THE HW Marshall thread. Tweaking it step by step.

daneswede · Post by **daneswede** » Sat May 20, 2006 7:34 pm

I have seen the light!! His name is George! I absolutely LOVE what you have done to the tone of this amp. I have to admit. All I had done to the short time of owning my 1959HW was clip one leg of the bright cap, bridge the channels and run wither my Valvedriver 12ax7 pedal or Tonebone Hot British in their for sustain. While the tone was not all the bad (I havent put in enough time with this amp even yet), what I am hearing after the mods and OT replacement , change to the 8 ohm tap for the NF, the SOZOS, FIZZY Cap deal, etc... THis amp sounds great/ very impressive.

SIGN ME UP! Ill be talking to you George and thank you for the link to this thread. I have learned a great deal. . My favorite is that the 1959HW has been "METRO SEXUALIZED"

George, You should put a Metro Sexualized sticker on the back of everyone of these 1959HWs that you will be doing this to! WHich IMHO is going to be a LOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

By the way, DID ANYONE TRY VINTAGE MUSTARD CAPS in this amp????????? Any thoughts?????? Thanks again George. WHy Marshall Inc. Doenst hire you for $1,000,000 a year and put you on as regional head of Marshalls ELECTNX/TONE DEPT is beyond me! I want to cry I am so happy with the sound of these clips ESPECIALLY after the Output Trannie installation!THe amp just sounds so good!! Where do I sign!??

I also was wondering along with if ORIGINAL MUSTARD CAPS being tried in this amp???? What type of BOOSTING PEDAL/ DISTORTION are you using George ?/ THanks again. Ill be talking/ sending my amp this week :>)!!

johniss0001 · Post by **johniss0001** » Sat May 20, 2006 7:59 pm

george ain't using a pedal it is straight amp with les paul with 60's t top hums!

daneswede · Post by **daneswede** » Sat May 20, 2006 8:40 pm

johniss0001 wrote:george ain't using a pedal it is straight amp with les paul with 60's t top hums!

Unreal. All I get is clean amp tone from mine??Of course I have yet to get my Ultimate Attenuator which is a MUST!!

He mentioned he was ATTENUATING quite a bit in the clips .

rockstah · Post by **rockstah** » Mon May 22, 2006 2:33 pm

MacGaden wrote:
Necrovore wrote: NY Chief, I think you squared 18 to come up with 396.
I´ve seen the pics. Sound about right....

?

daneswede · Post by **daneswede** » Sat May 27, 2006 9:09 pm

For mine i have a QUAD of NOS Siemens EL34s. Was thinking of using a 12ax7A for the V1 but im not sure if NOS preamp tubes or just stock jj's for the v2-v3 are gonna make a huge diff?

I do like the idea of the NOS Siemens El34s though. I threw a quad into my 81 JCM800 2203 and they sound good.

Guitar Adjuster · Post by **Guitar Adjuster** » Sat May 27, 2006 10:57 pm

NOS pre-amp tubes make a HUGH difference in this amp. Try NOS Sylvania 12ax7 or GE, RCA in the pre-amp section and its like lifting a blanket off the cab, I shit you not!

purple · Post by **purple** » Sun May 28, 2006 3:30 am

i want a better picture

please

daneswede · Post by **daneswede** » Sun May 28, 2006 9:18 am

Guitar Adjuster wrote:NOS pre-amp tubes make a HUGH difference in this amp. Try NOS Sylvania 12ax7 or GE, RCA in the pre-amp section and its like lifting a blanket off the cab, I shit you not!

I scored some NOS SIEMENS EL34s through my rep at Mesa Boogie. Still have a QUAD left for my 1959HW and will search out some NOS Preamp 12AX7s then. Ws thinking of putting a 12AX7A High Gain preamp tube in the V1 for some added "hair" around the note if that will add to the sonic.

I noticed a lot of old Marshalls had BRIMARS CV4004s in them? Heard the TUNGSRAM NOS preamps are good too and a value priced alternative with a Mullard-esque 12ax7 tone? Some ideas for when I ship my 1959HW out to George for revampin.

