Legendary Tones Hot Mod V2 info

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peterc52

peterc52

Well-known member
Just got another old 2203 from 80 and was looking at the Hot Mods.

You who has tried it, do you recommend it or is boosting as good?
 
It’s a good idea but I’d rather use a boost pedal if it’s going into a 2203/4. $300 is steep for $30 in parts, max.

Personally I’m not a fan of it as I prefer a hot 3 stage design boosted over a mild 4 stage. You also can no longer boost it to tighten it up without ungodly amounts of gain or having to mod the bright cap from having a honky mid response when turning the pregain down.

You’ll also have to tube roll in it to maximize the results - AU7 or AT7 variants are recommended over AX7.
 
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itsme said:
I would give my response, but you get attacked on here if you don't say it's the greatest thing ever.
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Who cares if others don't like your opinion? It's just words on a forum, I wouldn't stress about it.

I tried one and didn't love the results. My preference for getting more gain is, in order:
1. different amp
2. mod what you got
3. pedal
 
I like it just because a sd1 makes my LP squeal (probably because I need to wax pot the pickup). I will say I absolutely hated JJ's that came stock in my hotmod and really like the eh 12ax7's in both slots.
 
I have one that I use for a stock 1971 SB. It is definitely different than adding a pedal and for this particular amp it sounds great. The good thing about it is if you buy it new and dont like it you can return it without a hassle.
 
Basically overloading one preamp socket with 2 more preamp sockets which doesn't always translate into awesomeness.
 
Brent Gutierrez added an extra preamp tube to my 800.
Best high gain amp mod I have ever owned.
If I was cheap,I'd do a boost pedal. The ultra-hype pedal(VFE clone)I got from Hennings kicks ass.
 
I think it’s awesome, have one on my 800 Studio amp. All you are doing is adding an extra gain stage. It’s like having a gain knob that goes from 1 to 15 instead of 10. Just gives you that extra bit of gain room you’ve always wanted even when you boost it (when 10 isn’t quite enough and you wish it went to 11 or 12 etc) I still use a boost in front to tighten it up such as an SD-1, but my amp gain knob is on like 7-8 instead of 10.
 
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itsme said:
I would give my response, but you get attacked on here if you don't say it's the greatest thing ever.
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Uh, really? Pretty sure I’ve mentioned my thoughts….that it is nice for those guys who hate boosting with a pedal. But, I had one and sold it since my boost pedals + amp sounded and felt better to me.
Nice product but I didn’t feel the need to keep it.
 
Maybe that’s the confusion with this product that people think it replaces a boost… it doesn’t. It’s adding a gain stage it’s not doing anything else to hit the front end and carve the tone like most of us do with a boost with any amp. It just gives you that bit more amp gain room to really dial in the tone you want (with the boost) for heavier styles.
Only anp I’ve ever used that didn’t need a boost was the original JVM because it’s designed to keep the tone tight and compressed at high gain.
 
phil b said:
I have one that I use for a stock 1971 SB. It is definitely different than adding a pedal and for this particular amp it sounds great. The good thing about it is if you buy it new and dont like it you can return it without a hassle.
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I think this is the best use of it. On stock 1959 circuits that aren’t cascaded, you’re turning each side into a 3 gain stage option with treble and bass to blend. I feel like you could dial in Motley Crue style tones fairly easily.

In a cascaded arrangement I just prefer to hit the front end harder and tighten things up.
 
I love mine with my 2204, and I feel like it does change the amp's response for the better vs. getting all of that gain from a boost. I actually still use a buxom boost pedal with it, but I have the boost function set at essentially unity gain with the amp. It's really the "tight control" that I use on the buxom boost pedal to ever so slightly tighten up the low-end response.
 
I see people using these with boosts which begs the question... if it is too much when gained up and not enough when gained to where it is tight enough, why not just boost more?

I honestly think a better starting point with an 800 is master volume at 6 and preamp to taste, usually around 4- 8. Get a decent attenuator. What you sacrifice in tone there you make up for with the amp opened up. Then you usually smack it with a subtle boost and you will be happy.

If it still doesn't cut it for you, the hot mod might work but i see what people are saying about loading up the gain in that one spot vs across various stages of the preamp.
 
In my situation. I am not using a boost for gain. For all practical purposes, I am simply using the tight function on my boost pedal. To be honest, I could do the same thing with an EQ pedal. For my ears, most (not all JMP 2204s) have a little bit of looseness in the low end. At home, I run my amp through a Captor X, so it is always wound up to around 6 on the master. I notice a very clear difference in response when comparing the stock 2204 with boost pedal vs. 2204 with hotmod plus buxom boost. For whatever reason, with the hotmod, I am able to get a more plexi-ish response out of the 2204. I guess it's now more "alive" feeling/sounding than it was when I was pushing it hard with a boost pedal alone, but then again, a lot of that is the feel under my fingers and might not necessarily transfer to a recording. Oddly enough, it also sounds more plexi-ish when I roll the guitar volume down - now it's much more "glassy" sounding. Not a huge fan of tone adjectives, but that's the best I can explain it.

I also did some simple swaps in the hotmod - changed the JJ 12AT7 out for a Mullard 4024 and changed the JJ 12AX7 out for a reissue Mullard 12AX7. Both made more of a significant difference than I anticipated.

At the end of the day, all that matters to me is that my 2204 is a hell of a lot more fun to play, so it's worth the dough for me. YMMV.
 
Really like what it does to a 2204. Curious if it reacts to tube rolling.
 
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