Question(s) About Mike Morin Modded Marshalls

JakeStone · Feb 27, 2024

Hey guys,

I'm new here on the forums.

I stumbled on Mike Morin's name through a comment someone made on a youtube video about guitar tone, specifically that Don Gilmore had a Marshall Plexi Super Lead that was modded by Mike Morin and that this amp was used on Linkin Park's second record "Meteora." This is one of my favorite records of all time, so naturally this peaked my interest. I haven't had a ton of luck finding much meaningful information on Mike Morin or his mods and that amp in particular.

Doe anybody know much about Mike Morin Marshall mods and what mods were being done back in the day? Particularly the Marshall Super Leads?

Hope to hear from y'all, any insight(s) you can offer are greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance \m/

Soldaners · Aug 27, 2024

You can see in this video the Morin modded 800 that Brad may have used on Meteora while tracking at NRG in 2002. This video is 5 years old, but it looks like those amps are still there according to the nrg site. They also have a Morin M70 as well that was used on a ton of records.

Note the vertical inputs, and gain pot on the bottom right of the front panel, you can tell this 800 is the same 800 from the Meteora dvd. Brad can be seen using Don’s purple Morin modded SLP in a quick snippet on the ‘making of’ dvd, however, that doesn’t mean the 800 wasn’t used somewhere on the record.

I was fortunate enough to find a vertical input jcm 800 that was modified by Mike Morin which I purchased. The amp sounds insane, has a ton of gain, and the mids jump right out of the speakers. You can hear those same mids on the guitars all over Meteora. The amp contains an added gain stage, extensively modded pcb and tone stack as well as a push/pull gain pot on the rear of the chassis and push/pull preamp pot. When both knobs are pulled, the amp tightens up, pulls out a bit of the lows - great for palm muted stuff as well as articulate riffs. When they are pushed in, the sound loosens up a bit and you get all the low end you could ever want or need. The output transformer has also been modified. It is extremely versatile, Mike’s attention to detail was second to none. He has since retired and no longer modifies amps.

I would say if you’re chasing the guitar tone on Meteora, the Overloud THU plugin would be a great start given it has the Morin modded 800 and some good dual rec tones.

SQUAREHEAD · Aug 27, 2024

Morin sounds a bit underwhelming in this video…
I have heard that the Marshalls which Mike modded are supposedly phenomenal, although, I tried out one of his (blue) preamps once, and I would take an old vintage Marshall boosted over that any day.

Soldaners · Aug 27, 2024

SQUAREHEAD said:
Morin sounds a bit underwhelming in this video…
I have heard that the Marshalls which Mike modded are supposedly phenomenal, although, I tried out one of his (blue) preamps once, and I would take an old vintage Marshall boosted over that any day.

I definitely think they had the gain dialed back way too much in the video so I can definitely see what you’re saying as far as it sounding underwhelming in that clip. As far as the preamps go, apparently they were inconsistent where some sounded insanely good and others left room for imagination. Certainly, it’s all subjective. I absolutely love my Morin modded 800

Lightning · Aug 28, 2024

I had one of the blue rack preamps that Mike Morin made and I sold it for a VHT Classic Pittbull

Racerxrated · Aug 28, 2024

Lightning said:
I had one of the blue rack preamps that Mike Morin made and I sold it for a VHT Classic Pittbull

I had one as recently as last year; it was cool but not AMAZING at all. My boosted 2210 sounded better. I moved it within a few months after getting it.
For those of you that are looking for a Morin Marshall, you can tell by the perforated light colored boards he'd use in the chassis. He also added more big blue filter caps on the inside as well.

JerEvil · Aug 28, 2024

Jeff Duncan from Armored Saint is a bud and local here in Vegas. I’m going to be taking some time to check out his Morin modded Marshall. I’ll make some clips for sure.

thegame · Aug 28, 2024

JerEvil said:
Jeff Duncan from Armored Saint is a bud and local here in Vegas. I’m going to be taking some time to check out his Morin modded Marshall. I’ll make some clips for sure.

Try to find out if it's one of the 10-12 "Head from Hell" mods, like the one belonging to VESmedic. That amp sounds as good as anything.

Oracle · Aug 28, 2024

JerEvil said:
Jeff Duncan from Armored Saint is a bud and local here in Vegas. I’m going to be taking some time to check out his Morin modded Marshall. I’ll make some clips for sure.

Local here as well! Armored Saint sounds so familiar. Did they play often at Counts Vampd back in the day?

JerEvil · Aug 28, 2024

Oracle said:
Local here as well! Armored Saint sounds so familiar. Did they play often at Counts Vampd back in the day?

A few times… they’re usually out on national or international tours and festivals.

You’re in Vegas?

Oracle · Aug 28, 2024

Yes I am, though I haven't been involved in the music scene for a while. I have a friends in a few local bands, but haven't had as much contact with them lately.

VESmedic · Aug 28, 2024

Mikes mods are some of my favorite as I’ve stated here before, probably my favorite actually. I’ve only played a few, and mine specifically is the scariest thing I’ve ever played. The guy had a great ear for tone, and all those amps still sit at NRG being used on tons and tons of records you’ll never lmow
About due to the way crediting of gear was done in the 90s and 2000s.

