Mr Scary Mod

[domct203]

https://legendarytones.com/lynch-mod-pre-order-page/#more-1444

After a few emails back and forth with David at Legendary Tones I settled on the Mr Scary Mod for my Roadster.

I’ve only had limited time with it installed, but it absolutely delivers on its claims. You can reduce the channel input gain to increase note clarity and bring out the eq controls then push the last few gain stages to get that saturation and sustain. Dare I say it responds a bit Mark-like with a second preamp volume control later in the circuit.

My typical setup was a Mesa Grid Slammer or Tube Screamer boosting the front end of the amp for the high gain channels. Level up high (usually 2-3:00) and gain down low (9:00-ish) into ch 4 Modern with the amp’s gain around 2-2:30 for my high gain crunch rhythm.

Not any more. With the Mr Scary’s gain at about 1:00 I can lower the channel gain to around 10:30-11:00, turn off the Grid Slammer and get more defined saturation than I did with the boost out front.

Having the amp’s gain in the 10-12:00 range really opens up the response of the amp’s EQ. The mid controls actually works now LOL.

After I get some time learning how the amp now responds with the Mr Scary Mod I’ll grab some clips. I’ve only had a couple of hours with it so far, but I’m very happy with the mod.

Dave at Legendary Tones is a great guy, answered my few dozen questions without hesitation.

I had to relocate the reverb tank from the top of the head shell to the back of the front panel, the Mr Scary Mod doesn’t clear the tank, it’s too tall. I know the tank is designed to be mounted horizontal, but I don’t use the amp’s reverb and was really just focused on making sure the tank remained in the circuit. I tested the reverb to make sure it still worked and heard no difference from what I remember when the tank was in it’s original place. I did try to find a type 8 or 9 tank made to mount vertical with no luck.

Here’s a few pics.

Dom

 

[Eevil]

Nice

I’ve been kind of interested about these things at some level. May have been the thing that my long-gone ED would’ve needed

Did you have any other mods in you Roadster than MM trannies?

 

[domct203]

Yes, I added an adjustable bias mod and the amp was custom modded by Trace at Voodoo Amps about 12 years ago. It’s very similar to his platinum mod, but tweaked for my style. The mod made the amp tighter and a bit more compressed at lower stage volumes, and brought out the higher mids a bit more in Modern mode. The usable gain range didn’t really change too much, I still found the amp starts to get sloppy with the gain over 2:30.

The most notable change from the combined Mercury iron (that was done before Trace got the amp) and Voodoo mod was the immediate punch and note articulation in the output section, regardless of what power tubes I throw at it. This beast will run a quad of 6550’s at 65% of max plate dissipation without any noticeable sag in the power supply when using diode rectification.

Dom

 

[sloanthebone]

Great to heat! I want to try the Mr Scary mod on my Badlander.

 

[Darkstar2]

Damn... that's all I have to say!

 

[bandit2013]

I do have one question regarding the Scary mod. Is the base a fixed form or can it rotate to get clearance from other components ? If not, is it safe to assume they have a specific model to fit the Roadster?

 

[kmanick]

I wish there was room in my mark IV to fit one of these in. I'd love to see what it does in a Mark.
I know people think marks have plenty of gain ,but I have to have my lead input gain )pulled) and drive both at 8 or over to get real
saturation. I tend to dial them both down to 7 and then use a boost and it sounds killer, so I'd be interested to see what an additional gain stage in the circuit
would do.
I'd also like to see what id does to my Splawn as I have the Supersport which only has 2 gears, the full Quickrod has 3 .
since the Splawn is based on the JCM800 circuit I bet it would slay.

 

[domct203]

I do have one question regarding the Scary mod. Is the base a fixed form or can it rotate to get clearance from other components ? If not, is it safe to assume they have a specific model to fit the Roadster?

The base rotates, that’s how I got it to clear the reverb transformer.

I needed to use the socket extension to clear the reverb transformer wires, that makes the unit very wobbly on its own as it’s top heavy. I added a collar made from 1” PVC that fits around the base, it made the unit much more stable. I also have the mounting kit they use, that will make this 100% roadworthy, but I’m going to wait until I’m certain it’s staying in the amp.

