Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: JakeLeigh1986 on May 23, 2006, 08:30:32 PM
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Hi everyone,
does anyone know anywhere (In London) I could get another preamp valve installed on my JCM 800 for more gain.
I'm already running it with the power valves on full and pre amp maxed out (With a hotplate) and its still hasnt got enough gain for that John Sykes kinda sound. Definatly getting the Cold Sweats for one of my Les Pauls though.
Can different types of pre amp valve give more gain or is it all quite similar?
Thanks
Jake
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OK. Take a step back.
LEAVE THE JCM800 ALONE!!!!
*pulse returns to normal*
If it's an original JCM800 then I'd add a stomp box, a clean boost or even an EQ pedal for more gain.
If you have to mod one, buy a modern re-issue and do it to that.
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haha alright, well i'm using 1960a cabs with it, maybe if i used vintage 30s?? yh it is an original early 80s 50watt. I'm using a SD-1 for overdrive, maybe I'll look into a tubescreamer?
Jake
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haha alright, well i'm using 1960a cabs with it, maybe if i used vintage 30s?? yh it is an original early 80s 50watt. I'm using a SD-1 for overdrive, maybe I'll look into a tubescreamer?
Jake
Try the marshall guvnor plus pedal, it has gobs of gain a warm deep tone and sounds great boosting a valve amp.Oh and its quite inexpensive.
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there are a few (reversable) preamp mods that can be done - I'm talking about changing the values of a few resistors and adding a couple of bypass caps - this will give you quite a bit more chunk. a modded SD-1 however will give you that extra kick in the pants - those two just work together SO well, it's a no brainer.
:twisted:
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where can i find more info on these reversable mods?? cheers
Jake
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OK. Take a step back.
LEAVE THE JCM800 ALONE!!!!
*pulse returns to normal*
HAHAHA!!! :lol: :lol: :lol: classic
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Add a nice stompbox to add some colour to your tone. RAT's add tons of graunch, fuzz boxes add a huge grin factor, OD's add OD... erm... :?
If you want more gain, sell the JCM800 and buy a high gain amp, if you want solid tone with some added colour, try out a few stompboxes with your rig, and buy some. You can never have enough pedals... ;)
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ah no i wouldnt sell it. I do really like it, just trying to improve it. My other amps a dual recto, and i'm sick of its sound. Also a JMP1 and 9100 rack system which i think sounds much better than the recto. But theres something about the 800. I prob need to find a new pickup really, prob the cold sweat. I'm just using Burstbuckers, hotrails, dragon 2s and invaders.
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try the fuzz factory, works for everyone i know, just make sure the drive knob is AAAALLLLLLL the way around, and avoid the stability knob and you'll get great (normalish) distortion
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i used to nail slayers early tone and play In Flames type stuff on a JCM800.
Guitar > SD-1 > JCM800 head > Power Attenuator > Cab
EDIT ok so i didnt read you already had a Hot Plate lol.
New tubes maybe??
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Although you can get a fantastic sound with an extra preamp tube, it shouldn't be necessary to get John Sykes style gain with a JCM800. If you can't get it by driving the amp hard with the preamp on 10 and using the hotplate, you still can mod the existing components in the preamp to squeeze more gain out of the amp.
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You could put a Soldano Hotmod in as it is a single channel MV amp
The hotmod works by substituting the hot mod valve for one of the ECC83s
(the hotmod has an EF86 and some associated circuitry enclosed)
see an example here:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Soldano-Original-Brass-Hot-Mod-Tube-Hotmod_W0QQitemZ7416323380QQcategoryZ38075QQssPageNameZWD2VQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Sykes got his 1987 album tones from a Boogie for riffs etc and a JCM 800 for lead tones. He may or may not have used pedals or outboard gear as well at the time but these days he seems to like to play direct into the amp
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I don't know where to mod it, but before you get it modded may I suggest either a tube screamer or a treble booster.
