Metropoulos Forum

Can't bring myself to part with this baby, even after all we've been through.Nice work by George..
http://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g219/ ... %201959HW/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;






yngwie308

Hey, that George guy does nice work, huh? He might be on to something!

In fact 'nice' isn't really an accurate adjective to describe George's work. AbFab is more like it. Since I had to sell my cabs, I listed the head, but seriously could not bring myself to part with this amp. I have called it a many things over the past years. It also has been known to be a awesome sounding plexi Marshall. But to me it isn't really a Marshall, it is a Metro and that is a huge difference to me.. I have my original service/sales invoice and it is signed "Thanks David, George"
Maybe I am getting emotional over this, that's ok...Thanks George!!
I do love this amp, it is special to me, thanks again.
David

The amp looks great Dave. That board material looks pretty cool.
Could you post a quick description of the difference in tone after you got it back from George and put in some playing time?

If you had to do it again, (I know, hindsight is 20-20) would you have just picked up a regular pcb reissue and worked that over instead?

Dude! Did you decide to keep the HW? I hope so. Did you ever find a room in your house where there wasn't interference? I hope we got it all sorted. It's been a while so please forgive me if I should know this and have forgot.

VG

Yes, George, most of my houses mains supply causes some sort of RF interference and I am convinced the AC power is dirty..Well I am in the desert after all.
I love my amp really and look forward to using it with some different speakers in the future!
It's been a long road over 4 years now but time does not diminish the great work and kindness you showed me in my HW dilemma..
Once I am able to, I look forward to using this great amp again. All my issues are related to the power I feel. These things won't show at the factory.
To all reading this George is a unique individual who is a musician first and a great amp builder as well, but he is motivated by the heart first, which is unparalled in the music business.
I will never sell the amp because it works well and I love this circuit! Thanks again to George and all at Metro, you guys are the greatest.
I will need in the future to get a power conditioner. I do think that the HW cabs, didn't do justice to the amp at all. There is a lot more to come with this amp and I look forward to more sonic adventures!!
Dave

OnTheFritz wrote:The amp looks great Dave. That board material looks pretty cool.
Could you post a quick description of the difference in tone after you got it back from George and put in some playing time?

If you had to do it again, (I know, hindsight is 20-20) would you have just picked up a regular pcb reissue and worked that over instead?

OnThe Fritz, yes I would do the same mods again. I would have bought a Metro itself if I had known of them prior to my purchase of the Marshall though!
I prefer the HW much over a PCB SLP any day!! If I had a SLP to work with I would have it super modified.
I do feel some sort of provenance with this amp being handwired by Marshall themselves and with George's tweaks in the right places, it has been greatly improved.
In the spirit of Metropoulos Amplifiers themselves, it is in 'tribute' to the classic Marshall circuits of yore. That's what many still don't get about Metro and the concept behind the amps. These are not clones, these are tributes to the classic circuits. I will say it again, the JTM 45/100 is probably the most incredible amp I have ever heard!! The Metropoulos version of course!!
yngwie308

Thanks for the kind words. If I need to go in there again to make it right, just let me know.

And if you need a suggestion for a power conditioner, I'll be trying a few soon.

VG

Thanks George will do..
Dave

yngwie308 wrote:In fact 'nice' isn't really an accurate adjective to describe George's work. AbFab is more like it. Since I had to sell my cabs, I listed the head, but seriously could not bring myself to part with this amp. I have called it a many things over the past years. It also has been known to be a awesome sounding plexi Marshall. But to me it isn't really a Marshall, it is a Metro and that is a huge difference to me.. I have my original service/sales invoice and it is signed "Thanks David, George"
Maybe I am getting emotional over this, that's ok...Thanks George!!
I do love this amp, it is special to me, thanks again.
David

Funny you say the 1959HW MArshall is a METROAMP. IT is . I saw that board and WOW.
I just bought a 1993 Marshall Superlead Reissue "Mike DOyles favorite of all the reissues" and I as well am already in the process of revamping the amp. Have NOS Mustards. Gonna have Goerge put Carbon Comp Film, NOS TUBES> (UNSURE what type EL#4s) im gonna go with Maybe just the spare i have right nowe . Just some NOS RFT SIEMENS mesa label. decent sounding to me. Very vioilinish. But ill concur with him as to what he thinks if I should save up for some real heavy duty plate voltage hanling tubes i.e Mullard originals even if they are XF2 DOubles. I dont now . I do know I like the Holland made Amperex BUGLE BOYS 1961. NOw have 4 of them. Picked up another pair from the same guy! for $60bucks Unreal! this guy has a LOT OF TUBES FOR SALE . Just gotta wairt and wait til you see them come up and snag um! he s re[putable so far to me . THis will be a work in process for a while for me .Thanks and that 1959HW reissue looks great


I had the same amp but in the end I could not bring myself yto start going thru all this stufff but this im going for it just with a 1993 R.I. not a 2006! R.I.

Great stuff George did !
Kudos to you bra!

VelvetGeorge wrote:Thanks for the kind words. If I need to go in there again to make it right, just let me know.

And if you need a suggestion for a power conditioner, I'll be trying a few soon.

VG

George any news on the power conditioner front lately, I'm looking for the right current handling cpability and features, hopefully won't need a Variac as well!
Thanks
yngwie308

I picked up a used Monster 3500 that works really well. But it's a big rack mount unit. Not really convenient to carry around. And it's pretty expensive.
The difference between a simple, passive filter and a true power conditioner seems to be a couple hundred bucks. But if you have bad power in your area, only a conditioner will really help IMO. Even the ~ $150 Furman I have isn't as effective.

Also consider that cheaper solutions use a varistor for over voltage protection. But that component sacrifices itself to absorb the spike, and only works once. After that, the power strip no longer provides any spike protection. If high voltage and spikes are an issue, you need something with active conditioning.

george

Thanks George, once I get some speakers again will go this route!!
yngwie308

Gary Moore has some kind words for the 1959HW:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWjQhXF_ ... re=related" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
yngwie308

This Saturday I am bring the 1959HW/Metro over to Doctor Vintage/Rick Norman's house to run through his Marshall 4x12' and he uses a Scholtz power soak for attenuation, he has a TC G-Force ground controller for effects and switching, ect in his setup. He has a '74 metalfront 100 watt he uses and I am interested to hear my amp free of the AC noise issues I have at my home and to really hear the amp for the first time, as my HW cabs have been gone for months..
Will report back with my findings..
yngwie308