Ultra Mods

[JonnyB]

Hi Guys, After many months lurking I've finally joined up so greetings to all. This site has been an amazing source of info for me. I have just bought a back up RM100 for my LB and it came with an Ultra module. It seems to have plenty of gain but is very muddy. Does anyone have any tips on how to improve the clarity of this module? I used to be a professional electronics engineer but I never touched anything over 15 Volts. :wink:

 

[Graham Pearson]

If your Ultra is an early version (possibly chrome or black-stripe face plate), you can change capacitor C3 from .0047? to .0022? and remove the capacitor C10 (470p) to get a "tighter bass". This mod is documented elsewhere on this site.

If your Ultra is a later version (probably a black face-plate), the stock module already has these 2 mods.

Let us know which Ultra version you have and, if you make these mods, what the outcome is.

 

[JonnyB]

Thanks for your quick reply Graham. It seems I have a very early model with black stripe faceplate. C3 is a blue plastic film capacitor and seems to be .0047u. I'll make the mod you suggested and report back.

I'm sure there was also some info somewhere on the site about shifting the mid freq range which I think would help a lot. Can't seem to find it now though.

Cheers!

 

[JKD]

Thanks for your quick reply Graham. It seems I have a very early model with black stripe faceplate. C3 is a blue plastic film capacitor and seems to be .0047u. I'll make the mod you suggested and report back.

I'm sure there was also some info somewhere on the site about shifting the mid freq range which I think would help a lot. Can't seem to find it now though.

Cheers!

I think that's Capacitor C14....but I didn't turn it up in search either.

 

[Jaded Faith]

Some suggestions:

- Change C3 to either a .001 or .0015 cap to tighten the bottom.
- Change R31 from 33K to 46K and C14 from 100pF to between 250-470pF. This will clean up the mud in the middle and essentially transform your Ultra to a Ultra XL's stock values. I have seen stock UXL's with several values within that range from Randall and anything in there will help.

 

[Graham Pearson]

J/F:

On my black face-plate Ultra (PCB dated 05/05/05), capacitor C10 is empty. Can you verify this is "stock" and, if so, should it remain empty if you are converting an Ultra to an Ultra XL?

On earlier modules, I believe there's a 470p capacitor in this location.
Thanks G/P

 

[Paradox]

C10 is empty on my stock '08 black face-plate Ultra XL.

 

[Shinozoku]

Some suggestions:

- Change C3 to either a .001 or .0015 cap to tighten the bottom.
- Change R31 from 33K to 46K and C14 from 100pF to between 250-470pF. This will clean up the mud in the middle and essentially transform your Ultra to a Ultra XL's stock values. I have seen stock UXL's with several values within that range from Randall and anything in there will help.

I find that the Orange Drop .0022 I have in my Ultra XL's C3 actually gives me super tight lows, and I can make them HUGE by taking the bass above noon. Bring it back under noon and it's tight, but full and punchy.

 

[JKD]

C10 is empty on my stock Blackstripe faceplate Ultra from around 07 or so

 

[Jaded Faith]

Graham: I was just working on a 2006 Blackstripe Ultra PCB today and there was a 470p cap in C10. It's a good example of what we discussed about the inconsistencies in stock modules. I would have that cap in there on a UXL myself.

Shinozoku: Your statement about a 0.0022 is spot on for an Ultra family module. My personal favorite on these is a 0.0015. Little tighter than the 0.0022 and easier to dial in for my rig.

 

[Graham Pearson]

J/F:
Thanks for your comments on the Ultra and Ultra XL C10 capacitor.

I'm keeping notes on all of the stock module variations as well as the mods recommended here and elswhere on the Grailtone site in my module / component spreadsheet.

 

[JonnyB]

Thanks you all so much for your replies. I am going to get busy with the soldering iron this weekend so I'll keep you posted. Cheers Guys.

Update since post:

Well I pulled my Ultra apart and there were a few suprises. It has been repaired somewhere along the line. Looks like the power regulator went and took a shorting trace along with it. I've posted a couple of pics -

[/img]

 

[fuzzboat]

FWIW, you could always buy my Gigmods Ultra and "copy" the mod and then resell it

If you want the best sounding ULTRA then GIGMODS is it !

No Mud Here - Just Pure Clean Articulate Gain with Sustain for days
(and thats just the Clean Setting, lol)

best part is it loves boost / OD pedals (I've had other mods that
are really picky when it comes to pedals)

you can spend alot of time trying this mod and that mod trying to get
an ULTRA to sound as Heavenly as pete's.

only $235 shipped
http://mtsforum.grailtone.com/viewtopic.php?t=12473&highlight=

or you could send yours to pete to be modded (but mines already done
and it's cheaper too)

 

[Jaded Faith]

FWIW, you could always buy my Gigmods Ultra and "copy" the mod and then resell it

If you want the best sounding ULTRA then GIGMODS is it !

