Thoughts on adding master volumes to vintage amps?

[blackba]

I was reading in another thread that someone who had put a Post PI master volume on a bassman head and said it was very nice to have.

What is the general perception on adding Master volumes to vintage amps? Is it worth doing (assuming you don't drill, I was going to use the ground switch hole on the back)?

Are there any good sites that show where to add it?

The amps I am thinking of adding them to are a '66 Vox AC50, '67 Fender SF Bassman, and '69 Fender Bandmaster reverb.

 

[Vrad]

I was reading in another thread that someone who had put a Post PI master volume on a bassman head and said it was very nice to have.

What is the general perception on adding Master volumes to vintage amps? Is it worth doing (assuming you don't drill, I was going to use the ground switch hole on the back)?

Are there any good sites that show where to add it?

The amps I am thinking of adding them to are a '66 Vox AC50, '67 Fender SF Bassman, and '69 Fender Bandmaster reverb.

There are quite a few PPIMV mods that are reversable. I have one in my '71 Super Lead.

 

[bill]

Do yourself a favor and leave it stock. My 59 is stock and has no master and it does its job just perfect and for what its worth is a bit collectible. Resale has to be considered even if you think that could never happen. I chopped up some gear in my time and always have lived to regret it.

 

[Code001]

Do yourself a favor and leave it stock. My 59 is stock and has no master and it does its job just perfect and for what its worth is a bit collectible. Resale has to be considered even if you think that could never happen. I chopped up some gear in my time and always have lived to regret it.

You don't have to "chop up" an amp to add a master volume.

 

[MrDan666]

You don't have to "chop up" an amp to add a master volume.

+1

Use one of the speaker output jacks on the back, for the Master volume. Or if you need the convinience of having the master on the front panel, just move the presence to the speaker jack hole and add the master in its place

Im not a big fan of PPIMV's, they fuck with the presence and NFB and also make the tone more compressed. The Jose Master is my favorite choice of master volume.. much more transparent than the PPIMV.

 

[Vrad]

You don't have to "chop up" an amp to add a master volume.

+1

Use one of the speaker output jacks on the back, for the Master volume. Or if you need the convinience of having the master on the front panel, just move the presence to the speaker jack hole and add the master in its place

Im not a big fan of PPIMV's, they fuck with the presence and NFB and also make the tone more compressed. The Jose Master is my favorite choice of master volume.. much more transparent than the PPIMV.

I fixed that by the way on my SL. All I did was move the NFB wire to the 16 ohm tap.

 

[MrDan666]

I fixed that by the way on my SL. All I did was move the NFB wire to the 16 ohm tap.

So your presence control works completely even when the PPIMV is set low?

The presence and NFB come back into play when the PPIMV is cranked up, but the whole point IMO of the Master is so it sounds good at low volumes.. so at those low volumes i want the presence and NFB working properly...

 

[Vrad]

I fixed that by the way on my SL. All I did was move the NFB wire to the 16 ohm tap.

So your presence control works completely even when the PPIMV is set low?

The presence and NFB come back into play when the PPIMV is cranked up, but the whole point IMO of the Master is so it sounds good at low volumes.. so at those low volumes i want the presence and NFB working properly...

I got presence coming out my ass man! LOL!
But I do run the PPIMV kinda high and use a hotplate along with it. I've dimed my SL without the hotplate and past 9:00-10:00 on the Master it sounds exactly the same. Maybe after diming it I'm deaf! So take my opinion with a grain of salt, but I've been very happy with the Rich mod + hotplate combo.

 

[blackba]

Use one of the speaker output jacks on the back, for the Master volume. Or if you need the convinience of having the master on the front panel, just move the presence to the speaker jack hole and add the master in its place

Im not a big fan of PPIMV's, they fuck with the presence and NFB and also make the tone more compressed. The Jose Master is my favorite choice of master volume.. much more transparent than the PPIMV.

The 3 amps I am looking at don't have presence knobs. Is there a site or schematic that shows how to do the Jose Master?

 

[blackba]

Do yourself a favor and leave it stock. My 59 is stock and has no master and it does its job just perfect and for what its worth is a bit collectible. Resale has to be considered even if you think that could never happen. I chopped up some gear in my time and always have lived to regret it.

Considering none of the 3 amps I am talking about goes for much more than $1000 right now and the SF bassman under $500, I am not too worried about resale. As long as I don't drill a hole its reversable....

 

[MrDan666]

The 3 amps I am looking at don't have presence knobs. Is there a site or schematic that shows how to do the Jose Master?

Sure, Mark (Rockstah) over at the Metroamp Forum posted a layout diagram showing the Jose Master. Heres the link: http://www.putfile.com/pic/6572717

The layout shows a Zener diode and a regular 1N4007 diode on the pot. Ignore that and just hook up two 20v Zener diodes back to back like on the diagram.

 

[MrDan666]

I got presence coming out my ass man! LOL!
But I do run the PPIMV kinda high and use a hotplate along with it. I've dimed my SL without the hotplate and past 9:00-10:00 on the Master it sounds exactly the same. Maybe after diming it I'm deaf! So take my opinion with a grain of salt, but I've been very happy with the Rich mod + hotplate combo.

