VIBRO-CHAMP Switching 'Gain Stage' Modification

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Hi Group, Rich Dickerson (AGA Regular) had me do a mod that I shipped out last week; here’s a page with some of the details: http://www.Braught.com/MarshChamp.htm Thought some of you might find it interesting. The floor is now open for your comments/flames! Cheers, -Robert QTS http://www.Braught.com

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All these discussions about amps are ruining this newsgroup. Pete >Hi Group, >Rich Dickerson (AGA Regular) had me do a mod that I shipped out last >week; here’s a page with some of the details: >http://www.Braught.com/MarshChamp.htm >Thought some of you might find it interesting. The floor is now open >for your comments/flames! >Cheers, >-Robert >QTS >http://www.Braught.com

– One egg left? For a nutritious breakfast, two eggs is the minimum requirement! And I have but one, which is one shy of two! And it is two that I need! Curses!!! –Mojo Jojo

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– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> All these discussions about amps are ruining this newsgroup. > Pete >Hi Group, >Rich Dickerson (AGA Regular) had me do a mod that I shipped out last >week; here’s a page with some of the details: >http://www.Braught.com/MarshChamp.htm >Thought some of you might find it interesting. The floor is now open >for your comments/flames! >Cheers, >-Robert >QTS >http://www.Braught.com > — > One egg left? For a nutritious breakfast, two eggs is the > minimum requirement! And I have but one, which is one shy > of two! And it is two that I need! Curses!!! –Mojo Jojo

Robert, Nicely done! Best regards, Rich www.guytronix.com

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> All these discussions about amps are ruining this newsgroup.

I know, I should change my sign-in name to Zippy The Pinhead, and I should have started a thread on Leonard Pelter instead of a Fender amp I worked on; but I couldn’t help myself, ‘Guitar Amps’ being in the newsgroup name and all. Please accept my apology. -Robert ‘Really does like Zippy The Pinhead (the LSD Republican)’ – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Pete >Hi Group, >Rich Dickerson (AGA Regular) had me do a mod that I shipped out last >week; here’s a page with some of the details: >http://www.Braught.com/MarshChamp.htm >Thought some of you might find it interesting. The floor is now open >for your comments/flames! >Cheers, >-Robert >QTS >http://www.Braught.com

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>> All these discussions about amps are ruining this newsgroup. >I know, I should change my sign-in name to Zippy The Pinhead, and I >should have started a thread on Leonard Pelter instead of a Fender amp >I worked on; but I couldn’t help myself, ‘Guitar Amps’ being in the >newsgroup name and all. Please accept my apology. >-Robert >’Really does like Zippy The Pinhead (the LSD Republican)’

http://www.Braught.com/MarshChamp.htm I took a look at the amp, but wasn’t sure what I was looking at. These amplifier things you speak of are new to me. Pete — One egg left? For a nutritious breakfast, two eggs is the minimum requirement! And I have but one, which is one shy of two! And it is two that I need! Curses!!! –Mojo Jojo

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> Hi Group, > Rich Dickerson (AGA Regular) had me do a mod that I shipped out last > week; here’s a page with some of the details: > http://www.Braught.com/MarshChamp.htm > Thought some of you might find it interesting. The floor is now open > for your comments/flames!

LOL, welcome to the club of those who are now the most loved to hate in the world of the vintage nazi. You, like myself, are NEVER going to dig yourself out from the shadows, they will cast over you till your day’s end. You are now the blight and pestilence on all that is holy to those vacuum bottles that glow with their warmth of tone. To have committed the deadly sin, and their mission is to broadcast it to he world. Welcome to the club Robert, for those who have transgressed, and in the eyes of the vintage nazi, there is simply no forgiveness. <sigh> Welcome, to the brotherhood!!!!!! Regards, Rich Koerner, Time Electronics. http://www.timeelect.com Specialists in Live Sound FOH Engineering, Music & Studio Production, Vintage Instruments, and Tube Amplifiers

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- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->LOL, welcome to the club of those who > are now the most loved to hate in the > world of the vintage nazi. >You, like myself, are NEVER going to dig > yourself out from the shadows, they will > cast over you till your day’s end. >You are now the blight and pestilence on > all that is holy to those vacuum bottles > that glow with their warmth of tone. >To have committed the deadly sin, and > their mission is to broadcast it to he > world. >Welcome to the club Robert, for those > who have transgressed, and in the eyes > of the vintage nazi, there is simply no > forgiveness. ><sigh> >Welcome, to the brotherhood!!!!!!

