Separate Volume1 for Lead channel (Mark IIC+)

[jvk]

Just a little taster of something I've been working on for a forum member... it shows a separate vol1 for the lead chanel and the additional circuitry to control it. With it you can switch between a hyper clean sound to uber-distortion without twiddling any knobs.

8)

 

[gatto]

Nice! :shock:
I suppose it can be applied also in Mark III...
I'm trying to do the same in mine, but using a dual relais, but for what i can see, you've used an opto..
Can you share the schematics?
thanks

 

[Buddy]

Super cool & clean mod Does it function with an additional footswitch ?

 

[jvk]

I do this for kicks and some extra income, and it's all my own design

You don't need any extra pedals, as soon as you put the amp into lead mode the extra knob kicks in, and so allows you to set a different Vol1 for the lead and rhythm channels.

 

[Reeko81]

I've sent you a PM, please if you can answer me, i've made the same mod on my Mark IIIC+ but with a dual channel relay, it would be nice to know how it works with an optocoupler (i wasn't able to make it works with it!!)!
I hope you'll be so kind to answer me!

 

[Anonymous]

Isn't that the same mod that Petrucci did to his IIC+'s? It would be nice to know how it's done.

 

[jvk]

I have to be quite frank here - before anyone tries to pull off the same stunt on me about mods (as was pulled off on a certain valued member not long ago) I'd like make it clear that I'm an amp tech and electronic engineer and that I make part of my living out of mods and amp builds.

So if you would like a mod performed on your IIC+, such as:
- JP lead volume1 mod
- JP/Hetfield mod
- MarkIV B lead channel mod
- IIB>IIC+ / IIC>IIC+ conversion
- simulclass conversion

...or any other mod then please get in touch with me. I'm based near London, England and my rates are good! Most of these mods are pretty unique and not really offered anywhere else, not even by Mike B. And I don't email schematics, so please respect that

Cheers,

Jonny

 

[jvk]

Where did the footswitch jack end up (for switching into lead mode)?

The footswitch is at the bottom of the chassis, luckily there's a spare hole on most chassis's!

More pics + information to come. The website for JVK Amplification if being designed as we speaker 8)

 

[Living_justice]

what does the MarkIV B lead channel mod do?. thanks

 

[jvk]

what does the MarkIV B lead channel mod do?. thanks

Makes the IIC+ lead channel sound like a MarkIV B lead channel

 

[Living_justice]

o right, i was thinking it was a mob for the mark 4 b amp, my bad.

 

[Reeko81]

I have to be quite frank here - before anyone tries to pull off the same stunt on me about mods (as was pulled off on a certain valued member not long ago) I'd like make it clear that I'm an amp tech and electronic engineer and that I make part of my living out of mods and amp builds.

So if you would like a mod performed on your IIC+, such as:
- JP lead volume1 mod
- JP/Hetfield mod
- MarkIV B lead channel mod
- IIB>IIC+ / IIC>IIC+ conversion
- simulclass conversion

...or any other mod then please get in touch with me. I'm based near London, England and my rates are good! Most of these mods are pretty unique and not really offered anywhere else, not even by Mike B. And I don't email schematics, so please respect that

Cheers,

Jonny

I agree all parts of your writings except one.
It's right and honest to not ask you schematics about your own creation, cause they're your own intellectual property, but you shouldn't publish here commercial promos about your works...
You'd better publish only info about your incoming site, this is a free board for exchanging useful info about these mesa amps, and as you can read i'm a donating member too, cause I needed to give back something to this site after learning so much and sharing so much about mesa boogie amps.
I'm not a tech but only a musician, but i've learned so much here about my amp that I don't need anymore a tech, I have only to thank so much all old members here , that are always kind and happy to share useful info.
Don't forget JVK that you were the first contacting me when you knew I was working on the right IIC+ schematics , and as you should have noticed now, there are so much differences between schematics and the real IIc+ board....
Don't worry about your works...you won't lose any client, I don't think ( I hope this won't offence anyone) there is so much people here that is able to take a soldering iron and make some mods on their own amps.
I hope this won't be misunderstood.

