Leaderboard

Got it back from my amp guy today. Sounds really good. He replaced the reverb tank with a smaller one and relocated it to avoid the hum/buzz. Runs super quiet and well now. Also had him connect the bias adjustment pot to the back panel so i don't have to pull the chassis when re-biasing.

In 2005-ish (maybe 2006 or 2007), I picked up at the factory a 150 Goldtop that I custom ordered through a dealer but just wanted to pickup at Heritage. I asked Marv if he would install a poker chip and Gibson LP pickguard that I bought and brought with me on my brand new 150 Goldtop. He said, "We used to install those years ago at Heritage, but due to the lawsuit we don't use/install them anymore". But he was kind enough to do it anyhow, he said to just keep it between us. So now the secret is out.... I think he is safe from litigation.

This amp was good but almost unmanageable on delivery. Sounded really kind of amazing, but noisy and so LOUD. Very Aggressive tone, even with the 'Pre" less than 11:00. Cool, but I need it to be more palatable at small/medium club level. I can hear why Dr. Z advertised it as having the SRV Mocambo sound. Jeez this thing is an animal. Couldn't quite settle it down at manageable volume. It was not original tubes. Loaded with what looked like a combination of JJ power tubes and a mix of JJ, GrooveTube and NOS preamp tubes. did some experimental tube swapping .... Tried TAD 7025 in V1 and V3 in an attempt to quiet the noise and settle things a bit. Nope. Tried Mesa Boogie 6L6GC and rectifier tubes I had hanging around from another amp...Better ... Tung-Sol 12ax7 reissue in V1 and V3- YES!!!!! Much quieter, warmer and just really plain soulful. Classic 6L6 bold and clear, lots of guts even super clean, still reflecting the character of this amp. I like it a lot. I'm going to try some other power tubes, and see where the tone journey takes it.

Why in the heck didn't you tell me I was supposed to hate the headstock. Now I feel so stupid!!!!