Cheap Ultra Lead-I got it!

An Ultra Lead module for $80-90 It's a local store's going out of business sale. I wish I had an extra couple of hundred so I could buy all the modules they have. **** lack of a job :evil:

On another note, they also have a Brown But I'm not interested in it since I have my SL+.

Okay, so I have the Ultra Lead I ended up paying $90, but only because a friend who worked there got it for me. The ******* drummer who was working there was only gonna give me $10 off the regular price, and it was a 50-75% off sale xD

Observations:
The faceplate has no black stripe
The knobs don't have the red plastic guide down the middle so that you know how to put them on
The locking screws have a larger, brushed metal looking grip
C3: .0047uF
C6: This has been bent to the side to make room for the preamp tube
C20 and the adjacent electrolytic cap have wax around the bases for some reason
Tubes are EHX 12AX7EH's.
Screws are black with that weird green stuff around them.
The back of the PCB where the contact point is (but not the contact itself) looks as though it might have been poorly cut.
PCB corners are sharp 90 degree angles, as opposed to the rounded edges of the newer modules.
Detailed pics (from a crappy phone camera) soon.

Sounds alright though once you dial out the "blanket" by cranking the treble, but this bass cap needs to go for a .0022 or .0015.

Here's the wax pics

Those are all perfectly normal observations for an older silverface module. Nothing out of the ordinary or to be concerned with.

Even the wax? That just seemed weird and sloppy.

The 'wax' is just hot glue to stabilize the capacitors...some have more, some have less...but you want it there rather than knock one of those tall caps clean off if you bang it.

JKD said:

The 'wax' is just hot glue to stabilize the capacitors...some have more, some have less...but you want it there rather than knock one of those tall caps clean off if you bang it.

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Well, it's weird, because my other mods don't have that :?

EDIT: Okay, they have a bit between the two caps, but not THIS much. I'll take a small knife and scrape off the excess, so you can at least see the cap designations.

I have seen the quantity of glue all over the board, from little/none to fully loaded. But like JKD said, they are only for the modules safety and I would suggest leaving it as is.

Alright, I really just wanna be able to read what's on the PCB (there will be more than enough glue left), and the value of the cap (it's the same size, so I figured it might be the same value, but I'll check anyway), since I plan on filling in the blanks on the PCB layout of the Ultra Lead on Grailtone.

What bass cap do people usually like to put in their Ultra Leads? .0015 or .0022uF?

I switched mine to .001 and it's still plenty thick.

goldsparkletop said:

I switched mine to .001 and it's still plenty thick.

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I'll try that when I change the cap in my SL+ It'll put that cap to good use if I prefer it over the .0015.

Also, do people prefer Silver Mica or Orange Drop caps for their amps? Gotta know what to stock up on

Shinozoku said:

goldsparkletop said:

I switched mine to .001 and it's still plenty thick.

Click to expand...

I'll try that when I change the cap in my SL+ It'll put that cap to good use if I prefer it over the .0015.

Also, do people prefer Silver Mica or Orange Drop caps for their amps? Gotta know what to stock up on

Click to expand...

+1 .. I pretty much use the 1000pf whenever I mod anything with gain.

It will more than likely work for me here, but in my SL+ I just need a bit more OOMPH, if you know what I mean

I use the mica's in place of the ceramic disk caps. Orange Drops for the C3 type caps.

Hey what store was it in VA? Do they still have any modules left and do you know if they ship? Might be getting back into some MTS gear but need a Blackface module and it would be nice to get it cheaper! :lol:

droptrd said:

I use the mica's in place of the ceramic disk caps. Orange Drops for the C3 type caps.

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Thanks much, man Are any of the disk shaped caps considered ceramic disk? Like the ones you frequently see in the C1 and C13 positions?

guitarguy510 said:

Hey what store was it in VA? Do they still have any modules left and do you know if they ship? Might be getting back into some MTS gear but need a Blackface module and it would be nice to get it cheaper! :lol:

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Morrell's Music in Bristol (actually, I think it's technically in Tennessee ), but that was a closing door sale, so they're moving any stock over to their new store soon. Sorry

Uhm, I just noticed, all the pots except for the Middle one (it's marked on the front as 25k) say they're 500k Is this normal for the Ultra Lead?

Shinozoku said:

Morrell's Music in Bristol (actually, I think it's technically in Tennessee ), but that was a closing door sale, so they're moving any stock over to their new store soon. Sorry

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Darn, figures! :lol: If you decide you want to part with some of those cheap modules and pass the deal forward let me know! 8)