What makes a "great" mod

[Nightdare]

Also everyone keeps talking about accuracy. I could not agree more....BUT as Rob mentioned a 5150 III has 5 gain stages-you cannot do 5 gain stages in a module so he had to create something "close" with the Trilogy.

Or the Salvation Benzin-probably the closest Deizel, but the original amp is all about the power section. Thus you can get close but will never be 100% accurate like some of the other modules. So is it worth it to have Bruce or other modders try if 80% accuracy is the best they can do? or should they focus on only what they CAN nail 99.9% accurately?

I also think some things don't really come across well with what we've heard over the years

the best example is a Marshall JCM800, those that owned one, know what to look for in a mod
Those that only heard it on tape, are gonna be dissapointed by its thin gainless character

Accuracy is very hard to come by when the recorded 'legendary' tones are never as you'll hear them in real life

 

[Mike361]

I think most of us want a spot on replica of high end amps that most of us could not afford to have. That is why I chose the mts line. Having said that, one problem I do have with the mts is the power tubes. Some modules sound better with el34 type tubes, and some 6l6's. Or the other alternatives of those types. It would be great to have the option on the amp itself to choose what tubes are on and off. Just like the tweaker does. I like having the fender modules in for specific pedals and a good clean tone, but I give up that tone by running el34's. if I could run both types and have a toggle or blend switch that would be the cats ***.

 

[JeffHenneman]

For me a great mod is a one trick pony that does that one GREAT sound, not a good sound or ball park sound but really nails a sound. A big huge plus is a tight switch. Don't get me wrong, I love all the bells and whistles, but having that gret core tone is the real essential part.
As far as the Randall modules, they we way to generic sounding. The only ones I liked we're kh-1, kh-2, grail and Ultra XL. Out of those 4, 3 of them were sig modules, so they went for a specific sound.
I loved the ultra xl cause I have always liked the Randall sound. With an eq in the loop it hangs with a lot of the modded modules, but it's downfall is it has a little bit to much noise.

 

[InVirtue]

Hey dude the Randall RT2/50 was made for that exact purpose, EL34s on one side, 6L6s on the other, midi switchable, blammo. Look into that, you'll be wikkid happy.

 

[Hamner1]

Accuracy is cool, but in truth how many of our favorite artists had their "classic" amps modded or at the very least some OD/boost/EQ pedal out front to give it a little extra juice. The JCM800 is the perfect example. By itself it is not the high gain beast we have come to expect from the sounds of Kerry King, Zach Wylde, Lynch, etc, but if you know what it is and does then you would be happy. If you want what's on the recording you will have to mod or put pedals out front.

With all of that said I think for Bruce to produce modules that attempt the accuracy with the classic complement of power tubes, cab, & speakers is the way to go. Add to that some basic true to the amp style faceplates; Marshall's gold or silver brushed metal look, Mesa's diamond plate look, etc. The other thing I would like to see in the dual channels is more variation between A & B other than Gain. It would be cool if each channel of the mod could have its own tone controls. Maybe an added gain stage or 2. I have no idea if any of that is feasible, but it sounds cool.

At this point if the mod we get from Bruce isn't exactly the tone we want, & we don't want to add pedals, then we still have the modders. We have all said it before, if not thought it, we would rather ship a module than an amp head to get modded.