Hmmm.....what is this Rob?

For RM50 and RM100? Price? Spill it!

It's the latest and greatest take on my custom Presence/Density mod which I affectionately call "Foglifter". It takes the old "correcting" of the PCB's a step further and fine tunes it for better cut and punchier thump.

Pricing is currently $35 shipped and I'll need your PCB to do it. Once I get a free minute after taxes are done I'll finish my PCB design, make a bunch and sell them off the shelf for $40 shipped.

It's beyond easy to remove and reinstall yourself. Email me if interested.

All the best,
Rob

I think my RM100C just got a boner.

Any chance for before and after clips?

RM100-able???

sweet. my RM50 &RM100 boards are coming out today, and going to Jersey!

cool, My 40 bucks is sitting right in front of me, waiting

Awesome concept Rob!!

I should be able to get some studio time in tomorrow night to crank out a before and after sample.

Yes, same deal for the RM100, RM50, RM20 and RM1250.

Jaded Faith said:

Yes, same deal for the RM100, RM50, RM20 and RM1250.

Click to expand...

The Egnater MOD series as well?

Absolutely, that's a MOD50 board pictured in the original post.

I've got to chime in hear and voice my opinion.

My colleague and friend in the Czech Republic is a salt if the earth guy who works his *** to come up with innovations. I really don't care what kind of can of worms I open here and I'm speaking entirely independent if Antonin. Because he won't say anything. I've been trying by good will to help get his great mod work more accessible in the US. He innovates and creates with painstakingly self-sacrificing committment out of absolute inspiration and barely makes a living.

Admittedly I know nothing about Jaded Faith but I've heard that there are several great mods like the Dumble people love.

But I cannot watch a blatantly obvious chain of non stop emulation of Tony's innovation and mod work being copycatted. That's what is happening here and it makes users less apt to support the innovator who first had the idea.

It's perfectly acceptable apparently now days as we see companies like Behringer doing the same thing, but at some point it makes me question ethics and whether people who copycat and ride coat tails lack vision or take advantage in a small boutique arena where there should be fellowship and healthy competition. It smacks of bad business to me. I don't really care if I get skewered for saying so but it is ridiculous to watch someone behave as a poor citizen and reap benefits watching someone else's business models and ideas and basically following the same path with arguably an intent to steal a territory. Flat out disrespectful in my opinion.

Of course I may be totally off base and I'm sure Tony and JF won't be happy about my remarks. But this is what it looks like to me, that's been going on for a while. There is room for several mods guys but aggressively copying someone else's every move is not playing well with others.

I'd be happy to trumpet both companies but I think I'll stick my reputation and business with the visionary leader and not the follower.

It's not a war people, Tony's innovations are accessible and worth every penny. If you want to buy US and save ten bucks in something that's a copy and will always be a copy go for it.

I'll continue to support SM and we will make his killer **** immediately available here in the US, and his work will continue to be innovative and cutting edge. I'm not buying any JF mods for my rig until I see them stop being obsessed with what's going on across the pond and release incredibly visionary products, participate in healthy competition and not mimicking others hard work.

This is entirely my opinion. Not anything to do with anyone but myself and what I see going on in this small niche market, and it reaks to me.

well sir, you may be completely right, completely wrong, a little of both about that, or none at all.

speaking for myself, as a business owner and manufacturer who is barely making a living, here goes something....

I know SM has many like mods that JF has. It is also my understanding that these are wildly sought after requested copies of other designs, probably highly requested for both companies...I know I've been emailing JF about a HiWatt since I found this MTS world. I also doubt very much that the circuitry within is copied by either company. it's all about flavor, interpretation, and method. If you know otherwise, perhaps you ought to say as much

one thing I can tell about the Hiwatt copy that both companies make, is that the JF is designed to have more gain than the SM version of the same HiWatt preamp interpretation. they seem to be so different in fact that when I get myself a RM4, I would like to have both versions for a perfectly varied HiWatt sound.

The Vox mod, which I have owned the SM version, was not for me. The JF version which I do not own, seems to be different altogether, maybe I'll try it too.

I also know that Catalinbread, for one, makes a Hiwatt, Plexi, AC30, Ampeg, Top Boost and other pedals for less than either mod companies make. I own some, they are awesome. There are many other like companies making various versions of the same amps-in-box pedals.

I think it may have been the density board that put you to making this post, which may make momentary sense on the surface. I will remind you that Rob at JF has taken clinics with Bruce in Michigan and has serviced these amps for years. It would also make sense that he would have a few of his own ideas about a mod like this.

I know little else about Salvation except their mods seem wonderful. I just didn't care for the one I had. I'd love to own a couple of them

Plexis, Diesels, Voxes, Fenders, Saldos, etc.. as well as hod rod mods to amps like modding various portions of circuits like presence/density, seems to be natural for folks who know these circuits inside and out by having their hands in them day in/day out.

