Musicians Roadhouse

Hi guys, need a little help if you can. Just picked up a used mint condition 2061x. I like the amp but I am coming from a heavier background. I realize that I bought this amp in order to have something different than the "high gain" sound but I feel like the amp just needs a little more oomph. I am using it for club gigs with a 2 x 12 Vintage 30 cabinet, I bridge the channels and I rarely get to turn the volumes over 4 (about 11:00 o'clock). I have been adding a tube screamer to drive it a bit harder but still not getting the sound I would Like (Marshall crunchy chords and a more singing lead sound). I also have a 50 watt VM and I love the sound when I set the amp up for crunch and then use my overdrive to give me more. So my question, are there any mods that can give me good crunch around 4 on the volumes and allow me to get that singing lead with my overdrive pedal? I had read somewhere about a "Swank Motee" mod (anybody know anything about that?). Any help that you guys could provide would be appreciated.

I know that at least one person will say that I probably bought the wrong amp. I am a Marshall guy but play the ones with MVs and this is my venture into NMVs, and I could live with the sounds I am getting, they are okay but I really feel that I can push this amp into heavier territory if I just had some direction. Thanks again!

http://www.marshallroadhouse.com/viewto ... =40&t=9036

That mod sounds pretty darn good to me... Member Papus has the details of what the mod actually is...

I agree Aristotle, it sounds pretty good, and thanks for posting this, I wish he would have played more chords though, lead sound is excellent. It does appear that he is at high volumes though. I actually copied the posted schematic of this mod and so far it is my number one contender. I would like to here some more ideas however, if anybody has some. Thanks!

Try a pair of the JJ EL844 they breakup sooner than the standard EL84's and are a little less powerful, I use them in my class 5.

Swank Motee mod acts a bit like a MV..... sort of.
I too was hoping for a bedroom volume mod for high gain on the 2061x but it simply doesn't have the right topology for it.
You would have to mod it so heavily that you might as well have bought a small DSL or Tiny Terror in the first place.
The Swank Motee mod can get you into JCM 800 territory but you have to dime it as half the distortion is coming from the power section.
Kick it further with a clean boost and it approaches modern Metal but lacks a bit of definition.
Best to aim for JCM 800 or older in terms of authentic-sounding gain

I should add: the 2061x is Marshall's best kept secret.
For any 1960's-1980's tone it is the PERFECT gigging and recording amp but it does have to be dimed and it's rather loud :)
It is a FANTASTIC foundation tone for pedals. This amp just loves pedals!
You can hit the 2061x right in its G-spot with pedals, so to speak.

When I bought my 2061x, I asked the seller why he was letting it go. He said "it's just too damn loud". (He bought a 50w MV Marshall as a replacement).

When it comes to gain, almost any boost will get the amp into higher gain territory (without a boost, it seems to top out somewhere around AC/DC). But the amp needs to be turned up. I like a rangemaster type, but a TS would work as well.

I use mine with an attenuator. The attenuator can't squish things down to TV volume, but it does work in a band context.

I can't speak to mods, but there are some attenuators that would let you turn up past 4 and get the tone you're looking for.