Ted B.

Member
Member # 108
Member Rated:

posted November 06, 2001 06:04 AM

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Look on the board for C17. With a pair of pliers, yank and/or destroy that cap. It
will help,
but C18 will still be there to brighten things up a good bit. Remove or disembowel
C18 also if you
want to darken it up like you did to your 1987x.
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Re: 1959SLP RI and KT88's

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Posted by Ted B on February 07, 2002 at 14:57:11:

In Reply to: Re: 1959SLP RI and KT88's posted by Jim on February 06, 2002 at
13:37:55:
: Thats good news. Would you identify if posible please?
All parts are coded on the board. Clip capacitor C17, which should make an
immediate difference.
If the amp is still too bright at low volumes, clip C18

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Ronaldo, 1987x is right. get rid of those 2 caps at c17 & c18 & your 1959 will seem
like a new animal!!
Ted B. told me about this mod when I got my first 1959..it took the amp from
unuseable to great sounding!!

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Posted by pat on March 15, 2002 at 20:47:04:

In Reply to: Important 1959slp reissue cap mod questions posted by Jim on March 14,
2002 at 21:20:53:

: Some people are snipping different caps on the board to cut back the Bright on
vol#1

: some snip: C17 and C18 (4n7 and 1n)

: some snip: C15 and C16 (470p and 2n2
: some snip: C4 and C5 (470p and 120p)

: Which is correct and why.

snip c17 and c18

swap c15 and 16 for the correct .022mfd
snip c4 and leave c5 120p

try it...
you will know why
pat

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At least that's what it seems like! I've done several mods to my 1987x 50 watt
reissue after receiving
suggestions from several of you and my tone has come a long way. However, I'm still
not quite finished.
In its stock form, my amp sounded pretty crappy so I had to use distortion boxes to
get my distorted
tones. Now after doing several mods, I can nail Pete Townsend's "Won't Get Fooled
Again" tone with just
my Les Paul, my amp with a Marshall 1960AV loaded with Greenback Reissues, and a
Hotplate, which is
very cool. However, after listening to Twisty's clips, I realize I still have a way
to go before I get
the gain I'm looking for i.e. Early VH, Jake E. Lee's tone during his Badlands
days, etc. Here are the
mods I've done so far:
1. Removed bright cap from volume 1 pot (C17-C18)
2. Changed channel 1 cathode cap to .0022uf (C15-C16). This really helped with the
muddy tone when the
amp was cranked in comparison to the stock .022 cap.
3. Converted to shared cathode on 1st preamp tube.
4. Added 220uf cathode cap on 2nd preamp tube (I also experimented with the .68 cap
but like the 220
cap better)
5. Changed presence cap to .1uf.
6. Changed the negative feedback resistor to 47k.
7. Changed the negative feedback loop to connect at the 16 ohm tap.
8. Added the "Rich Mod" master volume from the Les Paul Forum (This is a post PI
master using a dual
500k pot. I thought about removing it after getting the Hotplate but it really
comes in handy when -12
db isn't enough and -8 db is too much)
9. Installed an OEI OT.
10. Installed JJ/Tesla 12AX7's and E34L's.

What else can I do to get the amp from "Won't Get Fooled Again" into "Somebody Get
Me A Doctor?"

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I'm experimenting with some mods to my 50 watt reissue right now (see the Reissue
mods, Part 10 million post)
and if I was starting with a stock amp again, I'd do the following:
1. Remove the bright cap from C17-C18 (or the volume 1 pot if it's on there
instead) - this reduces the low
volume brightness and fixes the all-or-nothing volume control
2. Change the .022uf cap at C15-C16 to .0022uf - this really adds clarity to the
amp when cranked (Note: this
mod made a bigger difference than changing the output transformer to an OEI, which
has been recommended
several times by others on this board). I've changed this cap back and forth
between the .022 and the .0022
and the .022 adds a tone of mush to the tone.
3. Add a .68 cap across the 100k resistor at V2 if it's not already there - I
believe it's at C9. This will
increase the gain of the amp.
4. Install some good tubes - I'm using JJ/Tesla E34L's and 12AX7's and highly
recommend them. The tube change
makes a huge difference in these amps.
5. Bias the amp to 17 watts at idle - do a search on "bias" for details on how to
do this with a 1-ohm resistor
6. Get a THD Hotplate and crank up that amp.

These changes will basically give you an early 70's metal panel circuit. I've gone
thru the entire process of
converting my amp back to '68 specs and am not happy with the results. Gnugear and
I have both been
experimenting with these mods. His amp is using the changes mentioned above (with a
250uf cap at V2 instead of
a .68 and using different tubes) and sounds much better than mine. Check out some
of his clips on his website.
Be sure to check the PCB locations I mentioned above for accuracy as I gave you the
locations on my amp. Yours
may be different since it's a 100 watter and probably a different year.

--------------------

Craig

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Posts: 96 | From: Defiance, OH | Registered: Nov 2001 | IP: Logged

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For more gain, you can change plate resistor values. You can try
anything from 56K to 220K. The 220K's will extreamly monterous
distortion. I think these amps had 100k plate resistors as stock.
Don't quote me.

You can also use different values for your cathode resistors. Try
820ohm, 1K, 1.5K, & 2.7K.

If this still isn't enough gain place a .22 or .68uf 25volt cap across
the first gain stage's cathode's resistor

For more touch response:

1. On the first preamp tube, Jump pins 1 to 6, 2 to 7, & 3 to 8.

2. Wire a 100K resistor to pin 1 (plate).
3. Wire a 3.3K resistor with a 25uf 25volt cap across the resistor, to
pin 3 (cathode)
4. From the channel's "hot" side of the input jack, wire a 68K
resistor to pin 2. (grid).

You can of course try other values on the cathode and the plate. You
could also try an 820ohm resistor with a 330uf 50volt cap on the
cathode & a 130K resistor on the plate or even a 220K if you like the
sound.
Again, change the tone stack values! These amps sound really nice with
this simple change:

Tone slope resistor to 56k, and treble cap to 250pf.