Fender 68 Custom Deluxe Reverb Mods/conversion

stylesforfree

Does anyone know if its ok to clip out the mids resistor on the 68 custom reverb? What will it do to the tone stack?

In regards to other mods, is there a way to tame the 6-8khz spike? 

Also, I am thinking of doing a full blown conversion of my 68 reverb, getting a pre-populated turret board and doing it myself, wiring it all up or maybe sending it to a tech to get it all wired up in the same way as a late 60's "hand wired" deluxe reverb. 

What are the pro's and cons of doing a conversion? Are there any cons?

ICBM

Take out the Celestion V-Type and put in a speaker appropriate for a Fender amp, that will fix all the problems at one go.

A friend had the same issue with too much mid and a harsh upper-mid spike with his - I put in an Eminence Li’l Texas, which improved it immensely, a much more open Fendery sound and no mid spike.

stylesforfree

ICBM said:

Take out the Celestion V-Type and put in a speaker appropriate for a Fender amp, that will fix all the problems at one go.

A friend had the same issue with too much mid and a harsh upper-mid spike with his - I put in an Eminence Li’l Texas, which improved it immensely, a much more open Fendery sound and no mid spike.

It had a cannabis rex in and now it has the Jensen electric lightning. I've also played it through a celestion A-type and a Jensen P12Q and a warehouse G12C.

Here's a soundbite, recorded clean with volume on 4, treble on 4.5 and bass on 3. then after the first passage, it's edge of breakup with volume turned upto 5.5, thisi s through the warehouse g12c with my JV modified tele in the middle position

Rack Mode · Fender Custom Deluxe" title="Link:

Rack Mode · Fender Custom Deluxe

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Alex2678

I changed the nfb resistor in mine to the 65 spec and as well as reducing noise and break up I believe it pulls the mids back a little 

stylesforfree

Alex2678 said:

I changed the nfb resistor in mine to the 65 spec and as well as reducing noise and break up I believe it pulls the mids back a little 

Awesome, I think this is the first step then, did you change the fixed mids resistor? I was thinking of clipping it out all together

Alex2678

I thought the added resistor was to set a minimum bass amount, mine doesn’t have it though they seem to have changed it and stopped installing the resistor 

ICBM

If you remove the mid resistor you will disconnect the tone stack and get *more* mids (and everything else).

noisepolluter

What volume are you most likely to be playing at? If you don’t need lots of clean headroom then maybe consider downsizing to a 65 Princeton reissue rather than modding and potentially losing money on the 68 custom deluxe. 

EmprizeAmps

Like ICBM said your best bet is changing the speaker to something with less mids.  More of an American voiced speaker.  The V-Type is a merge of V30 and Greenback so you are going to have more mids.  If you were to put another 6.8k resistor in parallel with the current mid resistor then you would get more of a mid scoop.  This is around the 1K ballpark... it will reduce a small amount around 6-8K but not enough to make much difference.  Have a look at TSC online to see what impact things like slope, treble, mid and bass caps make on the EQ ... However, I reckon speaker change too.

stylesforfree

ICBM said:

Take out the Celestion V-Type and put in a speaker appropriate for a Fender amp, that will fix all the problems at one go.

A friend had the same issue with too much mid and a harsh upper-mid spike with his - I put in an Eminence Li’l Texas, which improved it immensely, a much more open Fendery sound and no mid spike.

Cool, I had a Cannabis Rex in it and swapped that out for a Jensen electric lightning. Sometimes I use it with a cab loaded with a celestion a-type and sometimes I plug it into a warehouse G12C. Most recently I got a Jensen Falcon and I'm currently using that, today I had the Eminence fender special speaker with the lightning bolt on it arrive. But the speaker has some heavy doping around the cone. Gonna try it later 

Is there a cheaper alternative to the lil Texas?

ICBM

stylesforfree said:

Is there a cheaper alternative to the lil Texas?