While I understand the desire of the "vintage nazi" to have the old tube amps left in their original condition, an amp’s owner should have something to say about it, too. I wanted this mod done, and to Robert’s credit it was done with absolutely no permanent modifications. Now, I have no intentions of selling this amp, so it wasn’t really a concern to me, but I appreciate wanting an unmarked piece. Since its return to me, I have done one thing to it that has left a mark on it, though. I put the metal Weber badge on the lower front corner, and I drilled 4 small holes to mount it. Shame on me! LOL ~Rich See my gear at the link! http://community.webtv.net/one4rich/RichsGuitarPage

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– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->LOL, welcome to the club of those who > are now the most loved to hate in the > world of the vintage nazi. >You, like myself, are NEVER going to dig > yourself out from the shadows, they will > cast over you till your day’s end. >You are now the blight and pestilence on > all that is holy to those vacuum bottles > that glow with their warmth of tone. >To have committed the deadly sin, and > their mission is to broadcast it to he > world. >Welcome to the club Robert, for those > who have transgressed, and in the eyes > of the vintage nazi, there is simply no > forgiveness. ><sigh> >Welcome, to the brotherhood!!!!!! >While I understand the desire of the "vintage nazi" to have the old tube >amps left in their original condition, an amp’s owner should have >something to say about it, too. >I wanted this mod done, and to Robert’s credit it was done with >absolutely no permanent modifications. Now, I have no intentions of >selling this amp, so it wasn’t really a concern to me, but I appreciate >wanting an unmarked piece. >Since its return to me, I have done one thing to it that has left a mark >on it, though. I put the metal Weber badge on the lower front corner, >and I drilled 4 small holes to mount it. >Shame on me! LOL >~Rich >See my gear at the link! >http://community.webtv.net/one4rich/RichsGuitarPage

Now the vintage nazis are going to come after you instead of Robert! It looks like he did a good job on the mod anyhow, and I don’t think anybody is very concerned about Vibro Champs yet anyhow. Pete Pete — One egg left? For a nutritious breakfast, two eggs is the minimum requirement! And I have but one, which is one shy of two! And it is two that I need! Curses!!! –Mojo Jojo

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<snip> >>http://www.Braught.com/MarshChamp.htm <snip> > Nicely done! > Best regards, > Rich > www.guytronix.com

Thanks Rich! -Robert

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I don’t know. I don’t think I could sacrifice the tremolo on a vibro champ for anything. It is one of my favorite tremolo circuits ever. Well that and the circuit on the Harmony H415. But I really do like the preamp tube bias oscillation method. It is unique sounding. I’m not a nazi though. If you are keeping the amp forever, do what you want and let somebody sort it out 50 years later. It keeps guys like me with work to do for other people restoring their amps. -Zach Omega – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->>LOL, welcome to the club of those who >> are now the most loved to hate in the >> world of the vintage nazi. >>You, like myself, are NEVER going to dig >> yourself out from the shadows, they will >> cast over you till your day’s end. >>You are now the blight and pestilence on >> all that is holy to those vacuum bottles >> that glow with their warmth of tone. >>To have committed the deadly sin, and >> their mission is to broadcast it to he >> world. >>Welcome to the club Robert, for those >> who have transgressed, and in the eyes >> of the vintage nazi, there is simply no >> forgiveness. >><sigh> >>Welcome, to the brotherhood!!!!!! >While I understand the desire of the "vintage nazi" to have the old tube >amps left in their original condition, an amp’s owner should have >something to say about it, too. >I wanted this mod done, and to Robert’s credit it was done with >absolutely no permanent modifications. Now, I have no intentions of >selling this amp, so it wasn’t really a concern to me, but I appreciate >wanting an unmarked piece. >Since its return to me, I have done one thing to it that has left a mark >on it, though. I put the metal Weber badge on the lower front corner, >and I drilled 4 small holes to mount it. >Shame on me! LOL >~Rich >See my gear at the link! >http://community.webtv.net/one4rich/RichsGuitarPage > Now the vintage nazis are going to come after you instead of Robert! > It looks like he did a good job on the mod anyhow, and I don’t think > anybody is very concerned about Vibro Champs yet anyhow. > Pete > Pete

