Relative noob to the amp mod world here, so any insight is appreciated.
I've read the other BM10 threads here, and while they were informative, I'd like to go a bit deeper. I will be changing the eq caps to make them more usable for guitar via: https://www.premierguitar.com/articles/Souping_Up_a_Bassman_10. Currently the amp is 100% original, im about to replace tubes, and will probably put a set of Celestions in place of the "Fender special" drivers that are in there now.
The amp is full of crystal clear chimey goodness, but the thing WILL NOT break up even when railed. Is there anything I can mod that will induce some tubey goodness at higher volumes?
I've read the other BM10 threads here, and while they were informative, I'd like to go a bit deeper. I will be changing the eq caps to make them more usable for guitar via: https://www.premierguitar.com/articles/Souping_Up_a_Bassman_10. Currently the amp is 100% original, im about to replace tubes, and will probably put a set of Celestions in place of the "Fender special" drivers that are in there now.
The amp is full of crystal clear chimey goodness, but the thing WILL NOT break up even when railed. Is there anything I can mod that will induce some tubey goodness at higher volumes?
Cut the ground wire in the studio channel tone stack. It will now over drive! (The TMB knobs will cease to function though) or use a pedal.
I'm not looking to turn it into something it isn't. I just want the preamp tubes that are already in it to saturate.
Well, it won´t.
Not within the limits of what a mod can do.
FWIW Fender is already running tube stages maximum gain.
Want a drastic change?
Tear the preamp down and build a high gain one instead.
Not within the limits of what a mod can do.
FWIW Fender is already running tube stages maximum gain.
Want a drastic change?
Tear the preamp down and build a high gain one instead.
Yes. Think about a clean boost pedal that includes some control over bass and treble. It usually sounds best to cut some of the bass (or boost the treble) before you overdrive pre-amp stages. If you just boost the whole spectrum, the distortion can sound too 'muddy'.
Ive been using an Earthquaker Devices Arrows, and a Blues driver to boost. I wouldn't say it's muddy at all, but my tone is generally really bright to begin with. Thing is, even with the arrows railed it doesn't really overdrive at all, let alone produce an unpleasant overdrive. Right now I'm using a DLS MKIII for dirt. Which is fine, I just expected to be able to coax something out of those tubes. I guess the big difference between the ten and other Bassmen is the master volume. I have heard theories that the output stage has something to do with the cleaner sound of these amps.
The Earthquaker Arrows spec.s don't show any information on how much boost it can give. It might be that it doesn't give enough boost to do what you are looking for.
I'll have to try out some different ones. I've got a Boss graphic eq that I can try cranking certain freqs with.
How old are preamp cathode caps?
Working as designed, sensitivity is below 10mV, and there should be no problem slamming the 6L6es. If all preamp cathode caps are shot, sensitivity is over 30mV and you will need a strong arm to spank the 6L6es.
A general check of tube pin voltages is called for. It may just be sick. It wasn't born yesterday and parts/tubes do go bad. Over half such faults appear in DC checks.
Working as designed, sensitivity is below 10mV, and there should be no problem slamming the 6L6es. If all preamp cathode caps are shot, sensitivity is over 30mV and you will need a strong arm to spank the 6L6es.
A general check of tube pin voltages is called for. It may just be sick. It wasn't born yesterday and parts/tubes do go bad. Over half such faults appear in DC checks.
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