Tx

wdelaney72 · Post by **wdelaney72** » Sun May 28, 2006 9:09 pm

Guitar Adjuster wrote:NOS pre-amp tubes make a HUGH difference in this amp. Try NOS Sylvania 12ax7

Amen, brother.
+1

funk49 · Post by **funk49** » Mon May 29, 2006 4:42 am

Ok, the amp sounded terrible to me when I first heard it. I don't care what crunchboy said...you could have posted 10 clips with that one in the mixed up in the middle and I would have thought it sounded like dogshit. No balls in that amp at all and the highs were just too much. I know tone well and that amp didn't have it stock.

This amp is ALOT closer now, but I'm still not hearing the mojo I hear with the old amps or what the Metros get. Still sounds lacking to me.

Maybe I'm kinda biased in the opinion that if you spend as much as these cost, you shouldn't have to do SHIT to them. Why not just get a Metro? What's left of this amp to make it worth the pricetag anyway? It's a player and not stock at all anymore.

If I was going to spend $3k, I would either be an old Plexi, a Metro and some choice pedals, or go boutique and get a Custom Audio OD-100.

The amp with the mods does sound better than stock. Maybe it needs a massive burn-in to get some of the caps cooking.

wdelaney72 · Post by **wdelaney72** » Mon May 29, 2006 11:08 am

Has the owner of this amp been identified yet?

daneswede · Post by **daneswede** » Mon May 29, 2006 5:57 pm

funk49 wrote:Ok, the amp sounded terrible to me when I first heard it. I don't care what crunchboy said...you could have posted 10 clips with that one in the mixed up in the middle and I would have thought it sounded like dogshit. No balls in that amp at all and the highs were just too much. I know tone well and that amp didn't have it stock.

This amp is ALOT closer now, but I'm still not hearing the mojo I hear with the old amps or what the Metros get. Still sounds lacking to me.

Maybe I'm kinda biased in the opinion that if you spend as much as these cost, you shouldn't have to do SHIT to them. Why not just get a Metro? What's left of this amp to make it worth the pricetag anyway? It's a player and not stock at all anymore.

If I was going to spend $3k, I would either be an old Plexi, a Metro and some choice pedals, or go boutique and get a Custom Audio OD-100.

The amp with the mods does sound better than stock. Maybe it needs a massive burn-in to get some of the caps cooking.

I understand what your saying about the price tage issue and just buying the Metro in the first place which is what I was originaly planning on doing. SInce you asked or at least brought this up im gonna explain what happened to me and how i ended up with this amp. And by the way, MP3 soundclips and hearing it live are completely two differant things. I do have confidence in George. Perhaps you should isten to the WAV Files and reconsider your post.

ANyway, I was in SAM ASH of all places buying a special order TAYLOR acoustic-Electrric which ran $2500ish. When the guitar arrived I simply was NOT happy with it. SAM ASHS policy on SPECIAL ORDERS are this. THat ios you CAN NOT HGET A REFUND$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ 0% Refundolo ! nada- nbot shit !!!!! nothinbg. YOU GET zip!!!!!! What you DO GET IS an exchange. So I thought, besides the Taylor I figured Id go with the Marshall 1959HW which wsa another special order! YIKES! So it arrives and here i am a frew months later with the amp into it for $2800. I know, Ive lost some money on this one WISH I could have gotten the Metro right off the bat. BUt as you can see my circumsytance was much differant,\
sure I could have SOLD the Taylor , Lost my ass on that and made iup the differance waiting around but oh well. So Im sending the amp to George. I have faith, If there are other tweaks we havent talked about maybe ill go thatr way to, maybe not. Also, The sound clips of this amp AFTER the tweaks-upgrades were done were STOCK and with a ATTENUATOR. I also use a Tonebone Hot British and now the HIgh Gain mod BK Butler 12ax7 pedals for sustain-modern gain structure so to me i am a) NOT looking to be Eddie Van Halen and b) I like the tone of the amp which to me is reminiscent of Jimmy Pages stock Marshalls. It isnt a Metro I know. Im at a point where after the mods and using the 12ax7 pedals for sustain im sure ill be very happy. I am still most likely going to buy a Metroamp ANYWAY!!!!!!:>) So hah !!

