OK Jim I'll just post the same lengthy response in this thread then as well.
Wow just read these posts and it really leaves me wondering about some you. I can understand however where and why you might be chiming in on the bad chorus line. All my inspiration to get more involved in the Jerry thing was because I found Yahoo gearheads and sooo many cool guys w rigs I was just floored by. I had been searching for more since '85. First year I saw The Dead and got a Twin reverb w orange JBLs. Was left always wanting to go Further where my tone just wasnt. I also learned a ton of tips from those/these guys. Nearly every one of them who contributed in discussions had a hand in furthering our knowledge AND our inspiration!
The concept has be plain and simple from the earliest and later senior posters. (even there was not such a goofy hierarchy schmeme going on) To let everyone be a welcome participant, to feel free to comment as long as its not mean or trollish, To feel free to post pics vids ..jokes even..etc etc. Yes I must say thank you to all of those people!!! Waldo??...mmmm dont recall him that well from early days sorry. I do thank him for inspiring and helping so many others with this search..he took the reigns and really made some great sites and helped verify lots of info w the closest sources . I commend him with these efforts!! I do ,incidentally, recall where i have received my tips, tricks, and all other info regarding Fender and Modified Fenders. IE: Mesa Boogie, Dumble , Alembic F2b (Fuchs, Two Rock, Ceriatone, Bludotone etc) Early Marshall, HIWatt, Carr, Allen etc. It came from lots of personal hands on and convos. with people I met in the group including Waldo (maybe 3-4 convos) but many many other people Like Healy and people who just knew E.Engineering, Fenders inside and out. I was so lucky to be around so many that for anyone to think for one second I got info from Waldo that is making my business anything more than it would be without him is absolutely ludicrous ..wow. I dont use the same tone stack even. Nor the same resistors..nor caps...nor preamp tap. I dont cut the 68ks out. I do not, and have never used tantalums in a customers amp! I said I did once to a potential customer from here but he never got amp so I never built any amps with those cap. THATS what he is sore about, the tantalums. A recent customer of mine shared a gut shot with him which I had asked my customer not to do. He promised he wouldnt. He saw what he thought was military Tantalum 25 @ 25 in the pic. Waldo did send me some and I had told him that I had tried them a few years prior and verdict wasnt out on anything exciting really yet. He sent me a bunch of 150D Tants and I didnt notice too much I liked in favor of them. Of course I really did think it was so nice etc etc, I mean we were friends I thought and thats what friends do right?? (should I mention I gave him a neck thru Ibanez mc150 in exchange for rewiring my guitar w buffer and fx loop etc..like easily a 5-600 dollar axe.) Never felt i needed to mention this but hey now I do)
I had been into the other directionw electrolytics at that time and had been for a while! I LOVE the sound of paper electro caps and the early blackface ones ( which coincidentally the infamous Front St amp had in it). I am one of the few techs out there nowadays that will sometimes reccommend leaving in or adding NOS vintage paper caps!! When I asked Simon Babbs to shoot me some pics on the specs of that G. Dead owned amp I was elated that it had some early original caps in it!! Too cool to peer into a chassis that Jerry had supposedly played through at Warfield in 91 .(extra cool that I was at those shows!) It was also a disapointment when there was nothing of any secret reveal jackpot nature. The metal films were cool to discover as they cut down some noise but theres really a brighter more piercing tone with those especially through a JBL! Again, Mesa has been using them since '78..well known. I liked them only after tweaking the amp out for more mids. Thats when I started using them ..only when I felt they worked. In Boogies they work well. Dumbles as well. The G Dead amp also didnt have the 68k input resistors clipped. Dead stock there. Some amps I like to blackface and just leave as such w no metal films at all! Must use original NOS Allen Bradley carbon comps or Riken Ohm German resistors ... Those are amazing. I like to have the values, brands and cap alignment set up the way I prefer from the nearly 100 I have worked on..depending on what I am going for w amp/rig at hand. I dont read something in electronics off a website and visually copy and never have for any selling purpose. So theres lots I did and learned all from MY OWN HARD WORK!!!!w MY OWN EARS!!! I spent rediculous amounts of time tweaking Fenders Dumbles..Boogies..Pedals,.,Guitars..wirings,.. JBLs.. difft woods...you name it. Its been the greatest way to become educated in the long run as I truly know I can say I know what change of a part may bring to the ears ,what change a specific brand might bring etc etc. I also can easily fight back against BS like this coming my way.
So dont even try to further piss guys off on/off here who have contributed plenty to this group with lots of their own hard work. And you re gonna whine about a fucking SCHEMATIC??...Its not even a schematic its a chassis layout diagram. Made by Fender pre cbs and Mesa Boogie upgrades that Waldo did portray as info he had collected..collectively. He didnt exactly claim what was his personal findings as there may be only 2 or 3 in there tops that he can confirm (by alembic Ron Wickersham et al ) were actually in there in say 1992? If the guys at front street were correct and if Babb"s statement is correct than Jerry ran a blackface stock twin for at least one JGB '91 Warfield show...oh yeh w metal filmplate resistors and a few orange drop type upgrades. No .02 .02 tonestack!! I dont even use same tonestack as "the Waldo mod" although I did for a while. Waldo was kind enough to compile that tho and I thought that was great for all of you DIY guys. Its totally valid stuff and can make a dull bf twin come alive. for a 70's twin etc ...can help yes but Its not El Dealio. Close enough yes. If you make one wrong mistake in going for his tone .One thing I had suspected and later clarified to be true via a clue I heard from a customer kinda mistake and you will not have the right attack of notes correct nor grit nor sing or bell ring...the tone may be fine but the feel is off..the compression etc.
First off, I;ve seen so many people make the same mistakes over and over. One of them is getting a rig thats too much for you and will never open up like it can. Make sure pickup height is high. Make sure you have good tubes. I mean I could go on and on but it really will come down to what you currently using and why you dont like that. What year are you most interested in. Why does everyone seem to be into the early 80's only?!. I am into so many old blues players and guitar tones of all genres its just a fun crazy hobby. I've been buying and tweaking my gear since 1986. trying to see what does what kinda thing. Steve Kimock alone has given me so much great information. His tone blew me away in person so many times coinciding w Garcia shows that I became fused into the ultimate California tones. So there have been many from my business associates and customers etc. What he posted is basically exactly what a 1978 mesa Boogie was all about!! Metal films in place of carbon comps..helloooo. and upgrading the ceramic discs....I've personally been doing this stuff since 2004? Now I've totally gotten into other directions in what I am after as opposed to everyone elses status quo deal. Stop being kookie about what you imagine someone else did and jump off that wagon. Its got a broken wheel or two and needs the shit bailed out.
And again MGBILLS Martin, I should call you as thats my surname, Please clarify what jbls you are talking about ..did they break in shipping??..didnt paypal just make good on them early on in the mishap?? I am still going to send you the bolt covers I just got the new stencil done yesterday and have them all ready to get sprayed. I;ll even send you a pair since I honestly didnt know you were pissed off like this!! ok thanks for listening and being open minded. Waldo just put layout back up no? Or maybe i'll simply draw up my own w even better upgrades and post to my Shakedown Facebook page to fish for likes?? Or, the third option...to leave these kind souls in here getting pissed at you ..OR ME blamed for your move?? God forbid.. wow~ Joe
