Hi guys,
I thought I would let you guys know what its like to have Trace from Voodoo mod or work on one of your amps.
My amp being done was my 50 Watt non master volume Voodoo V-plex that had been converted by the previous owner to a V-rock. I wanted to put it back to a V-plex and have Trace add a Master volume, and I also wanted it tweaked for me.
It started with a phone call to Trace to talk to him about what I was looking for. When you do this, HAVE A PEN And PAPER with you to take notes. Trace will give you all kinds of info about tone from speakers, pickups, strings, to cables to tubes.....WRITE IT DOWN!
I explained what I use for gear, how I play, what I play and what I was looking for from my amp. He then helps you choose the right mod or mods (if you need one) for what your looking for. (NOTE: be honest with your answers. No amp MOD is going to make up for lousy technique). The very first time I talked to him, I took the info he shared with me, and I was able to tweak my gear to add some of what I was looking for, without having the amp modded.
He will then send you a form that will have the mods you talked about, and have you list your equipment, cabs, speakers, guitars, pickups..... This way he has an idea of what your using. (My main guitars are Les Paul Standards, a 1996 and a 2004 both loaded with Bare Knuckles Black Dog pickups).
At the end of the form is a section for notes...... I put down that I was looking for the tone heard on AC/DCs Night Prowler intro so he had an idea of what my expectations were. In total Trace fashion, he let me know that I was actually hearing 2 guitars with two different amps, one more distorted (Angus) and one cleaner with nice highs (Malcolm). It still gave him an idea of what I was after.
Once I sent in the amp, Trace and I talked on the phone a few more times, as well as he emailed me with ideas, and told me what he was hearing in the amp. We then discussed power tubes, and pre amp tubes to try and dial in the exact sound I was after.
Important Note:
We all know how OCD guitar players are, and we can get stuck in the "I USE THIS ONLY".... I'm guilty as much as anyone, but remember the guy modding your amp has been around too, and be open to their suggestions. I say this because I had a favorite power tube that I use in my other Voodoo V-plex, but when Trace put it in this one, with the changes he did, the tubes I like had TOO MUCH of what I was after (bottom) and he suggested a different tube because my choice was too much bottom and the wrong kind of bottom (muddy). I took his advise, since he is trying to give me what I'm asking for, and I'm glad I did. His choice better matched the mod, and gave me exactly what I was after.
Here is a section from one of the emails.
Bill;
"I spent most of the day yesterday and all morning making some fine line tweaks based on the AC/DC Night Prowler song you referenced.
AC/DC Night Prowler Tone - When you listen to the studio version the guitar tone is great (truly) - however - there are (2) different guitar tones creating what you are hearing. Combined they sound great.
I tried to morph both tones together into the Treble channel going by the guitar/pickups you have, speaker cabinet, speakers, etc. I would recommend starting off by plugging into the Treble channel only to start with. Set the Preamp/Gain control full up/wide open. Set Treble, Mids, Presence to 12:00 and set the Bass EQ at 10:00. Raise up the Master and play. This should be a good starting point."So now jump to when I got my amp back....... I plugged it in, set the knobs where Trace said to start, made a few adjustments, and was totally BLOWN AWAY! Exactly what I was looking for. From when I sent in the amp to when it was back was 12 days..... Pretty quick in my book.
If your thinking about having your amp tweaked or fully Modded, give Trace a call. I couldnt ask for a more professional experience in having an amp modded.
Here is my amp rig:
