AC/DC Angus Young, 4-holer to 2-holer with 2 filled-in for a Master volume mod?

[Maxbrothman]

Brain mash coming up but interesting.

The video starts around the point the tech talks about the amps. I believe this amp is a Marshall Super Lead Model 1959?

The tech says that the amp was modded to add a Master volume.



Here is the 4-holer I am talking about.





So it seems that they modded volume 2 so that it is now a Master volume. The tech says they did it to add more gain.

So it seems Angus Young is aiming for something that works more like a JCM with a Master volume. I doubt 8 is for gain but PT distortion. He is using the high-sensitivity input and volume 1 as a pre-amp.

Those dialings are something else.

I suppose that since this is a mod he did after all their main albums, that he was doing this another way. Jumping maybe? Also why not a JCM800 instead? Or maybe he did that?

Anyway, interesting. Maybe others can shed more light on this one.

 

[What?]

No mention of cascading the preamp in those 1987's (like a 2204), so it sounds like it's just 1987's with a master volume added. I can tell you that at roughly those settings, my 1987 clone with a PPIMV sounds really good. Just about everything I read on the net says to crank Marshall mids up, etc., but I have found the opposite to sound better to my ears.

 

[God of Thunder]

If I recall right - Trace says in the video they're all 100w heads.

No mention of cascading the preamp in those 1987's (like a 2204), so it sounds like it's just 1987's with a master volume added. I can tell you that at roughly those settings, my 1987 clone with a PPIMV sounds really good. Just about everything I read on the net says to crank Marshall mids up, etc., but I have found the opposite to sound better to my ears.

 

[What?]

Oops. He said 1987 (year) reissues, not 1987 circuits. All 100 watt superleads, so 1959's with master volumes added. And apparently each of those burns down a set of JJ's every 3-4 shows.

 

[V-man]

Not very shocked since the Schaffer wireless “preamp” was in use for years, and that Hells Bells was a 2203. Angus is understandably partial to 4-holers but has an appetite for more gain at times. Were the Legendary Tones V2 (and beyond) hot mods surfaced for the Marshall market 10-15 years ago, it wouldn’t have surprised me if he had a couple in some of his various 4-holers as well.

 

[Maxbrothman]

I am going to guess that the reason for the 9 heads at gigs is that they cover a lot of ground throughout the decades, and since he is primarily direct to amp (although with the Schaffer pre-amp), he has nine tones he uses. I doubt he is switching to a clean amp much.

This may explain why the tech said they cycle some Super Bass heads with that lot in and out. I guess that has to do with set list changes to songs.

So those are my thoughts as to what is going on. Angus Young's tone is actually a number of tones between the Plexi and JCM done by select heads.

 

[79 2203]

No mention of cascading the preamp in those 1987's (like a 2204), so it sounds like it's just 1987's with a master volume added. I can tell you that at roughly those settings, my 1987 clone with a PPIMV sounds really good. Just about everything I read on the net says to crank Marshall mids up, etc., but I have found the opposite to sound better to my ears.

On my stock 70 Super Bass and 79 2203 I turn the mids up full, but on my stock 71 1987 I have the Mid on 3. Not sure why that is but I’ve always found 50 watt classic Marshalls to be much more midrangey than 100 watters. On the two stock 4104’s I had a while back the Mids never went over 2 otherwise they sounded too boxy and nasally.

In any case, the amps in the video are 100 watters

 

[79 2203]

I am going to guess that the reason for the 9 heads at gigs is that they cover a lot of ground throughout the decades, and since he is primarily direct to amp (although with the Schaffer pre-amp), he has nine tones he uses. I doubt he is switching to a clean amp much.

This may explain why the tech said they cycle some Super Bass heads with that lot in and out. I guess that has to do with set list changes to songs.

So those are my thoughts as to what is going on. Angus Young's tone is actually a number of tones between the Plexi and JCM done by select heads.

Never heard of ACDC using multiple amps with different settings for different songs. It certainly doesn’t sound like he changes tone’s significantly on a typical gig.

AFAIK they only used 2203’s consistently in the period around Powerage, If You Want Blood(all 2203’s apparently) Highway To Hell period, but always favoured NMV heads.

I always assumed Angus added MV’s to his rig, and biased really hot, because they were either playing at lower volumes than previously, or that simply, as Angus aged, he needs a more forgiving, sustaining rig.

 

[79 2203]

In any case, a stock 4 holer turned up for ACDC crunch is not that much different in tone/feel to a stock 2 holer turned up to the same crunch. It’s not something you’d hear in a recording, or in the audience, and I doubt you’d hear it much on a massively loud stage. I mean listen to Rock Goes To College or If You Want Blood and most people would have no idea they were MV heads. Sounds like ACDC.
Youll only hear it in the room in isolation and then you’ll hear/feel the MV amp is a little less present, a tiny bit more modern in how the distortion holds together more, and a smidge less responsive.

