chris-a

My '81 2204 is sleeping in the rehearsal room for a long time, because I can't reduce the bass as much as I want to. Alone and in front to the 4x12 it sounds full and cool, but for the band I want to lower the bass to clear the frequences. Even with bass = 0 it's sounds a little to low for my ears.

So do I have to use a TS to additional reducing the bass, or what are you doing for a "cutting" sound? (PunkRock)

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TwinACStacks

Chris I just went through this Very issue with one of our techs here on the board. It's going to require some mods to the Amp. It appears that some year issues of the 2204 have this very heavy Bass problem in addition to it being Muddy, and others don't. My '86 horizontal does or rather did.

Change Caps C3,C7 to .0022uf and the NFB 100K Resistor, (R22), to 33K. You also need to Change C4 the 470pf cap for the first bright stage to .0022--BUT-- You must also put a 1M Resistor across the wiper of the Pre-Amp Gain pot to ground first. This should tighten and lean your Bass up NICELY.

TWIN

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NewReligion

I didn't know that anomaly existed. Pretty cool stacks, that's what makes this place so great.

Seen the Werecow lately?

David

TwinACStacks

David, I wasn't aware of it either. I was always under the impression that the 2204s were rather Shallow sounding. Joey Voltage was the one that enlightened me to this Fact. Also the Corrective mods. Mine was SERIOUSLY Bass-Heavy. At Bone stock Values I couldn't run the bass past 2 without it muddying up.

Live and Learn Bro. (Even at my advanced age)

TWIN MOO!!!

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NewReligion

Yeah, Joey is full of knowledge, he has helped me more than once as have many other Super Tech's from this Forum.

David

chris-a

Wow thanks for this detailed, helpful and technical answer, TWIN, but uuhhh... you used the 3 letter word "mod"
I was so happy that I shot an old unmodded one in the bay.

Maybe my problem is not as evil as it sounds? As I wrote, the sound in front of the cab is not really muddy bad, just a little to much bassy. Micing this in-front-sound should work for an gig, but the unmiced sound in the rehearsalroom or on small gigs has this tiny little to much bass.
It also could be that just the comparison to my second amp, an engl blackmore - which has this cutting through "contour" switch - make me feel so.

Please could you send or link me an mp3 of your 2204 sound with this mod you made? Maybe I'm not as far away as I think. Helpful would be also a sample of the muddy bass sound before...?

wkcchampion

FYI, I always run the 1959 with Bass at 0. What's the problem? The power amp, when it gets overdriven, produces a lot of bass.
You can easily solve this by placing an EQ with a bass roll-off/cut curve (let'say anything before 200 Hz as a guideline) without having to mod it. Extra bass can come handy if u use single coils or very bright guitars.

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Marco
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The Brown Sound is HERE: http://www.marshallforum.com/cellar/...ally-here.html

Marshall gear :
- JMP-1 midi valve preamp
- 1981 JCM800 1959 SuperLead
- 1983 JCM800 2203
- 1987 Silver Jubilee 2555
- 1969 Basketweave replica with Celestion Pre-Rola G12M 25W T1221

Guitars: 2008 Parker Fly Mojo, 1995 Fly Deluxe "Eldy", 1959 pre-CBS Strat and 1993 ObG 1959 Les Paul replica

diesect20022000

+1. That's what i was thinking. I do like the info Stacks gave though. That is also potentialy QUITE useful.

Frankie

What kind of speakers? If you're using G12T-75's (like most people) they're probably your culprit. I play my 2203 on top of 8 G12C-25 Greenbacks, I get all the cutting punk rock tone I could ever want and then some. I usually run the bass on like 3. Go Green!

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chris-a

@wkcchampion: ok, so the TubeScreamer method - just to shape the sound - should work.

@Frankie: I'm using the Engl 412SS with CelestionÆ V60 - which can be very dry and punchy with the Blackmore.

Frankie

I'm not familiar with those speakers. I use a TS-808 in front of my 2203 and 1987 too though. Shapes the sound perfectly for that 70's punk rock snarl.

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00jett

Different tubes can tailor the bass a bit too.

Frankie

Oooh, good call! When I stuck EL34's in my old JCM 800 the bass dropped off significantly from running 6550's.

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TwinACStacks

Yes Speakers and Tubes can make a Huge difference. I'm running 65's and Anniversary G12s in an X pattern. I have a Hunch that the Tungsol EL34Bs BEEF up the Bass a Tad as well. Even with the Mods, I still run the Bass on 2 and have tons to spare. Some of the Darkness of My amp is also from Lowering the Voltage to the pre-amp section by increasing the Value of the 1st 2W Drop resistor. This gives a more PRE-800 series 2204 sound, and I've shifted the mids a bit with a cap across R9.

There are always trade-offs.

TWIN

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jcmjmp

What kind of speakers do you have?

I've never had any issues with too much bass or muddy bass on a 2204. Sure, they have a lot of it but if I dial it back to 2-3, it's fine.

My amp is running Tung Sol 12AX7s and EH EL34s. Bone stock with only the treble bleed cap mod.

core

Yes it may be your speakers. As some are saying possibly your amp is just bass heavy in the circuit but I'm running my 2204 through Vintage 30's and it's not bass heavy at all. I run bass at 4-6 depending how I feel. Nice and punchy, not muddy. Greenbacks are also a great classic combo for these heads as well.

I know the Johnny Ramone used an 800 and a Super Lead with a Salt and Pepper cab which may either be G12 30's or 25 watt greenbacks. Jones from the Sex Pistols uses a Marshall now with the same kind of cab.

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chris-a

I'm using the Engl E 412 SS with CelestionÆ V60 - which can be very dry and punchy with the Blackmore.

chris-a

Hmmm, I tried it again last night and it really wasn't bad with the bass.
Probably my problem was the A/B comparison with the Blackmore, which I omit yesterday?!?
I had a good cutting sound with the band on my SG with Prec:0 Bass:2 Mid:10 Treb:5 Master:1 Pre:7 at the 2204 - without any further TS in front of the amp.

Frankie

Try bringing the presence up and the treble down a little, you'll probably cut even a little more.

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