Rob, tell us more about what Lynch thought of your modules!

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Kapo_Polenton

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Did he end up using your modded platform for a seminar this past weekend? You mentioned on your FB page that you might be doing some mods for him, did he dig the SLO-D and TWOx? What did he say he'd like to see from the platform? While we all know he can't play anything longer than a pack of smokes lasts, it is still interesting to hear his opinion of the modular stuff.
 
+1

We all know George is a gearwhore and I'm sure he spent some time dialing the dials and chewing the fat with you!
 
It was a rather interesting day really. I had no intentions of doing any trade shows in 2014. The interest in MTS at these shows has been steadily declining for over a year, mainly driven by the fact that it's a discontinued product line. That makes the concept a tough sell and you need a very specific customer. The market is not nearly as wide for this gear as it used to be.

As such, I really didn't intend to go to the show. It was a very last minute decision and I had to fly solo for the weekend as a result. It was the first time I did a show without help or my entire line of modules. In a last minute decision, I put together my own personal RM50 after it had been sitting in pieces on the shop floor for months. It consisted of a Lynch Box Combo shell, RM50 amp with various mods (much of what I offered for sale here earlier this year), a Creamback M and a G12-65 Heritage in a closed 1x12. I loaded it with a Twox and an SL-OD100, grabbed my MXR Carbon Copy Delay and off I went at 5AM.

I am strolling into the Tropicana around 7:45AM and the show organizer seeks me out immediately. The rig they had planned to provide George with for his clinic/meet and greet was not up to snuff and he was very unhappy about it. He knew of my work from my booth at other amp shows and asked me to help in anyway I could.

George was already agitated by the initial rig and his demeanor didn't change much when he was told we now had a Lynch Box for him. His experience with the stock modules and many that were tweaked specifically for him in the past left a bad taste in his mouth. His experience with the MTS line had been a frustrating one and he had no reason to believe this would be any different.

We begin to sound check at 10AM and I am a little nervous to see his response after our initial conversations. I wait with baited breath as he flips it off standby and puts it through the paces.

Within a minute or so he turns and asks me "What have you done to this?" He had obviously spent a lot of time with both Randall engineers and some other pretty big names in the amplification industry trying to get his rig up to his standards. He proceeds to tell me the preamp had great tone and effortless compression. More importantly, he said the feel of the entire amp was different and he wanted to know why.

I explained in all honesty that I had simply tuned the amp itself to be what I like as a guitarist. I proceeded to explain that I had played for 29 years and was a live player for many of them. I have been fortunate enough to grace hundreds of stages, from large gigs opening for national acts to the seediest of dives. I tend to be a student of life, constantly make observations and seeking ways to make things better. I told him that I approach amp design as a performer myself and design for live use first. If an amp sounds great in a bedroom but suffers or fails to open up properly with a band it's useless to me personally.

This was fascinating to him, explaining that most amp gurus can hammer out a chord or two but aren't really players themselves. The best compliment he gave me was "This amp is what this line should have been from the beginning." It was very humbling and greatly appreciated, given all the time and energy I have poured into this line over the past 9 years.

I proceeded to spend about six hours with him and really enjoyed getting to know him. The conversations ranged from music to gear to everyday life. He was a great gentleman and it was an excellent experience. We exchanged contact info and I look forward to working with him in the future.

For those interested, there are a few pictures and videos on the Jaded Faith Mods Facebook page. The link is in my sig below. I have tons of additional pictures and video to sift through as time permits.
 
Well deserved my friend! I can say from my experience that you gave me a lot of help with my first foray into MTS (creating the VybeDeluxe.)

My boss and I were excited to hear George Lynch at a trade show (Musikmesse in Germany) when he was Randall endorsed and his tone was so muddy we left. A shame he didn't have the resources we have now back then. Possibly MTS would have a different reality.

I've got to say, I don't intend to sell out of MTS as I enjoy what have, and know I can get service for my gear here.
 
Is he somewhat dissing Friedman here?

Having said that, I know Dave did some designs but has not been shy in saying how many modules were produced that were 'out of spec' ... whether that was him drumming up modding business I don't know.... what I do know is that after a Stock module (Lynch or otherwise) has been in Friedman's hands...it sounds better afterwards.

This goes to show the MTS line could have been much more :-/
 
JKD said:
Is he somewhat dissing Friedman here?

Having said that, I know Dave did some designs but has not been shy in saying how many modules were produced that were 'out of spec' ... whether that was him drumming up modding business I don't know.... what I do know is that after a Stock module (Lynch or otherwise) has been in Friedman's hands...it sounds better afterwards.

