Just scored a 5150 combo and have some ???'s

[kmanick]

Just scored one off of EBay and I need some guidance.
the seller tolde me it's got the original tubes in it and it's a 98,
so I ordered the low gain matched set of JJ's from Bob over at eurotubes.
I keep seeing posts about people modding the 5150's.
does the combo really need them? I'm hoping with the JJ's it will run a little
quiter than with the stock tubes.
If the mods are recommended, who should I have do them? I'm in Boston,
I know Voodo does them and they're in Ithaca and I've seen JFaMods.com,
but I know nothing about him. Can a local tech do them or is this a "specailty" type of thing?
I'm going to run this in stereo with my B-52 At -212 combo, it should Kill!
thanks
Nick

[VHF]

I had a 5150II head and it was modded....but the only real mod you can do to one is to put in an adjustble bias control with enough range to get it really high.

Bob (at Eurotubes) can supply you with the details and then you can find a local tech to do it......but you might like they way it sounds stock.

[kmanick]

thanks , I'm hoping with the matched set of JJ's that I'll like it as is.
I'm just fishing for information, since I see the 5150 mods over at Voodoo and
fjamods.com, I'm just wondering if they are worth the time ,money, and effort.

[VHF]

Well.....Here are the mods they list for the 5150II head and I'll take a guess at each one;

Bias Mod-Since it already had an adjustable bias, they extend the range (I had this one)...it does make for a warmer sound, but the tubes will not last as long.

Restore Lead Channel-I have no idea....VB??????

Tone Shift Mod-They might be playing with the Q points of the bass/mid/treble/presence knobs...I like them stock, but I can see where some people might want to change them.

3 Channel Mod-Well it basically has 3 channels (clean crunch, and lead) so I'm not sure

IEC Plug Jack-In case you don't want to use the standard 1/4 inch guitar cable

Noise Reduction Circuit-I'd ask a lot of questions about this one....might be nothing more than an integrated noise gate. You need to keep in mind that these amps have so much friggin gain they are noisy at high volumes period. I used a noise gate, so does Ed, and so should you. Load boxes, attenuators, etc do nothing for this amp...because it has so much friggin preamp gain at any volume. They put a gate in the JSX at the factory.

Half Power Switches-this would be cool, but you can do the same thing just by removing 2 of the power tubes. I have done it many times....the amp is still louder than HELL at half power, but has a lot less low end.

Bottom line-Mine sounded awesome at any volume, but I had loads of external gear hooked up to it to get my sound. They guy I sold it to loves it!

[kmanick]

Well this thing arrived today.
it looks brand new and it's a 98.
Seller sent casters (wheels, a cover and the manual for it.)
it had the original cheap ass chineese tudes in there as well. It sounded pretty good but the lead channel was noisy as hell.
Popped in a fresh set of matched JJ's (low gain option set ) from Bob at eurotubes, he told which slots to put which tubes in and voila.
Now this thing sounds killer, the lead channel is actually usable now, a lot less noisy than it was, the gain on 10 now is what it was at 7 before.
by putting in the 2 lower gain tubes in V4 and V3 I didn't lose any gain from the rhythm channel, and now it actually cleans up very nicely.
and now both channels are voiced very similar. Before I changed the tubes the lead channel sounded a lot thinner and brigher, now it's closer to the rhyrhm channel with just more gain.
Anyone else try this matched set in one of these?
so far I'm really liking it, and the amp itself.
f'n loud as hell though!