Peavey Ultra Plus mods

[ej]

Is there any mods out there that'll take the ultra channel and push it into Mesa territory? I mean, the gains there but the sound isn't quite right

 

That or eq settings that will?

 

Any help would we appreciated

[bdubbs]

I want to mod my ultra 60 so i'm in for any recommendations for that amp.

[Gatelyne]

Is there any mods out there that'll take the ultra channel and push it into Mesa territory? I mean, the gains there but the sound isn't quite right That or eq settings that will? Any help would we appreciated

 

maybe an eq in the loop?

[thinkpad20]

Talk to Jerry at FJAmods; I'm sure he can give you some good info. He mods Rockmasters which are very similar to Ultra Pluses, as well as many other Peavey amps.

[pewing33ny]

in for this also, my brother is picking one up for me in a few days and i'm betting it's not nearly as good as my splawn (which is being sold). wondering if there are any pedals that can push it into splawn territory.

[M-III]

 

maybe an eq in the loop?

 

 

This +1 OP! Get either a graphic or parametric EQ, either one will work. Also, look at the Aphex Guitar Xciter 1403 pedal, it's a literal testicular transplant in a box for amps, it will bring the BOOM for those looking for more punch, tighter and deeper bass response in a amp. I know my Triple XXX will easily get into Mesa territory now on the ultra channel with those two solutions, it turned the crunch channel into a VHT-responsive like "hot-rodded marshall" too.

[bankboy]

I don't really think it needs to be modded. I had mine biased and have an EQ in the loop and it is just fine for me.

[ej]

 

This +1 OP! Get either a graphic or parametric EQ, either one will work. Also, look at the Aphex Guitar Xciter 1403 pedal, it's a literal testicular transplant in a box for amps, it will bring the BOOM for those looking for more punch, tighter and deeper bass response in a amp. I know my Triple XXX will easily get into Mesa territory now on the ultra channel with those two solutions, it turned the crunch channel into a VHT-responsive like "hot-rodded marshall" too.

 

 

what kinda settings on the EQ you use?

 

Gimme the tips

[Gatelyne]

 

what kinda settings on the EQ you use? Gimme the tips

 

 

I always take a small dip out of the 750-800 range and a slight boost in the low mid area.

[M-III]

 

I always take a small dip out of the 750-800 range and a slight boost in the low mid area.

 

 

Try what Gatelyne said, personally I feel good old fashioned tweaking works best for each amp, as my gear setup is nowhere near the same exact as yours, therefore the results I get cannot be exactly duplicated. The general rule of thumb for me though with using a EQ with an amp is to either boost the mids while sucking out the treble and bass on the amp and then adding the treble and bass back in while sucking some mids out with the EQ or try doing it in reverse. Experiment and tweak for the specific frequencies that sound best to your ears!

 

While this is not directly aimed at you ejendres, I do feel I need to say this after hearing the same request for years:

 

When it comes to people asking me EQ settings, there's something need to be said for learning how to do it on your own and quite honestly, I'm not going to hold your hand on the amp's controls and the EQ pedals knobs and tell you where to put them. Besides we don't all hear everything equally and all have different tastes in tone. Figure out how to operate your own gear and get the most out of it the way YOU want it, it's part of your learning how to become a guitarist! I can point you in the right "general" direction when it comes to dialing in a amp, but you folks need to learn how to do this stuff yourself, don't expect someone else's settings to be a lazy man's solution to your tonal needs.

[Keebz]

You bought a Peavey because you want Mesa tone?

[ej]

You bought a Peavey because you want Mesa tone?

 

I bought a peavey because it does what i need and the price was right, now I'm trying to get it to Mesa territory.

 

Its not a need, just a want

[M-III]

You bought a Peavey because you want Mesa tone?

 

Peaveys can actually get in the ballpark tonally of a Mesa? Surprise, surprise, surprise!

 

He stated "Mesa territory", not an exact Mesa tone of which there are many american made, high gain amps that have or can cop a low-midish tone, are not all that uncommon and not wholly monopolized or trademarked by Mesa Boogie. They can get close enough for some of us who don't actually want or cannot afford a Mesa. Personally I call my setup my "idealized" Mesa tone, as I've yet to come across a Recto that I've actually liked enough in person to want to buy, tweaked out or in stock form.

[heath]

I have a peavey rockmaster which is pretty much the ultra series preamp standalone. If you want more low mids and less honk there is an easy mod. If you are comfortable with a soldering iron and can follow a schematic its very simple. I dont have the ultra plus schematic handy but you can get one through peavey. The rockmaster was pretty much unchanged though through the ultra series and can even be seen(though modified) in the JSX and XXX. If you want to change the tone of the amp check out the coupling cap between the gain stages(C14 / .0010uF on rockmaster unsure on the Ultra) feeding the third tube stage (V2a). It has a frequecy rolloff of 340hz, which means it notches out everything below 340hz. Try a .0022uF in its place, this should give you a rolloff of about 154hz letting more low mid bass through. This made a huge difference in my rockmaster. Also look at the bypass cap on V2a (C17/.47uF on RM). It creates a pass frequecy of 450hz. Everything below 450hz is cut. Try using a 1.0uF which will give you around 205hz. These two mods really took the honk out of the rockmaster, gave it a great boost in the low mids (mesa land) and for less than $10 dollars in parts and less than an hour of work it was well worth it.