One edit . To me, and this is what I hear even in the final three mp3 clips which George readily admits are almost not worth posting because of this format opting for WAV files to be a somewhat better representation. ANywhow, The very first thing I heard with the diff. from the first STOCK 1959HW clip to the final 3 was the Bottom end of the chord play. In between Georges chords, the t"thud" or "thunk" if you will, is more prevelant. Thew original clip was THIN and SQUEELY
2nd, In the original clip to me it lacked "hair" around the notes and it lacked depth and musicality if you must where as the final clips again did not have that Squeally type overtone or undertone , whatever to it either. That was gone. The sound seemed more musical and inspiring. Again, For me to give it a full monty 100% dedicated opinion I will at some point have to put my faith in George to do the right thing here and listen to the man as well as listen for myself and summate as best I can until the amp arrives at my door, I plug it in hit a chord and go, yeah, he was right !!!!! George that is :>) It is good to have subjective opinions on this thread though and its appreciated.

bjm007 · Post by **bjm007** » Mon May 29, 2006 6:58 pm

I gotta chime in here as well. I've had a zillion old Marshalls... Sold a lot of them before most of you were born... At the moment, I'm buying a few boutique Marshalls here and there to relive a bit of the fun I had playing these beasts as a kid (picture below...)

I can tell you right off the bat that I don't think most of you are giving the HW a fair hearing here. If you haven't played a few of them first hand, then you really cannot make a good judgement. An MP3 does not give you an accurate picture of the tone of an amp (IMO).

I actually like the HW for what it is, and I'm a real picky bastard... You MUST drop the bright cap down from 4,700pF to 100pF, which is why it sounds so awful to most people when they first demo it. (I can't figure out why Marshall would put that value in there... not a good choice...) But once you change that, it sounds much better than some of you are giving it credit for.

You've just gotta look at it for what it is. I'll admit its expensive... Although $2,800 is the typical street price, it can be had for much less if you haggle... So for those of you that want an amp that actually was built by Marshall, you should at least play this amp and see for yourself what you think...

Do I like George's 12000 better? Yes, absolutely... But they are very different from each other... Greg Germino's Headroom 100 '68 Plexi is also a very cool amp as well which I just bought last month as well and I'm diggin the daylights out of that one... in it's own way.

These amps are ALL somewhat different from each other. At the end of the day, they all do what they do pretty well. They are each very unique. I'll probably swap out the signal caps in my HW, just because it's such an easy and inexpensive thing to do. Hell, I enjoyed experimenting with my Metro 12000 as well. That was a great experience. In the end I found out what I liked and what I don't. It's probably different than what each of you like as well.

I'm not saying you should run out and buy one... My point is, don't just take somebody's word for it. Go try 3-4 HW's and see for yourself what you think. Remember to jump channels, because it's the only way you can tame a little of that damn bright cap to hear what the amp really sounds like......... Otherwise, but it from a place you can return it and go home and swap the bright cap to a 100pF and see for yourself. If you don't like it, take it back!

Just my 2 cents ...........................

funk49 · Post by **funk49** » Tue May 30, 2006 3:42 am

ANyway, I was in SAM ASH of all places buying a special order TAYLOR acoustic-Electrric which ran $2500ish. When the guitar arrived I simply was NOT happy with it. SAM ASHS policy on SPECIAL ORDERS are this. THat ios you CAN NOT HGET A REFUND$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ 0% Refundolo ! nada- nbot shit !!!!! nothinbg. YOU GET zip!!!!!! What you DO GET IS an exchange. So I thought, besides the Taylor I figured Id go with the Marshall 1959HW which wsa another special order! YIKES! So it arrives and here i am a frew months later with the amp into it for $2800. I know, Ive lost some money on this one WISH I could have gotten the Metro right off the bat. BUt as you can see my circumsytance was much differant,\
sure I could have SOLD the Taylor , Lost my ass on that and made iup the differance waiting around but oh well. So Im sending the amp to George. I have faith, If there are other tweaks we havent talked about maybe ill go thatr way to, maybe not. Also, The sound clips of this amp AFTER the tweaks-upgrades were done were STOCK and with a ATTENUATOR. I also use a Tonebone Hot British and now the HIgh Gain mod BK Butler 12ax7 pedals for sustain-modern gain structure so to me i am a) NOT looking to be Eddie Van Halen and b) I like the tone of the amp which to me is reminiscent of Jimmy Pages stock Marshalls. It isnt a Metro I know. Im at a point where after the mods and using the 12ax7 pedals for sustain im sure ill be very happy. I am still most likely going to buy a Metroamp ANYWAY!!!!!!:>) So hah !!

