Trim switch, Does it really work?

The Boogie Board

Help Support The Boogie Board:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

kenkelso

Member
Joined
Aug 14, 2010
Messages
10
Reaction score
0
I have a first run 2x12 ED combo, built before the knob and switch were added to the back panel to help balance levels. The mod is free and the parts are being shipped but before I proceed I'm curious to hear some feedback on how well they work. My playing style is....strong clean and a bluesy breakup. I can get this just using blue and red but green doesn't fit in. Will I be pleasantly surprised with the mod and get all 3 cooking or will I be modding for "not much" I'm sure most all of you brought your amp home with it already in place. Would you miss it......
 
In my opinion, the amp isn't even useable as a channel swicher without the clean level knob on the back. Without it, there is a very narrow range of Volume and Master controls at which the output of the channels is matched. With the clean level knob, you can balance to green channel to match the output of the gain channels, regardless of your other settings.

As far as the gain trim switch, it is an extra bonus that allows you to run the gain at 2:30 to 3:00 (or above) for a high gain sound on the blue/red channels while still keeping the green channel very clean.

You need to have both added to your amp.
 
OK that settles the "should I" issue. Now another question or two if I may.
I'm certain this topic has been beaten to death but here goes. (please go easy on me as I'm a new ED owner but mine has not been modded, the s/n is 200 and change)
Do the clean level knob and gain trim switch work together or are they completely independent of each other?
My clean channel volume for my taste is around 11-12 o'clock. Of coursethe Lo and High are considerably louder at this setting thus unuseable to me via footswitching.
.....guess my question is will I be able to set my Volume around 12:00 and adjust blue to a mild breakup and let the red channel follow where it may all with a balanced output volume?
The manual to me is a little hazy and not having it there to tweak makes it worse.
I really like the clean channel but switching to the others keeps breaking things in the kitchen, doesn't bother me so bad but she ain't happy.
Thanks in advance, kk
 
kenkelso said:
OK that settles the "should I" issue. Now another question or two if I may.
I'm certain this topic has been beaten to death but here goes. (please go easy on me as I'm a new ED owner but mine has not been modded, the s/n is 200 and change)
Do the clean level knob and gain trim switch work together or are they completely independent of each other?
My clean channel volume for my taste is around 11-12 o'clock. Of coursethe Lo and High are considerably louder at this setting thus unuseable to me via footswitching.
.....guess my question is will I be able to set my Volume around 12:00 and adjust blue to a mild breakup and let the red channel follow where it may all with a balanced output volume?
The manual to me is a little hazy and not having it there to tweak makes it worse.
I really like the clean channel but switching to the others keeps breaking things in the kitchen, doesn't bother me so bad but she ain't happy.
Thanks in advance, kk
The clean level and gain trim are wired in parallel and work together in tandem. The trim can be applied to "clean" to trim back the clean gain in order to achieve channel switching balance with high gain setting in the blue and red channels. Alternatively, you apply the trim to "lo/hi" in order achieve channel switching balance when lower gain setting are sought in the blue and red channels. Both of these scenarios have limitations in extreme settings. I'm able to get the amp to balance between all 3 gain modes with the channel volume knob set between 12:00 and 3:00 which is a huge range of gain from clean to full burn in my opinion. There is a certain amount of rebalancing you have to do when you crank up the master volume, but one you get the hang of it, it simply requires a minor adjustment of the trim knob when it gets out of balance between channels. Since I run my gain or channel volume at 3:00, I'm trimming back the clean volume. I hope this clears things up.
 
Thank you all for the input. The mod kit is in and will be installed today. I'm anxious to tweak the levels and hear the results. Hopefully I can post a "WOW" later today!
 
kenkelso said:
Thank you all for the input. The mod kit is in and will be installed today. I'm anxious to tweak the levels and hear the results. Hopefully I can post a "WOW" later today!
Well, did it turn out to be worth installing?
 
It was worth installing. Gives me just what I need, not as much play room as I expected tho. Before the mod I had to set my volume to 2:30 - 3:00 o'clock to balance the 3 outputs. This gave me more distortion on lo and hi that I cared for. Now with the switch on lo/hi I can balance out with the volume at 12- 1:00. The lo there is a bluesy breakup that fits me and the hi is not as brutal as it was before. I play a clean for the most part Tele in a large Southern Gospel band and now the 3 balanced voices at a noonish volume/gain setting are useable throughout the night. I might have been expecting a little more room to shape things but the fact is, it works and now I have 3 modes, balanced, and useable.
The other fact is I got to say "Not for sale" a dozen times at Sam Ash in Charlotte NC after I rolled it out of the Mesa Certified tech's shop and into the showroom for a test drive. I'm bettin they didn't sell many amps after me and 'ol ED left........... :mrgreen:
 
kenkelso said:
It was worth installing. Gives me just what I need, not as much play room as I expected tho. Before the mod I had to set my volume to 2:30 - 3:00 o'clock to balance the 3 outputs. This gave me more distortion on lo and hi that I cared for. Now with the switch on lo/hi I can balance out with the volume at 12- 1:00. The lo there is a bluesy breakup that fits me and the hi is not as brutal as it was before. I play a clean for the most part Tele in a large Southern Gospel band and now the 3 balanced voices at a noonish volume/gain setting are useable throughout the night. I might have been expecting a little more room to shape things but the fact is, it works and now I have 3 modes, balanced, and useable.
The other fact is I got to say "Not for sale" a dozen times at Sam Ash in Charlotte NC after I rolled it out of the Mesa Certified tech's shop and into the showroom for a test drive. I'm bettin they didn't sell many amps after me and 'ol ED left........... :mrgreen:
Great! Glad you find it useful. I run my volume between 2:00 and 3:00. I find when I crank up the master, I have to adjust the trim to stay balanced, all within a limited but useable window of balance among the three modes. Enjoy that amp as much as you can!
 
Remember...the CLEAN setting is actually where you the most DISTORTION and the HI/LO setting is where you get the CLEANEST sound!!!
It seems BACKWARDS TO ME...but it is what it is ;)
 
creekhed said:
Remember...the CLEAN setting is actually where you the most DISTORTION and the HI/LO setting is where you get the CLEANEST sound!!!
It seems BACKWARDS TO ME...but it is what it is ;)
That's true. And seemed bass-ackward to me too until i thought about the fact that it trims gain off whatever it is assigned to.
 
formisano said:
In my opinion, the amp isn't even useable as a channel swicher without the clean level knob on the back. Without it, there is a very narrow range of Volume and Master controls at which the output of the channels is matched. With the clean level knob, you can balance to green channel to match the output of the gain channels, regardless of your other settings.

As far as the gain trim switch, it is an extra bonus that allows you to run the gain at 2:30 to 3:00 (or above) for a high gain sound on the blue/red channels while still keeping the green channel very clean.

You need to have both added to your amp.

I see what you mean. I was fooling with the amp with the trim off. If you like that one setting, you're good to go. But there is no balancing between channels above or below that minute window of volume. Changing the master volume starts to throw it out of balance as well. The clean channel seems to open up dynamically with the trim off. Good options to use for recording or when channel switching isn't necessary.

I used the ED at first gig last Friday. It was effortless to dial in great tones. In fact, I don't recall tweaking anything from where it was set at the house. I've had so many amps that I had to fight through the night dialing tones. I end up getting rid of those, including my Budda Superdrive 30 which I took a beating on. My Electro Dyne is a keeper along with my HC30.
 
OK guys. I don`t have my ED head yet. it`s on the way. What is the mod kit? And is it needed on the recent ED`s.....? what about the Budda Super 30? my son is wanting one bad! jeffp
 
Back
Top