My Rockstah Mod 5 2204 guts...

[vanhalen5150]

I never saw him use the PEC pots either. You never know though.

Mark's build

http://www.mediafire.com/view/?oy9da913z6d2iiq" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.mediafire.com/view/?opu03b9f3zi9a09" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.mediafire.com/view/?dhde99kzafh7th7" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

If thats Marks, then there ya go. funny thing about that one is they are all PEC pots.

Like I said. You never know.

[AndyK]

Could it be that Mark changed his parts and methods as he went along?? I wish he signed the damned things somewhere.

Hmmm, thanks Eric - did you get rid of your Mod 5 amp? I KNOW Mark did yours.

[stef]

So confusing - some say yes, some say maybe, some say not Mark.

I think I paid $1400 for the amp, give or take. It may pay to send it to Friedman or Jerry, to get it modded into something else?

If it sounds good, leave it. Or mod it yourself.

It's kinda bright,

What could/should be done to have it sound like a GOOD Mod 5?

I agree, "stock" Mod5 sounded too bright with my azusa strat, even for VH...
Try 10nf or 22nf on V1a plate coupler instead of 2n2 (xicon). Try the Mallory 150. The stock 2204 value is 22nf.
47k/8 NFB or 33K or even 27K (especially if you use the PPIMV on lower settings - below 3 or 4 on the dial).
47nf or 100nf PI ouptut caps but it could be too much when combined with the 22nf plate coupling cap.

[stef]

I never saw him use the PEC pots either. You never know though.

Mark's build

http://www.mediafire.com/view/?oy9da913z6d2iiq" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.mediafire.com/view/?opu03b9f3zi9a09" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.mediafire.com/view/?dhde99kzafh7th7" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

If thats Marks, then there ya go. funny thing about that one is they are all PEC pots.

Like I said. You never know.

It's from the VH MODS thread
http://forum.metroamp.com/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=35190" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[vanhalen5150]

What speakers? What pickups? Look at some basics before you start desoldering anything. There are a lot of simple mods to change the sound.

[vanhalen5150]

Mark's build

http://www.mediafire.com/view/?oy9da913z6d2iiq" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.mediafire.com/view/?opu03b9f3zi9a09" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.mediafire.com/view/?dhde99kzafh7th7" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

If thats Marks, then there ya go. funny thing about that one is they are all PEC pots.

Like I said. You never know.[/quote]

It's from the VH MODS thread
http://forum.metroamp.com/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=35190" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;[/quote]

Ah yes. Was that a amp done by Mark? Or is it a MOD5ish?

[vanhalen5150]

It very well could be that Mark did use the better quality PEC pots later on.

[AndyK]

It's crazy, I went from having a Rockstah Mod 5, to not, and back to having one, in a 12 hour period! I would hate to re-mod Mark's work, especially if I had to trust a tech to change stuff without messing up the original mod/value.

Speakers are 90's Greenback reissues with 6402 cones. Guitars vary from Charvel w/ Duncan Custom to Jackson 80's Soloist with Custom 5, to PRS McCarty with Duncan Custom.

[vanhalen5150]

Well, nobody here said you didn't have one. We are just trying to help you determine if it is.

[AndyK]

Well, nobody here said you didn't have one. We are just trying to help you determine if it is.

True, and I appreciate the detective work - that's why I posed the quesiton here

When I talked to Mark when he was modding my 1959 (In June of 2011), he mentioned not wanting to work on the later 2204/2203 heads due to the pots being attached to the boards. He said he did one, and it was a PITA. Wonder if mine is that one?

[AndyK]

What could/should be done to have it sound like a GOOD Mod 5?

That's a pretty broad question.

Whats the filtering? Is there a bright cap? What are the tubes?

We don't know what it sounds like so its pretty hard to tell where to start.

You can check out my lame clip on youtube, under agk972 to get an idea of how it sounds.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNmSl9EAvws" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
[youtube]tNmSl9EAvws[/youtube]

[stef]

Mark's amp build (mod5 specs) pics. Two amps actually. One has a alpha ppimv (PEC for everything else), the other one all PECs

[Tone Slinger]

Whether or not an amp was Marks work or not is gonna be a problem verifying ,now that he's gone. Even with detective work,it can get very hard to determine. For ex. the 1959 reissue that Mark originally modded for AndyK has since been sold. He did several reissue 1959's, wheres the PROOF of WHICH one is 'AndyK's' , or that Mark even did it ?
I think your clips with this amp sound authentic to Marks mod5 clips. That is no surprise though, cause the mod5 spec has been known for awhile now and Marks own work has been posted,though sometimes privately, for some time. There are no secrets or tricks, just 'common sense' variences to the same spec, depending on one ampto the next, etc.When I had my amp at 'stock' Mod5 values, it was TOTALLY the same sound as all of his soundclicks or the other 'Rockstah Mod5 clips' on youtube.
There is ONE main thing that makes me think Mark himself modded this 2204 and that is the ohmite resistor in the bias section. I've only seen those resistors in Marks work. He must have had a big supply of them.

[AndyK]

Whether or not an amp was Marks work or not is gonna be a problem verifying ,now that he's gone. Even with detective work,it can get very hard to determine. For ex. the 1959 reissue that Mark originally modded for AndyK has since been sold. He did several reissue 1959's, wheres the PROOF of WHICH one is 'AndyK's' , or that Mark even did it ?
I think your clips with this amp sound authentic to Marks mod5 clips. That is no surprise though, cause the mod5 spec has been known for awhile now and Marks own work has been posted,though sometimes privately, for some time. There are no secrets or tricks, just 'common sense' variences to the same spec, depending on one ampto the next, etc.When I had my amp at 'stock' Mod5 values, it was TOTALLY the same sound as all of his soundclicks or the other 'Rockstah Mod5 clips' on youtube.
There is ONE main thing that makes me think Mark himself modded this 2204 and that is the ohmite resistor in the bias section. I've only seen those resistors in Marks work. He must have had a big supply of them.

Good points, and since Mark never signed his work, it's really hard to prove who did what to an amp. Even with my soundclick sample Mark sent me when he returned my amp, who's to say I didn't mod another one (same model)? I did have Mark put the PPIMV in one of the front input jacks (he normally did them in the back), and I have emails from Mark saying "your volume knob is in the front...". So, if anyone sees an early 1959 reissue with Mod 5 and the master in one of the input jacks, odds are that is my amp and a real Rockstah creation.

I like your last point - that's what I was trying to find - something that tells you Mark did my amp, and this seems like proof (or someone went out of the way to fake it)!

[vanhalen5150]

That's the problem with forums as well. When threads like this pop up and everyone starts putting in their 2 cents worth, it gives the leechers the exact ammo to bump a $700 amp up to $1500 with $15 worth of parts and a name attached to it. The last amp with a "Jose Mod" on it went for a ridiculous price on ebay last year. Who knows if it was legit. Even if it was, why is it worth more?

Most likely this is one Mark did. Lot of things add up.