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Very cool…!! Any comments by the "owner" (and Mr. Braught, of course) on the "sound" of said *gain stage*.. ? ? ? I suspect it sounds nice… would it be considered a "mild" overdrive or "high gain" stuff.. ? ? gtski

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>Any comments by the "owner" (and Mr. > Braught, of course) on the "sound" of > said *gain stage*.. ? ? ? >I suspect it sounds nice… would it be > considered a "mild" overdrive or >"high gain" stuff.. ? ?

I like it so far…I commented to Robert that it sounded farty with the pre on 10 and he said that’s the way it’s supposed to sound. Backed down to 8 or 9 it’s very rich and lively…it’s louder than I expected, and I haven’t had a chance to crank it…band rehearsal was cancelled yesterday, and I was planning on taking it along. Even on 2, with the pre on 8, it’s louder than I need for my usual basement playing…when I started to turn it up the wife came down…sleeping baby, etc. It’s based on a JCM800 preamp circuit, so it’s crunchy, but not "modern hi gain". I really want to turn it up all the way and get into the subtleties of the tone, but I haven’t had the chance yet. Maybe I’ll get time later today or tomorrow. I’m going camping/dirtbiking over Thanksgiving, so I’ll be incommunicado after tomorrow night. ~Rich See my gear at the link! http://community.webtv.net/one4rich/RichsGuitarPage

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- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – <snip> >Since its return to me, I have done one thing to it that has left a mark >on it, though. I put the metal Weber badge on the lower front corner, >and I drilled 4 small holes to mount it. >Shame on me! LOL >~Rich >See my gear at the link! >http://community.webtv.net/one4rich/RichsGuitarPage > Now the vintage nazis are going to come after you instead of Robert! > It looks like he did a good job on the mod anyhow, and I don’t think > anybody is very concerned about Vibro Champs yet anyhow. > Pete > Pete

I am sorry, Pete Pete, but not only is this an Amp thread, but it’s a ‘Rich Preferred’ thread Rich- Guytronix Rich- Time Electronics Rich- The Amp Owner -Robert ‘My name at least has an ‘R’ in it.’

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Okay, I went down and got it turned up for a little bit. It’s pretty good…I like it with the pre and post controls around 7, with the bass around 4 and the treble around 6. The normal volume control does have some influence in "drive" mode, and I kept it around 5. Beyond those limits the Weber speaker starts to suffer, and the low end gets really flubby. The "drive" mode takes the normal "Champ on Ten" tone up a few notches, and makes it crispier, too. It’s quite a bit louder, and very crunchy. To get a better handle on the *amp*, I disconnected the internal speaker and ran it into my Legend amp’s pair of 12" Celestion 65’s. This little amp really came to life! It sounds best with both the pre and post controls on 8, and the treble on 8 and the bass on 4. Very rock and roll, very Marshall’y. At full bore, it still gets farty in the low end, but with all of the controls except bass "on the 8’s" it’s really good. I played my Explorer and my Tele, and I got nice crunch, sustain, and controllable feedback. It’s very loud…not gigging loud, but definitely too loud for learning tunes and normal basement playing. If I’m playing metal, I’ll probably still run my SansAmp into it for the extra gain it provides, but for rock and blues, and small jams, it’s perfect just like it is. Thanks, Robert! ~Rich See my gear at the link! http://community.webtv.net/one4rich/RichsGuitarPage

