John Suhr Provided Details Regarding the SL68 (JMP SL clone)

[stef]

I can tell from the '78 England boot that his tone/rig was intact, not shrill on the high end, plenty of saturation, and close to the album tone for sure. That's a tone to chase! Maybe it was shrill to MA hearing it in such a small place

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BCwtJ_3p8Y[/youtube]

I agree with you. MA is a bass player, everything sounds trebly to these guys! His sound wasn't dark, it was bright just like with any good plexi with treble and presence on 10 or everything on 10...but it's hard for me to think of it as painfully bright since his 1977 and 78 live tones sounded just right and pretty close to "unpolished" VH1 tone...

[johnnybgoood]

Ed's unbelievable: a true prodigy and genius. It's great to see him healthy now and touring again.

An update on the SL68. I think this will address the whole brightness issue somewhat.

Here's what Pete Thorn wrote over on TGP about this. Maybe, if we're lucky, he'll chime in over here. http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showpo ... tcount=101" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
"re: bright cap- on my SL68 I had a bright cap originally but it made the amp too damn bright and aggressive in the 1st 1/2 of the sweep of the volume pot, it makes the gain come on too fast. I removed it and voila it is pretty much perfect now. I might want to try one again as it is maybe a tad dark with humbuckers, I'd like a bit more bite when the amp is anywhere from 0-7 on the volume. Turned up all the way, of course, the bright cap is not really heard anymore anyway."

This is what Pete said about the SL68 on 5-30-2013.
http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showpo ... tcount=119" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
"I think the bright cap is what comes in the SL68's now, we worked on it a bit to make sure it was smooth and useable through the sweep of the volume. The amp sounds great with no bright cap as well- i used it like that for awhile."

This amp is great, not only because it is an ideal clone of the Marshall, but also that it is offering the same problems for it's owners as the '68 Marshall SL. The big difference is now we have a session musician and John Suhr addressing the issues and sharing it with us.

We know EVH must have had the same issues with brightness. That's why he cranked his volume to take the bright cap out of the loop and either used the Variac as a master volume to tame the amp's loudness or slaved his setup using a power amp. Regardless of his stage setup, we know that he used the lead channel and that the brightness was crucial for him to maintain his sound.

[malig]

Hi,
Did Suhr use 630V Mallory or 400V Mallory ?

Thanks

[Dunkmop]

Bright caps still have a slight affect when the volume is dimed. It all depends on the size of the cap too. I think it actually plays a part in Ed's tone.

It allows you to dial some bass/warmth back to a nice level for this tone. I have got the bright cap on a switch for flexibility, as its great for Ed tone, but not so great if you're trying to run the amp cleaner, or try other sounds. I'm using a 4700pf cap also.

[Dunkmop]

Hi,
Did Suhr use 630V Mallory or 400V Mallory ?

Thanks

It's hard to tell from the pictures, but I would've thought he used 630V.

[malig]

I think he use the 630V, because in the badger that's the 630v...
Not sure, because the 400v and 630v are sized very close !

[Tone Slinger]

I got some 630 v Mallorys I'm gonna put in my tone stack & pi sectons at some point. The newer white ones. These are smaller than the old yellow ones of the same value. The Sozo's are larger in the same values as well.

[Dunkmop]

I found the Mallorys to be a little tighter/cleaner than the Sozos.

I have been trying to tighten my amp up for a while, so I tried the Mallorys in all positions. They are good, but I've got to admit that the Sozos do sound sweeter, so I've got a 0.68 Sozo in V2a. What I like about them is that they are good sounding, cheap, and readily available.

[fivecoyote]

Not an amp builder (...yet) but I'm thinkin' if bright was a big deal to Ed he would've dialed back the Treb and Pres, but did not. Also, having those up with, presumably, the cap makes some of the sounds he made possible, IMO.

[OnTheFritz]

SoZo Version 2 yellows coming out early next year... hold on to your asses...

Any updates on this?

[Tone Slinger]

http://youtu.be/9BtBt3Lk3xA" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This clip is a member here who is basically using the exact spec as the Suhr SL-68. Nothing fancy (except the tone )just the Dave F. spec basically. I feel he did a fine job recording it .Having messed with this spec,I do feel it is indeed what was in Ed's amp back when ('78 tour). One thing concerning The Suhr Sl-68is that it sounds maybe a bit TOO soft and lacks a certain hardness or punch. The v1b 820 (instead of the 2.7k) can do that, but at the same time, the 820 is VERY early Ed. I think that the Sl-68's PT is possibly dropping the voltages a bit TOO much ? Hell, Heyboer can wind you anything you want,but what George had them do for the trannies he uses/sells work for me

[vanhalen5150]

I've yet come across anything that is as easy to set up with just stock values as the Heyboers that came with the Metro Kits. I have Mereens, MM's, Marstrans, Classic Tones....all equally good if you work with them. The Metro/Heyb's are just as easy as adding water and it makes its own sauce.

[rgorke]

http://youtu.be/9BtBt3Lk3xA

This clip is a member here who is basically using the exact spec as the Suhr SL-68. Nothing fancy (except the tone )just the Dave F. spec basically. I feel he did a fine job recording it .Having messed with this spec,I do feel it is indeed what was in Ed's amp back when ('78 tour). One thing concerning The Suhr Sl-68is that it sounds maybe a bit TOO soft and lacks a certain hardness or punch. The v1b 820 (instead of the 2.7k) can do that, but at the same time, the 820 is VERY early Ed. I think that the Sl-68's PT is possibly dropping the voltages a bit TOO much ? Hell, Heyboer can wind you anything you want,but what George had them do for the trannies he uses/sells work for me

Geez Andy, that amp is all wrong!!!! The Marshall logo is way too big and needs to be gold. Then mayb he has the tone .

[Tone Slinger]

Ha, Ha , just commenting on how that spec (Friedman/suhr Sl-68) has that '78 tour sound. I think the trannies that George has made by Heyboer are the 'right' ones. I know Other guys like Suhr, Friedman, etc, have heyboer make them stuff that is specific to certain B+ voltages, etc. but I think THAT (trannies) is the make or break. Seems Georges trannies sounds like what Marshall used back in the day. Also, I dont buy the 100k/4ohm thing, maybe that has something to do with having 'oddball' PT's being made, trying to make that spec work while having the B+ TOO low ? The 47k/8ohm spec holds togather the 'punch' better imo.

[stef]

I think that Suhr and Michael both have 47k/8ohm. However, using the PPIMV (Michael and Estrada) affects the NFB (decreases it) and the amp sounds more distorted (due to lower NFB) and brighter and looser. My amp sounded slightly hotter and brighter even with the PPIMV (L/M) on 10.
For the first time I'm experimenting with a 27K NFB resistor