Fender Super-Sonic MODs

[Kyle Ashley]

I got my new SS up and running today, so I was finally able to play it a bit. Overall, I like most things about this amp, but one thing I'd like to change is the balance between the Vibro/Bassman channels. They aren't quite voiced just right and the Bassman is much louder in volume making footswitching between them difficult.

I'd basically like to balance out the 2 clean channels...maybe re-voice very slightly....replace OT with a Mercury Magnetics, and tweak the EQ on the "Burn" channel just a bit to make it more wide ranging. The treble is just a bit ratty, and I'm running it almost off.

Any source for MOD info on these amps? Someone posted a youtube clip of a modded SS, where the channels are balanced out and revoiced....and it sounds very nice, but they gave no further info.

[rockon1]

Dont know of any mod sources for the amp but it should be interesting to see what you come up with. I dont know why they left such a discrepancy in volume between the clean sides. I rarely used the bassman-just the Vibro.

My gripe was with the 0-100 clean volume and early break up. I put a 12AY7 in the V2 and that helped nicely.

Interesting about the burn channel. I usually run mine with the terble around 2-3 oclock and the mids around 10-11 oclock or it sounds to dark. Bob

[ruger9]

The treble is just a bit ratty, and I'm running it almost off.


You need to wait for that V30 to break in. Smooths out tremendously, especially the treble. I broke mine in using the Weber method of brushing the surround with acetone while pumping bass-heavy music through it, and in 30 minutes it made an incredible difference.

I too would like the Vibro/Bassman channels to put out the same overall volume.

[Kyle Ashley]

You need to wait for that V30 to break in. Smooths out tremendously, especially the treble. I broke mine in using the Weber method of brushing the surround with acetone while pumping bass-heavy music through it, and in 30 minutes it made an incredible difference.

I too would like the Vibro/Bassman channels to put out the same overall volume.

I'm actually running it through a Bogner cube with an EVM12L right now. I ordered an ET65 that should be here in a few days. I am probably going to use that break in method for the new speaker when it gets here.

Voodoo offers a mod package for these, but it's like $600! It's so close to being really great now, I hope that with another $200, I can really make it happening.

[Jawsjr2]

What is acetone?

[vibroverbus]

What is acetone?

A nasty but handy solvent found in stuff like nail polish and used in lots of paints & resins... It's a key thinner and clean-up solvent for things like epoxy / polyester resin and other gooey stuff. You can find it in hardware and paint stores right next to other nasties like MEK and Naptha... Keep it off your hands and try not to breathe the fumes. I'm a bit wary of this technique myself, but I understand the theory - it's to soften up the 'doping' (resin/varnish) that is applied to the speaker cone and is stiff when new but gets more flexible with time...