 

[Boogiebabies]

I think Jonny is by far the best IIC+ circuit technician you will find. He put an extraordinary amount of time in his research and he is a perfectionist. He's also insanely intelligent. I would trust him with my amp 1000% and hope he does well in his modification endeavor.
As he mentioned, when I even brought up the whiff of a mod, everyone wanted it for free. I would have given them what I had if they were nicer, but I think I will share some more info with JVK amps and see if he considers them good enough to offer. There was another guy who claimed we could not do all of these mods because Mike B. said they did not exist. Well, I have done the dual volume 1, two stage gain boost and mid cut mods. I am tinkering with a resonance mod. There are so many possibilities. The nice thing is that Jonny and I have shared information just for the sake of comraderie.
He's one of a kind and a true member of the C+ mafia ( Brother Branch of the North Alabama Mesa Mafia) .

 

[Reeko81]

Well...i don't believe this magic hype or genius about modding a mesa amp with a dual vol1 .... first of all because this is a real function of newer mark IV....and SLO 100 are also strictly similar... the real problem is not where installing those new VTLC5/2 but where stealing the current to let this new octocouplers work and alternate them correctly (one should be on when clean is on and viceversa).
As i mentioned before i've previously used a dual channel relay for this kind of switching, it still works , but obviously is too way noisier than an octocoupler, and my real problem was where stealing current to make it work properly and to let all octocouplers still on the pcb work properly (if you steal too much current to that octocoupler feed circuit when switching to lead channel you should encounter a tone loss).
So I duplicated with a new zener and a new electrolytic cap and a new 680 ohms 2W resistence that octocoupler feed circuit and i've obtained full power and current to feed everykind of relay or octocoupler...
now my only problem was to create a system that could alternate those two new VTLC for the new pot, but....I believe that I will ask much..... intellectual property.... Just have a look on mark IV and SLO schematics.... I was only asking for a little suggestion, i think this board is not more an useful sharing info board but a commercial purpose board....
Ah... i forget to repeat i'm not a technician, but only learned all here, studying all schematics and improving my amp with my only real testers..my ears.

 

[Boogiebabies]

Well...i don't believe this magic hype or genius about modding a mesa amp with a dual vol1 .... first of all because this is a real function of newer mark IV....and SLO 100 are also strictly similar... the real problem is not where installing those new VTLC5/2 but where stealing the current to let this new octocouplers work and alternate them correctly (one should be on when clean is on and viceversa).
As i mentioned before i've previously used a dual channel relay for this kind of switching, it still works , but obviously is too way noisier than an octocoupler, and my real problem was where stealing current to make it work properly and to let all octocouplers still on the pcb work properly (if you steal too much current to that octocoupler feed circuit when switching to lead channel you should encounter a tone loss).
So I duplicated with a new zener and a new electrolytic cap and a new 680 ohms 2W resistence that octocoupler feed circuit and i've obtained full power and current to feed everykind of relay or octocoupler...
now my only problem was to create a system that could alternate those two new VTLC for the new pot, but....I believe that I will ask much..... intellectual property.... Just have a look on mark IV and SLO schematics.... I was only asking for a little suggestion, i think this board is not more an useful sharing info board but a commercial purpose board....
Ah... i forget to repeat i'm not a technician, but only learned all here, studying all schematics and improving my amp with my only real testers..my ears.

Riccardo,

I understand completely, but when you worked out your IIIC+ mod did you not keep it or yourself ? I mean you did all the work, research, testing and sacrificed your own MK III. As far as the LDR supply, yes, there is a voltage drop across any LED, but if you want some to come on or off in your switching matrix you have to figure out how to piggy back them in order to have the proper switching function. In the case of Jonny's design, he designed the circuit, tested it, drew the circuit board, made the circuit boards and implemented it into the amp. Even though I would like to know how he did it, I respect Jonny and I know he is really above and beyond with his understanding of these circuits and his knowledge of EE. Like I stated, Jonny is from another realm.

 

[Reeko81]

I respect his decision to not post info about cause this switching matrix is his own "intellectual property", but i disagree his attempt to make here his commercial promos...

"So if you would like a mod performed on your IIC+, such as:
- JP lead volume1 mod
- JP/Hetfield mod
- MarkIV B lead channel mod
- IIB>IIC+ / IIC>IIC+ conversion
- simulclass conversion

...or any other mod then please get in touch with me. I'm based near London, England and my rates are good!"

