Jose Arredondo high gain mod. Myth or Reality

Info for maintaining and tweaking your amp to perfection.

Moderator: VelvetGeorge

User avatar
jerrydyer
Senior Member
Posts: 3347
Joined: Fri Oct 15, 2004 6:13 pm
Location: Westminster, CA
Contact:

hijack

Post by jerrydyer » Mon Jul 23, 2007 12:59 pm

Not to hijack this post but can I ask Mark a question. Mark, I have a 2pdt mini switch using or excluding a tube gain stage. whats the best way to minmize pop. thanx
vids.
http://www.youtube.com/user/jerrydyer?feature=mhw4" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.dui-specialist.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

MrDan666
Senior Member
Posts: 234
Joined: Wed Nov 29, 2006 6:56 am
Location: London UK
Contact:

Post by MrDan666 » Mon Jul 23, 2007 5:26 pm

Ok so whats the deal with the two parts in the schematic labelled Loop I and Loop II? are they two FX loops in the circuit?

Just trying to work out what is what here, im not so good at reading and understanding schematics.

Dan
Attachments
arredondo1.jpg
(94.43 KiB) Downloaded 367 times

User avatar
jerrydyer
Senior Member
Posts: 3347
Joined: Fri Oct 15, 2004 6:13 pm
Location: Westminster, CA
Contact:

Post by jerrydyer » Mon Jul 23, 2007 6:36 pm

ive looked at that thang who knows hoy many times. You know it looks like it is set up to use the first gain stage as a tube boost to some other amp. Thats why the signal breaks so you can use it as a really good boost pedal.
vids.
http://www.youtube.com/user/jerrydyer?feature=mhw4" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.dui-specialist.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

MarkCameron
Senior Member
Posts: 371
Joined: Mon Sep 11, 2006 11:45 pm

Post by MarkCameron » Tue Jul 24, 2007 12:29 am

MrDan666 wrote:Ok so whats the deal with the two parts in the schematic labelled Loop I and Loop II? are they two FX loops in the circuit?

Just trying to work out what is what here, im not so good at reading and understanding schematics.

Dan
If you look at the schematic you can see it is a 1959 with added gain stages that go into both the bright AND normal inputs. The switch in the middle jumps the channels......The other two mute and bypass the extra gain stages for the bright and the normal channels.

The loops are more for floor pedals.... I think was the idea. There an insert at the normal place for the stock circuit's input .One each for normal and bright channels..... I think Joe Holmes has a PCM41 in this loop for a boost in gain (may be for Chorus too? I dont remember)

You could also use a delay in the normal channel loop and blend in the dry bright channel. That might be what he does too.... again I dont remember.

User avatar
45auto
Senior Member
Posts: 2532
Joined: Fri Apr 21, 2006 12:23 pm
Location: cowtown tx

Post by 45auto » Tue Jul 24, 2007 1:04 pm

high gain marshall? how does bray do it? i would think just a cascade of some type. some people don't care for his mod, but it screams pretty well for straight in & it seems to roll off at the guitar to a pretty decent clean. i'd love to be able to switch between a good plexi & that mod.
Last edited by 45auto on Tue Jul 24, 2007 3:19 pm, edited 2 times in total.
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default ... dID=559714" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://s62.photobucket.com/albums/h119/ ... t=1980.flv" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

User avatar
jerrydyer
Senior Member
Posts: 3347
Joined: Fri Oct 15, 2004 6:13 pm
Location: Westminster, CA
Contact:

Post by jerrydyer » Tue Jul 24, 2007 1:14 pm

or those signals can be sent to the front of another amp, with the first tube used as a booster and buffer for effects the nto the front of another marshall for a big sound that still sounds like a marshall but higher gain. hhhmmm! what was that schem inside of. where were all the holes located for loops and switches. That may be an Arrendondo mod but I doubt it was ever in any of Eddies amps.
vids.
http://www.youtube.com/user/jerrydyer?feature=mhw4" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.dui-specialist.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

MarkCameron
Senior Member
Posts: 371
Joined: Mon Sep 11, 2006 11:45 pm

Post by MarkCameron » Tue Jul 24, 2007 5:32 pm

jerrydyer wrote:or those signals can be sent to the front of another amp, with the first tube used as a booster and buffer for effects the nto the front of another marshall for a big sound that still sounds like a marshall but higher gain. hhhmmm! what was that schem inside of. where were all the holes located for loops and switches. That may be an Arrendondo mod but I doubt it was ever in any of Eddies amps.
No, this mod was never in Eds amp, His was just a master on the back. This is more like the 80's stuff he did but Jose did do this mod as early as 1974. A bunch of holes all across the back of the amp for the 2 loops and 2 line outs one for pre amp... one for power amp, remote stand by. The switches for the gain stages are push-pulls on the added gain pots.The jumper push-pull is on the Normal volume.

