OP
YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
High Voltages After Headfirst Origin 50 Mod
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YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Amp Mad Scientist
Ambassador of Heresy
And d d d d d d...? what' sit like?
OP
It's still at Greg's, but it destroys a modded JCM800 2204 for gain production. I've heard several that were recently HF modded and the gain the amp alone can produce is even more than it produces with a Tube Screamer.
syscokid
Ambassador of War & Peace
Yes, it's fully operational. Ready to go home. It is now a very high gain amp... a very loud high gain amp! A very small amount of added hiss. I've only played about 10 minutes while testing the new loop board with my Fender reverb pedal (Marine Layer), but it did sound really good. The Jose clippers are clipping like cranky crickets!
The amp's 3-position power scaling switch feature is practically useless now. I'm guessing the power switch should be left on HIGH all the time. The amp's Boost feature doesn't seem to make any difference to the gain or tone anymore.
OP
I am told that both of those functions (power scaling and boost) are basically bypassed or rendered ineffective by the modification due to the added gain stage.
No matter to me, because I always ran it on high power and Max boost all the time.
What's shocking is how nice the amp cleans up when the gain is rolled off...
OP
Good observations!!!
This is exactly why I'm going with a twin-amp setup. You can't beat my Marshall MG50 Solid State for its crystal clear clean tones. Maybe a Princeton is cleaner, but I have this 50 watt MG50 on hand, so it's a good choice for zero dollars spent.
The more I think about it, the more the clean/dirty amp setup makes more and more sense. No need to alter amp gain or volume or fiddle with rolling the knobs back between songs, just simply switch on 'A' or 'B' and you're ready instantly.
I'm wondering why I didn't do this sooner.
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OP
I'm a musical Neanderthal. I use a rock.
OP
Here's my Saturday Jam Class at the music academy. Photo taken yesterday. The guy with the Les Paul told me, "Man, whatta ya got in that Strat!?! It's got more punch than a Les Paul!!"
MG50 can be seen under my right elbow...
MG50 can be seen under my right elbow...
I’ve been a fan of dual amp setups for awhile.
I’m working on my own dual amp setup,; actually, I started it quite awhile ago, but it got sidelined while I bought a house and sold another.
I need to revisit that project. As I recall, I was just about done with the mechanics. I think I still need to get a couple of speakers.
OP
For speakers, I used a pair of 70/80's that I had on hand. Free...
The new pedalboard is just an extension of my existing board....
And based on a Temple Audio Duo 34 provided by @RobV
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OP
I'm a bonehead because for 2 years, I've been taking this MG50 to gigs as a backup and a keyboard amp, but it never dawned on me to make it a part of my rig until recently...
Here's the MG50 being used as a keyboard amp recently:
Lighten up on yourself.
No one is born knowing everything and everyone goes through periods of growth and development.
Why didn’t you do this earlier?
Because you weren’t ready to.
OP
Probably too busy earning a living to down the rig for modification
So, just to be clear, does this mod actually change the gain structure of the amp, or is the apparent gain increase really a result of the added diode clipping?
OP
Probably too busy earning a living to down the rig for modification
OP
So, let me try to explain as I understand the HF mod.
By reassigning tube V2 from FX loop duty, it creates a second gain stage. This is similar to the Tim Caswell #39 mod. Not only does it create a TON or USEABLE gain, it imparts a very dynamic, touch-sensitive character that the Origin does nor have in stock form.
The Jose Arredondo Zener Diode Clipping Modification (to my mind) works much like an attenuator, giving you a flat-topped sine wave at very low volumes, but the actual structure of the gain produced is much more dynamic and articulate than the amp could ever produce on its own.
For comparison, if I hit the studio's Mike Morin Modded (extra gain stage added) JCM800 2204 with a TS-9, it still does not produce as much gain as the HF modded Origin 50H produces without a pedal of any kind.
The higher voltages give a lot of clean headroom and the Origin is much louder than it is in stock configuration...
OP
Okay. So, it is doing both. The reassignment of the tube is what results in the extra gain, but the zener diodes clip the signal. Incidentally, this is not attenuation. Attenuation would be a reduction in amplitude of the signal, while preserving the waveform. Clipping works differently. The diodes have a maximum voltage limit. When they receive a signal that exceeds that limit, only the portion at or below that threshold passes; the portion beyond that limit is “clipped”, resulting in a squared-off waveform. This squared-off waveform is heard as distortion.
Glad to hear it worked out for you.
OP
I am yet to pick my amp up from Greg, but I've played through two HF modded Origins locally and I am blown away by these amps...
By the way, there's quite a volume drop when the Jose Diode Clipping switch is kicked in...
OP
I want a T shirt with the squared-off waveform as my official symbol....