This goes to show the MTS line could have been much more :-/


Maybe dissing the product more than Dave F? Reason I say that is that George has been using Friedman amps for awhile on stage (as his preferred amp) Maybe he was frustrated with the amp itself- but really George changes amps like we change underwear so that's not saying much. More than anything else- Im really interested in hearing Lynch team up with Fortin on that headhunter!
 
Jaded Faith said:
He knew of my work from my booth at other amp shows and asked me to help in anyway I could. .... The best compliment he gave me was "This amp is what this line should have been from the beginning."

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No one was dissed at all and we spoke a good bit about Dave. He discussed the frustrations they had with QC when the mods came back from production with the spec omissions. The oversights are small, but they are still for the better.

His comments were more about the amp both sounding and feeling so much better than he had experienced on his own rig. The preamp is only a small part of that equation. For the most part if any guy worth his salt mods your preamp it's going to be better than it started off. The significant tweaks were to the amp itself and the speakers I paired it with.
 
Are there any more recordings of Lynch playing it floating around?

The one I saw seemed somewhat way off to the side and of course the usual compression from a phone....
 
I posted 3 on Facebook between my company page and the Egnater/Randall MTS user page. All of mine were taken on my iPhone. As I mentioned, I had no idea this would be sprung on me until I was already there and I packed light due to lack of help for the weekend. Only one is taken from the side.
 
Jaded Faith said:
I posted 3 on Facebook between my company page and the Egnater/Randall MTS user page. All of mine were taken on my iPhone. As I mentioned, I had no idea this would be sprung on me until I was already there and I packed light due to lack of help for the weekend. Only one is taken from the side.

Then I still have one more to watch :)
 
Awesome, good for you Rob. The spec omissions in a lot of cases made the modules feel bloated and lack detail. They got it almost right with the brahma but the DF modded brahma is still better. The Judge is a solid effort though, def enough detail there. George should have played that one more. That said, he never really played the line and it is pretty sad that he couldn't say "guys, this sucks, I can't endorse this" and just went a long with the endorsement anyway...

Look forward to hearing what you will end up doing to his amp. Would you say the iron you put into the amp made the biggest difference?
 
Kapo_Polenton said:
Awesome, good for you Rob. The spec omissions in a lot of cases made the modules feel bloated and lack detail. They got it almost right with the brahma but the DF modded brahma is still better. The Judge is a solid effort though, def enough detail there. George should have played that one more. That said, he never really played the line and it is pretty sad that he couldn't say "guys, this sucks, I can't endorse this" and just went a long with the endorsement anyway...

To be honest though, the Lynch modules were night and day better than most of the stock Randall line, Friedman and Lynch's influence on doubt.

I can play all day long with a Brahma (correct spec), Scary and Grail....
 
I'd say it's a combination of things. Transformers make the biggest difference in two scenarios. The first is when the amp is stressed and under high demand when cranked up. If you are primarily a bedroom player you might never reap the benefits. The other big difference is in articulation and note separation. Hacking away on power chords most of the time? Probably not for you. Playing articulate stuff or intricate chords with more than 2-3 notes? This is where it shines.

The other things that made a huge difference were the retuning of the power amp, the added NFB control in the Foglifter+ and the adjustable loop send and return. The power tuning and NFB get the feel of the power amp right for you. The adjustable loop not only makes stomp boxes happy, it allows you to hit the power amp harder.

It's a sum of the parts.
 
Having played the first modded JFM head (outside of Rob of course).
It really is a significant difference in the feel of ALL of my modules now.
Each one of my preamps for the MTS gear has ever sounded this good. I was about to pull the trigger on a Bogner Uberschall, but then I received my much anticipated Lynch box 50w amp from Rob.
Holy ****, It blew me away how much I now had control of from the input stage to the preamp, to the fx loop, to the power amp. I can get so many tonal colors and attitudes you would need an arsenal of quality amps to replicate. With top notch parts to boot. Those mercury upgrades give the amp such articulation and punch, it just sounds right, and super balanced.
This is what I have been searching for since beginning MTS in 2010.
I can get the exact clean styles, and gain styles I have been dreaming of.
To have this much power that is adjustable and just so musical and pronounced, is nothing short of stunning.
Im selling off alot of my gear now that I have this new rig going.
Im having a custom green croc headshell and 2x12 cab made for this rig and ill get some pics up in a week once it arrives.

Wow Rob, just wow
 
Spoken like a true MTS addict! :twisted:

The NFB control and variable loop are long overdue mods, makes me wish I could afford to spend more time/money on this stuff.. :-/
 
Wow, Rob! George Lynch has the same opinion of you that I and many others have toward you. every time I would get a mod back from you I would be blown away in the difference, even in the base mods. I am so looking forward to hearing the modded RM50!
It would be cool if George went to Randall and got them to resurrect the line and put you in charge with a $1m a year salary. then those pictures I saved of you and that drunk goat years ago would be worth something.
 
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