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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
Now that the captchas are working again...
Now that the captchas are working again...
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HawkeyeKane
757 posts
Mar 06, 2012
10:14 AM
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I'm rather proud of myself. After nearly 4 1/2 hours of continuous work last night, I finally managed to complete my first attempt at a modification to one of my amplifiers, and it was a success.
My beloved Kalamazoo Model 2 is in perfect working order, but the 50 year old particleboard that the cabinet is made of is falling apart. My intention is to build an all-new cabinet for it out of actual wood. But in the meantime, I'm very hesitant to take it out and gig with it for fear of it getting banged up any more than it already is.
And thus...I finally decided to get my ass in gear and beef up my Peavey Vypyr 15. It was good before, but now it should be a more versatile, powerhouse amp.
Here's a stock photo of what an OOTB Vypyr 15 looks like from the front...
Here's mine after I removed the decorative "Vypyr fang" overhang and relocated the Peavey placard...
The back of the cab in its original configuration...
And here, I velcro-mounted a Peavey EDI box to the cabinet...
...and cannibalized two Mojotone speaker wires with fast-on connectors, running the amp leads into the amp jack on the EDI, and the speaker jack to the speaker terminals...
Finally, after some hacksaw and bench-grinder work to the top and bottom of the speaker rim, and some Dremel cut work to the baffle, I replaced the stock "custom voice" 3 ohm 8" speaker with a 4 ohm 12" KMD bass amp speaker in the cabinet. Faaarrr more low-end response out of her now.
For a 15W SS modeling amp, this baby is rockin' now!
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Hawkeye Kane
Last Edited by on Mar 06, 2012 10:20 AM
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eharp
1742 posts
Mar 06, 2012
12:13 PM
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thank god for working captchas!!
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John95683
24 posts
Mar 06, 2012
5:58 PM
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Timely post. I auditioned this amp today at Guitar Center, and I must say I did not like it. I think the small 8" speaker really hurt it.
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HawkeyeKane
759 posts
Mar 07, 2012
7:39 AM
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@John
I always liked the sound my 15 put out before, even with the 8". The Classic 50 and Twn models are great for harp, and the Transtube effects and output are the best digitally created ones I have heard to date. For all intents and purposes, I'm pretty sure the speaker is an unlabeled 3 ohm 8" Blue Marvel Classic. The biggest problem I had with it was its lack of a speaker-driven line out. I always had to mic it, and I hated doing that. But that EDI was just laying around in my basement, so I figured I might as well put it to work.
The 12" was a VERY tight fit, and even Peavey's customer service staff said it couldn't be done. And yet oddly enough, there are only two 4 ohm speakers they sell that will fit in that cabinet: a 12" Blue Marvel Classic (which needs a bit of machining to fit as I had to do with the KMD), and a 10" Sheffield Bass speaker.
As I was trying to keep it an entirely Peavey amp, I would've gone with the Blue Marvel if I'd had the cash. I don't care for Sheffields. They lack high frequency response. The KMD is a quality, yet inexpensive speaker.
John, if you're wanting a Vypyr with more balls, you can either go the way I went and mod a V15 with whatever 4 ohm speaker that hits your fancy, or spend some more money and get a Vypyr 30. Yes, they cost twice as much as the 15, but you get what you pay for since it comes with the 12" Blue Marvel and it's also stompbox accessible.
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Hawkeye Kane
Last Edited by on Mar 07, 2012 8:01 AM
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toddlgreene
3588 posts
Mar 07, 2012
8:07 AM
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Cool work and pics. It's always satisfying when you do mods yourself(and they actually work!). I'm curious to try one of the modelling amps or hybrid tube/modelling ones. I think Brandon Bailey has a little Vox modeller amp.
What settings do you use on it? Some sort of 'tweed'?
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Todd L. Greene
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HawkeyeKane
760 posts
Mar 07, 2012
8:55 AM
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@todd
No, the Vypyrs are primarily programmed with amp/cab models based on Peavey amplifiers like the Classic 50, JSX, and 6505. It does have models of the Fender Twin and Fender Deluxe, but out of those two, I only use the Twin, and that's only when the Classic 50 mod isn't ideal for whatever I might be doing. They don't have a tweed amp model. For that I use my Digitech RP90. It has a '57 Tweed Deluxe preset.
I've tried several different lines of modeling amps at my local equivalent of a Guitar Center (The Rock Shop). Fender Mustangs, Behringer V-Tones, etc. I've not come across any Vox Valvetronix's as you mentioned. But at any rate, while the other amps I've tried are undoubtedly quite good for guitar, the Peavey Vypyrs are the only modeling amps that my ears have found desirable for harp. The SS ones are good because the Transtube technology Peavey uses is damn close to genuine tube sound, and the Tube 60 and Tube 120 Twin are spot on.
Anyways, I'm taking her out on a shakedown gig tonight at an afterparty for the Illinois Gun Owner's Lobbyist Day. Gotta love residing in your state's capital.
Aaaaaaaand the captchas are down again....
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Hawkeye Kane
Last Edited by on Mar 07, 2012 12:23 PM
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CapnKen
31 posts
Mar 07, 2012
3:09 PM
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Hawkeye,I recently sold a model 4 (solid state) Zoo to a guy that was going to just use the cab because his model 2 was falling apart.You might check them out, They arnt Identical but can be switched easy enough. and you can find them for much cheaper and they are not nearly as in demand as the model 2.I sold mine for $75.00
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http://www.reverbnation.com/main/overview_artist?feature=landingpage#!/mudflapnicholsandthetwistedspokes
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HawkeyeKane
762 posts
Mar 07, 2012
7:22 PM
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It's a good idea Ken, and I could probably use the SS guts of the amp for some other project. But....
Its cabinet is gonna be made of the same 50 year old particle board, and that's not a plus for me at this point. Not to mention the Zoo VI had the same general characteristics as the brownface Zoo II's, so it won't be angled back at the top to conform to my blackface's control panel.
No...I'm gonna build my own. Not only because it'll be more durable when it's done, but also because I like being able to say "Yup, I did that all myself." I will keep an eye out for Zoo III's and VI's though. Now that I think about it, I could really think up some nifty shit to convert them to.
However, if YOU should happen to stumble upon a Zoo Reverb 12, lemme know ASAP. I really want one.
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Hawkeye Kane
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HawkeyeKane
763 posts
Mar 08, 2012
6:21 AM
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@John95683 & toddlgreene
Ironically enough, last night we played a gig in the atrium of the Vinegar Hill Mall, (my amp worked beautifully, and filled the atrium on its own without any help from the PA!) and it was sponsored by Pawn King pawn shop therein. I went in to look at what they had, and lo and behold, there sat a Vypyr 30 for $119. If either of you are interested, lemme know and I'll see what I can do to grab it.
They also had a KMD amp head on clearance. First time I've ever seen one in the flesh.
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Hawkeye Kane
Last Edited by on Mar 08, 2012 8:53 AM
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