No Mud Here - Just Pure Clean Articulate Gain with Sustain for days
(and thats just the Clean Setting, lol)

best part is it loves boost / OD pedals (I've had other mods that
are really picky when it comes to pedals)

you can spend alot of time trying this mod and that mod trying to get
an ULTRA to sound as Heavenly as pete's.

only $235 shipped
http://mtsforum.grailtone.com/viewtopic.php?t=12473&highlight=

or you could send yours to pete to be modded (but mines already done
and it's cheaper too)

Although there is nothing wrong with trying to sell your stuff here, that's probably best done in the classifieds.

Those of us who mod modules work really hard to develop and test our work, so suggesting someone obtain one and copy it is disrespectful. Aside from the obvious issue of stealing our intellectual property, these attempts are often botched (I repair many of these). I have also seen many attempts to sell them off as our work which it is clearly not.

 

[JonnyB]

Couldn't agree more Rob, although I'm just getting in to modding myself I have no illusions on how difficult it is to do. I also have no intention of copying and selling on a module - thanks for the offer fuzzboat. Anyway I like getting my hands dirty :wink:

Rob, at the risk of sounding sycophantic (I looked it up), I'd like to thank the few established modders like yourself who are open to share ideas with others and willing to take the time to help out with advice on this forum. It's much appreciated. I think I speak for most 'tinkerers' on this forum when I say we are not out to steal your ideas, we just like messing with stuff! ++Karma

 

[Jaded Faith]

Couldn't agree more Rob, although I'm just getting in to modding myself I have no illusions on how difficult it is to do. I also have no intention of copying and selling on a module - thanks for the offer fuzzboat. Anyway I like getting my hands dirty :wink:

Rob, at the risk of sounding sycophantic (I looked it up), I'd like to thank the few established modders like yourself who are open to share ideas with others and willing to take the time to help out with advice on this forum. It's much appreciated. I think I speak for most 'tinkerers' on this forum when I say we are not out to steal your ideas, we just like messing with stuff! ++Karma

I am more than happy to help in anyway I can and you didn't come across as having those intentions at all. I just wanted to address that one particular post that directly suggested buying Pete's work with the intention of copying it. Not only isn't that cool, it's not in the spirit of a DIY discussion board at all.

Looking at your post, it sounds like the module was repaired successfully and is working, correct? It's a little tough to see the repair from your pics, as the solder job looks a little blurry. It would be a good idea to take a razor and gently make sure there are no accidental contacts between the solder pads for that 7812A.

 

[Graham Pearson]

I'm with Rob and most other folks on the Grailtone forum. I've had intellectual property copied and stolen so I can empathize. I write software for a living and it?s much more difficult to protect intellectual property in the software realm.

?Our? modders rely on their work to put food on the table and pay the mortgage. If we undercut their business, they?ll find something else to do and we?ll all be out of a valuable resource.

Along those lines, I?m developing a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet of module component values, including variations since the beginning of time and documenting the ?public domain? mods that are described elsewhere on the Grailtone site. I hope to eventually publish this on this site after I get some help checking the component values for those modules I don?t own.

WHAT I WILL NOT DO is distribute or publish component values for professionally modded modules for the above mentioned reasons.

 

[JonnyB]

Yes, it all seems to be working. What I find a little strange though is that the tube connector has been removed at some point as have all the pots, switches and led. Weird!

 

[JKD]

Couldn't agree more Rob, although I'm just getting in to modding myself I have no illusions on how difficult it is to do. I also have no intention of copying and selling on a module - thanks for the offer fuzzboat. Anyway I like getting my hands dirty :wink:

Rob, at the risk of sounding sycophantic (I looked it up), I'd like to thank the few established modders like yourself who are open to share ideas with others and willing to take the time to help out with advice on this forum. It's much appreciated. I think I speak for most 'tinkerers' on this forum when I say we are not out to steal your ideas, we just like messing with stuff! ++Karma

I am more than happy to help in anyway I can and you didn't come across as having those intentions at all. I just wanted to address that one particular post that directly suggested buying Pete's work with the intention of copying it. Not only isn't that cool, it's not in the spirit of a DIY discussion board at all.

Quite right...although to be honest, a number of people have certainly done such a thing in the past..I've seen a couple of mods that were direct copies of somebody else's work....

 

[fuzzboat]

Yeah to Mod a Module yourself and pass it off as someone else's work
for financial gain = definitely not cool

to buy a modded module and then make a copy of that
module that you keep for youself (as backup and for your own educational purposes ) and not resell that copy = gray area IMO

I meant my comment to be taken that way and that way only