Not sure... the standard Texas Heat - the non-neo one the Li'l Texas is based on - is actually about the same price now. All decent speakers are going to be about that much these days.

The speaker will definitely make the biggest difference though, especially with distortion - it essentially acts as a giant EQ at the output end of the whole signal path.

Dave_Mc

ICBM said:

stylesforfree said:

Is there a cheaper alternative to the lil Texas?

Not sure... the standard Texas Heat - the non-neo one the Li'l Texas is based on - is actually about the same price now. All decent speakers are going to be about that much these days.

The speaker will definitely make the biggest difference though, especially with distortion - it essentially acts as a giant EQ at the output end of the whole signal path.

How much is a lil Texas, out of interest? I was struggling to find an accurate price since everywhere is out of stock. Assuming it's what I think it is (and you don't get lucky and find a NOS one that the shop got at older prices) you might still be able to get something a fair bit cheaper which might do the job...

Several of the Jensen 12" ceramics should be a good bit cheaper... the C12R and Q are around £55-£65 or so... I haven't tried them but assuming they're a similar idea to the C10Q I have they'll do the vintage Fendery thing really well, but they won't do modern stuff as well. Which is basically to say they're great for cleaner tones but can get icepicky with distortion, more or less.

Lean has the Eminence Legend 1258 for just under £100... that's about twice what I paid for mine several years ago, but it still might be a bit less than the lil Texas. It does the clean Fendery stuff very well but handles dirt a lot better than the Jensen I have... admittedly it doesn't sound just as vintage as the Jensen for cleaner stuff, so it just depends on what you want. Lean also has the WGS G12Q (which I haven't tried) for £67 (if it's the right impedance), though at only 20 watts it might be pushing it for wattage...

I haven't tried them but there have been some good reports on those Mojotone speakers, Thomann has the American-voiced one for just under £100.

Just to be clear, I haven't tried the amp in question, this is just general thoughts about American-voiced speakers. I totally agree speakers make a massive difference, and if the wrong speaker is in there, getting the right one may well be all you need...

stylesforfree

noisepolluter said:

What volume are you most likely to be playing at? If you don’t need lots of clean headroom then maybe consider downsizing to a 65 Princeton reissue rather than modding and potentially losing money on the 68 custom deluxe. 

Medium gain, edge of break up to light crunch. I don't care about potentially losing anything as I got the amp in a trade and I don't care for any monetary gain. 65 Princeton is just adding to my GAS man!!! Don't suggest more amps! haha 

EmprizeAmps said:

Like ICBM said your best bet is changing the speaker to something with less mids.  More of an American voiced speaker.  The V-Type is a merge of V30 and Greenback so you are going to have more mids.  If you were to put another 6.8k resistor in parallel with the current mid resistor then you would get more of a mid scoop.  This is around the 1K ballpark... it will reduce a small amount around 6-8K but not enough to make much difference.  Have a look at TSC online to see what impact things like slope, treble, mid and bass caps make on the EQ ... However, I reckon speaker change too.

Ah ok, this deluxe came with a cannabis rex in it which I traded for a Celestion A-type, im now knee deep in speaker swapping and ended up buying a couple of Jensen Jet series (Falcon and Electric Lightning).

Dave_Mc said:

ICBM said:

stylesforfree said:

Is there a cheaper alternative to the lil Texas?

Not sure... the standard Texas Heat - the non-neo one the Li'l Texas is based on - is actually about the same price now. All decent speakers are going to be about that much these days.

The speaker will definitely make the biggest difference though, especially with distortion - it essentially acts as a giant EQ at the output end of the whole signal path.

How much is a lil Texas, out of interest? I was struggling to find an accurate price since everywhere is out of stock. Assuming it's what I think it is (and you don't get lucky and find a NOS one that the shop got at older prices) you might still be able to get something a fair bit cheaper which might do the job...

