How to pull out amplifier knobs and guitar knobs

Sometime it is hard to remove a amplifier knob or a guitar knob, to solve this problem use a Flannel Polishing Cloth to help pull out and not damage things, the pictures explains (I guess so... put the mouse over the pictures).



Amplifier example:

Guitar example:

Fender Bullet 15 Amplifier Mod (Updated)

• That's a crazy mod, I made some aleatory holes in the backpainel to have more a open cabinet sound, and more 3D sound. 
• And also changed the speaker conductors for a all copper 0,5 mm, instead of a thin tinned copper, IMO this was a improvement for a SS amp.
• A mod for the driver channel is cut R23 ( 220K ), LD1, LD2, CR1, CR2 out, and put the JFet/led circuit, to turn the overdrive more cracked and crisp (IMO). I will try the 2n7000 mosfet, as soon as possible.

See the pictures:

Speaker cable - DIY

Try out DIY speaker cables to conect the head and the speaker in a tube amp combo, is cheap and fun. Your ears will be the judges, the text bellow is only my perceptions.


Lets go:

1. Buy a good quality cable, plug and connectors.
2. Take over the inner wire of the cable, if it is necessary.
3. Cut the wire in six equals parts (e.g. 30cm each). Try to use two different colors, for example, red and white.
4. Make two groups of wire, for example, one red with two white and two white with one red. 
5. Then twist each group like girls do in the hair.
6. Take the two groups and twist again.
7. Join the same colors wire ends to solder.
8. Solder the plug and the connectors to the ends.
9. Test the isolation of each terminal with a multimeter or some how.
10. Try it out.

First one - I've used a 0,3 mm tinned copper mic cable:

* sounded very balanced and natural in my 5W tube amp, more bass and highs, very good recommendation, the best in this post.

Second one - I've used a 0,32 mm copper (no tinned) cable used for power adapters:

* I've got aggressive mids in my 5W tube amp, a lot of mids, and not so much harmonics and the worst results.

Third one - I've used a 0,5 mm copper (no tinned) common interconnection cable:

* I've got singing mids in my 5W tube amp, a lot of bass and presence too, a very bluesy sound, I liked the harmonics.

Fourth one - I've used two 0,5 mm common copper conductors (no tinned), twisted not tight (thats why I didn't used shrink). It worked very well as my poor standard cable.

Fifhty one - I've used the thined speaker wire removed from my fender bullet amp. The result was a shine tone, with good notes separation. It worked very fine in a tube amp, but I dislike this wire in my Solid State amp.

Sight-reading on the guitar

 The notes on the guitar, grouped by notes repetition:

• Colored schematic

  

• Black-white schematic

 

 

 

*For more details see this other postage:

http://guitar4geek.blogspot.com.br/2015/07/the-c-majos-scales-in-vertical-approach.html


 Good books for study sight-reading:

*Try to do each exercise in differents position on the neck.

** Sugestion for Android users: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=rylee.gaddict.gfbaf

X-VAMP input signal mod

Mod for more open sound, more top end and bottom end:

• C5 10 nF to 47nF (or try other values as you wish).
• Remove C26 (47pF) for more aggressive top end.

** Be carefull about the metal shield removing, its quite dificult !! **

See the pictures:

* These pictures show how I try out the mod, after this I put the capacitor at the right side and the metal shield at its place.



Boss Noise Supressor NS-2 or Behringer NR300 mods

Mods for a more transparent bypass and effect, reducing the tone difference when the pedal is activated:

• C3 (output cap) 1uF to 10 uF, for better bypass tone. UPDATE: 4,7uF
• C25 10uF to 1uF, to make the effect tone equal to the bypass mode.
• Remove R12 or change to 1M or 2M2, the original 100K + 1uF make a "tone control" in the signal.
• Remove C16, for more high end on the effect.

See the picture:

* Use Boss schematic above to mod this Behringer stomp box.
** C9 could be reduced if there are some increase of the bass of the tone, when the effect is on.

Graphic equalizer Boss GE-7 or Behringer EQ700 mod

Mods for more transarent bypass and effect:

• C10 (output) 1uF to 10uF.
• C20/R28 and C27/R36 open the path or remove then.

 

See the picture: 

 

 

*Use Boss schematic above to mod this Behringer stomp box.

Overdriver / Distortion Boss OS-2 or Behringer OD-100 mod

• Change R25 + R26 to a 22K trim pot, for adjusting the distortion level and balance overdrive and distortion.
• Change C12 to 10uF capacitor for a transparent bypass.
• Change C7 to 1uF cap for a focused effect output with less bass (to compensate the C12 change).

See at the picture all described mods above in red:

*Use Boss schematic above to mod this Behringer stomp box.

Compressor Boss cs-3 or Behringer cs-100 mod

 

 Bypass buffer mod (for more transparent bypass):

• Input capacitor 22nF to 47nF.
• Output capacitor 1uF to 10uF.
• C15 47nF to 1uF.

*Use Boss schematic above to mod this Behringer stomp box.

Audio Capacitors do have polarity!!! (IMO)

 Do audio capacitors have polarity???  I guess so!!!

 

Experiment all kind of caps and test the polarity when you mod a guitar (tone control) or a pedal, this worth a value so much. The sound changes, depending on the capacitor type and the polarity you use. In the mods is important to try out any capacitor, with the value desired, that you own, even if it is the same type. It is cheap, so buy a lot of then. Building tube amps, I prefer the orange drop and the PIO capacitors.

* I have used a strat with a 500k volume pot at the tests, to listen the highs easiest.

** I have used some tests described in internet too, as the noise test connecting the capacitor in the input of a simple guitar amp (with a help of a power AC cord near of the capacitor to generate noise).

Behringer AM-400 and DR-400 input signal mod

Behringer Acoustic modeler AM-400 and Digital Delay/Reverb DR-400 input signal mod

The input signal circuit of the AM-400 and DR-400 are the same, try out the mod:

• Change the input capacitor 22nF to 47nF (for more bottom) and remove the pF capacitor after a 10K resistor (for more open sound), see the picture:

* This will help the AM-400 annoying hiss (white noise) problem, caused by increasing the attack button to compensate the lack of treble. By removing the cutting capacitor, you won't need to increase the attack (so much) to obtaining more highs.

Tri-wah Rocktron mods

Mods:

• True bypass using the original switch (first picture), no money needed.
• Sweep range caps (try out values like 8n2F and 15nF - see the red circle in the second picture - they are selectable to be in parallel with a 10nF cap by the tri-wah switch).
• Guitar cable inner wire in the bypass path (input jack - switch - output jack), use a good guitar cable part to keep the original input tone (I like the 0.5 mm cables).

True bypass adaptation schematic:

Sweep caps in red circle:

 

 

  

Bypass wire (black thick wire):

 

* Change the jumpers in the circuit board to make the necessary connections.
**  The GCB-95 schematic is quite similar.