Jimi Hendrix' Gear and Mods at West Coast Organ and Amp

His guitar slung across his back, his dusty boots is his cadillac.

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daveweyer
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Re: Jimi Hendrix' Gear and Mods at West Coast Organ and Amp

Post by daveweyer » Sat Mar 03, 2018 10:56 am

The three transistor fuzz was really about the same thing as a cascade mod on the first two stages of the Marshall; it is always in the circuit, and just adds a little extra thickness since it is not a perfectly linear amp. Just bumping the gain a bit gets that BOG thing going. It might be a just bit grittier than the 12AX7 stages cascaded, so you should have fun comparing the two. You can also try using a 12AY7 in the first slot of your Marshall, the gain is slightly lower, so the overdrive is somewhat different when cascaded.

Tek465b
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Re: Jimi Hendrix' Gear and Mods at West Coast Organ and Amp

Post by Tek465b » Sun Mar 04, 2018 1:03 pm

Nice, the first one is finished and tested/working :)

Its funny how the Fuzz control work with the Gain control(have to turn the gain up, of course this is expected with global NFB). Its hard to explain how the fuzz control then color/shape the sound.
This is where the 2Meg pot OR wild mode switch really make the magic happen.
(i will post more info on that mod later. it make the gain control with the original range of 0 to 2Meg, normal is 0 to 1Meg and then wild mode is 1 to 2Meg)
What i like the most with it is the massive output drive when you turn it up <3 :).

I had to solder the Q2 transistor into the socket, it would not stay in.(never a fan of sockets)
It biased with the 1N4148 and a 6.2Volt zener.

I don't know why i labeled the enclosure Bypass, it should be cancel instead? damnit.
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Xplorer
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Re: Jimi Hendrix' Gear and Mods at West Coast Organ and Amp

Post by Xplorer » Sun Mar 04, 2018 1:10 pm

shakti wrote:
Sat Mar 03, 2018 4:37 am
Many, many thanks to Dave and Tek for the conception, transistors and execution! Can't wait to try this fuzz out with my West Coast amp, which is sounding better by the day. If you see the 6550 thread, I have made a cascade mod on V1 which actually sounds terrific for Band of Gypsys tones - keeping the gain down the cascade mod just adds thickness, touch sensitivity and harmonics, but keeps the base tone of a 69SL with the West Coast mods. I am probably going to add an FX loop to the amp as well.

When all is up and running I'll try to make a good recording to demonstrate how it sounds now. I'll give the Dave Weyer Major clip a spin now.
Thanks so much to Dave and Tek too !!! :D it's very nice of you, all these efforts, that's really sweet, i can't wait to try it too !
quite a bit busy with the renovation here, preparing my little workshop and some rooms. Well, it'll be ready to build some cool stuffs i guess.

Shakti, these news are very exciting ! so many things were posted since the last time i checked. cool !
Did you do clips already ? i'd love to hear about cascade BOG.

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Xplorer
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Re: Jimi Hendrix' Gear and Mods at West Coast Organ and Amp

Post by Xplorer » Sun Mar 04, 2018 1:32 pm

daveweyer wrote:
Wed Feb 28, 2018 2:58 pm
Well I have some good (I think) news for you all; my son Will just made a little video on his iPad of the Marshall Major amp upgrade, and posted it on youtube, so you can see and hear the amp for yourself. Deniz Tek, of Radio Birdman fame, was over from Australia the day we made the video, and played a few licks through the amp. Please enjoy, and let me know if there is anything else you would like to see about the amp.

https://youtu.be/0GSke3u-HPA
Cooool !! Thanks for sharing it, nice video, i love how the amp sounds. it must be a total beast in person, with huge feedbacks :)

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Re: Jimi Hendrix' Gear and Mods at West Coast Organ and Amp

Post by daveweyer » Mon Mar 05, 2018 12:42 pm

Xplorer, the amp was only putting out 10 or 20 watts, all that sound was coming from the wave compressor. You can even get feedback with very low volume. No need to tear up your speakers!

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Re: Jimi Hendrix' Gear and Mods at West Coast Organ and Amp

Post by daveweyer » Mon Mar 12, 2018 6:55 pm

Well somebody is going to come up with something here soon, I'm just waiting.