User avatar
jerrydyer
Senior Member
Posts: 3347
Joined: Fri Oct 15, 2004 6:13 pm
Location: Westminster, CA
Contact:

Post by jerrydyer » Tue Jul 24, 2007 5:43 pm

yep.
vids.
http://www.youtube.com/user/jerrydyer?feature=mhw4" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.dui-specialist.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

OUTLAW1969
New Member
Posts: 39
Joined: Sat Apr 07, 2007 7:01 am
Location: Jacksonville, Florida

Post by OUTLAW1969 » Thu Jul 26, 2007 2:47 am

45auto wrote:high gain marshall? how does bray do it? i would think just a cascade of some type. some people don't care for his mod, but it screams pretty well for straight in & it seems to roll off at the guitar to a pretty decent clean. i'd love to be able to switch between a good plexi & that mod.

Two words........MARK CAMERON.

MrDan666
Senior Member
Posts: 234
Joined: Wed Nov 29, 2006 6:56 am
Location: London UK
Contact:

Post by MrDan666 » Thu Jul 26, 2007 8:37 am

Thanks for all the info on this stuff Mark, you obviously know about Jose's stuff better than anyone else so its nice of you to share the info!

Can anyone tell me what this is here in the diagram? Excuse my bad paint skills :lol:
Attachments
arredondo12.JPG
(108.68 KiB) Downloaded 315 times

blfrd
Senior Member
Posts: 973
Joined: Mon Apr 10, 2006 11:17 am
Just the numbers in order: 7
Location: Midwest

Re: Jose Arredondo high gain mod. Myth or Reality

Post by blfrd » Thu Jul 26, 2007 9:19 am

MarkCameron wrote:
Necrovore wrote:We know about Eddie helping his buddy out by saying that Jose modded his amps. At least now we assume that this is a "false" statement. One of many of Eddie's blinds he used to keep a lid on his tone.

Metallica is another band that had Jose modded Marshalls. Kill "Em All is where they are "supposidely" recorded on. No post production magic going on there. I have an original vinyl from 1983 Megaforce Records put it out. A small indie label had no money for studio magic.

Steve Vai is another that supposidely had work done to his amp by Jose as well.

Jose is dead now. His reputation is up there with the likes of Lee Jackson. Probably moreso as Lee is known for decent mods but not that clean of work. At least on some of the photos that I have seen. Most of the Jackson modded amps that I have seen also went to a place in California called Metalhead guitars or Metalhead amplification, I can't remember which. The mods those guys did might be the rats nest modders on these amps.

Back to Arredondo's high gain mod. What is it? After all this time there are no photos? No one has taken one and traced out the circuit and drawn up a schematic? Mark Cameron is supposed to know what it is and used to mod amps with his "Jose" mod. Is this a real copied version or something similar but not actual?

After all this time I am starting to get very skeptical that this is an actual mod. Is it an additional preamp tube, component swap and no additional tube, what? This is starting to fall into the myth category in my eyes.

If any of you know what it is cough it up. Even if no one uses it it would still be a great circuit to experiment with/study.
There is no mystery to the Jose mod. There IS a schematic on the net and its close enough. SEARCH THE FORUM AND YOU WILL FIND IT But Jose did many different mods.
I do not copy Jose mods....The master is the idea I went with. I have seen more Jose Mods then anybody... I think..... being able to go through his shop when the store I worked for bought it out. The Ed thing is mostly split cathode w/brite cap(.0047)68 filtering 74--1959 pre-amp style... volume on 8(EVERYTHING WAS NOT ON TEN) ,MXR 6 bandEQ ,phase90,Flanger ,echoplex ,voltage 98volts....Jose Line out box to JTM 45 AND AC50(look at pictures of old set up) this is most of the gain...............AND EDWARD!!!!!!
I don't recall seeing pics of any JTM 45's or AC50's? Where are the pics you speak of?
If there's no quiet, there can be no loud.

