snubber's

[JeffB]

This pic shows v1 v2 and v3 of my Rivera Fender Concert. Ive heard removing the snubbers from V1, v2 and v3 opens up the amp a little and gives it some shimmer and other things that would be desirable in a Fender amp. Im up for this and have snips ready to go.

Are the brown things with the black legs the things I want to clip?

Any reason why I should not do this? Any harm to be done to the amp should I carry on?

Thanks

[kbp810]

Snip them! (assuming you have a soldering iron and solder handy just in case you regret it later)

 

I assume of course you are referring to the small capacitors connected between pins 1 and 3

[JeffB]

Thanks.

Ok. Snipped. It 1:00am so no real volume is easily achievable with out dark eyed wrath.

But there is more shimmer and sparkle than the normal low volume sterility of this amp.

Ive had the controls set to the same settings since 1987 and had to pull back both the treble and presence a little.

Have to wait till tomorrow night to open it up.

[kbp810]

Excellent!

 

I'm not that familiar with this concert circuit; but it seems that the only purpose those served was to roll off a little extra top end - so makes sinse that snipping them would open some shimmer back up.

[JeffB]

One more question, what would removing the 47K resistor on the volume pot do to the sound of an amp?

[mars_hall]

One more question, what would removing the 47K resistor on the volume pot do to the sound of an amp?

I have seen a couple different concert schematics, neither of which have a 47K. That said, it would appear that the 47K may be the direct input to V1's grid. Removing it would be equivalent to unplugging. Others should chime in with more experience.

[kbp810]

I have seen a couple different concert schematics, neither of which have a 47K. That said, it would appear that the 47K may be the direct input to V1's grid. Removing it would be equivalent to unplugging. Others should chime in with more experience.

Tully, can you post a picture of that specific area? That might help

 

I am asusming you can lose it... but can't just snip it out. You will probably need to connect the two ends together (or just jumper accross the resistor)

[JeffB]

ok, so Ive played it at volume now.

I dont know. It clips sooner, is a bit brighter, the bass tends to woof up a bit sooner or to be more pronounced and needs to be dialed right back. Unclipped this amp was more strident and less forgiving. Also louder with no compression.

Ive had this amp for over 2 decades and Ive used it a lot. Im pretty used to hearing it in any situation.

The core tone it produces is there still, but the treble and bass controls now operate differently affecting the sound in a way that seems foreign to me. Ive never had the bass come on so strong and overwhelm the sound so much. Before the cut I could have the bass on 10 and never have a problem with it clagging the sound. Post snubbers clip anything over 3 has it overpowering and muddying up the sound.

The reverb which has been set to 2.5 for 25yrs is now too much at that setting but non existent below that.

There is noticeable compression that never existed before at a level where I would be having a quiet ish jam at someones house.

So while there maybe some shimmer and extra richness in the sound at quieter volumes, at volumes I would use it at its kind of.....messy?....Reminds me a little of the Fender Supersonic in Vibrolux mode where as before it was closer to the Bassman mode(pretty rough analogy).

This amp never has had a complex sound tbh, but had great punch and clarity. I think removing the snubbers(love that word) gave it a little more complexity but reduced the punch and clarity. For me and my history and journey with this amp, that means reduced usefulness. Yeah, sentimental approach to a sound generator and noise amplifier.

For the sound test I did today I ran it through 3 different cabs. A Mesa 212 horizontal recto with v30's, a Framus 212 with v30's and the amps combo speaker. Each cab altered the sound of any setting I dialed into the amp and each had a different eq setting for an optimal sound(for me) .Sort of a full circle moment. Speaker and cabs about the best mod I can do to any amp.

It was worth a shot anyway. I always learn something about myself and what I like when I change something in my gear.

Thanks for the help.

[mars_hall]

From what I read yesterday, many only clip a few of the snubbers. You might trying reattaching those further away from the input and note the new result.

[DetroitBlues]

And the saga of the Tone Quest continues....

[JeffB]

And the saga of the Tone Quest continues....

Nah not really. Tone is over rated. I have a sound I like when I play. It works Im happy. I must be, I try to dial it in to any piece of gear I play through.

The tone quest or the feeling that we need to wander along its path I think is only something that is incited by reading too many posts in gear and guitar forums. Because I dont stop to think about tone too much when Im actually playing.

 

I should know better. Ive modded RAT's, Ibanez TS pedals, Boss pedals, two Mesa amps and guitar wiring because some one Ive never met thinks its the most awesome thing that can possibly happen to a particular piece of gear. Ive always ended up returning it back to standard every time. (except the bias mod on the Mesa LS)

But Ive had fun (I think) poking around in the shallow end of doing stuff to amps and stomps and seeing what happens when a part is removed, moved, replaced or swapped around. Im sure I will take something else apart and put it together differently again at the suggestion of some one Ive never met.

 

 

 

The snubber furtherest away from the input seems to affect the reverb. That was explained to me by someone else. Once I reconnected it, the reverb control seemed to work a bit better.

The 2nd snubber affects both the clean and gain channel and the 1st just the clean channel.

Right now I have it so only the 1st snubber is not connected. Its 10:30pm so its too late to put it through any real test.

Rewiring the 2nd snubber gave me back a little more clarity and maybe a bit more control of the bass.

Out of all this, one thing Im sure of is that the Fender sounds best through the cheap Framus cab with the made in China Celestions.

[kbp810]

So I guess the lesson here is: sometime when you snub all the snubbers, you yourself may become the snubbed

[JeffB]

So I guess the lesson here is: sometime when you snub all the snubbers, you yourself may become the snubbed

I really like the word snubber. At this point cant see it ever being over used.

Lesson learnt here is a snubber snipped is..........Tully, put down the snips, just because you can doesnt mean you should.

 

While I was sitting here striking an open G chord contemplating V1, v2 and v3 snips alone and together, I spun casually in my worn but comfortable office chair. I came to a stop when my foot struck something. It hurt and suprised me, not much, but enough to look down at the bastard that had disrupted my peaceful "Oooommmmmmmm" like state.

Little khaki coloured box with BOSS GE-7 written in black on it.

After a little tweaking I remembered what the white permanent marker marks were on there for. Pretty much to give me the sound and feel the snubber snipping was meant to but failed to achieve satisfactory.

Now I realise why that no matter how many times I pick this little stomp box up and pack it away, it always seems to be lying back on the floor getting under my feet or untidily sitting on top of an amp or cab.