 

[Purgasound]

A cranked 2203 or 2204 will get those AC/DC tones. Some of that sound is based around phase inverter distortion.
Most people don't realize the master volume amps have the same first gain stage as the bright channel on a four-holer. The main difference is that stage cascades into a cold biased stage we like to call the "cold-clipper". Not only does it cause asymmetric clipping it adds some body and weight to the notes. They sound good loud but don't have to be dimed super loud like the NMV amps to get there.

I'm a fan of both amps of course but the master volume amps are more practical. I have a bunch of NMV's but the MV amps are my go-to.

That's super interesting about the Angus rig. I would love to see the inside. Thanks for sharing.
I've added a pre-phase master volume to a 1959 circuit and it doesn't sound great at lower volumes. However it does give you more control of the way the phase inverter distorts. You can take full advantage of maxing out the preamp and roll the master back to keep the PI from getting too mushy.

 

[Techdeth]

I am going to guess that the reason for the 9 heads at gigs is that they cover a lot of ground throughout the decades, and since he is primarily direct to amp (although with the Schaffer pre-amp), he has nine tones he uses. I doubt he is switching to a clean amp much.

This may explain why the tech said they cycle some Super Bass heads with that lot in and out. I guess that has to do with set list changes to songs.

So those are my thoughts as to what is going on. Angus Young's tone is actually a number of tones between the Plexi and JCM done by select heads.

JMP 2293s were used strictly on let there be rock and Powerage . To me that’s when they were best . If you watch the flick of the switch rehearsals on YouTube Malcom is using a nice jcm800 of all things . A very weird sight

 

[faerdi]

According to Fil (SoloDallas) Angus recorded many of their early albums with JTM50s (not 45s!), including the Highway to Hell Album. Back in Black was (again, according to Fil) recorded with 1959s and G12-65 speakers.
The Schaffer Wireless System was used on many tracks. I guess the combination of the Schaffer Vega and the JTM50/1959 is crucial to his sound.

 

[faerdi]

Angus always used his wireless unit when playing live and missed something in his sound when he was recording with cables. So he startet using the Schaffer system on the records, which boosts the signal.

Maybe he startet modding his amps after he stopped using the Schaffer wireless unit.

 

[Matthews Guitars]

In my experience, a 1959 sounds most like AC/DC when treble, mid, and bass are all set to 3 or thereabouts. Trust the settings. It works for that sound. Going to more "typical" settings just takes you farther away from the Angus Young classic sound.

 

[Maxbrothman]

I wonder if the reason for sticking to the Plexi, for the most part, is because of a Marshall endorsement deal.

 

[Matthews Guitars]

Angus has always been about consistency of his range of tones. Marshalls have helped define his tone for 50 years, why would he use anything else?

 

[Creach]

Mesa Boogie Studio Preamp

Mesa is one of those brands that we look up to… but sometimes we don’t really know why, it’s high end… but it’s mainly used by shredders, so…. I don’t know I just never really con…

stringedguitars.com

He did use Mesa during some times...

 

[Maxbrothman]

Mesa Boogie Studio Preamp

Mesa is one of those brands that we look up to… but sometimes we don’t really know why, it’s high end… but it’s mainly used by shredders, so…. I don’t know I just never really con…

stringedguitars.com

He did use Mesa during some times...

This good. Loads of speculation but stil interesting.

Angus Young's Amplifiers | Equipboard

Angus Young's gear and equipment including the 1968 Gibson SG and Gibson SG Standard. Get the gear to sound like Angus Young and get their tone.

equipboard.com

Angus on Oranges

 

[What?]

Besides setting eq controls on 3, another I have noticed on my 1987 clone with it's 3-way bright cap toggle is that the 1000pF position makes the amp respond very different, and I would say more AC/DC. Yes, it's super bright, but rolling down the guitar tone knob takes care of that, and the amp is still responding in a different way than a lower cap value would or no cap at all.

 

[Creach]

This good. Loads of speculation but stil interesting.

Angus Young's Amplifiers | Equipboard

Angus Young's gear and equipment including the 1968 Gibson SG and Gibson SG Standard. Get the gear to sound like Angus Young and get their tone.

equipboard.com

Angus on Oranges

I think that there is an other video with Orange amps (on a later year).

I do remember read somewhere that on Orange amps Angus is using the neck pick up, I think on the video you posted you can see it as the toggle switch is white. But i'm looking at it on my phone so need to take a better look at it.