Soldaners · Aug 28, 2024

Does anyone know who now owns Don Gilmore’s purple Morin modded SLP? Saw a listing of it for sale a couple years ago on reverb.

Techdeth · Aug 28, 2024

Soldaners said:
Does anyone know who now owns Don Gilmore’s purple Morin modded SLP? Saw a listing of it for sale a couple years ago on reverb.

I’m so pissed I passed on it . It was up for like a few days or a week even

Soldaners · Aug 28, 2024

Techdeth said:
I’m so pissed I passed on it . It was up for like a few days or a week even

I can imagine, I just found the listing like an hour ago. Somehow after all these years, I didn’t realize the SLP is wrapped in purple tolex until rewatching the making of Meteora dvd randomly tonight. Once I put the color in the search, found it immediately. Good ol’ 360p haha.

I have to assume based on the amount of gain that monster is capable of generating, had to be the ‘head from hell’ mod. The listing does not show the entire rear panel where Mike would’ve noted same. Just has a close up of the ‘Modified by Mike Morin’ sticker. I would absolutely love to get a gut shot of that amp somehow if anyone knows who owns it, or perhaps the owner is on here.

The album credits that head has alone, is insane.

VESmedic · Aug 29, 2024

Soldaners said:
I can imagine, I just found the listing like an hour ago. Somehow after all these years, I didn’t realize the SLP is wrapped in purple tolex until rewatching the making of Meteora dvd randomly tonight. Once I put the color in the search, found it immediately. Good ol’ 360p haha.

I have to assume based on the amount of gain that monster is capable of generating, had to be the ‘head from hell’ mod. The listing does not show the entire rear panel where Mike would’ve noted same. Just has a close up of the ‘Modified by Mike Morin’ sticker. I would absolutely love to get a gut shot of that amp somehow if anyone knows who owns it, or perhaps the owner is on here.

The album credits that head has alone, is insane.

Well, mine is purple, but it ain’t that one unfortunately

Here’s the one I bought 4-5 years ago.

https://reverb.com/item/37194611-ma...are&utm_campaign=listing&utm_content=37194611

Soldaners · Aug 29, 2024

VESmedic said:
Well, mine is purple, but it ain’t that one unfortunately Here’s the one I bought 4-5 years ago.

https://reverb.com/item/37194611-ma...are&utm_campaign=listing&utm_content=37194611

She’s…perfect. Head from Hell mod…Would love to hear it

Snave · Aug 29, 2024

Soldaners said:
I can imagine, I just found the listing like an hour ago. Somehow after all these years, I didn’t realize the SLP is wrapped in purple tolex until rewatching the making of Meteora dvd randomly tonight. Once I put the color in the search, found it immediately. Good ol’ 360p haha.

I have to assume based on the amount of gain that monster is capable of generating, had to be the ‘head from hell’ mod. Of course, the listing does not show the entire rear panel where Mike would’ve noted same. Just has a close up of the ‘Modified by Mike Morin’ sticker. I would absolutely love to get a gut shot of that amp somehow if anyone knows who owns it, or perhaps the owner is on here.

The album credits that head has alone, is insane.

Don Gilmore's old Plexi is a regular gain mod, not the Head from Hell. Those were only done to JCM800s and involved replacing the output transformer with Mercury Magnetics. Almost all of his mods have tons of gain.

For the record, NRG Studios/Jay Baumgardner currently have two vertical input 2203 Morin mods and a black P100 head (not an M70). They used to have a purple M120 head that was supposedly used on Hybrid Theory and can be seen in Korn and Limp Bizkit's studio footage from '98-'99, but it was stolen before Meteora was recorded.

Soldaners · Aug 29, 2024

Snave said:
Don Gilmore's old Plexi is a regular gain mod, not the Head from Hell. Those were only done to JCM800s and involved replacing the output transformer with Mercury Magnetics. Almost all of his mods have tons of gain.

For the record, NRG Studios/Jay Baumgardner currently have two vertical input 2203 Morin mods and a black P100 head (not an M70). They used to have a purple M120 head that was supposedly used on Hybrid Theory and can be seen in Korn and Limp Bizkit's studio footage from '98-'99, but it was stolen before Meteora was recorded.

This is excellent information, thank you so much for sharing, Snave! Always nice to get more insight on Morin’s work. As noted here and other threads, now that he is no longer modding, it’s extremely difficult to gather any info regarding specifics. I am a new member here, but really enjoying this forum.

Well, that would explain why I always thought the guitars on HT sound more Marshall-Esq than any dual rectifier I’ve heard. See, I thought the M70 was the only point to point amp build Morin offered - thanks again for the info!

VESmedic · Aug 29, 2024

Soldaners said:
She’s…perfect. Head from Hell mod…Would love to hear it

Here ya go! Just a quick clip, no eq other than high and low pass.

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/257j...24-3.wav?rlkey=6cq6n5hvx2oywtc0qm46ejp7x&dl=0

Different cab set up:

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/7cb1...gren.wav?rlkey=23hpwl8f1km7ekro4r19yb2qv&dl=0

This one is pretty wild, gotta hear it on something you can really hear the low end on, in my car it’s enough to make me almost nauseous haha. Marshall BV cab and 57/421 combo.

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/8wlo...-421.wav?rlkey=1crw6rdobeku4nh9rgxwrl8bd&dl=0