Laney gh50l mods?

Reverend

I have a gh50l that I sometimes use but inprefer my jmp 2203.
However,  I used on at a rehearsal room last week that sounded killer. Less hiss and more of that 2203 oomph. 
Not the gain as i was using it unboosted,  but something had been done. The fella at the studio knew it had been modded but had no idea what exactly.
Anyone know of gh50l mods that are done? And ideas? 

Cheers

Reverend

Anyone?

bingefeller

You could email a Swedish guy called Tommy Folkesson for Laney GH50L mods.

http://tommy-folkesson.nu/modifieringar/enklare-modifieringar/#Laney_GH_50_och_100

There was a guy on the HRI forum who had a Laney PA 100 amp modded by him and it nailed the Doug Aldrich tone.  It really did sound incredible. 

TTBZ

Not sure but if you find out then please post back. I like my gh50l but it does kinda lack that punch of a good marshall, it'd be perfect if it can be modded for that!

MattBanshee

Might be a stupid question, but what output valves were in it? I believe they have a switch that allows a swap between 6L6(?) and EL34(?).

lysander

THREAD REVIVE 
Recently acquired a GH50R and I'm a bit disappointed with it - too much bass, a bit flabby and lacking definition overall.
I'd also be interested in possible mods, and / or a schematic if someone has one.

TTBZ

I ended up selling mine to get a Marshall instead you might want to try boosting yours with a drive or "always-on boost" type pedal first though, it helps tighten and make it feel more responsive/less stiff. I wish I'd kept mine and just did that as it's a nice amp.. at the time i was very much "I shouldn't need to use pedals" but now I use a boost for thay extra definition and saturation most of the time anyway haha. I hadn't discovered Klon style pedals but they're great for that TS style tightening & boost without adding such a compressed/nasal tone.

lysander

Thanks, yes I'm boosting mine but it's still missing that bite that I was expecting for that type of amp.
The IronHeart 60 sounds much better IMO, without or without boost.

Modulus_Amps

@lysander said:

THREAD REVIVE 
Recently acquired a GH50R and I'm a bit disappointed with it - too much bass, a bit flabby and lacking definition overall.
I'd also be interested in possible mods, and / or a schematic if someone has one.

Only schematic I can find is this one
http://mojelampy.wbl.sk/00002_upravena_schema_laney_gh50l.jpg

Not sure if this is correct or if the red parts are mods, If this is correct it looks like it has some SLO DNA, quite a lot of top end roll off on v2a plate bypass cap, not treble peaking like you would find in a Marshall

Youtube vidoes of the amp sound like it has a carpet over the cabinet, sorry

ICBM

Modulus_Amps said:

Only schematic I can find is this one

http://mojelampy.wbl.sk/00002_upravena_schema_laney_gh50l.jpg

Not sure if this is correct or if the red parts are mods, If this is correct it looks like it has some SLO DNA, quite a lot of top end roll off on v2a plate bypass cap, not treble peaking like you would find in a Marshall

I suspect that's a schematic for a 'SLO mod' on one, with the red parts being the changes.

I've only got one for the GH100L, but I think the preamp may be the same. If so, it's this -

Modulus_Amps

Thanks ICBM, I found the manuals, thats spot on, Better copy's can be seen here in better quality

https://www.mediafire.com/file/jrkqx3lj43iohz7/laney_gh50l_sch.pdf/file

https://www.mediafire.com/file/cbrsyc6eop5tm1w/laney_gh100l_sch.pdf/file

For starters I would change c9 for some top end bite and a gain reduction, start with 500pf

The drive and the gain control both roll off high end when set low, Bypassing or both of those those with a cap from 90pf to 1n would help open up the top end/high mids. 

If I was after more bite and agressiveness I would bypass the gain control with a 1n and change c9 to 500pf for JCM800 territory in the lower gain setting, you could then also change r16 to 470k and bypass that with 500pf cap and you would be right in JCM800 territory. The problem with boosting the high end though is that the amp may start to oscillate.

Try one mod at a time, suck and see etc

TTBZ

In my experience, if there's one thing a Laney doesn't need any more of it's top end bite and sizzle haha. My main issue with it was it was so stiff feeling to play through, and it's always a bit gritty/fuzzy sounding. I always wanted more of the upper middy Marshall thing out of mine and less fizzy high end. Might have been solvable with a parametric EQ to hone in on the freqs I wanted to cut.

@lysander the GH50R is a bit different to the 50L - have you tried lowering the power amp volume (or post gain, whatever it's called)? 

lysander

Thanks for the info and comments! I They seem to be a bit different to the GH50L indeed.
I like the amp format and features and was hoping there were some known mods and that could be a fun project, but it doesn't look like there is that much knowledge on it on the net - I couldn't find a schematic either, and tracing it / comparing to GH50L schematic is probably more than I can chew.
I think I might just return it.

Edit @TTBZ yeah it's borderline unusable for me with power amp volume more than 12 o clock, too messy.
Mine is not really fizzy, more fuzzy, I would echo the idea of 'soldano with a blanket over it'