User avatar
jerrydyer
Senior Member
Posts: 3347
Joined: Fri Oct 15, 2004 6:13 pm
Location: Westminster, CA
Contact:

Post by jerrydyer » Thu Jul 26, 2007 5:49 pm

man could those be those diodes like the poor mans overdrive ? ? weird.
vids.
http://www.youtube.com/user/jerrydyer?feature=mhw4" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.dui-specialist.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

User avatar
jerrydyer
Senior Member
Posts: 3347
Joined: Fri Oct 15, 2004 6:13 pm
Location: Westminster, CA
Contact:

Post by jerrydyer » Thu Jul 26, 2007 5:53 pm

Outlaw, adding a tube to a plexi circuit only gets you into MV gain area's. If you want to see something similar to what I build, since I dont have pics our great schems (yet) look at the Heather at the
www.webervst.com

you have relays switching into the circuit different levels of gain
I use those webber boards to add a tube to a 2204 circuit and to subtract a tube to go down to NMV setup.

thats what it takes to get the best of all three worlds Non Master, Master then 4 gain stager.
vids.
http://www.youtube.com/user/jerrydyer?feature=mhw4" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.dui-specialist.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

MarkCameron
Senior Member
Posts: 371
Joined: Mon Sep 11, 2006 11:45 pm

Re: Jose Arredondo high gain mod. Myth or Reality

Post by MarkCameron » Fri Jul 27, 2007 1:23 am

blfrd wrote:
MarkCameron wrote:
Necrovore wrote:We know about Eddie helping his buddy out by saying that Jose modded his amps. At least now we assume that this is a "false" statement. One of many of Eddie's blinds he used to keep a lid on his tone.

Metallica is another band that had Jose modded Marshalls. Kill "Em All is where they are "supposidely" recorded on. No post production magic going on there. I have an original vinyl from 1983 Megaforce Records put it out. A small indie label had no money for studio magic.

Steve Vai is another that supposidely had work done to his amp by Jose as well.

Jose is dead now. His reputation is up there with the likes of Lee Jackson. Probably moreso as Lee is known for decent mods but not that clean of work. At least on some of the photos that I have seen. Most of the Jackson modded amps that I have seen also went to a place in California called Metalhead guitars or Metalhead amplification, I can't remember which. The mods those guys did might be the rats nest modders on these amps.

Back to Arredondo's high gain mod. What is it? After all this time there are no photos? No one has taken one and traced out the circuit and drawn up a schematic? Mark Cameron is supposed to know what it is and used to mod amps with his "Jose" mod. Is this a real copied version or something similar but not actual?

After all this time I am starting to get very skeptical that this is an actual mod. Is it an additional preamp tube, component swap and no additional tube, what? This is starting to fall into the myth category in my eyes.

If any of you know what it is cough it up. Even if no one uses it it would still be a great circuit to experiment with/study.
There is no mystery to the Jose mod. There IS a schematic on the net and its close enough. SEARCH THE FORUM AND YOU WILL FIND IT But Jose did many different mods.
I do not copy Jose mods....The master is the idea I went with. I have seen more Jose Mods then anybody... I think..... being able to go through his shop when the store I worked for bought it out. The Ed thing is mostly split cathode w/brite cap(.0047)68 filtering 74--1959 pre-amp style... volume on 8(EVERYTHING WAS NOT ON TEN) ,MXR 6 bandEQ ,phase90,Flanger ,echoplex ,voltage 98volts....Jose Line out box to JTM 45 AND AC50(look at pictures of old set up) this is most of the gain...............AND EDWARD!!!!!!
I don't recall seeing pics of any JTM 45's or AC50's? Where are the pics you speak of?

Theres more too
Attachments
image008_906.jpg
(31.62 KiB) Downloaded 3083 times

MarkCameron
Senior Member
Posts: 371
Joined: Mon Sep 11, 2006 11:45 pm

Post by MarkCameron » Fri Jul 27, 2007 1:28 am

jerrydyer wrote:man could those be those diodes like the poor mans overdrive ? ? weird.

Yep! Sounds good too. If you put an ovredrive in front you have..........diodes too.

Post Reply