Dont get me wrong, the Rich mod sounds great in a lot of guys amps.. i never tried the PPIMV + hotplate, only the PPIMV alone. I just preferred the other type for my amp thats all That said, i never got round to trying the Larry/Rockstah PPIMV which apparently is much better sounding than even the Rich mod. You might wana try it out sometime and see how it sounds compared to the Rich mod in your amp

Yeah when the PPIMV is set lower than 9:00-10:00, the NFB section shouldnt work at all. But once you get it higher than about 10:00, it starts coming back into the equation!

 

[Vrad]

I got presence coming out my ass man! LOL!
But I do run the PPIMV kinda high and use a hotplate along with it. I've dimed my SL without the hotplate and past 9:00-10:00 on the Master it sounds exactly the same. Maybe after diming it I'm deaf! So take my opinion with a grain of salt, but I've been very happy with the Rich mod + hotplate combo.

Dont get me wrong, the Rich mod sounds great in a lot of guys amps.. i never tried the PPIMV + hotplate, only the PPIMV alone. I just preferred the other type for my amp thats all That said, i never got round to trying the Larry/Rockstah PPIMV which apparently is much better sounding than even the Rich mod. You might wana try it out sometime and see how it sounds compared to the Rich mod in your amp

Yeah when the PPIMV is set lower than 9:00-10:00, the NFB section shouldnt work at all. But once you get it higher than about 10:00, it starts coming back into the equation!

That's cool. Some guys say it sounds a bit more modern.
I never heard the Jose PPIMV. Is there a clip around?

I tried a few different PPIMV's. They all sounded like crap. Psychodave sent me the Rich Mod diagram and I haven't had the need to try anything else.

If you can play loud all day long, then save your money and skip the Hotplate. I can't. So I get cranked marshall tones at tv volumes.

 

[MrDan666]

That's cool. Some guys say it sounds a bit more modern.
I never heard the Jose PPIMV. Is there a clip around?

I tried a few different PPIMV's. They all sounded like crap. Psychodave sent me the Rich Mod diagram and I haven't had the need to try anything else.

If you can play loud all day long, then save your money and skip the Hotplate. I can't. So I get cranked marshall tones at tv volumes.

Makes sense!!

I think Ralle over at Metroamp board made some clips when he added the Jose Master. Theres a clip by Mark Cameron, that is of a 1959RI SLP and it has the Jose Master added. The sound quality is bad because Mark said it was recorded via a built in laptop mic or something.. but you can hear how it adds gain and sounds punchy as hell!! Click on 1959RI:

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=741160

 

[maiden_fan]

My tech friend did the PPIMV in my old superbass, and it was the best thing i ever did, i was getting fat ripping rock tones straight out of the amp with the 2 inputs dimed at loud tv volume, and at band practice it was tonal bliss.

 

[Code001]

The 3 amps I am looking at don't have presence knobs. Is there a site or schematic that shows how to do the Jose Master?

Sure, Mark (Rockstah) over at the Metroamp Forum posted a layout diagram showing the Jose Master. Heres the link: http://www.putfile.com/pic/6572717

The layout shows a Zener diode and a regular 1N4007 diode on the pot. Ignore that and just hook up two 20v Zener diodes back to back like on the diagram.

What's the difference between adding and not adding the 1N4007 diode? This crap is starting to make me want to get back into modding amps. Kinda sucks because I deleted ALL that info I had on modding them.

 

[Vrad]

That's cool. Some guys say it sounds a bit more modern.
I never heard the Jose PPIMV. Is there a clip around?

I tried a few different PPIMV's. They all sounded like crap. Psychodave sent me the Rich Mod diagram and I haven't had the need to try anything else.

If you can play loud all day long, then save your money and skip the Hotplate. I can't. So I get cranked marshall tones at tv volumes.

Makes sense!!

I think Ralle over at Metroamp board made some clips when he added the Jose Master. Theres a clip by Mark Cameron, that is of a 1959RI SLP and it has the Jose Master added. The sound quality is bad because Mark said it was recorded via a built in laptop mic or something.. but you can hear how it adds gain and sounds punchy as hell!! Click on 1959RI:

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=741160

Hey! I liked that! Mine sounds more like the amp stock.

 

[MrDan666]

What's the difference between adding and not adding the 1N4007 diode? This crap is starting to make me want to get back into modding amps. Kinda sucks because I deleted ALL that info I had on modding them.

I dont really understand the theory behind the diodes, but Mark said using 1 Zener and 1 1N4007 would sound like shit... He said to use 2 20v Zeners or experiment with a voltage lower than 20v.

Dont worry, i have heaps of info for mods and stuff still saved

 

[Vrad]

What's the difference between adding and not adding the 1N4007 diode? This crap is starting to make me want to get back into modding amps. Kinda sucks because I deleted ALL that info I had on modding them.

I dont really understand the theory behind the diodes, but Mark said using 1 Zener and 1 1N4007 would sound like shit... He said to use 2 20v Zeners or experiment with a voltage lower than 20v.

Dont worry, i have heaps of info for mods and stuff still saved

Awesome! Perhaps you can pass it along to me?
I've been kinda bored! LOL! Might want to heat up the soldering iron!

 

[Code001]

What's the difference between adding and not adding the 1N4007 diode? This crap is starting to make me want to get back into modding amps. Kinda sucks because I deleted ALL that info I had on modding them.

I dont really understand the theory behind the diodes, but Mark said using 1 Zener and 1 1N4007 would sound like shit... He said to use 2 20v Zeners or experiment with a voltage lower than 20v.

Dont worry, i have heaps of info for mods and stuff still saved

You should IM me sometime. BTW, I have an MSN IM account along with AIM if you prefer MSN.