Several of the Jensen 12" ceramics should be a good bit cheaper... the C12R and Q are around £55-£65 or so... I haven't tried them but assuming they're a similar idea to the C10Q I have they'll do the vintage Fendery thing really well, but they won't do modern stuff as well. Which is basically to say they're great for cleaner tones but can get icepicky with distortion, more or less.

Lean has the Eminence Legend 1258 for just under £100... that's about twice what I paid for mine several years ago, but it still might be a bit less than the lil Texas. It does the clean Fendery stuff very well but handles dirt a lot better than the Jensen I have... admittedly it doesn't sound just as vintage as the Jensen for cleaner stuff, so it just depends on what you want. Lean also has the WGS G12Q (which I haven't tried) for £67 (if it's the right impedance), though at only 20 watts it might be pushing it for wattage...

I haven't tried them but there have been some good reports on those Mojotone speakers, Thomann has the American-voiced one for just under £100.

Just to be clear, I haven't tried the amp in question, this is just general thoughts about American-voiced speakers. I totally agree speakers make a massive difference, and if the wrong speaker is in there, getting the right one may well be all you need...

Ive seen the lil texas listed for around £110-130

I just got hold of a pair of the Fender special Eminence lightning bolt speakers for £40, one of them is nicely broken in which i'll give a run through this weekend.

I also have a Warehouse G12C which is comparable to the Jensen C12N. 

I am very interested in the Mojotone speakers, had my eye on them for a while, thanks for all your input!

Dave_Mc

stylesforfree said:

Ive seen the lil texas listed for around £110-130

I just got hold of a pair of the Fender special Eminence lightning bolt speakers for £40, one of them is nicely broken in which i'll give a run through this weekend.

I also have a Warehouse G12C which is comparable to the Jensen C12N. 

I am very interested in the Mojotone speakers, had my eye on them for a while, thanks for all your input!

Ah ok, thanks. Check with @ICBM , those Fender/Eminence Lightning speakers might well be the same thing as the Eminence Legend 1258 I'm talking about! And if you already have them plus the WGS, I would suspect that should have you covered for the tones you're after.

Just to be clear, the "good things" I've heard about the Mojotones apply to their Greenback-style speakers, not the USA ones. That doesn't mean the various other ones are bad, just I haven't heard anything about them!

(Also if those Fender Lightning speakers are the same as the Eminence Legends... I always wonder about that. Lots of people say they replace those Lightnings which usually results in a "big improvement"... yet lots of people say they love the Legend 1258s! It makes me wonder if they are the same... or if guitarists are listening with their eyes, lol.)

stylesforfree

Dave_Mc said:

stylesforfree said:

Ive seen the lil texas listed for around £110-130

I just got hold of a pair of the Fender special Eminence lightning bolt speakers for £40, one of them is nicely broken in which i'll give a run through this weekend.

I also have a Warehouse G12C which is comparable to the Jensen C12N. 

I am very interested in the Mojotone speakers, had my eye on them for a while, thanks for all your input!

Ah ok, thanks. Check with @ICBM , those Fender/Eminence Lightning speakers might well be the same thing as the Eminence Legend 1258 I'm talking about! And if you already have them plus the WGS, I would suspect that should have you covered for the tones you're after.

Just to be clear, the "good things" I've heard about the Mojotones apply to their Greenback-style speakers, not the USA ones. That doesn't mean the various other ones are bad, just I haven't heard anything about them!

(Also if those Fender Lightning speakers are the same as the Eminence Legends... I always wonder about that. Lots of people say they replace those Lightnings which usually results in a "big improvement"... yet lots of people say they love the Legend 1258s! It makes me wonder if they are the same... or if guitarists are listening with their eyes, lol.)

The fender lightning bolt is 50 watt and has doping around the edge of the cone. Ive read anecdotal evidence that it's similar to the Eminence private jack, legend GB128 and the patriot red white and blues.