I would say that, from what I can tell, the sounds coming from thrice emulated preamps on both sides of the pond are yielding vastly different results, such do the Line6s and Boss's, YATS and hot-rodded Marshalls in the world

I believe the important thing to think about is how each artist/company in this case is interpreting wildly popular, pre-existing, highly requested designs for the MTS platform.

If you can distribute SM in the States for nice money I say do it.. I'd give a few a whirl. I have nothing against the Czech Republic, although I was married on the beach in Asbury. Both have great products as far as I'm concerned. Who owns the rights to interpret already existing designs anyway?

Plexi/Tweed maybe also sticks you in the side, not sure. i think it's natural since there are thousands of forums discussing the similarities of the circuits.

I will leave this with one thing to consider, JF has released 3 very original mods in the course of a few months the Vybe, THD, and Ampeg. there may be more in the high gain arena that i am not aware of.

I enjoy my MTS very much.

Carry on

I can see both sides of the argument. The question is, was there any copying of the others design or not?

Rob has been making tweaks to the density / presence board for years now. So has Anthony. I did first hear about the drop in replacement from Salvation but only from some random pic that was posted a month or so ago.

Who knows, maybe both have been working on this but needed the supply of parts to have on the shelf pieces available?

If it's an outright copy then I agree, that is wrong. If it is another interpretation of the same line of thinking, I have no problem with it.

I certainly understand how you might get the impression you have. A lot of it has to do with timing but i think a little more background can help you make sense of a couple things. I say this because like you know Anthony, I know Rob pretty well i'm steadfast in my belief that Rob is not out to rip anyone off. He has plenty of brilliant ideas on his own....as does Anthony, and Scott, and as did Pete when things were going well. I'm also chiming in because I really respect Anthony and if I were in his shoes I would want a better understanding of what's really taking place vs. speculating about whether or not someone was blatantly shadowing my moves.

First: There are quite a few members who are specifically aware of my infatuation with the older Density boards. Perhaps this stems from Bruce's dual density mods that he did to our Marshallls way back, but I actually started obsessing about RM100 Density/Presence boards in December 2009 when I met Rob. At that time I had extensive conversations with Rob about specs that led to changing out my Density board.

See Randall had confirmed to me that they ran out of older boards and started using Lynch Box boards instead of RM100 boards thinking they were doing us all a favor in the process and saving on not manufacturing 2 different boards. This is why the newer RM100's sounded tuned differently. More Marshall like and not as much thump. I'm happy to dig up those emails and post them for verification.

Just an FYI... what was realized is that a besides the headshell and power tube selection all that separated a Lynch Box and RM100 was the Density/Pres Board values.


Older RM100s:

Density Pot-B1M
Density Cap-Mica 472J
Presence Pot-B25K
Presence Cap-Mica 104k 400HT

Newer RM100's and the Lynch Box:

Density Pot-05A1M
Density Cap-Mica 472 250v
Presence Pot-B10K
Presence Cap-Mica 104J 100


So when Big Daddy joined MTS and shortly after bought a 2nd RM100 with a new Density board, he went out of the way to get the new Density board modified by Rob. This was last summer. While I would absolutely never attempt to take anything away from Rob's decision to start making this a regular offering nor would i underestimate that I stand alone as someone who keyed in on this variable independently, we pushed for it with Rob multiple times.

As you may have noticed, other members have been talking about self modding the boards here with a variety of different caps for more of a 3d effect for quite some time now. MyDemise turned us onto some real specific Density and input cap upgrades years ago as well which we have shared with many including Rob as well.

There have been more and more folks doing this, talking about it, and most likely contacting both Rob and Anthony with similar requests. Many of us know how when we are trying to find our perfect tone we reach out to multiple modders and members simultaneously trying to get there. So it's not uncommon for that demand to start pushing these guys in a direction simultaneously to perhaps move onto something they had in mind but have been sitting on for a while. Demand = Supply.

The same can be said of new module releases. If one modder has a replica approach on an amp but we don't quite like that approach it's pretty common to reach out to another guy and commission a new custom design that's a different take on that same replica. God sakes, I have had 4 different modded Recto's, 4 diff Marshalls, 2 diff XTCs, 2 diff VHT's, etc... If you think about it "we the people" are really the ones creating coincidence when we all start to buzz about a particular replica or idea and start calling everyone to get us what we need.

I should also mention that Rob was talking about an Ampeg preamp at least a year ago maybe longer for all i know. Rob's more recent high gainers have been specifically commissioned because some of us call him daily, beg him, and throw money at him like he's stripper to give us a specific take on a replica that may or may not already exist elsewhere.

