Mr Scary Mod

[sloanthebone]

I just got one into my Badlander 50W today. It's great. I can really feel the difference in response to my playing. There's much more depth and it's so harmonically rich.
I settled on the Scary gain at 3:00 with the Deep switch up. My channel gain went from max on Crunch and 9-10:00 on Crush to where it is in this pic:
View attachment 5844
And on these settings, there's more gain than there was at my previous settings without the mod.
It now has much more gain than my Mark V 90W, and is less noisy than the Mark at extreme gain settings.
If I used an overdrive to get it up to this level of gain, it would be so noisy that it would be unusable. (I have significant EM/RF pollution in my apartment.) It really doesn't increase the noise at all. There's way more gain, but I didn't have to adjust the thresholds on my gates (yes, plural, there's that much noise here). I do have to increase the threshold of the post-gain gate if I use an overdrive with minimal boosting.View attachment 5845View attachment 5846
I had my doubts about this, as I didn't really need more gain. It had just enough as it was. And I didn't think I could get more gain without significantly raising the noise floor. But it really opens up the sound and dynamics by being able to keep the initial gain down and provides a MUCH higher usable level of gain.
The result is a combination of increased headroom plus simultaneous increased gain. I've never been able to get this level of gain/saturation out of any amp/pedal combination without getting so much noise that it's unusable, and the loss of clarity and depth from smashing the limit of available headroom.
And, Motor City Guitar got it to me in 48 hours after I placed the order, from MI to OR.

*Socket extension adapter required for the Badlander. It was included in this order and is included with orders from the Legendary Tones site, but check if you buy used.
Also, standard wired, not reverse wired, for the Badlander.

You have convinced me to get one of these for my BL50.

 

[DECEMBER]

I have to add: it's really hard to swap tubes in this thing! The sockets are really tight. I couldn't just pull them out, so I had to take the screws out of the protector bases and pull that off first. With those screws out, the sockets are very loose and wobbly in there, so I had to screw the bases back in to hold it still enough to push tubes back in, and you have to push hard to get them in.
The stock tubes are a Psvane 12AX7 and a no-name just marked "12AT7 China".
I've had 7 tube amps (2 bought new and 2 near-new) and have never experienced tube sockets this tight.
I love what this thing does for my Badlander, but a little disappointed to discover that it's kinda cheaply made and comes with the cheapest possible tubes.

 

[sloanthebone]

I have to add: it's really hard to swap tubes in this thing! The sockets are really tight. I couldn't just pull them out, so I had to take the screws out of the protector bases and pull that off first. With those screws out, the sockets are very loose and wobbly in there, so I had to screw the bases back in to hold it still enough to push tubes back in, and you have to push hard to get them in.
The stock tubes are a Psvane 12AX7 and a no-name just marked "12AT7 China".
I've had 7 tube amps (2 bought new and 2 near-new) and have never experienced tube sockets this tight.
I love what this thing does for my Badlander, but a little disappointed to discover that it's kinda cheaply made and comes with the cheapest possible tubes.

You have convinced me to not get one of these for my BL50.

 

[bandit2013]

I may consider it sometime down the road. Any video clips of this thing used in a BAD that are worth watching? What I have seen was mostly Dual Rec and did not move me in wanting to try this. Sort of tempting but...do I need it?

 

[DECEMBER]

I may consider it sometime down the road. Any video clips of this thing used in a BAD that are worth watching? What I have seen was mostly Dual Rec and did not move me in wanting to try this. Sort of tempting but...do I need it?

Here's a good one:
If you're running the gain at 3:00 or higher, then you would benefit from the Scary mod. I had Crunch gain at max, using active EMGs, and wish it had just a tad more. I had Crush gain at 3-4:00. It was enough gain, but got kinda flat or soft at those extreme levels.
Now my Crunch gain is at noon and Crush at 10-11:00, Scary at 9:00, and there's more gain than there was at my previous settings without any more noise, and it's more dynamic and responsive, more harmonically rich. I do a lot of chuggy rhythms and there's more impact to the chugs now. Sharper, more defined attack with a lighter touch.

 

[DECEMBER]

You have convinced me to not get one of these for my BL50.

I don't regret getting it. I could have easily spent $320 on overdrive pedals trying to get the same effect, but would still be dissatisfied. Pedals cannot do what this mod does. The big thing for me is the drastic increase in gain without raising the noise floor... I really didn't think that was possible. I have a ridiculous amount of EM/RF noise from my pickups, even though they're active EMGs. Just a slight boost with a pedal increases the noise level, and they usually destroy the low end and make the high end harsh. I get way more gain from the mod than I ever could from a pedal, without losing low end, without the harsh high end, and without increased noise.
I'm just disappointed with pretty much all companies these days... They keep raising prices while using cheaper parts.
Changing tubes in this thing isn't something you'll have to do often, so it's not that big of a deal. But I wanted to try it while I still have a 30-day return window, just to make sure everything worked, and to see if different tubes made any difference... With a NOS JAN Phillips 12AT7 and Genelex Gold Lion gold-pin 12AX7, there is a very subtle difference that I could only hear when A/B'ing recorded takes (same settings, just different tubes). It's such a subtle difference that it didn't really matter, but I actually think I preferred the take with the stock tubes. So there's really no reason to swap the tubes until they actually burn out.