There was a post over on another guitar forum where a guy tried out a load of the Eminence patriot and legend speakers and none of them sounded as good as the lightning bolt after it was broken in. 

Dave_Mc

stylesforfree said:

The fender lightning bolt is 50 watt and has doping around the edge of the cone. Ive read anecdotal evidence that it's similar to the Eminence private jack, legend GB128 and the patriot red white and blues.

There was a post over on another guitar forum where a guy tried out a load of the Eminence patriot and legend speakers and none of them sounded as good as the lightning bolt after it was broken in. 

I've got a RW+B and GB128- unfortunately I can't compare them easily as I don't have the RW+B in a cab currently. I can't remember for sure as it was a good while ago since I've tried it and also it was in a 2x12 with a Screamin' Eagle- it was a stereo cab so I did get to try them individually but I can't remember if I tried it head to head individually with the GB12 but I'd be surprised if the RW+B was that similar to the GB128 and Private Jack (which I haven't tried, but the clips I've heard make it sound more British than the GB128). The GB128 is usually described as a greenback-style speaker... I'm not sure if I'd go as far as that, it sort of sounds "mid-Atlantic" if that makes sense*, but IIRC the RW+B sounds pretty "American". That being said the Eminence description says it's like an American cousin to the Governor, so I could well be way off!

That's very interesting about the Lightning Bolt. Did they try the Legend 1258 against it? I know the Legend 1258 is 75W so maybe that would suggest they're not exactly the same (and now I just looked it up, the RW+B is 120W so presumably there's something considerably different going on there!). The Screamin' Eagle is 50W, though...but I'm not sure how much you can read into that because as far as I'm aware the power rating (or what they have to do to the construction of the speaker to achieve that power rating, I mean) isn't the only thing affecting the tone and construction.

* The cynic in me says the GB128 sounds pretty Greenbackish if you don't have a Greenback on hand to compare it to head-to-head! Which is usually what's happening because most people (citation needed!   ) who have a GB128 usually bought it as a cheaper alternative to the "real thing" and therefore don't have the "real thing" to hand to compare it to- at least in the USA it's usually a lot cheaper even if over here it's not that different in price, at least at current prices. At times I've been tempted to think it was very Greenbackish, but then to be sure I've tried a Greenback right next to it (just the modern reissue, not an old one or a Heritage one) and they don't sound that close when you do that. (Just to be clear, that's not a bad thing necessarily- taken on its own merits it's a really nice speaker, at least in my opinion.) 

stylesforfree

Dave_Mc said:

stylesforfree said:

The fender lightning bolt is 50 watt and has doping around the edge of the cone. Ive read anecdotal evidence that it's similar to the Eminence private jack, legend GB128 and the patriot red white and blues.

There was a post over on another guitar forum where a guy tried out a load of the Eminence patriot and legend speakers and none of them sounded as good as the lightning bolt after it was broken in. 

I've got a RW+B and GB128- unfortunately I can't compare them easily as I don't have the RW+B in a cab currently. I can't remember for sure as it was a good while ago since I've tried it and also it was in a 2x12 with a Screamin' Eagle- it was a stereo cab so I did get to try them individually but I can't remember if I tried it head to head individually with the GB12 but I'd be surprised if the RW+B was that similar to the GB128 and Private Jack (which I haven't tried, but the clips I've heard make it sound more British than the GB128). The GB128 is usually described as a greenback-style speaker... I'm not sure if I'd go as far as that, it sort of sounds "mid-Atlantic" if that makes sense*, but IIRC the RW+B sounds pretty "American". That being said the Eminence description says it's like an American cousin to the Governor, so I could well be way off!

That's very interesting about the Lightning Bolt. Did they try the Legend 1258 against it? I know the Legend 1258 is 75W so maybe that would suggest they're not exactly the same (and now I just looked it up, the RW+B is 120W so presumably there's something considerably different going on there!). The Screamin' Eagle is 50W, though...but I'm not sure how much you can read into that because as far as I'm aware the power rating (or what they have to do to the construction of the speaker to achieve that power rating, I mean) isn't the only thing affecting the tone and construction.

