Advantages of a Mcintosh

[Jerry1996x]

Hello everyone. I have been thinking about whether or not I should take the route of getting a power amp. Right now im using a 72 blackfaced TR and a 2x12 cab. I just found a MC2120 for pretty cheap and was debating about whether or not to try and get it. What would be some of the advantages of getting one? Sound? Volume? Also, how easy would it be to hook it up to my current rig? Would it be just connecting some wires, ect?

[mijknahs]

Pros - sounds more like Jerry (if that's what you're after), more headroom, killer tone,

Cons - heavy, just another thing to hook up, need to add preamp output jack on your amp

Pros outweigh the Cons in my opinion. I used an MC2120 for years and it was my main power amp. It's a great sounding amp. It's kinda like saying "should I upgrade my speakers to JBL K or E120s?". They are a lot heavier but they get THE SOUND.

Jim

Hello everyone. I have been thinking about whether or not I should take the route of getting a power amp. Right now im using a 72 blackfaced TR and a 2x12 cab. I just found a MC2120 for pretty cheap and was debating about whether or not to try and get it. What would be some of the advantages of getting one? Sound? Volume? Also, how easy would it be to hook it up to my current rig? Would it be just connecting some wires, ect?

[Jerry1996x]

sounds good! But whats a preamp output jack??

[mijknahs]

sounds good! But whats a preamp output jack??

It's where you hook up the Twin to the McIntosh. They don't come with one already there. You need to "tap" the signal before it goes the the power stage of the Twin. This is the signal that gets amplified by the McIntosh.

The whole thing kinda depends on how serious you are and how loud you need to get because a blackfaced Twin sounds pretty good all by itself.

Jim

[Jerry1996x]

ya, its definitely something i want to do. I saw on another thread that you can tap it to go to the vibrato pedal inputs. Any other ideas of where and how it could be done?

[mijknahs]

ya, its definitely something i want to do. I saw on another thread that you can tap it to go to the vibrato pedal inputs. Any other ideas of where and how it could be done?

You mean where you can add the tap? I'd use an already existing hole such as you suggested, the vibrato pedal inpu (if you don't use those - who does?). I guess you could drill a new hole as well.

You could even use the RCA jack that is there and rewire it so that it is tapping the signal off the board. Then you can use a regular RCA cable for the McIntosh since that's what it has for an input jack. Personally I converted the vibrato jack to a 1/4 jack and did the same to the McIntosh (replaced the RCA for a 1/4" jack).

Jim

[TI4-1009]

ya, its definitely something i want to do. I saw on another thread that you can tap it to go to the vibrato pedal inputs. Any other ideas of where and how it could be done?

http://www.wald-electronics.com/preampmods.html

Look down near the bottom of page. All credit to Waldo.

[Jerry1996x]

I think i will just stick with keeping them both RCA. Thats easier and less modifying (aka less money) And I guess I will use the vibrato pedal inputs since i never use them anyway.

[Jerry1996x]

Well, I got the Mac, and am very excited. Now I have to have the amp modded. Does anyone know someone who could do the mod in the north jersey area?

[JonnyBoy]

The tap is pretty easy if you take the time to digest it and understand it. There are a few ways to tap it, the alembic tap, which was one of the first ways to do it, is adequate IMO. You can find that and a picture of the circuit on Dozen.com

The advantages to the most modern tap is explained on Waldo's site, it maximizes the tone's quality by reducing noise and sparing the tubes, output tranny and the filter caps. It may also have other reasons why, but the tap/shunt method is not that much more difficult than the more simple approach of hooking a wire to a resistor and hooking the other end to the output jack (alembic version).

I have tube combos and a twin reverb combo, and you would have to pull my MC100/SMS from my cold dead fingers if it came to that. I particularly like the sound of the amp with some distortion/OD. So many good tones to be had with it. It will become much more dynamic and seemingly harsh at first than your tube combo. That in turn will help you play more like Jerry, using your left hand and right hand to tame the beast and coax the tone you're after. Good luck!!!

[Jerry1996x]

Just to be sure, the more, upgraded version is described on Waldos site as the Post Alembicization Mods- Post Alembic Preamp Tap? Just so I know exactly what im supposed to be going off of.

[Jerry1996x]

Also, is this tap going to work like an effects loop in the sense i will have to use a mono and a stereo cable? Im trying to read through all the stuff on Waldos site about it and am finding it all a bit overwhelming

[JonnyBoy]

No it is not like a loop. It is a half a loop. it is only preamp out. The tap is literally one wire running from a resistor to the jack. you attach it to the resistor within the circuit. just a mono cable sending one signal out to another power amp. The names post/ pre alembic taps are irrelevant, they are practically the same thing, except for a shunt to the power section by lifting the leg of a capacitor and creating a switch to turn it on and off with a switching jack. That way when you plug in the cord to the tap, it cuts the power section. when unplugged it feeds it.


It sounds like you need to print out all the info and give it to a tech or someone that understands this stuff. That way you have your amp the way it needs to be without costly mistakes. Also, poking around in your amp even unplugged can shock the shit out of you if you're not careful. The filter caps hold huge charges even after it is unplugged.

[waldo041]

No The names post/ pre alembic taps are irrelevant, they are practically the same thing, except for a shunt to the power section by lifting the leg of a capacitor and creating a switch to turn it on and off with a switching jack. That way when you plug in the cord to the tap, it cuts the power section. when unplugged it feeds it.

actually the names are very relevant. the pre-alembic tap does not drop the vibrato circuit when used, and it's circuit load is still present when this tap is used. it also means that the vibrato still works when this tap is used as well. the pre-alembic tap also adds the 220k mix node resistor to the overall math of the output high pass filter whereas the post-alembic does not as it eliminates this resistor altogther. also, the post alembic tap drops the vibrato circuit and it's load, as well as any possible noise associated with that circuit.

so there is definately 2 things going on, and why both are presented the way they are.

peace,
waldo

[Jerry1996x]

Ok. So basically, i will have 1 RCA cord running out of the input i have the tap modded to, straight to the mac? Im going to email a tech. I will send him a link to Waldos sight and tell him to look under Post Alembic Preamp Tap. I dont mind dropping the vibrato, and I want as little noise as possible. So when this is all done, what will I need to use it? Just a normal RCA cord?