| Visit Our Catalog at SteelGuitarShopper.com |

Post new topic Nashville 400 Mod
Reply to topic
Author Topic:  Nashville 400 Mod
Bob Moss

 

From:
Redford, Michigan
Post  Posted 10 Dec 2010 11:08 am    
Reply with quote

Just modded a Nasville 400 Using tandelam Caps and OPA2134AP chips and I must say the tone is very nice just love the mellow bottom end and volume is flat right across the spectrum and highs to die for.
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Dick Sexton


From:
Greenville, Ohio
Post  Posted 10 Dec 2010 11:41 am     400 Mod?
Reply with quote

Bob, how many 2134s does the 400 take and did you try the chips first or the caps first. Or did you do both at the same time?

Curious...
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website
Bob Moss

 

From:
Redford, Michigan
Post  Posted 10 Dec 2010 5:32 pm    
Reply with quote

5 chips or 6 if you include the reverb chip will do it. I did the caps first and tried it while I was waiting for the chips to be delivered.The Caps really open up the bandwidth and quiet down all the floor noise, can't tell when it's on or off now.
The chips made a big change in the tone,Mellow lows like the 112 and nice sharp highs.
Well worth the time and trouble.
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Ken Fox


From:
Nashville GA USA
Post  Posted 11 Dec 2010 4:57 am    
Reply with quote

The tantalum caps also exhibit even order harmonic distortion as well (like a tube). The Burr Brown chips use the JFET transistor technology that again acts like a tube, as opposed to the bi-polar transistors that are used in the stock 4558 chips.

These are two critical parts of the "Intense mod" we came up with several years ago. We also do the reverb mod as well.

With the increased bandwidth of the Burr Brown chips you can occasionally get issues with the reverb circuit going into oscillation at a very high frequency. This has happened on a few of the nearly 300 amps we have modded. Could not really find a cure, I think it had something to do with the reverb tanks themselves. On those few we kept the stock chip for the reverb circuit.

Be careful when replacing the audio coupling caps so that polarity is observed.
View user's profile Send private message
Earnest Bovine


From:
Los Angeles CA USA
Post  Posted 11 Dec 2010 9:12 am    
Reply with quote

Ken Fox wrote:
The tantalum caps also exhibit even order harmonic distortion as well (like a tube).

How can two capacitors (of same capacitance) be different, unless one of them is not a capacitor?
View user's profile Send private message
Ken Fox


From:
Nashville GA USA
Post  Posted 11 Dec 2010 9:31 am    
Reply with quote

Because the frequency response and other things differ from one type of cap construction to another. There is a world of difference between Orange drop, Mallory 150, Astron and other caps. Might be the same capacitance but they do sound different. Just like two different brads of tubes or opamps can sound different.

This is from an article I read on the net (concerning the famous Neve preampsm that used tantalum caps)

"Yes, you can argue that different capacitor materials have a sound. Dave Hill of Crane Song once told me a story about replacing the tantalum caps in an old Neve module. Apparently, the non-tantalum replacements changed the sound of the module. Dave's research determined that tantalum caps contributed more even-order harmonic distortion, not as clean—but pleasing."
View user's profile Send private message

All times are GMT - 8 Hours
Jump to:  
Please review our Forum Rules and Policies
Our Online Catalog
Strings, CDs, instruction, and steel guitar accessories
www.SteelGuitarShopper.com

The Steel Guitar Forum
148 S. Cloverdale Blvd.
Cloverdale, CA 95425 USA

Click Here to Send a Donation

Email SteelGuitarForum@gmail.com for technical support.


BIAB Styles
Ray Price Shuffles for Band-in-a-Box
by Jim Baron