* The cynic in me says the GB128 sounds pretty Greenbackish if you don't have a Greenback on hand to compare it to head-to-head! Which is usually what's happening because most people (citation needed!   ) who have a GB128 usually bought it as a cheaper alternative to the "real thing" and therefore don't have the "real thing" to hand to compare it to- at least in the USA it's usually a lot cheaper even if over here it's not that different in price, at least at current prices. At times I've been tempted to think it was very Greenbackish, but then to be sure I've tried a Greenback right next to it (just the modern reissue, not an old one or a Heritage one) and they don't sound that close when you do that. (Just to be clear, that's not a bad thing necessarily- taken on its own merits it's a really nice speaker, at least in my opinion.) 

   I can't find the post on the lightning bolt, its funny you specifically mentioning the 1258 though because I was just reading some old posts on tdpri about the older Eminence/Fender special speaker with the black and gold/yellow-ish which were supposedly a rebadged 1258.
It might have been another speaker that I saw mentioned being similar to the RW+B, possibly the Supro BD12? Ha, sorry, I have read up and absorbed so much information and anecdotes on various speakers.

   I have only heard Greenbacks and GB128's during loud jam sessions for a few hours at a time while wearing earplugs. I have looked at cheaper alternatives to the Greenbacks though.
 The Supro Amulet I recently acquired has a 10" creamback in it, a very woody organic tone is how I can only describe it so far, dry and rounded with incredible note separation. But apart from the A-Type it's my only experience with Celestion, but the V30 will be arriving next week.

   I have definitely converted to Jensen recently with the Jet series, after detesting the C series speakers for so long and the P12Q in my supro black magick just knocks it out the park every time I dime it.
If you ever get a chance to record a shootout between the GB128 and the Screamin Eagle I would love to hear it. 
   I'll be recording a comparison shootout between the Lightning bolt and the Celestion A-Type and Vintage 30 and the Jensen Falcon and P12Q at some point in the near future. I may even throw the Warehouse G12C into the mix just for the hell of it.
The only problem is that some of the speakers are more broken in than others so it wont be a precise and 100% comparable test of tone. But it's all fun and games!

Dave_Mc

stylesforfree said:

   I can't find the post on the lightning bolt, its funny you specifically mentioning the 1258 though because I was just reading some old posts on tdpri about the older Eminence/Fender special speaker with the black and gold/yellow-ish which were supposedly a rebadged 1258.
It might have been another speaker that I saw mentioned being similar to the RW+B, possibly the Supro BD12? Ha, sorry, I have read up and absorbed so much information and anecdotes on various speakers.

   I have only heard Greenbacks and GB128's during loud jam sessions for a few hours at a time while wearing earplugs. I have looked at cheaper alternatives to the Greenbacks though.
 The Supro Amulet I recently acquired has a 10" creamback in it, a very woody organic tone is how I can only describe it so far, dry and rounded with incredible note separation. But apart from the A-Type it's my only experience with Celestion, but the V30 will be arriving next week.

   I have definitely converted to Jensen recently with the Jet series, after detesting the C series speakers for so long and the P12Q in my supro black magick just knocks it out the park every time I dime it.
If you ever get a chance to record a shootout between the GB128 and the Screamin Eagle I would love to hear it. 
   I'll be recording a comparison shootout between the Lightning bolt and the Celestion A-Type and Vintage 30 and the Jensen Falcon and P12Q at some point in the near future. I may even throw the Warehouse G12C into the mix just for the hell of it.
The only problem is that some of the speakers are more broken in than others so it wont be a precise and 100% comparable test of tone. But it's all fun and games!

That might well be the one- I'm a bit hazy on exactly which Fender speaker was supposedly the rebadged 1258!