At least remember: Mike Bendinelli , yes, none the less than him answered me from mesa boogie factory and sent me IIc+ schematic and explained me that i had only to copy mark IIc+ schematic to obtain a mark IIIC+, and he was so kind obviously only because I'm here in Italy, he can't expect me to send my head to his factory in California!
So, what i probably told before in this post is that probably JVK won't lose any client explaining his mod to someone living miles and miles away from him, maybe if i were him, I'll be selling this new circuit online with a DIY kit, it is easier shipping a little pcb with few components even from long miles away than a big head ! And maybe I'll be the first who will buy it!
I think this is a great purpose, you'll be able to sell a lot of DIY kit to mod this mark IIc+/III head to obtain an indipendent Vol1 control.
But obviously, it will be better make this promos through his new website....

 

[tony777]

I love this struggle for the ultimate C+ amp,
Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy reading all this mods and info,
but it leaves me to the same question again and again,
why isn't anyone making a C+ replacement faceplate with the graphic eq?
I know there is a bunch of people who would upgrade their non eq c+ if they could get the right faceplate. Even the ones with the mkIII faceplates would buy it.

well just a thought, which repeatedly haunts me.

Tony

 

[Boogiebabies]

I love this struggle for the ultimate C+ amp,
Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy reading all this mods and info,
but it leaves me to the same question again and again,
why isn't anyone making a C+ replacement faceplate with the graphic eq?
I know there is a bunch of people who would upgrade their non eq c+ if they could get the right faceplate. Even the ones with the mkIII faceplates would buy it.

well just a thought, which repeatedly haunts me.

Tony

Because the faceplate, like the preamp boards are artwork and are covered under a copyright. Unlike a patent, a copyright is good for 75 years, then another 20 after the person has died. If you produce more than a few for sale you are lible under opyright infringment.

 

[Boogiebabies]

I respect his decision to not post info about cause this switching matrix is his own "intellectual property", but i disagree his attempt to make here his commercial promos...

"So if you would like a mod performed on your IIC+, such as:
- JP lead volume1 mod
- JP/Hetfield mod
- MarkIV B lead channel mod
- IIB>IIC+ / IIC>IIC+ conversion
- simulclass conversion

...or any other mod then please get in touch with me. I'm based near London, England and my rates are good!"

At least remember: Mike Bendinelli , yes, none the less than him answered me from mesa boogie factory and sent me IIc+ schematic and explained me that i had only to copy mark IIc+ schematic to obtain a mark IIIC+, and he was so kind obviously only because I'm here in Italy, he can't expect me to send my head to his factory in California!
So, what i probably told before in this post is that probably JVK won't lose any client explaining his mod to someone living miles and miles away from him, maybe if i were him, I'll be selling this new circuit online with a DIY kit, it is easier shipping a little pcb with few components even from long miles away than a big head ! And maybe I'll be the first who will buy it!
I think this is a great purpose, you'll be able to sell a lot of DIY kit to mod this mark IIc+/III head to obtain an indipendent Vol1 control.
But obviously, it will be better make this promos through his new website....

So if he pays .05 cents each to have his ad roll on this board it would be different ? Or if he sold it through the Musicians Friend link at the top of each page it would be allright ? I would say that John has offered us much more than these sponsor links. So if Jonny worked on this for a year and mentioned it with a forwarning I think it's the least we can do to give back. I hardly think he is going to buy a case of Cohibas and bypass his degree in EE to make an extra $ 100 a month on mods that eveyone feels entitled to for free. Give the guy a break. what people don't see is all the freebies we offer via PM's or e-mails to people like you. You have gotten something, but what have you given ? A $ 10.00 donation does not always cut it. If you give, you should never expect anything in return, but when you get you should be humble enough to let the people who give have at least some respect. There are some guys on here who have given me more than I have given them and they have never complained.
I've had hundereds of questions sent to me and I have yet to and never declined to help if I could. If I put a request to have them pay me via paypal before I answer, then I would even consider myself to be a dick.
Again, guys like JVK, GTS, Joey B., Restless Rocks, Shep are all stand up guys. They are not asking alot, but giving alot.
If you wanted to start a stink, where where you when the Boogafunk cabs where shown ? Live and let live.

