What can mods do for you?

[Jaded Faith]

The most common question I receive is "what benefit will I see from modding my module?" This week I was in the position to actually A/B it for myself first hand.

I finished a basic (meaning no added options) base mod to a stock 1086 for a customer this week. I performed the basic tune up which includes upgrading parts and revoicing the gain and tone stack to make it more defined. This particular mod actually revoiced the entire EQ and gain structure to decrease the gain from stock. The idea is that through proper tuning of the tone and gain structure, the perceived gain is actually increased even though it is technically decreased. This was done because the customer was happy with the gain levels on the stock module and this maintained that while adding clarity and definition. The gain now comes on more gradually and has more usable variation throughout the knobs travel.

The MP3 below is a 45 second clip that features the stock module for the first 20 seconds and the modded module for the final 25 seconds. All knobs on both modules were set EXACTLY the same, except for the volume. The stock module needed to be set at 5 to be at the same level as the modded module at 4. The settings were modest and middle of the road to showcase the differences:

Gain: 5 (noon)
Bass: 6 (1:00)
Mids: 5 (noon)
Treble: 6 (1:00)
Level: 5 on stock (noon) and 4 on modded (11:00)
Gain Boost switch is on
Mid Voicing is on the scooped setting (to the right, which is often considered useless to many)
RT2/50 on 1 (8:00) with Presence and Density at 5 (noon)

Here is the audio link: http://www.soundclick.com/player/single_player.cfm?songid=10784111&q=hi&newref=1

The gear used was a PRS CU22 with Dragon II stock pickups, an Egnater M4, Randall RT 2/50 with Tung Sol 5881's (all 12AX7's in the amp and modules are JJ ECC83S's) and a Marshall 1960A. The speaker was a Celestion T75 miked with two Shure SM57's. One was on the edge of the dust cap and the 2nd was about 2" out from that. Preamps were a UA 710 on the inner mic and an SSL Alpha Channel on the outer (no added EQ, only the Low Cut bass roll-offs engaged). It was recorded into Cubase 6 with absolutely no additional processing. The meters on the modules were set to be at the exact same levels for each module. It was recorded in one take for each with a break in between to switch modules cleanly.

The stock module has a noticable "blanket over the speaker" quality to it. There is much more useable range on the modded modules knobs, so the amount of gain and EQ stll on tap beyond the test settings is significantly more than the stock module has to give. It should be pointed out that the other side of the Mid Voicing switch is the one most like best. True to form, the improvements on that side are just as present. Bumping the level on the modded module up to 5-6 really brings it to life.

Hopefully this helps to clear up some of the confusion over modding modules and if it is really worth it. For a modest investment (about the same as a Boss pedal) this stock module is now a very useable beast.

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

Well I gotta hand it to you.. there is a def. tone change! I'm happy with the stock Judge and Brahma ( I think i have a later Brahma though) but I sent my SL+ for modding for that very reason. It was very uninspiring.. if you don't mindme asking, do you modders replace the majority of caps on the modded module or only the tone shaping ones?

 

[Jaded Faith]

I can tell you I replace most of the caps except the ones behind the tube board. It should be said that while changing the caps will impart subtle changes, the true art of modding is in changing both the values and the types of parts to achieve the desired results. There are some tonal characteristics to each type of part (polyester, ceramic, etc) and part of the art is knowing what they are and in what areas of the circuit their strengths/weaknesses shine.

But I will also say you can see a more drastic change by changing one specific caps value than changing all the caps on the module to say Orange Drops or Mallory's.

 

[m0jo]

I can testify to that, my 1086 has all orange drops, it has a little more clarity but still that blanket sound.

If you get a chance you should def. try this with a different module like an SL+.
The 1086 has a duller/darker sound on it's own, so it will have a slightly bigger improvement than others.

Rob: the soundclick is down
Edit: I can't play any songs on your account .. I get an error about "loading the songfile"

 

[Jaded Faith]

It did that to me twice yesterday, but always came up on a second or third try. It just pulled up first try for me, so let me know if you are still having no luck.

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

But I will also say you can see a more drastic change by changing one specific caps value than changing all the caps on the module to say Orange Drops or Mallory's.

I'll bite.. would you be willing to share what that cap is (if not it's value)?

 

[m0jo]

But I will also say you can see a more drastic change by changing one specific caps value than changing all the caps on the module to say Orange Drops or Mallory's.

I'll bite.. would you be willing to share what that cap is (if not it's value)?

That probably depends on the sonic change you want to achieve

Rob:
I still can't play it.. could you e-mail it to me? I'm interested to hear the clip.

 

[Jaded Faith]

Kapo: That wasn't just one part on that mod, it was probably closer to 18-20 replacements or changes. There were several tweaks to both the gain and tonestack among other things.

 

[Jaded Faith]

Rob:
I still can't play it.. could you e-mail it to me? I'm interested to hear the clip.

Sure thing. The file is on my studio PC, so I'll shoot it over tomorrow.

 

[m0jo]

Rob:
I still can't play it.. could you e-mail it to me? I'm interested to hear the clip.

Sure thing. The file is on my studio PC, so I'll shoot it over tomorrow.

Too late, it works already!

Not my taste of high gain, but yes you can hear what the mod does to the clarity.

 

[Jaded Faith]

The thing to note was the customer actually likes the gain levels as is on that module. So we weren't looking to add any gain and it was set modestly at noon for the clips. There was a lot left on the gas pedal from there! It could certainly be tuned way hotter if one desired.

I think it did a good job of showing was how the exact same module can sound with the minimal investment of just a base mod. There have been few if any clips available to document before/after a mod.[/list]

 

[m0jo]

The thing to note was the customer actually likes the gain levels as is on that module. So we weren't looking to add any gain and it was set modestly at noon for the clips. There was a lot left on the gas pedal from there! It could certainly be tuned way hotter if one desired.

I think it did a good job of showing was how the exact same module can sound with the minimal investment of just a base mod. There have been few if any clips available to document before/after a mod.[/list]

I understand, I mostly meant it's not my kind of voicing
Then again the 1086 stock isn't my thing either, so no surprise there.

I think it's a good idea to do this.
If we would get that clip project off the ground there would be stacks of comparison material, that should make the difference very clear.