'Hot Rodding and Amp' what does it mean?

[Scatterwound]

What does hod rodding an amp mean?

I have an old 80s JCM 800 combo and when I talk to guys in guiatar stores they often say "Man you should get it Hot rodded/modded"....

I suspect it mean something like modifying the internals to get more gain?

Could anyone explain this to me in layman's terms and/or recommend some links?

I have always found my JCM 800 combo to be too bright for my taste..Will Hot Rodding fix this?

 

[bungalowbill]

Re: 'Hot Rodding and Amp' what does it mean?

What does hod rodding an amp mean?

I have an old 80s JCM 800 combo and when I talk to guys in guiatar stores they often say "Man you should get it Hot rodded/modded"....

I suspect it mean something like modifying the internals to get more gain?

Could anyone explain this to me in layman's terms and/or recommend some links?

I have always found my JCM 800 combo to be too bright for my taste..Will Hot Rodding fix this?

You are correct in you assumptions. You can mod for more gain and also to get a darker tone. Do a search for Jeff Seal on this forum...modding Marshalls is his specialty.

 

[noisenet]

Re: 'Hot Rodding and Amp' what does it mean?

One thing to be aware of: Modding your 800 will significanty reduce it's value. Some people care, some do not. I'm in the middle. I have an 82 800 head that, to me is also pretty bright. With the highs and Presence on "0", it sounds pretty good, but #1 - that's in the bedroom, albeit pretty dern loud, and #2 I don't like the idea of having something all the way down - what if I need even less high end? I run an EQ pedal in my signal chain, but it's a stereo setup and eq'ing one amp will also affect the other one, and I don't want that, so.....

There's a killer tech here in town named Matt Garcia (who also builds some of the finest amps you've ever heard, albeit a bit pricey - all P2P handwired, everything by hand actually). I'm thinking of talking with him to see what he recommends......

 

[lpmarshall]

Re: 'Hot Rodding and Amp' what does it mean?

You are correct in you assumptions. You can mod for more gain and also to get a darker tone. Do a search for Jeff Seal on this forum...modding Marshalls is his specialty.

+1, I'd talk to Jeff Seal about it. And as noisenet mentioned, modding can decrease the value of the amp. Some mods can increase the value such as Voodoo mods, but most people prefer stock amps.

 

[jeremy]

Re: 'Hot Rodding and Amp' what does it mean?

i had my jcm 800 modded by voodoo amps, trace does great work but the amp was still way to loud for what i was doing with it. is there anything you dont like about your amp? if you are happy with it, then leave it alone.

if a mod was done well it should be able to be undone or redone without too much fuss, or atleast shouldnt take any longer than it took to put in but ive seen plenty of butcher jobs

 

[WhoFan]

Re: 'Hot Rodding and Amp' what does it mean?

my early 80's 800 50watt head was gain boosted before i got it... it just adds noise... someone didn't do the mod right i guess... it is one noisely amp with the gain past 6.... more i turn the gain up the worst it gets... My gut tells me the past owner never gigged or had a reason to turn it up a bit so he had it modded for more pre gain for home use...

One mod a tech wants to do to my amp after it is returned to normall gain is a tone mod... said it will greatly incress the bass and mids..

 

[Scatterwound]

Re: 'Hot Rodding and Amp' what does it mean?

Thanks for the responses guys...Yeah I find my JCM 800 combo too bright for my taste that I never really use it...and never did and I have owned it for >10years now.....The clean channel seems too thin and bright even with a strat neck pickup...And I find the gain terrible....Too crispy/bright/harsh.....Even when I play my Les Paul Std through it....

I few years ago I tried a recommendation from a friend to have the tubes changed from EL34s to KT88s since he said it should give a warmer sound....I had it done but I did not notice any difference...

A also added a hinged wooden door to the back to make it a closed back amp...Nothing....I guess this stock amp is not for me...

I do not care about decreasing the amps value if I mod it...As fr as I am concerned it has no current value since it does not sound good and I am sure these combos are not worth much anyway..Value to me for this amp would mean good sound...

One of my other amps is a Fender Super 60 all tube combo which I am told was designed by Paul Rivera...Now that for me is TONE!

 

[WhoFan]

Re: 'Hot Rodding and Amp' what does it mean?

i had a tech tell me to stay away from Jcm 800 1x12 combos from the early 80's... later models were ok... he said if they had a single imput jack on the front, stay away... he claims they just never sounded right....

 

[Scott_F]

Re: 'Hot Rodding and Amp' what does it mean?

Hmm.... sell it since its still stock and buy something else you love. Or keep it as an investment for the long-term. I'd not mod it unless you really loved it first and just wanted to take it up a tiny notch.

A leopard doesn't change its spots.