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Re: Jimi Hendrix' Gear and Mods at West Coast Organ and Amp

Post by Tek465b » Tue Mar 13, 2018 9:44 pm

I sent my volume pot to Xplorer and the unit above to Shakti.
Have to wait for parts to finish my own unit, i sacrificed myself :P

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Re: Jimi Hendrix' Gear and Mods at West Coast Organ and Amp

Post by shakti » Wed Mar 14, 2018 3:10 pm

Cheers to Tek for giving us freeeloaders first dibs! 8)
Mine is still in the mail...any day soon now.
JTM45 RS OT, 1973 18W, JTM45/100, JTM50, JMP50 1986, JMP100 "West Coast", AC15, AC30, BF Super Reverb, Boogie Mk 1, Hiwatt CP103, DR103

shakti
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Re: Jimi Hendrix' Gear and Mods at West Coast Organ and Amp

Post by shakti » Tue Mar 20, 2018 8:47 am

The fuzz is here! It has arrived...in more ways than one...

I've just given it about a 1 hr spin, and have to say...YES! I am loving it! It has tons of Hendrixy character, lots of gain available, but still sounds big and fat and warm, and it cleans up incredibly well without the over-sparkly character that your typical fuzzface can have (particularly the Silicon varieties).

Does it do the BOG fuzz sound? The answer is a big, resounding YES!
I've been through my fair share of fuzzes, and so far every one of them has been lacking something when it comes to nailing the BOG sound. Either they were too low in gain and too flubby sounding (your typical two transistor fuzzface design) or they were a bit shrill and didn't clean up as well (RM Axis fuzz, Dunlop BOG fuzz) or just didn't have "it" (Deep Trip BOG). SO far, I think the Dunlop BOG actually fares quite well - it has about the right amount of gain, but it's a bit too trebly and sharp sounding, and the clean-up isn't quite good enough.

This new West Coast design is by far the best I've tried. It sounds like a fuzzface, only a "hotrodded" one, so the overall character of the fuzz is *very* Hendrixy and can actually be used for just about any Hendrix fuzz sound you like since it is also quite tweakable. It has fantastic dynamics, and a bass response which is just tight enough. Even though it has lots of fuzz, gain and volume available it cleans up amazingly well, with a very even response. With a typical fuzzface you get progressively more bright and thin as you turn down the guitar volume. With the WC fuzz the tonality stays very even throughout the range. This is one thing I have been searching for - on the original BOG recordings it is sometimes very hard to hear if Hendrix is playing straight into the amp, or with the fuzz ON and volume turned down. ANd there are countless shades of overdrive/fuzz, not just full on or rolled back to a sparkly clean (as in the earlier Hendrix germanium fuzzface recordings) This fuzz nails that aspect - every shade of fuzz and clean heard on BOG can be had from this pedal.
And the sound of the fuzz itself is beautiful - big, warm, fat, dynamic, yet tight. It feels like playing a very well-oiled machine; super-easy "feel" under the fingers.

Can you tell that I like it? :rock:
The only thing I am not sold on is the "always on" arrangement. I can't for the life of me get the bypass/"off" setting to sound good. It also introduces a lot of background hiss in that mode (was using this with a power suply and not a battery, so need to try that), but when switched on the fuzz is not particularly noisy. I will probably modify it to true bypass (and perhaps re-house it so the in and out jacks are not reversed - I hate that!).

But overall; top marks for a fantastic fuzz. Many, many, many thanks to Dave and Mathieu for their help! :champ: :jimi:
JTM45 RS OT, 1973 18W, JTM45/100, JTM50, JMP50 1986, JMP100 "West Coast", AC15, AC30, BF Super Reverb, Boogie Mk 1, Hiwatt CP103, DR103

daveweyer
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Re: Jimi Hendrix' Gear and Mods at West Coast Organ and Amp

Post by daveweyer » Tue Mar 20, 2018 12:10 pm

Shakti, the original unit didn't have a bypass switch because there was a 2 meg pot in the AC feedback path to take the unit from insane fuzz to clean; the thinking at the time was that in the clean setting, the signal would be cleaned up sufficiently to essentially be the same fidelity as a bypassed unit, the difference being there would just be the tiniest edge to the tone. If Jimi were using his unit this way, it gave him a mysterious boost, without adding any audible "fuzz" type tone, very typical of the BOG period. I'm guessing some of the BOG stuff was done with this arrangement.
You can see why he wanted me to add the other controls on the pedal somewhere; he was really wanting to tweak the sound for different playing styles. He said he felt trapped in the sounds he got from his limited setups; my efforts toward expanding his sonic repertoire were based on his own admonitions to me to try something.
I really had no idea if what I did would make any difference, so I just tried something.
Anyway, your experience was very positive, and your comments very generous, a lot like Jimi's if I remember correctly.
It's amazing how thousands of words just can't explain something like this to interested players, but having the actual box, well now that really says it all.

shakti
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Re: Jimi Hendrix' Gear and Mods at West Coast Organ and Amp

Post by shakti » Tue Mar 20, 2018 5:03 pm

I still need to figure out how to tweak the "OFF" sound to sound good.

