Ultra Lead Mods ?

[sweetrock]

Hi there !

I found Ultra Lead useless ,
No gain , no bass , no class , too much upper mids .

What can I do to change this one into a XTC or Soldano type module ?

Do you have any recomendations ?

Thanks in advance .

Hakan

 

[Shinozoku]

I found the Ultra Lead to actually be very woofy and had just enough gain.
I cured it with these settings.

Gain: 3:00
Bass: Noon
Mids: Dimed
Treble: Dimed
Bright switch: Depends on how I feel
Level: 1:00

I also run a JJ and an EHX in it to clear up some of the tone.

What tubes are in it?

 

[sweetrock]

Tubes don't do miracles in that module IMO .

I've tried a few but no way .

I am after in changing resistors and caps .
Any suggestions ?

 

[Shinozoku]

What's in the C3? Mine had a .0047, but I swapped it out for a .0022 (overpriced noname cap from a local shop). It cleared it up a bit, but the switch to a Sozo in the C3 (still a .0022) helped a lot for me. Try warming it up a bit with mods like that. I'll have to take mine apart again to check the labels on all the caps and give you some suggestions.

You may benefit from just upgrading the big caps to something like SoZos or Orange Drops. The smaller caps I normally put Silver Micas in, but if you can find some other nice small caps I would certainly try them out too.

 

[sweetrock]

Thanks Shinozoku .


Any other ideas or radical part changings ?

 

[Shinozoku]

If you want more gain, see if there's a resistor in R7. If not, then look up the 1086 gain mod and see if it works for you. I'm not sure if it will blow a tube or not as I don't have the schems nor have I seen both boards, so do the mod at your own risk.

Check out a few threads down about the plate resistor on the modules and look around to see if you can find out if this mod is usable. My amp is at a friend's house right now so I can't look at my still mostly-stock Ultra Lead for comparisons.

 

[BigBrewtus]

I have a modded Ultra Lead. I love it. It doesnt sound what your looking for but sounds really great for that Mark II sound. Plenty of gain for me but might not be for you. If your interested in changes let me know. This was not modded by any of the Pro Modders from the forum.

 

[sweetrock]

Thanks for the answers friends ,

Hey BigBrewtus ,
I am very much interested in your modding , could you please share the changes with me .

Mark II will be great .

Hakan

:wink:

 

[sweetrock]

Thanks to BigBrewtus ,
He PM'ed me the the modded Ultra lead pictures,

My Ultra Lead is a second hand one , I dunno if it is stock or modded .

Picture :



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

It seems it's modded .

Any ideas ?
Any Ultra Lead stock pictures ?

Thanks !

Hakan

 

[Shinozoku]

There are only 3 mods. And Orange Drop in C3, and metal film resistors in R27 and R29 (likely to reduce noise. I must try this myself).

 

[sweetrock]

I am not happy with that mod.

There is no bass , maybe just for solos but still needs some .

C3 Orange is 0.22 , maybe changing it to 0.47 will make it better .

What do you say ?

 

[sweetrock]

Hey Shinozoku ,

Why don't you post some good gut shots of yours ???

Hehehe ,

Hakan ,

 

[Shinozoku]

If it doesn't have enough bass for you (mine is wooly with the bass over noon and the bright switch off) then that would be a fine upgrade!

I'll show some gut shots when I get it back, but I warn you I've done similar mods I replaced R1, 2, and 3 and my C3 as well.

 

[sweetrock]

Thanks Shinozoku ,

Looking forward for your pictures and values of the changed items .


Hakan

 

[Shinozoku]

The resistor changes are the changes notated on Grailtone for reducing fizz and adding clarity in the gain. Though I overspecced the wattage of the resistors by a few watts

The C3 was just an upgraded part. It originally had a .0047uF but I changed it to a .0022uF SoZo. I changed to the lower value because the mod had TOO MUCH bass I'm gonna try the plate resistor mod from this sub-forum to clear up the lows a bit more. Just need to clear it up when the bright switch is to the left....

 

[I is be sexy]

The resistor changes are the changes notated on Grailtone for reducing fizz and adding clarity in the gain. Though I overspecced the wattage of the resistors by a few watts

I looked on Grailtone and I could only find the C3 mod... What's this about reducing fizz? Cause I'm probably gonna mod my Ultra and less fizz sounds quite interesting

 

[Shinozoku]

You put 1/2w 150ohm (or is it 150k? Check your other high-gain modules) metal oxide resistors in R1, R2, and R3.

Sorry on the no pics yet

 

[I is be sexy]

You put 1/2w 150ohm (or is it 150k? Check your other high-gain modules) metal oxide resistors in R1, R2, and R3.

Sorry on the no pics yet

Thanks! Huh... it looks like my Ultra already has that (well, it has 150ohm resistors, I dunno if they're metal oxide)... some other things are different from stock, too... I guess someone already tried his or her hand at modding it?

 

[Shinozoku]

The Silver Faced modules had Carbon Film, 470Ohm resistors in those spots. Black stripe and after have 150Ohm Metal Oxide (they're gray).

 

[I is be sexy]

well, mine's black stripe with tan resistors, but then again it seems like at least a couple parts in this thing don't match stock specs. Would switching to metal oxide improve it at all? Also, in general, would either metal film or metal oxide be an upgrade (and are the two metal resistor types interchangeable in these modules)?