If that's your situation, making the best of it is all you could do. I would have probably done the same thing if I had my funds tied up in credit that couldn't be refunded. And don't get me wrong...if anyone can make that amp kick ass, it will be George. No offense was meant by my previous post...I was just annoyed by the fact that the amp is obviously nothing more than a name by the tweaks that need to be done to get it where it SHOULD HAVE BEEN FROM THE FACTORY from the price Marshall is charging.

I'm sure that by the time he's done and the amp has been burned in, your amp will sound like hell on wheels. Please keep us posted on the progress.

daneswede · Post by **daneswede** » Tue May 30, 2006 4:37 am

funk49 wrote:
ANyway, I was in SAM ASH of all places buying a special order TAYLOR acoustic-Electrric which ran $2500ish. When the guitar arrived I simply was NOT happy with it. SAM ASHS policy on SPECIAL ORDERS are this. THat ios you CAN NOT HGET A REFUND$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ 0% Refundolo ! nada- nbot shit !!!!! nothinbg. YOU GET zip!!!!!! What you DO GET IS an exchange. So I thought, besides the Taylor I figured Id go with the Marshall 1959HW which wsa another special order! YIKES! So it arrives and here i am a frew months later with the amp into it for $2800. I know, Ive lost some money on this one WISH I could have gotten the Metro right off the bat. BUt as you can see my circumsytance was much differant,\
sure I could have SOLD the Taylor , Lost my ass on that and made iup the differance waiting around but oh well. So Im sending the amp to George. I have faith, If there are other tweaks we havent talked about maybe ill go thatr way to, maybe not. Also, The sound clips of this amp AFTER the tweaks-upgrades were done were STOCK and with a ATTENUATOR. I also use a Tonebone Hot British and now the HIgh Gain mod BK Butler 12ax7 pedals for sustain-modern gain structure so to me i am a) NOT looking to be Eddie Van Halen and b) I like the tone of the amp which to me is reminiscent of Jimmy Pages stock Marshalls. It isnt a Metro I know. Im at a point where after the mods and using the 12ax7 pedals for sustain im sure ill be very happy. I am still most likely going to buy a Metroamp ANYWAY!!!!!!:>) So hah !!

If that's your situation, making the best of it is all you could do. I would have probably done the same thing if I had my funds tied up in credit that couldn't be refunded. And don't get me wrong...if anyone can make that amp kick ass, it will be George. No offense was meant by my previous post...I was just annoyed by the fact that the amp is obviously nothing more than a name by the tweaks that need to be done to get it where it SHOULD HAVE BEEN FROM THE FACTORY from the price Marshall is charging.

I'm sure that by the time he's done and the amp has been burned in, your amp will sound like hell on wheels. Please keep us posted on the progress.

Its all good, I did mention that your post is obviously appreciated as subjective is the word of the day with these threads. If everyone had the exact same take on every single thread I would start to feel uneasy.

As for me, I go tomorrow to find out how bad the financing is going to be on a 2003 Ford Explorer XLS that I bought today. Put 20% down due to less than stellar credit. Anyway, Once im on the road tomorrow and Insurance and Tags, etc. are dialed in, the 1959HW goes to George for its "Metro Sexualization" or revamping if you will. I will keep all posted and when the amp arrives to my home I plan on sound clips for I finally got into the recording game with an entry level Protools syst. Good stuff. Just got to figure the shit out now :>)!!! There is just NO EXCUSE anymore not to get into the recording game because of the inexpensive and really good quality stuff that is being put out now. Im from the old school of 2 inch AMPEX GOLD SERIES tape-Sony 24 track Analog. Still one of the best sounding, warmest , fattest and tightest Analog systems IMHO. Times they have a changed .

AS for the 195HW, I could sell, I could buy a Metro ( Which I will most likely do anyway soon as my thgird amp,

), I could vintage, could do a lot of things. THis is my path and what I have chosen and hey, Im happy with this. Im a player not collector and I know what will be coming to my door when the amp is finished.