Hey I’m new here but I have been surfing this forum for a while now, I have a few questions regarding my Vintage Modern 2466. First off, I want to say that I love this amp. From the unique pre-amp controls to the Blue L.E.D. light, everything about it is great. It’s simple and responsive, yet mean at the same time. I have a few questions regarding some mods that I’m planning on doing, nothing that will alter the tone, just a few “add-ons”. It’s kind of long, I tend to ramble a bit, but I appreciate you guys taking the time.
1. I’m sending my amp to Jerry at FJA mods. I’m thinking of installing a choke, the Vintage Modern doesn’t come with one stock. I’ve heard from several sources that installing a choke can improve the bottom end, noise levels, and give the amp more of a “punch”.
Now this all sounds great but will a choke affect the dynamics between the guitar and the amplifier? I love how responsive the amp is too how hard you strum, dynamics defined. I also love how it cleans up or distorts depending on how you set your volume pots on your guitar.
Will installing a choke affect this? And what are your thoughts/experiences with using a choke on this amp?
2. I was also thinking of installing the added gain stage that FJA offers for this amp, but I wanted to be able to switch between the added gain and the stock gain. Jerry said that his mod doesn’t do that; it just adds more gain to the high range. Now I’m sure it sounds great, but I don’t want to lose what I already love. I don’t like using distortion pedals, because most of them suck the original tone.
So here is my question, how well does this amp react to an on-board gain boost from a guitar? I have a BC Rich Mockingbird with Seymour Duncan 59s, and I’m planning on ordering the After Burner gain boost from EMG. The After Burner is an on-board gain boost that you install on your guitar; it works for both active and passive pickups. It is a push/pull booster with up to 20 dB of preset variable gain.
How well will the amp handle this? And can this be enough to push the gain to a decent thrash metal sound? Hence Metallica (Master Of Puppets) territory. I’m sure having the choke installed would help that heavy sound as well.
3. I’m swapping out my Seymour ‘59s in my Mockingbird for some hotter active pups. I know that a lot of the experienced veterans here might get on my case about that, but don’t worry I prefer passives; I have a Gibson with Alnicos. I’m just looking for something heavier, with more of a “metal” edge. Now I know this amp isn’t made for that but I play both rock and heavy music, so hopefully with the After Burner and Active Pups I can make it happen. I just can’t decide between EMGs, EMG Xs, or Seymour Duncan Blackouts. I know I’m going to have to swap and compare until I finally decide, but I’ve heard that EMGs or active pups in general don’t work well with the Vintage Modern. Seymour Duncan Blackouts and EMG Xs are both active and passive, or more like active with passive qualities.
So will the EMG Xs and Blackouts work better? Since they have passive qualities. And how come active pups such as EMGs aren’t considered a good match with this amp? I’ve played my friends Mockingbird (N-EMG 60, B-EMG 81) through my stack and it still sounded great. Hey maybe my ears are shot, but it seemed pretty good to me. Maybe the volume knobs and dynamics between the guitar and the amp weren’t as proficient, but the overall sound was fine.
How will this amp react to the After Burner and active pickups on my Mockingbird? I’m sure somebody here uses Actives with their Vintage Modern…
4. My next question is about installing a “half power switch” on my amp, so I can switch between 100 watts and 50 watts. This mod is very important because in order to really get this amp cooking you have to set your volume to at least seven, especially if you play a 100 watts. Now let me say it sounds incredible when I get to crank it, playing outdoors allows me to do that. But unfortunately I can’t when we play at smaller venues, or even at home. Jerry at FJA offers a half-power mod for most Marshalls, but he doesn’t offer one for the Vintage Modern.
So can it be done? And will it work well? And if so, who would be the man for the job?
5. My final question actually refers back to some of the questions I asked above regarding certain mods. I have found a few “add-on” mods by Voodoo amps that have caught my eye:
Bottom Control (push/pull)
http://www.voodooamps.com/home/Modifica ... fault.aspx
Gain Boost (push/pull)
http://www.voodooamps.com/home/Modifica ... fault.aspx
Half Power Switch (50/100 watt)
http://www.voodooamps.com/home/Modifica ... fault.aspx
Now I’m guessing the push/pull feature on the bottom control and gain boost allows me to turn the mods on and off. Which is the way I like it. Now I don’t know if these “add-on” mods can be used on the Vintage Modern, I still have to email them and ask. But if they can be used, then the switch-able gain boost and bottom control will allow me to enter “heavier” territory when necessary, and the Half Power Switch obviously speaks for itself. Hopefully everything including all the boosts and mods will work in equilibrium and properly on both 50 watts and 100 watts.
Now my question here is just regarding Voodoo amps in general and how they compare to the mods at FJA. Because I’ve heard good things and bad things; mostly positive stuff when it comes to FJA. Voodoo offers “deluxe” and “platinum” mods for the Vintage Modern, and it seems kind of fluffed up, I’m not putting them down but that’s the impression I’m getting. I’ve heard that every amp that Voodoo mods basically sounds just like a typical Voodoo amp/mod.
So has anyone here had experiences with one or the other? And how do you think the Voodoo mods I’ve listed above will work with the Vintage Modern?
Wow that took a while, I want to say thank you for being patient and taking the time to read through this, I know I typed a lot. Thanks again for helping me and I can’t wait to receive some insight from you guys.