any links?
 
Looks killer! Very, very nice,
I love your mods, You retain that Marshall kerrrrrang but with more gain, not overly compressed or fizzy tho, and you dont kill that beautiful lively Marshall bark and chirp.👍
 
Thanks guys for the kind words.

I’m not going to sell this one, I’ve had this amp a while and would prefer to keep it around.

Fret-Shredder, I will put a clip of it in the original post so you can get an idea of how the mod sounds. It gets very high gain but also cleans up and does lower gain and cleanish tones. That was the one of the biggest things lacking in other high gain single channels for me.
 
Shouldn’t be too long now. I have all parts. Except filter can brackets which were the wrong size. So that’s all that is holding it up at the moment. Will likely have them tomorrow.

I used a Metro chassis and Heyboer iron. This is the 600ma PT with higher output. Supposedly they will replicate the old Marshall iron really well. A little more pricey but I’m not cutting corners on this build anywhere.

Here’s a couple pics of the progress so far. Really need those filter caps to get in there.

I re-arranged the front panel controls and added rocker switches ala JMP. So the front panel overall is wider. Now that I have the width, I’ll order a head shell tomorrow. But those are 4-5 weeks. Also will have to get custom panels made.


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A lot of Marshall mods I find get fatiguing after a while. They can have a sameness, lack of dynamics, but I was digging that. Curious if it can do classic rock and lighter gain without being too stiff as most high gainers have pretty high filtering.
 
SQUAREHEAD said:
Looks killer! Very, very nice,
I love your mods, You retain that Marshall kerrrrrang but with more gain, not overly compressed or fizzy tho, and you dont kill that beautiful lively Marshall bark and chirp.👍
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This is it. Exactly how I hear it as well. Don’t need robo-gain as it loses the kerrang!
 
skoora said:
A lot of Marshall mods I find get fatiguing after a while. They can have a sameness, lack of dynamics, but I was digging that. Curious if it can do classic rock and lighter gain without being too stiff as most high gainers have pretty high filtering.
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I appreciate comments like this. These are the things I was trying to accomplish with this design. I experienced the same thing with other high gain amps, considerably subpar mid to low gain tones.

I think it does lower gain tones really well. Best I’ve gotten from a single channel amp with so much gain on tap. I actually play lower to mid gain more than anything. But everyone likes the high gain clips. So yes, my focus was on making the lower gain tones dynamic and not stiff and sterile.
 
I just revoiced my 1974 to take away chewy attitude and easy playing to add back in note clarity and tightness. To me thats Marshall character that I actually enjoy - the fast note tracking. I’ve got a ton of Marshall inspired tones that are easy to play but getting the gain, keeping the spectrum full (no diodes), and keeping it tight without instability is actually something I’ve spent the better part of this year accomplishing.

love the workbench area and the chassis looks good. you like alpha pots more than CTS? I’m personally a CTS fan but have a few alphas for mods purposes if needed.
 
Here’s some lower gain tones. I think it does really well for a single channel high gainer. I don’t know of any other single channel amps with this much gain out there that’ll do Little Wing and sound good. At least I haven’t had one. It’s not going to sound like a perfect vintage Plexi but I’m really happy with the versatility.

For the record I still prefer diodes over tubes. I just played my other marshall with the same mod that I added a 4th gain stage to. I prefer the feel of the diodes, no doubt. They have a bounce and compression that’s addictive.

 
RedPlated said:
For the record I still prefer diodes over tubes. I just played my other marshall with the same mod that I added a 4th gain stage to. I prefer the feel of the diodes, no doubt. They have a bounce and compression that’s addictive.
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this....
 
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