 

[rarebitusa]

Dave at Legendary Tones is a great guy, answered my few dozen questions without hesitation.

Yea, he's really upfront. I asked him if the Stiletto would be a candidate and he was really honest with the "maybe, we've tried it... but it's not the best fit..."

So how does it effect the Roaster cleans?

 

[domct203]

So how does it affect the Roaster cleans?

It doesn’t, Ch 1 & 2 do not use V3.

Dom

 

[sloanthebone]

I wish there was room in my mark IV to fit one of these in. I'd love to see what it does in a Mark.
I know people think marks have plenty of gain ,but I have to have my lead input gain )pulled) and drive both at 8 or over to get real
saturation. I tend to dial them both down to 7 and then use a boost and it sounds killer, so I'd be interested to see what an additional gain stage in the circuit
would do.
I'd also like to see what id does to my Splawn as I have the Supersport which only has 2 gears, the full Quickrod has 3 .
since the Splawn is based on the JCM800 circuit I bet it would slay.

They don’t make one for the Mark series:

MESA BOOGIE:Compatible with single, dual and triple rectifier series two-channel amps with use of a standard wire mod in V3 position. Single rectifier and Badlander (standard wire – use in V2 position) – requires socket extension – now included with all orders as of 3/11/24 onward.

03/09/24 Update! Three-channel rectifiers are now validated compatible! V3 position, standard wire, standard and multi-watt version requires socket extension.

This mod is a great option to be able to keep the preamp gain control set lower at the front end in order to maintain note definition/articulation and then use the mod for an added gain stage later in the circuit to bring the sustain and ultimately have a tighter, more aggressive and dynamic tone and feel. IMPORTANT NOTE: THE MESA AMPS ABOVE ARE NOT COMPATIBLE WITH EARLIER “PRE-EVO” HOT MOD V2 UNITS.

 

[Eevil]

They don’t make one for the Mark series:

MESA BOOGIE:Compatible with single, dual and triple rectifier series two-channel amps with use of a standard wire mod in V3 position. Single rectifier and Badlander (standard wire – use in V2 position) – requires socket extension – now included with all orders as of 3/11/24 onward.

03/09/24 Update! Three-channel rectifiers are now validated compatible! V3 position, standard wire, standard and multi-watt version requires socket extension.

This mod is a great option to be able to keep the preamp gain control set lower at the front end in order to maintain note definition/articulation and then use the mod for an added gain stage later in the circuit to bring the sustain and ultimately have a tighter, more aggressive and dynamic tone and feel. IMPORTANT NOTE: THE MESA AMPS ABOVE ARE NOT COMPATIBLE WITH EARLIER “PRE-EVO” HOT MOD V2 UNITS.

Mark V 90w crunch would be nice to update with this but it would be a bit of a squeeze to try to fit such a dongle in the amp

 

[bandit2013]

It doesn’t, Ch 1 & 2 do not use V3.

Dom

View attachment 4012

No it does not. CH1 and CH2 do a complete bypass on the tone stack driver used on CH3 and CH4. It is more of a Fender circuit than a Marshall circuit. Tone stack for CH1 and CH2 are plate driven.

 

[kmanick]

Well David got back to me, the Mr Scary won't work in my Splawn either so I'll have to live vicariously through you guys LOL!
"the Splawn uses a Fender style plate-fed tone stack instead of a cathode follower"

 

[domct203]

No it does not. CH1 and CH2 do a complete bypass on the tone stack driver used on CH3 and CH4. It is more of a Fender circuit than a Marshall circuit. Tone stack for CH1 and CH2 are plate driven.

Isn’t that pretty much what I said?

Dom

 

[bandit2013]

Isn’t that pretty much what I said?

Dom

Yes, I though it was a question and not a statement. Miss read the post. Sorry. I figured you knew the Roadster like the back of your hand. I missed rarebit's question. My bad.

 

[mace]

Cool that you got it to work out and are liking it.

The Mr. Scary mod will also work in the little Rectoverb 25 but alas it won’t fit (per Dave at Legendary Tones).