PLEXI - to jump or not? bright caps?

[OlinMusic]

Anyone have opinions on Jumping a PLEXI?
A lot of the greats DID NOT, although they did DIME their amps like P. Kosoff. I debate that sometimes jumping can muddy the tone and create harmonics that are not as clear and desirable.

Questions 2 - When I run channel one by its lonesome at around 5 9w/HOT PLATE) it cleans up so well, but it is a tad bright. Should I clip the bright cap as some have suggested? What will this do / sound like?

 

[PUCKBOY99]

Re: PLEXI - to jump or not? bright caps?

Can't help ya' on the Bright cap question, but ...

I prefer the channels NOT JUMPERED on the 1959SLP & I had a little Burriss 18w Plexi & it also sounded better (to me) not jumpered.

But yeah, they need to be CRANKED!...esp. the 1959 (which BTW I think sounds BADASS running 2 Yellowjackets w/GT EL84s & Sovtek 12AX7SLPs)

 

[joelap]

Re: PLEXI - to jump or not? bright caps?

I'll let you know when I finish my metroamp kit

When I had my sound City 50+, the bright channel was so bright it was earsplitting. If I did jump, I kept the volume on the bright channel low, but almost never jumped.

 

[PUCKBOY99]

Re: PLEXI - to jump or not? bright caps?

Yeah, I should say I dig the channels jumpered on the Edana & on a Hiwatt Custom 50 I had.

Probably something to do with the cleaner circuitry of these amps just getting a little more depth as opposed to a dirtier amp getting muddy.

 

[75lespaul]

Re: PLEXI - to jump or not? bright caps?

Okay, it's not a Plexi, but I did have a 73 50 watter that sounded much more full and had more overdrive when jumpered. My Plexi reissue however sounded pretty muddy when jumped. A lot of guys "back in the day" used to just have the channels jumped internally so they didn't have to use a cord.

My 71 Univox which sounds like a Plexi to me, does sound better jumped.

 

[frankfalbo]

Re: PLEXI - to jump or not? bright caps?

I always play plexis jumped, but that's just what I like. I'm the kind of guy where if you say "It has two sounds you can blend together" I have to do it, even if one channel is barely audible. It's the principle of it I guess.

Although I haven't tried this, I would love to try a balancer pedal in front of it, so you could crank both channels and fade between them until you got what you wanted. If you set the bright channel louder, you could even fade up to a solo boost, etc. The balancer pedal would have to be 100% to both when in the center, not 50%. It would have to be like a pickup panpot in a bass.

 

[ErikH]

Re: PLEXI - to jump or not? bright caps?

I love the sound of them jumped. It's basically feeding the preamp twice the signal and when dialed in, it sounds excellent. The settings can't be the same as in-jumped. You have to fiddle with it a little bit.

 

[PUCKBOY99]

Re: PLEXI - to jump or not? bright caps?

And that might be part of what I don't like....fiddling with it.

Something else that's cool that I've tried is jumping the High Treble 1 to the Normal 2 & then plugging into the Normal 1...cool with single coils

 

[ErikH]

Re: PLEXI - to jump or not? bright caps?

There's not that many knobs on a Plexi. It's not like fiddling with a Mesa Dual Rectumfryer...LOL.

That way of jumpering you described is probably the best sounding. Try a Les Paul or other humbucker equipped guitar through it too. Strats love that method though.

 

[PUCKBOY99]

Re: PLEXI - to jump or not? bright caps?

There's not that many knobs on a Plexi. It's not like fiddling with a Mesa Dual Rectumfryer...LOL.

That way of jumpering you described is probably the best sounding. Try a Les Paul or other humbucker equipped guitar through it too. Strats love that method though.

Yeah, like 6 knobs is a real chore :smack:

I just don't like messing with what I like once you get it right there.

Limited response in this thread......I guess some like it & some don't...another "tone is personal & subjective" consensus :laugh2:

 

[Stevo]

Re: PLEXI - to jump or not? bright caps?

I always jump my channels when I don't use my plexitone pedal. The normal side is too dark and the bright side is waaaay too bright for me.

When I use my attenuator, I set the volumes on 7/7 with the eq knobs all at 12:00. That seems to be the sweet spot for good crunch, with my setup anyway.

If the bright channel was not so bright then things would be different. I think it is worth experimenting with.

 

[OlinMusic]

Re: PLEXI - to jump or not? bright caps?

If the bright channel was not so bright then things would be different.

I realize the BRIGHT CHANNEL is bright - this is why I was also wondering if anyone here CLIPS THE BRIGHT CAP? Does that cure it all?

Generally, as you crank, the cap has less and less effect, which is why many greats never jumped their channels.