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– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – >Okay, I went down and got it turned up for a little bit. >It’s pretty good…I like it with the pre and post controls around 7, >with the bass around 4 and the treble around 6. The normal volume >control does have some influence in "drive" mode, and I kept it around >5. Beyond those limits the Weber speaker starts to suffer, and the low >end gets really flubby. The "drive" mode takes the normal "Champ on Ten" >tone up a few notches, and makes it crispier, too. It’s quite a bit >louder, and very crunchy. >To get a better handle on the *amp*, I disconnected the internal speaker >and ran it into my Legend amp’s pair of 12" Celestion 65’s. This little >amp really came to life! It sounds best with both the pre and post >controls on 8, and the treble on 8 and the bass on 4. Very rock and >roll, very Marshall’y. >At full bore, it still gets farty in the low end, but with all of the >controls except bass "on the 8’s" it’s really good. I played my Explorer >and my Tele, and I got nice crunch, sustain, and controllable feedback. >It’s very loud…not gigging loud, but definitely too loud for learning >tunes and normal basement playing. If I’m playing metal, I’ll probably >still run my SansAmp into it for the extra gain it provides, but for >rock and blues, and small jams, it’s perfect just like it is. Thanks, >Robert! >~Rich >See my gear at the link! >http://community.webtv.net/one4rich/RichsGuitarPage

I guess that farty sound must be a single ended amp thing. You’ll probably just have to work around that. Which Weber did you use? Pete — One egg left? For a nutritious breakfast, two eggs is the minimum requirement! And I have but one, which is one shy of two! And it is two that I need! Curses!!! –Mojo Jojo

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>I guess that farty sound must be a single > ended amp thing. You’ll probably just > have to work around that.

Yeah, I suppose so…it only does it wide open, and there’s really not much need for that in my house. I guess I always seemed to equate that flubby sound with a speaker crapping out, but it kinda did that through my Legend cab, too. >Which Weber did you use? >Pete

8F125-4 8" Ceramic 30 oz. 4 ohm 1.25" voice coil, 20 watts. ~Rich See my gear at the link! http://community.webtv.net/one4rich/RichsGuitarPage

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If they had their way, the owner of the amp, the amp tech, and anyone else involved, are dead meat. One night I was having fun in Google and was doing searches on amp mods, to see what the world was doing. In one of the searches I came across a web BBS, and found I was the subject of a few threads. Boy, were they hanging my ass out to dry for mods that were up on my site. They were posting links to all the pictures they could find on my site, along with the verbal bashing. One of the guys was saying he travels the states a lot, and was going to look me up, and give me a piece of his mind. The fact that most of the items were my own stuff, and had been done BEFORE there was ever a vintage ANYTHING, didn’t seem to matter in the least. So, one day you and Robert too, may be made famous, as the most loved to bash, by the vintage nazi’s on the internet. Nothing makes me happier than to find my work pissed people off, when the owner was as happy as a pig in shit. The ass hole don’t get it. It ain’t their property, and it’s a free country. Life is to lived by your rules, not someone else’s. Carry on and enjoy your amp, and make all the music you can with it. There are three kinds of people in the world. Those who MAKE things happen, those who WATCH things happen, and those who WONDER what happened. The vintage nazi’s are in the second group. Who, along with the rest of the world, are the critics for those in the first group. Nothing ever changes, except for the calendar. > I wanted this mod done, and to Robert’s credit it was done with > absolutely no permanent modifications. Now, I have no intentions of > selling this amp, so it wasn’t really a concern to me, but I appreciate > wanting an unmarked piece.

Me too, and I advise my customers so. > Since its return to me, I have done one thing to it that has left a mark > on it, though. I put the metal Weber badge on the lower front corner, > and I drilled 4 small holes to mount it. > Shame on me! LOL

Regards, Rich Koerner, Time Electronics. http://www.timeelect.com Specialists in Live Sound FOH Engineering, Music & Studio Production, Vintage Instruments, and Tube Amplifiers

