PhatTele
Joined: Jun 05, 2006
Posts: 445
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Posted on Feb 14 2008 02:20 PM
Could you go into some more detail on this?
Warning - this information is for those who don't mind modding their amps. All others please look away 
Actually, it's not that bad.
The first thing is to change the tone caps associated with the channel you want to use. Stock values are usually .1uF and .047uF. I change these to two .022uF caps. It brings the midrange up in the EQ by just a bit. Nothing drastic, but you'll notice an overall warmer, more open tone.
The second thing is to change the value of the midrange resister on the Bass pot. Normally it's fixed at 6.8K. I like bumping this up to 15K if I'm just replacing the resister or taking the resister off and moving it to a 25K audio taper pot. I put this pot in place of the ground switch (which you shouldn't need because you've got a grounded cord). This gives you a fully functional midrange control which on zero is the stock 6.8K value. Anything above that adds midrange and warmth to the tone (and a bit of gain too on 10). If you've got a Twin, Showman, Super, or Bandmaster Reverb, you can swap in a 25K pot for the stock 10K midrange pot. This will give you both the ability to scoop the midrange out (on zero) and add additional midrange beyond the stock maximum 10K value. That's one reason those amps sound so bright. If you've got the midrange on 5, it's actually less that what you'd find in a amp with a fixed 6.8K value...hence "scooped." You've really got to turn those midranges up to around 10 to equal what's going on in a fixed midrange amp.
Last, I knock down the value of the bright switch cap. The stock value is 120pF which sounds really brittle to me. Instead, I use a 100pF. In fact, I'm starting to experiment with lower values. 47pF is the stock "bright cap" value in the Deluxe Reverb. I just put one of those in my Vibrolux and I think it does really well. I'd bet somewhere around 70pF would be the best overall. 120pF is so over the top.
Anyway, that's the basics. For those that freak out about everything being original, they shouldn't do these mods. However, if you're willing to do a little tweaking to get it in the zone, these mods are simple and reversable.
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synchro
Joined: Feb 02, 2008
Posts: 4124
Not One-Sawn, but Two-Sawn . . . AZ.
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Posted on Jan 04 2019 11:40 PM
PhatTele wrote:
Could you go into some more detail on this?
Warning - this information is for those who don't mind modding their amps. All others please look away
Actually, it's not that bad.
The first thing is to change the tone caps associated with the channel you want to use. Stock values are usually .1uF and .047uF. I change these to two .022uF caps. It brings the midrange up in the EQ by just a bit. Nothing drastic, but you'll notice an overall warmer, more open tone.
The second thing is to change the value of the midrange resister on the Bass pot. Normally it's fixed at 6.8K. I like bumping this up to 15K if I'm just replacing the resister or taking the resister off and moving it to a 25K audio taper pot. I put this pot in place of the ground switch (which you shouldn't need because you've got a grounded cord). This gives you a fully functional midrange control which on zero is the stock 6.8K value. Anything above that adds midrange and warmth to the tone (and a bit of gain too on 10). If you've got a Twin, Showman, Super, or Bandmaster Reverb, you can swap in a 25K pot for the stock 10K midrange pot. This will give you both the ability to scoop the midrange out (on zero) and add additional midrange beyond the stock maximum 10K value. That's one reason those amps sound so bright. If you've got the midrange on 5, it's actually less that what you'd find in a amp with a fixed 6.8K value...hence "scooped." You've really got to turn those midranges up to around 10 to equal what's going on in a fixed midrange amp.
Last, I knock down the value of the bright switch cap. The stock value is 120pF which sounds really brittle to me. Instead, I use a 100pF. In fact, I'm starting to experiment with lower values. 47pF is the stock "bright cap" value in the Deluxe Reverb. I just put one of those in my Vibrolux and I think it does really well. I'd bet somewhere around 70pF would be the best overall. 120pF is so over the top.
Anyway, that's the basics. For those that freak out about everything being original, they shouldn't do these mods. However, if you're willing to do a little tweaking to get it in the zone, these mods are simple and reversable.
Great ideas, Phat Tele (if that is your real name). 
Among my amps, I have a ‘68 Custom Deluxe Reverb, which has one channel with a different tone stack which enhances midrange a bit over the stock Deluxe Reverb. I find that this makes for a great Surf sound. While I love the stock Deluxe Reverb, the bright cap can make things a bit bright at lower volume settings. The ‘68 CDR doesn’t have this problem.
When I returned to Surf playing, I made the mistake of thinking that Surf required a very bright amp, such as a Blackface Fender. While these work fine, the 1st Wave guys were probably using a Brownface amp. As was pointed out to me when I first joined Surf 101, that 1st Wave sound had a stronger midrange than a stock Blackface. In the years since, I’ve tried a lot of different approaches and found that there are several valid paths. I love the Vox sound, and certainly the Blackface sound, but have to say that the sound out of my newest amp, which is basically a Brownface Princeton, is quickly becoming my favorite.
— The artist formerly known as: Synchro
When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar.
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Toneschaser
Joined: Jun 14, 2012
Posts: 462
Ohio!
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Posted on Jan 05 2019 01:02 PM
I love ‘em all. The Bassman has been modded to black panel specs, others are stock configuration.
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