Funnily enough I was just looking up about Eminences and I found this: https://www.loudspeakersplus.com/v/vspfiles/templates/driven/pdfs/Eminence Guitar Speaker Chart.pdf

It's suggested Eminence replacements for classic amps. The Legend 1258 does seem to be suggested quite a bit for Fenders. And I came across a post on TDPRI where someone was saying that one of the Legends was very close to the old Jensen C12N: https://www.tdpri.com/threads/eminence-jensen-c12n-approximation.47774/ (post #3)

I could be wrong but- assuming he's correct!- I think the Legend 122 was maybe alnico, so it looks likely it's the 1258 he's thinking of.

Someone was talking about those Supros on here recently- I think they asked Eminence and it seemed to be a big mish-mash of different speaker specs. 

I don't have any recording gear unfortunately.

Which C-series Jensens did you not like, out of interest? I like the C10Q I have for certain things, but the highs can be pretty icepicky if you're not careful! (P12R was similar, maybe even a bit worse... kind of kicking myself I didn't get a P12Q instead, but I thought I wanted extra brightness... to be fair it does do really good cleans)

(Yeah if they're not broken-in equally it's not ideal, but at the same time it's probably a much better test than most people are capable of doing!)

stylesforfree

Dave_Mc said:

stylesforfree said:

   I can't find the post on the lightning bolt, its funny you specifically mentioning the 1258 though because I was just reading some old posts on tdpri about the older Eminence/Fender special speaker with the black and gold/yellow-ish which were supposedly a rebadged 1258.
It might have been another speaker that I saw mentioned being similar to the RW+B, possibly the Supro BD12? Ha, sorry, I have read up and absorbed so much information and anecdotes on various speakers.

   I have only heard Greenbacks and GB128's during loud jam sessions for a few hours at a time while wearing earplugs. I have looked at cheaper alternatives to the Greenbacks though.
 The Supro Amulet I recently acquired has a 10" creamback in it, a very woody organic tone is how I can only describe it so far, dry and rounded with incredible note separation. But apart from the A-Type it's my only experience with Celestion, but the V30 will be arriving next week.

   I have definitely converted to Jensen recently with the Jet series, after detesting the C series speakers for so long and the P12Q in my supro black magick just knocks it out the park every time I dime it.
If you ever get a chance to record a shootout between the GB128 and the Screamin Eagle I would love to hear it. 
   I'll be recording a comparison shootout between the Lightning bolt and the Celestion A-Type and Vintage 30 and the Jensen Falcon and P12Q at some point in the near future. I may even throw the Warehouse G12C into the mix just for the hell of it.
The only problem is that some of the speakers are more broken in than others so it wont be a precise and 100% comparable test of tone. But it's all fun and games!

That might well be the one- I'm a bit hazy on exactly which Fender speaker was supposedly the rebadged 1258!

Funnily enough I was just looking up about Eminences and I found this: https://www.loudspeakersplus.com/v/vspfiles/templates/driven/pdfs/Eminence Guitar Speaker Chart.pdf

It's suggested Eminence replacements for classic amps. The Legend 1258 does seem to be suggested quite a bit for Fenders. And I came across a post on TDPRI where someone was saying that one of the Legends was very close to the old Jensen C12N: https://www.tdpri.com/threads/eminence-jensen-c12n-approximation.47774/ (post #3)

I could be wrong but- assuming he's correct!- I think the Legend 122 was maybe alnico, so it looks likely it's the 1258 he's thinking of.

Someone was talking about those Supros on here recently- I think they asked Eminence and it seemed to be a big mish-mash of different speaker specs. 

I don't have any recording gear unfortunately.

Which C-series Jensens did you not like, out of interest? I like the C10Q I have for certain things, but the highs can be pretty icepicky if you're not careful! (P12R was similar, maybe even a bit worse... kind of kicking myself I didn't get a P12Q instead, but I thought I wanted extra brightness... to be fair it does do really good cleans)

(Yeah if they're not broken-in equally it's not ideal, but at the same time it's probably a much better test than most people are capable of doing!)