I like the Boogafunk cabs, by the way.

 

[Reeko81]

I respect his decision to not post info about cause this switching matrix is his own "intellectual property", but i disagree his attempt to make here his commercial promos...

"So if you would like a mod performed on your IIC+, such as:
- JP lead volume1 mod
- JP/Hetfield mod
- MarkIV B lead channel mod
- IIB>IIC+ / IIC>IIC+ conversion
- simulclass conversion

...or any other mod then please get in touch with me. I'm based near London, England and my rates are good!"

At least remember: Mike Bendinelli , yes, none the less than him answered me from mesa boogie factory and sent me IIc+ schematic and explained me that i had only to copy mark IIc+ schematic to obtain a mark IIIC+, and he was so kind obviously only because I'm here in Italy, he can't expect me to send my head to his factory in California!
So, what i probably told before in this post is that probably JVK won't lose any client explaining his mod to someone living miles and miles away from him, maybe if i were him, I'll be selling this new circuit online with a DIY kit, it is easier shipping a little pcb with few components even from long miles away than a big head ! And maybe I'll be the first who will buy it!
I think this is a great purpose, you'll be able to sell a lot of DIY kit to mod this mark IIc+/III head to obtain an indipendent Vol1 control.
But obviously, it will be better make this promos through his new website....

So if he pays .05 cents each to have his ad roll on this board it would be different ? Or if he sold it through the Musicians Friend link at the top of each page it would be allright ? I would say that John has offered us much more than these sponsor links. So if Jonny worked on this for a year and mentioned it with a forwarning I think it's the least we can do to give back. I hardly think he is going to buy a case of Cohibas and bypass his degree in EE to make an extra $ 100 a month on mods that eveyone feels entitled to for free. Give the guy a break. what people don't see is all the freebies we offer via PM's or e-mails to people like you. You have gotten something, but what have you given ? A $ 10.00 donation does not always cut it. If you give, you should never expect anything in return, but when you get you should be humble enough to let the people who give have at least some respect. There are some guys on here who have given me more than I have given them and they have never complained.
I've had hundereds of questions sent to me and I have yet to and never declined to help if I could. If I put a request to have them pay me via paypal before I answer, then I would even consider myself to be a dick.
Again, guys like JVK, GTS, Joey B., Restless Rocks, Shep are all stand up guys. They are not asking alot, but giving alot.
If you wanted to start a stink, where where you when the Boogafunk cabs where shown ? Live and let live.

I like the Boogafunk cabs, by the way.

I'm sure you misunderstood me,..
First of all in one of my previous post on this thread I've just admitted how helpful were people like you and all old members, and above all this board for its existence. Without it I would have never been able to do some repair on my amp, or to learn so much about mesa mark architecture ( i have been able to mod too a bandmaster silverface and convert it to a twin blackface...), but as i mentioned in every post i'm not a technician so i share with every person who ask me my little tech tips, cause I have not any commercial purpose when learning something about mesa amp.
I want to be clear, i hope my poor english can help me. When i learned how to mod my mark III to mark IIIc+ i received a lot of PM of member asking me to post some pics about this mod, and since they are mostly american, and they were overcrowding my mail box I decided to share what i learn only with Italian people, and the reason is easy to get: all Italian people who ask me how i got this mod cannot send their amp to Bendinelli at mesa factory as you American people. Sending an amp from Italy to Petaluma and back to Italy would be so expensive that I'll probably buy a new amp!!! So, while you american people shouldn't complain about distance , an italian guy cannot afford or risk such an expensive shipping cost to have his amp modded.
And this is in my opinion the only reason that convinced Bendinelli sending me IIc+ original schematics and giving me some useful tips about other mods on mark III. I don't believe that would be so easy for an american member of this forum to get via mail from Mesa Boogie a mark IIc+ schematics....They will probably answer you that if you need assistance you can always send them your amp....
Now the real happy ending of my story is: JVK, honestly, if shipping my amp to you could be less expensive, i would be really happy to send my amp to you, i cannot stand in front of your knowledge in EE!
At least watching that pic you posted you gave me some confirmations about that switching matrix system you developped (and that i was trying time before to develope too...), and now I know what I missed when building up...