eadgber Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 I'm a big time newbie getting ready to order for 1st upgrades on a version2 VJ head. I need to get the Output Transformer ( Hammond 125ESE?) & Better Tubes (?). I would like to go ahead and get some of the other things I'm bound to end up needing like resistors,caps & anything else you can advice to put on my order. It will probably be awhile before I need anything but the OT & tubes. I just want have some of the basic stuff onhand ,make it easier & maybe save a buck on shipping. After I read up alot more I'm sure I'll be wanting to try some modding. I'm just looking for recommendations on where's the best place & good deals all on the same site. THANKS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eracer_Team Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 Shipping charges really add up, so anything you can walk/bus/drive to is the best. if you want the mojo type caps/resistors then places like http://www.turretboards.com would have stuff, not many buy Ken's OT's though. Other parts places are the amp builders and kits suppliers like: http://www.allenamps.com/parts.php Edcor is an alternate for the OT http://www.edcorusa.com/home.html but with edcor you have to state p/n 15XSE-MS-5K , Phyllis is easy to work with and they take paypal. Many here use http://www.mouser.com/home.aspx, I don't to; they dont' have pictures and the parts description is fair at best and you could order the wrong parts (re: extra shipping costs) http://thetubestore.com (they are in Canada, watch for Duty charges), http://www.eurotubes.com/index.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tunghaichuan Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 Other parts places are the amp builders and kits suppliers like: http://www.allenamps.com/parts.php A couple of the guys on Sewatt swear by the Allen Amps Heyboer upgrade OTs. They are abou the same cost as the Hammond. I've never tried one' date=' so I can't vouch for them. Edcor is an alternate for the OT http://www.edcorusa.com/home.html but with edcor you have to state p/n 15XSE-MS-5K , Phyllis is easy to work with and they take paypal. While the price is attractive on the Edcor OT, those exposed solder tab connections give me the willies. Exposed B+ outside the chassis is not a good idea, especially for beginners. Anyone using one of those should make sure the connections are adequately heat-shrinked to avoid shocks. I wish Edcor would put all their available designs on their web site. The trannies listed are only a few of the ones they have available. Phyllis is great, she got back to me very soon when I was looking for an OT with slightly different specs than the ones listed. It turns out that if they already have the transformer designed, it is usually the same price as similar ones in the line. tung Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWANG Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 I'm a big time newbie getting ready to order for 1st upgrades on a version2 VJ head. I need to get the Output Transformer ( Hammond 125ESE?) & Better Tubes (?). I would like to go ahead and get some of the other things I'm bound to end up needing like resistors' date='caps & anything else you can advice to put on my order. It will probably be awhile before I need anything but the OT & tubes. I just want have some of the basic stuff onhand ,make it easier & maybe save a buck on shipping. After I read up alot more I'm sure I'll be wanting to try some modding. I'm just looking for recommendations on where's the best place & good deals all on the same site. THANKS [/quote'] If I could have had one piece of advice starting out.. it would have been this: be sure you read thoroughly enough on each mod to order different values.. for example.. even R2, commonly at 10K, may suit you better at 20K or 33K... and for .14 cents it sure makes sense to have all three instead of having to pay another 10.00 shipping and handling just because it turns out you don't like the 'commonly accepted' value. Write yourself a list of parts for any mod you think you'll be doing later.. post it in here, (or you may get enough information reading to know what 'other' values to order), and let people tell you what they've used... tried.. liked.. didn't like.. and then when you order, get two or three values for each component. If you are pretty careful, instead of paying, as I did, shipping charges several times, you'll only pay it once. I couldn't possibly sell my modded amp and recoup my shipping charges without being unfair to the buyer. (same with the hours I worked on it!) That means you gonna eat all those shipping charges and there's nothing more infuriating than having to spend that money on two dollars worth of parts. Often you'll see mods explained as.. 'if this doesn't work.. if this doesn't sound right.. if this doesn't give you the right test numbers'.. and this is where the cost shoots up. Get your orders complete.. get the parts number correct.. double check! and save yourself some money, as well as a lot of wait time. TWANG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cole Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 I've been searching and found pictures and think these mods look simple enough for an idiot like me to do. So i've decided how i want to mod my V2 combo. R1 1M R2 10K R6 100K R7 100K Standby switch I found a cool one at radio shacks website that i've seen on peoples amps on here which i will install on my V3 head also. Would any of this help a V3 or not. I'm going to put a Hammond OT (125ESE or 125DSE) in my V3 head and put it's OT in the combo. I've been searching websites and can't seem to find anywhere that sells the resistors and the OT. Is there such a place cause i don't want to pay shipping on 2$ worth of resistors. Is there any other simple 1 resistor swap out mods that will help me. One last thing=d> which do you short out for a gain boost R6 or R7. If you short it out do you just remove it or put something across it. What value would give me a slight gain boost to get a little less clean headroom. All info is appreciated very much. Thanks all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cGil Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 Has anyone noticed that the price of tubes has gone up recently? Some tubes were already approaching the price of gold, but the usual off the shelf stuff sure ain't getting any cheeper all of a sudden. Gil... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eadgber Posted February 22, 2008 Author Share Posted February 22, 2008 Thanks for the help. I just ordered the Hammond 125ESE $36 from RadioDaze or I think I did,their check out was kinda strange.I guess I'll have to look around and buy tubes somewhere else.I might get a couple different combos to try. If I could have had one piece of advice starting out.. it would have been this: be sure you read thoroughly enough on each mod to order different values.. for example.. even R2, commonly at 10K, may suit you better at 20K or 33K... and for .14 cents it sure makes sense to have all three instead of having to pay another 10.00 shipping and handling just because it turns out you don't like the 'commonly accepted' value. Write yourself a list of parts for any mod you think you'll be doing later.. Very good advice.Seems like shipping could easy be the most expensive thing with the whole deal. One last thing which do you short out for a gain boost R6 or R7. I have no idea myself but on the "V-Mods" kit I have the directions for the gain switch are to wire it to both ends of R6,so the switch in on postion just bypasses R6. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tunghaichuan Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 Has anyone noticed that the price of tubes has gone up recently? Some tubes were already approaching the price of gold' date=' but the usual off the shelf stuff sure ain't getting any cheeper all of a sudden. Gil...[/quote'] Last time I ordered JJ EL84s from Eurotubes, they were $8 each, now they are $10 each. tung Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strangedogs Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 I buy tubes from Dougs Tubes - he posts a lot on Harmony Central and they ship fast - help you choose what you need, etc. Great Guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NikOlas Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 I've always been very happy ordering from Eurotubes. They are a great place for the tube newb. Lot's of info on their site. If you let them know what kind of guitar(or harp!) you have, what kind of music you play and what kind of tone you are chasing they can help you tailor your tubes to your rig. Fast shipping too. N Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robo Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 I buy tubes from Dougs Tubes - he posts a lot on Harmony Central and they ship fast - help you choose what you need' date=' etc. Great Guys.[/quote']Ditto, I've been real happy with Doug. Gets them to you fast too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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