That was me talking about the Supros!

That Eminence speaker pdf is interesting, nice find, looks like I'll be trying out a couple more in the future.

The C12R and the C12Q were lacking some clarity/definition in the upper mids compared to the P12Q and P12N.

I have 2 P12R's here that I bought by mistake, they pair well with 5F1 tweed style circuits very well but unless I get a cheap 2x12 cab I doubt I'll keep them.

I reckon the Jet series are the best of the lot so far, the Falcon 12 is lovely, smooth, balanced and breaks up nicely and the Electric lightning handles fuzz and overdrive like nothing else. Got my eye on a blackbird 40 now!

I've got the Celestion V30 arriving this week in a cab but I doubt I'll be keeping hold of it unless it beats the A-type.

Dave_Mc

stylesforfree said:

(a) That was me talking about the Supros!

(b) That Eminence speaker pdf is interesting, nice find, looks like I'll be trying out a couple more in the future.

(c) The C12R and the C12Q were lacking some clarity/definition in the upper mids compared to the P12Q and P12N.

(d) I have 2 P12R's here that I bought by mistake, they pair well with 5F1 tweed style circuits very well but unless I get a cheap 2x12 cab I doubt I'll keep them.

(e) I reckon the Jet series are the best of the lot so far, the Falcon 12 is lovely, smooth, balanced and breaks up nicely and the Electric lightning handles fuzz and overdrive like nothing else. Got my eye on a blackbird 40 now!

(f) I've got the Celestion V30 arriving this week in a cab but I doubt I'll be keeping hold of it unless it beats the A-type.

(a) LOL it's hard to keep track of goings-on on a busy forum! 

(b) Complete fluke I found it, I basically just googled it and it came up! Still not as good as proper info regarding what they might be based on, but better than nothing. There's tons of info online about what the British-voiced Eminences are based on, but almost nothing about the USA-voiced ones. I'm halfway tempted to email Eminence at some point to ask, but I'm not sure if they'd be willing to give out that info or not...

(c) Interesting, thanks for that. The P12R is the only 12" Jensen I've tried. I've got a C10Q, a P6V and the Mod Series 6" as well.

(d) That's also very interesting. I've been sort of GASsing for a 5E3 for a while now (and let's be honest, maybe a 5F2-A Princeton too, which as far as I can tell is basically a 5F1 Champ with a tone control and bypass cap on the first preamp stage), hopefully they pair well with it as well. Considering I already have it, it'd be worth a try with that (if I ever get one) before buying anything else...

(e) I've been hearing quite a few people saying the more modern ones are pretty nice. And a couple of the Italian amp companies use their speakers too (Brunetti and DV Mark I think?). I really don't need any more speakers, though! 

(f) I haven't tried an A-Type, but if it sounds roughly the way I'd expect it to, it'll be massively different from the V30... it'll most likely depend on whether it suits the tone you're after better, and whether it suits the amp better.

colourofsound

Bringing this thread back from the dead!

a) Has anyone modded their 68 CDR to reduce the really high noise floor? 

I know its something to do with the increased negative feedback in the amp; but playing it at low volumes the hiss is almost as loud as the guitar.

b) Its also super bassy; I'm not bothered about the mid bump on the Celestion V but I have the bass on lowest it will go and its still very bassy. Would a speaker change correct this?

c) Finally - has anyone used an attenuator for these amps? I'd be nice to play it at lower volumes with a bit more control. At this moment in time not particularly interested in downsizing to a Princeton; mainly for the hassle!

At the moment I am not gigging, and the HX Stomp in the house means it doesn't get a lot of use - but am loathe to sell it because I love it, and also I hope my gigging or recording days aren't over just yet!

Cheeeers