You have to remember there are only so many amps to replica after and all of us want something so specific. It's only a matter of time before Rob and Anthony both offer a take on everything under the sun. Just like any smart competing companies, they all offer an alternative to one another in order to keep up with the demand and ensure customer satisfaction. Both are smart to think of ways to continue making MTS better and more customizable. This is just a next step.

So at this point really the only thing you can fault a guy for is being too **** busy cranking out other high demand prepaid orders and unfortunately delaying the final R & D tweaks on long-time ideas before announcing a formal product offering.

Again I certainly understand your impression and totally respect that you are willing to go to bat for a good dude like Anthony who treats you well. I hope you can appreciate why I felt compelled to respond and explain. And for the record I own custom mods by 4 different modders, and respect and support every one of the guys not just Rob. So this is not a taking of sides.

At the end of the day I'm hoping this is just a healthy conversation that helps squash this unfortunate issue that continues to resurface every so often. Let's turn this into a positive.


With Respect,
S

Competition fuels innovation. Is there just one electric guitar company? Is there just one amp company? A Mesa Boogie is built off a Fender design. I think both JF and SM should be pretty happy they found a nitch to make a few bucks on a really cool, fun thechnology. I love both of their works and feel they different and that's a good thing. My 2 cents.

Dietrick,
I would like to thank you for taking the time to express your concerns and opinions here. Although we have never had the pleasure of meeting or discussing business, you are completely entitled to your feelings and certainly have the right to convey them. I would like to take a moment to clarify some things and address your concerns openly if I may.

I'll start by saying I have respect both for Antonin's work and your commitment to it. Your support speaks volumes about your passion for his products and efforts. I am sure he appreciates your help and willingness to help grow his business.

I'd be cautious to not confuse innovation with interpretation. As much as you would like to call both of our products innovative, at the end of the day it's really just our interpretations of another manufacturer's designs and namesakes. My greatest feelings of personal achievement in MTS-related work comes when a customer provides positive feedback and tells me that my work has inspired them as a player. I take very little pride in my ability to successfully interpret another amplifiers design. It always feels a bit like tracing a picture rather than drawing one to me. However, the ability to listen to a players requests and consistently deliver what they ask for is quite rewarding.

New products for our MTS line are 100% driven by our customers requests. This happens in one of two ways. I either receive too many requests for something to not address it or someone commissions it. A glance through the Jaded Faith Mods picture gallery on Facebook will show dozens of custom designs and one-off replicas that are being made in our shop regularly. Contrary to your suggestion, it really has nothing to do with what Salvation Mods offers at all. We both offer replicas of popular and classic designs that are highly requested. There is bound to be some degree of overlap.

America was founded on the spirit of free commerce and heavy competition. I personally believe that having a healthy competitor is a good thing and it only serves to benefit the consumer. It keeps progress moving forward and pricing fair. I place a very heavy emphasis on customer service and respond to my customer's requests. If they ask for a product, I will deliver it regardless of what else is out there.

My pricing is competitive because of the level of volume I do. Jaded Faith Mods performs MTS module modifications, amplifier service, maintenance, modifications and repairs. Because I work on hundreds of modules and amps every year, I simply pass the volume-based savings I receive on parts on to my customers. It's not an attempt to undercut anyone, but simply trying to offer the best product I can as reasonably as possible. Because I don't depend on a small niche market alone to sustain my business I don't share in your frustrations.

We have offered mods to the Presence/Density PCB's in the shop for years now and have done about 50 or so. I typically ask the customer for what they want and deliver whatever they are not getting from their current PCB. The Foglifter was based on a direct replica of my personal favorite circuit that I use in my personal MTS amps. Designing a simple PCB with a DPDT pot on it to switch between a pair of caps and resistors isn't exactly a tall order and no different than adding a switching option to a module.

In closing, I'd like to say that I really wish there was less animosity between the Salvation Mods camp and my business. I truly love what I do for a living and really value the friendships and partnerships it has provided. Working with gentleman like Bruce, Trace and others has been an absolute pleasure and provides opportunities for all of us to get even better at what we do. I would love nothing more than to have a beer and discuss philosophies with yourself and Antonin sometime if you would be so inclined. I harbor no ill will and hope this post serves to clear up a few issues for you.

Respectfully,
Rob

I like the sound of that Rob. Big Daddy and I would very much like to pay for those beers and just have you guys over to the studio for a weekend. I'm sure only positive things would result

Well said by both and wish I would have phrased it as well as LoD21 and JF did.

Now, I need to pull the energy and time together to pull the board from the 1 of 3 RM100KH's I have and see what values are on my board!

Dietrick sold me my 2 rm1250's at a REALLY good price... Great guy. Very great guy actually, thanks for that by the way mate.

Rob your also a great guy... But you still haven't made me my Fortin mod and you claimed you'd do anything for your customers in that previous post :twisted:

I love competition!