I would recommend a Keeley Java Boost - www.robertkeeley.com which is a treble booster but may also be used as a mid or fullrange boost. That will increase your gain significantly - they provide a good amount of boost too. I ran it into a Marshall Major and it took that fairly clean amp into full blown overdrive, worthy of John Sykes but a whole lot meaner sounding.
The other option is a Tube Screamer. You can get a Keeley modded TS-9 which will have even more gain to it.
Boosts can increase your gain a lot!
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I'd considered the Java boost in the past, but the clips on the Keeley website sound really harsh, solid state, and cr@p. Kinda like if put a booster in front of my marshall microstack...
Can you confirm that the pedal sounds nothing like this in real life? :lol:
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Get the Zakk Wylde overdrive from MXR pedals, from what i've heard, the trick is to leave the gain at 0 on the pedal then boost the volume up to full on the pedal, then it will really drive the front end of the amp.
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Err, why buy the ZW OD for that? Just get a volume pedal or Marshall BB2...
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Although you can get a fantastic sound with an extra preamp tube, it shouldn't be necessary to get John Sykes style gain with a JCM800. If you can't get it by driving the amp hard with the preamp on 10 and using the hotplate, you still can mod the existing components in the preamp to squeeze more gain out of the amp.
Brainzy, where do I find out about this? Would it be hard to do myself?
Also a question about the cold sweats. I'm not looking for his 80s tone or recorded stuff, its mainly for his live sound, anyone who's seen Lizzy recently will know what I mean.
Cheers guys, big help.
Jake
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Isn't he using a Strat live now? Or is that Scott Gorham?
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Nah thats Scott. Johns still using his Black Les Paul Custom
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Dont you find Sykes' live tone a bit too high gain and muddy? I thought Gorham had much better tone when I went to see em, sounded so perfect!
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ahhh no way!!! haha. I do kinda know what you mean about being too high gain, well def too high gain for Lizzy but, I thought it was pretty cool!
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I'd considered the Java boost in the past, but the clips on the Keeley website sound really harsh, solid state, and cr@p. Kinda like if put a booster in front of my marshall microstack...
Can you confirm that the pedal sounds nothing like this in real life? :lol:
Those clips are pretty bad. Either he's not using it properly or using it with a solid state amp. The full and mid boost clips sound like a solid state amp....
I have used it with my Major, Studio 15 and AC30 (never the SL-X because that has more than enough gain). I have the one with the military version of the transformer in it, not that it should really matter. It does add a small amount of solid state distortion, but the goal in its proper usage is to boost the tube distortion of the amp. Full boost seems to boost the bass way too much and I find myself turning the bass to 0 if I use that. Mid boost provides and old school tone and treble boost can provide and old school tone but can also boost the gain way up. These things provide a significant amount of boost - probably more than all of the other treble boosters and OD pedals.
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I have JCM800 2203 EL3 and love the sound as it is. Very AC/DC like but heavier. for something extra I add a touch (9'o clock) of OD pedal.
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I have JCM800 2203 EL3 and love the sound as it is. Very AC/DC like but heavier. for something extra I add a touch (9'o clock) of OD pedal.
i do that too. for a really phat sound i combine this with my e.q. It turns a jcm800 into a monster.
guitar -> e.q. -> overdrive of your taste with level cranked, and drive on 9o'clock -> slightly overdriven jcm800 -> hotplate -> yum.
a winning combo for sure.
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Although you can get a fantastic sound with an extra preamp tube, it shouldn't be necessary to get John Sykes style gain with a JCM800. If you can't get it by driving the amp hard with the preamp on 10 and using the hotplate, you still can mod the existing components in the preamp to squeeze more gain out of the amp.
Bainzy, where do I find out about this? Would it be hard to do myself?
Also a question about the cold sweats. I'm not looking for his 80s tone or recorded stuff, its mainly for his live sound, anyone who's seen Lizzy recently will know what I mean.
Cheers guys, big help.
Jake
It wouldn't be that hard to do yourself, provided you can follow instructions and solder. I've put some JCM800 mods on PTPCircuits.com (http://www.ptpcircuits.com) in case you're interested, make sure you read the information about discharging the amp's capacitors first before you start messing with the PCB though.