Is it just a matter of tweaking the "IN" Control and the output volume to desired level to balance between the on and off sounds? To my ears the "OFF" sound was just kind of muffled and noisy sounding, I couldn't get that "mysterious boost" that you talk about, but I need to tweak more.

I have become so happy with the base tone of the amp for the BOG clean sounds that I don't really feel the need for a boost. But OTOH I was raving about the cascade mod I tried on V1, so I am still open to trying new things. At any rate, With this new WC fuzz and the WC mods to the amp, I am closer than ever before to the elusive BOG tone and response.

Clips will come, but need to find the time first...
JTM45 RS OT, 1973 18W, JTM45/100, JTM50, JMP50 1986, JMP100 "West Coast", AC15, AC30, BF Super Reverb, Boogie Mk 1, Hiwatt CP103, DR103

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Re: Jimi Hendrix' Gear and Mods at West Coast Organ and Amp

Post by shakti » Tue Mar 20, 2018 5:05 pm

Another reason I am not crazy about the "always on" feature is that it messes with anything else in line with it...so forget about having two different fuzzes wired up. My Castledine Supra-Vibe does have the preamp active at all times, but it also has a true bypass switch so I can take it out completely if I want to.
JTM45 RS OT, 1973 18W, JTM45/100, JTM50, JMP50 1986, JMP100 "West Coast", AC15, AC30, BF Super Reverb, Boogie Mk 1, Hiwatt CP103, DR103

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Re: Jimi Hendrix' Gear and Mods at West Coast Organ and Amp

Post by daveweyer » Wed Mar 21, 2018 12:13 pm

Well I've got no dog in the fight, so if the thing works better in real bypass mode, by all means add that feature. Maybe I should have put that in to begin with, might have been better all along. I'm just super happy it worked out as well as it did, and that the old circuit is back alive again and out in circulation. Whoda thought?

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Re: Jimi Hendrix' Gear and Mods at West Coast Organ and Amp

Post by shakti » Fri Mar 23, 2018 4:07 pm

Dave,

For the less electronically inclined of us, can you give us a walk-through of how the controls work in this creature? I don't have any problems getting a killer sound of it, but I still can't quite get the hang of the range of the controls and their interaction.

- volume; this one is kind of obvious, and is also active in bypass/off mode. Lots of output is available.

- gain; also quite obvious...this is quite like the fuzz control on a standard fuzzface, but of course with lots more gain on hand. The difference between "wild mode" (2M) and standard (1M) isn't huge, but it's there.

- fuzz; this is where it starts to get a little complicated. I use the volume and gain like I would on a normal fuzzface, but then the fuzz control is like a more subtle fine-tuning. It gets thicker the higher you turn it up.

- In; this is the control I don't quite get. When the pedal is activated/On, this control is subtle. It makes the fuzz sound slightly cleaner/leaner when you turn it up. Is this some kind of input impedance control?
However, it is also active in bypass/Off mode, so the volume and In controls set the sound of the "always on" feature. But how to balance them?? What is the recommended way to set them?
JTM45 RS OT, 1973 18W, JTM45/100, JTM50, JMP50 1986, JMP100 "West Coast", AC15, AC30, BF Super Reverb, Boogie Mk 1, Hiwatt CP103, DR103

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Re: Jimi Hendrix' Gear and Mods at West Coast Organ and Amp

Post by Tek465b » Fri Mar 23, 2018 10:27 pm

Cool :)
Am sorry about the inversed in and out, i do that on purpose on my personal unit(i hate the normal, non-reversed way loll)
You could just swap the in and out wires(but the enclosure labelling will be misleading)

The in control is just a serie input resistance.(0-50k linear)
When i tryed the unit in the bypass mode i also found that the gain/volume drop is just a tiny little bit too much(everything else is perfect).

To fine-tune the bypass/off mode.
Try adding a resistor in serie with any one of the wire that run to the bypass switch(something around 68k-100k or more if needed), or have a potentiometer/trimmer instead, so you can fine tune the bypass/off sound. Or you can also change the 30k on the board to a higher value(may need tweaking the 33pf if changing the 30k?).

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