[Gatelyne]

 

I have a peavey rockmaster which is pretty much the ultra series preamp standalone. If you want more low mids and less honk there is an easy mod. If you are comfortable with a soldering iron and can follow a schematic its very simple. I dont have the ultra plus schematic handy but you can get one through peavey. The rockmaster was pretty much unchanged though through the ultra series and can even be seen(though modified) in the JSX and XXX. If you want to change the tone of the amp check out the coupling cap between the gain stages(C14 / .0010uF on rockmaster unsure on the Ultra) feeding the third tube stage (V2a). It has a frequecy rolloff of 340hz, which means it notches out everything below 340hz. Try a .0022uF in its place, this should give you a rolloff of about 154hz letting more low mid bass through. This made a huge difference in my rockmaster. Also look at the bypass cap on V2a (C17/.47uF on RM). It creates a pass frequecy of 450hz. Everything below 450hz is cut. Try using a 1.0uF which will give you around 205hz. These two mods really took the honk out of the rockmaster, gave it a great boost in the low mids (mesa land) and for less than $10 dollars in parts and less than an hour of work it was well worth it.

 

 

 

Very interesting!

[Iron Lotus]

 

I have a peavey rockmaster which is pretty much the ultra series preamp standalone. If you want more low mids and less honk there is an easy mod. If you are comfortable with a soldering iron and can follow a schematic its very simple. I dont have the ultra plus schematic handy but you can get one through peavey. The rockmaster was pretty much unchanged though through the ultra series and can even be seen(though modified) in the JSX and XXX. If you want to change the tone of the amp check out the coupling cap between the gain stages(C14 / .0010uF on rockmaster unsure on the Ultra) feeding the third tube stage (V2a). It has a frequecy rolloff of 340hz, which means it notches out everything below 340hz. Try a .0022uF in its place, this should give you a rolloff of about 154hz letting more low mid bass through. This made a huge difference in my rockmaster. Also look at the bypass cap on V2a (C17/.47uF on RM). It creates a pass frequecy of 450hz. Everything below 450hz is cut. Try using a 1.0uF which will give you around 205hz. These two mods really took the honk out of the rockmaster, gave it a great boost in the low mids (mesa land) and for less than $10 dollars in parts and less than an hour of work it was well worth it.

 

 

..Is this a good idea? Im thinkin about doing this, along with an adjustable bias mod on a peavey ultra plus I just aquired...

[GodBlessTexas]

As an Ultra Plus owner, I am interested in this thread.

[Menthal]

Anyone got the schematic?

[tedmich]

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0Bx4YBDBg2bqPMmI5Y2I5ZGEtMTk2Zi00MmQyLTgxNWQtYWI5YTY5MDEzNWZm

 

here is my copy

 

I can report excellent results from the following mods

1 swapping out the C76 coupling cap after V1b from the (overly shrill) 1nf -> 2.2nf film (Xicon 1431-6222K at Mouser, $0.41)

2 changing the parallel C75 470pf/R502 470k before V2a to 2.2nf/470k (Xicon 1431-6222K at Mouser, $0.41)

3 upping the V1b C35 0.47uf EL cathode bypass cap to 1uf film (Kemet R82DC4100CK60J at Mouser $0.43)

 

 

 

These work great on the Ultra+ heads and Ultra 212 (which have Ultra+ labeled boards internally) huge low end bloom and no midrage "cocked wah" honk in the mids,

NOTE I run mine through a small accurate speaker; your mileage may vary in a 412 cab cranked up!

 

The older Ultras (PAG Ultra 120) have a few different values in the preamp;

A 2 x 0.47uF cathode bypass caps

B no parallel 470pF cap to R502

C C5 on main board is 820pF ceramic

 

and putting them to Ultra+ values sound better to my ears and even better when modded as above.

 

Remember the HC review "trick" peg all controls EXCEPT active EQ which is set to FULL CUT (-15db) and then carefully dial up EQ for extreme PA dist! Yeow! hell on wheels!

[yourguitarhero]

Noted!

[EdgeOfDarkness]

I think I have a vid on youTube of my ultra plus and rec together.

[MetalHed]

I've found that you could get a more Mesa type of sound with a simple tube swaps and the right speakers. I picked up a used Ultra Plus head and gave it to my brother. I swapped out the V1 12AX7 for a JJECC803-S, not to be confused with the JJECC83-S, which is a cheaper but more commonly available tube but pales in comparison. This is the one you want: http://www.tubedepot.com/jj-ecc803s.html This will give you a little more low mid grunt than your typical sovtek or chinese 12AX7's that are commonly used by most tube sellers (GrooveTubes, Ruby Tubes, Mesa Tubes, etc.).

 

The next thing that you can do is to is a speaker swap. I found that the amp absolutely slays through a 4x12 cab loaded with Vintage 30's and Eminence V12's in an X pattern. The Eminence V12 has a lot of low mid punch, but lacks a little top end, but the Vintage 30 has plenty of top end, as well as a nice upper mid presence. The two combined sound monstrous with an Ultra Plus.

[UVguy]

Mine has an extra transformer in the back...which I assume is a choke but I'm not really sure. Sounds great though.

[tedmich]

 

Mine has an extra transformer in the back...which I assume is a choke but I'm not really sure. Sounds great though.

 

 

 

if its got just two wires to the "transformer" is a choke, usually put in place of the big blue PA board resistor (R100 400ohm 10w)

 

word is the Soviet 6P3S-E servo tube with the small "coin/wafer" base sound fantastic in this and other 6L6 amps,

[UVguy]

Sounds like thats what it is. Got the amp off ebay a few years ago. I'll have a look at it later and post a pic.