bluefoxicy Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 Hey all. I noticed TurretBoards sells complete re-circuiting kits for the VJ using all film caps and foil resistors. Are these supposed to supply better tone quality (i.e. a flatter attenuation curve, less noise, etc)? Has anyone used an upgrade kit or gotten the foil/film high-quality components yourself? I'm thinking of using the complete kit for Marshallization, for the interested. In general I'm curious if anyone has any comments/suggestions on what I should expect from my mods in general, or if anyone's interested in knowing how it goes. I'm planning a complete upgrade including: [*] Valve Junior V3 head as the base - $130 [*] BitMo TRIO mod - $45 [*] Complete replacement of components using TurrettBoards Marshallization component kit - $45 [*] Hammond 125ESE - $50 Total cost for the project is $130 + $140 == $270. Tubes I'm using are JJ 12AX7 Gold Pin matched/balanced and JJ EL84. I am planning a SECOND amp as well, in the future, using a TurretBoards board with an octal power tube socket for use with a JJ EL34; but that is far off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cGil Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 I've done about a dozen turretboard-ified VJrs. Got 4 of 'em, myself. Never bought the loaded board, though, but the quality of the components is good and that does make a difference. At least it does for my ears. YMMV. As long as you're getting a 125ESE, you may as well get the octal board to make good use of that OT. A Marshallized VJr with an EL34 is killer! Coupling caps (C1 and C2) block the DC from the rail and pass the primary guitar signal to the next stage, so they're very important to your tone. The stock Xicon caps are cheep junk and rather muddy as coupling caps go. Orange Drop 716's are the kings of the Fendery clean caps. For the smooth top end of Marshallized mods, I guess Illinois Caps would be considered the most hifi and modern sounding mustard style caps, but Mallory 150's are generally considered the standard modern mustard cap. Sozo's are the definitely the kings of the vintage mustard caps in my book. Mustard caps need about 100 hours of power to burn in, and Sozo caps sound particularly obscene until then, but when they do burn in, they sound obscenely GOOD! I won't use anything less in my Marshallized amps. Gil... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluefoxicy Posted March 21, 2008 Author Share Posted March 21, 2008 Hey Gil do you know where I can get my hands on some foil resistors and mylar film caps in 560pF range? My local electronics store doesn't carry OR order such things! Also you haven't got the loaded board, so do you solder onto the original VJR board or use an empty board from them? I heard their component layout itself reduces noise; but the layout on V3 of the VJ is beautiful. I could always desolder the EL84 socket and solder in an octal socket... nobody has instructions though. Wiring diagram :- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cGil Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 Foil resistors I can't say I'm familiar with. Carbon Film and Metal Film resistors are common and available from most distributors. I've been known to shop at WattTubeAudio, TubesAndMore, ACKElectronics, Mouser, etc., etc. Here's everything you ever wanted to know about resistors... and then some. http://aikenamps.com/ResistorNoise.htm And everything you ever wanted to know about VJr octal mods are in the FAQ's and threads on SEwatt.com. I don't care so much for printed circuit cards because turretboards are SO much more rugged and far easier to work on. Lots of folks claim a properly done pcb will sound no different from a turretboard using equivalent parts. I personally believe turretboards allow for shorter signal paths, and THAT can and does reduce signal loss, thereby allowing the amp to sound better than the same parts on a pcb. Of course, opinions vary, and I've taken the precaution of adding sandbags to my reinforced concrete bunker. So fire away. :- Gil... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluefoxicy Posted March 21, 2008 Author Share Posted March 21, 2008 Yeah, I thought that they used foil resistors in audio, my bad. Carbon film, as what turretboards ships too. The reason I wanted to know was 'cause of a guitar mod I'm trying to make more subtle and more accurate... I've decided to get a board from them and put my V3 board into my V1 combo amp. :s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
layboomo Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 Foil resistors I can't say I'm familiar with. Carbon Film and Metal Film resistors are common and available from most distributors. I've been known to shop at WattTubeAudio' date=' TubesAndMore, ACKElectronics, Mouser, etc., etc. Here's everything you ever wanted to know about resistors... and then some. http://aikenamps.com/ResistorNoise.htm And everything you ever wanted to know about VJr octal mods are in the FAQ's and threads on SEwatt.com. I don't care so much for printed circuit cards because turretboards are SO much more rugged and far easier to work on. Lots of folks claim a properly done pcb will sound no different from a turretboard using equivalent parts. I personally believe turretboards allow for shorter signal paths, and THAT can and does reduce signal loss, thereby allowing the amp to sound better than the same parts on a pcb. Of course, opinions vary, and I've taken the precaution of adding sandbags to my reinforced concrete bunker. So fire away. Gil... [/quote'] I tend to agree with Gil...(I do that alot)! The turretboards or eyelet boards are much better for repeat modders and besides they just plain look alot cooler too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluefoxicy Posted March 21, 2008 Author Share Posted March 21, 2008 NICE! I'll probably go for a nice blue one. Though I'm having naughty thoughts now (a friend of mine just showed me his CD player.. uses a 12AX7 and EL34 on each channel), and might get the empty hull of an old car stereo system amp and two VJ boards... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluefoxicy Posted March 21, 2008 Author Share Posted March 21, 2008 You guys like eyelets or double turrets better? :/ Also do these come with assembly instructions or do I need to use the diagram? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWANG Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 turretboards.com look for the little vj stuff page listed on the left side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluefoxicy Posted March 22, 2008 Author Share Posted March 22, 2008 yeah that's where I'm looking Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cGil Posted March 22, 2008 Share Posted March 22, 2008 Turrets just plain look cool. I think they're easier to work with, but too much wiggling will enlarge the hole in the board enough for the turret to fall out. So they're really for showcase build-to-order kinds of amps, IMHO. Eyelets are tougher and last far longer under constant experimentation and modification. Gil... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
layboomo Posted March 22, 2008 Share Posted March 22, 2008 Turrets just plain look cool. I think they're easier to work with' date=' but too much wiggling will enlarge the hole in the board enough for the turret to fall out. So they're really for showcase build-to-order kinds of amps, IMHO. Eyelets are tougher and last far longer under constant experimentation and modification. Gil...[/quote'] Yup...the only thing I would add is that turrets are really nice for holding things in place before you solder. But if you change your mind they are alot harder to remove parts from....so for that "yeah I know exactly what I want to do"...one pass type build turrets are it...for everything else eyelets have the edge. Hope that helps? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWANG Posted March 22, 2008 Share Posted March 22, 2008 sure helps me.. I was gonna go turrets and we all know once is never enough at my bench. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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