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– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->Any comments by the "owner" (and Mr. > Braught, of course) on the "sound" of > said *gain stage*.. ? ? ? >I suspect it sounds nice… would it be > considered a "mild" overdrive or >"high gain" stuff.. ? ? > I like it so far…I commented to Robert that it sounded farty with the > pre on 10 and he said that’s the way it’s supposed to sound. Backed down > to 8 or 9 it’s very rich and lively…it’s louder than I expected, and I > haven’t had a chance to crank it…band rehearsal was cancelled > yesterday, and I was planning on taking it along. > Even on 2, with the pre on 8, it’s louder than I need for my usual > basement playing…when I started to turn it up the wife came > down…sleeping baby, etc. > It’s based on a JCM800 preamp circuit, so it’s crunchy, but not "modern > hi gain". I really want to turn it up all the way and get into the > subtleties of the tone, but I haven’t had the chance yet. Maybe I’ll get > time later today or tomorrow. I’m going camping/dirtbiking over > Thanksgiving, so I’ll be incommunicado after tomorrow night.

Thanks for the info… sounds like it’ll be a fun amp. Camping and dirtbiking.. ? ? You must live pretty far south of the 40th parallel . . ??? Have fun, don’t break anything that money can’t fix…! ! gtski – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> ~Rich > See my gear at the link! > http://community.webtv.net/one4rich/RichsGuitarPage

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>I don’t know. I don’t think I could sacrifice the tremolo on a vibro >champ for anything. It is one of my favorite tremolo circuits ever. >Well that and the circuit on the Harmony H415. But I really do like >the preamp tube bias oscillation method. It is unique sounding. I’m >not a nazi though. If you are keeping the amp forever, do what you >want and let somebody sort it out 50 years later. It keeps guys like >me with work to do for other people restoring their amps. >-Zach Omega

Hey Zach. I have both a ‘74 VC and a ‘67 H415. I converted both to have the trem default "off" so I can use the same LED indicated pedal board switch with them and my SFDR which defaults "off." Here’s the H415 page: http://www.geocities.com/jjsant/harmony.html JJman

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Beautiful cabinet you put it into. On mine, the handle isn’t original, somebody replaced the Jensens with Utah speakers which (despite their reputation) sound awesome. When I got it, First thing I did was open it up. I saw a leaky cap in the trem section so I assumed it didn’t work. Eventually I found out that it did, but it worked so weak that it was barely noticable. I recapped the amp and it sounds amazing! The grill cloth on mine is coming off in the one corner, but I think it adds character. Oh, and you got cheated. My tubes are the original Harmony tubes as well, except that mine are made in Britain including the EL84’s. -Zach Omega – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Hey Zach. I have both a ‘74 VC and a ‘67 H415. I converted both to > have the trem default "off" so I can use the same LED indicated pedal > board switch with them and my SFDR which defaults "off." > Here’s the H415 page: > http://www.geocities.com/jjsant/harmony.html > JJman

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>… Oh, and you got cheated. My > tubes are the original Harmony tubes as well, except that mine are > made in Britain including the EL84’s.

Are you sure they were made there and not really re-branded? Just curious. What brands? —-== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com – Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==—- http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! >100,000 Newsgroups —= East/West-Coast Server Farms – Total Privacy via Encryption =—

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>>… Oh, and you got cheated. My > tubes are the original Harmony tubes as well, except that mine are > made in Britain including the EL84’s. >Are you sure they were made there >and not really re-branded? Just >curious. What brands?

Mine say "Harmony….Japan" on them. His probably say "Harmony….Gr. Britain?" JJman

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I’m actually not sure of anything about them. I’ll have to take another look at them, but I know the power tubes either say made in Great Britain or something similar. They are marked Harmony, but I assumed they were just marked that way by Harmony. -Zach Omega – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->… Oh, and you got cheated. My > tubes are the original Harmony tubes as well, except that mine are > made in Britain including the EL84’s. > Are you sure they were made there > and not really re-branded? Just > curious. What brands? > —-== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com – Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==—- > http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! >100,000 Newsgroups > —= East/West-Coast Server Farms – Total Privacy via Encryption =—

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>Camping and dirtbiking.. ? ? You must > live pretty far south of the 40th >parallel . . ??? >Have fun, don’t break anything that > money can’t fix…! !

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VIBRO-CHAMP Switching 'Gain Stage' Modification

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