Ceriatone King Kong?

[FourT6and2]

I would check with Nik before doing anything crazy. I was just looking at the board layouts and the Yeti & Chupa are the only two that look similar. The other two are completely different looking. They can all be changed around though in one way or the other, however I would check with Nik to find out what to change to get what you may be after.

Like I said, if you know what you're doing, it's easy. If you have to ask Nik for advice, then go for it.

 

[Hydreigon]

I did ask nik if he could change the modern era switch setting to the molecular but he said the changes are more than that. He did say he could change the KK preamp from chupa to molecular if I wanted.

 

[FourT6and2]

I did ask nik if he could change the modern era switch setting to the molecular but he said the changes are more than that. He did say he could change the KK preamp from chupa to molecular if I wanted.

I want to make sure I understand what you're wanting to do. You currently have a normal, stock KK and you want to change the "modern" setting of the Era switch to mimic the Molecular's voicing on the "modern" setting of its Era switch?

If so, it's not hard to do this. It just depends on how far down the rabbit hole you want to go. The most basic and easy way is to simply replace the zener diodes and/or transistors used in your amp's Era switch to what the Molecular (Atomica) uses: MPSA06. That will take about 15 minutes. And all that will do is alter the clamping voltage of the Jose mod. I don't know off-hand what the KK has on the "Modern" position of its switch, though. It very well might already be MPSA06 transistors. You'll have to look in your amp to find out. But my educated guess is, the KK uses zener diodes. Most likely what the Yeti and Chupa have, which is something like 10v - 5v diodes.

If you want to go even further, which maybe Nik thought you were asking, you would want to swap the large cap feeding the Jose master volume to match the Molecular's value (0.33uF).

Next step would be to change the first two gain stages to bias them like the Molecular instead of the attempted clone of the Cameron CCV values: 0.68uF/2k7.

Then just keep working your way through the circuit to match the Molecular's layout. The Molecular's layout is available on Ceriatone's website. So it's pretty easy to just compare it to what's in your amp and make the relevant changes. But this won't JUST change the sound of the amp on the "modern" Era switch setting. It will change the entire sound/feel of the amp.

The Era switch is simply a voltage clamping circuit (Jose master volume / diode clipping). To change the sound/feel of the diode clipping, you really only have two components to work with: the large DC-blocking cap coming off the cathode follower and the diodes/transistors themselves, which set the clipping threshold. Of course you could also add/remove/alter any "softening" resistors used to help cushion the effect of the clamping, a'la Friedman. Check out the Ultimate Tone book series chapters on voltage clamping, softening, and bounding for more info.

 

[Hydreigon]

Thanks for taking the time to reply FourT6 that information is very helpful.

My amp arrived not too long ago, it took 3 days total to ship.

It sounds absolutely wicked. It took some time before I figured out where I wanted everything set but now I am absolutely loving it. I love that I can footswitch from the '60s' mode to '80s' diode clipping.

I opted to have the buffered loop with on off switch installed. When I turn the loop on I get a decent amount of white noise, even when bridged with a quality patch cable. Is this normal?

 

[ampeq]

Thanks for taking the time to reply FourT6 that information is very helpful.

My amp arrived not too long ago, it took 3 days total to ship.

It sounds absolutely wicked. It took some time before I figured out where I wanted everything set but now I am absolutely loving it. I love that I can footswitch from the '60s' mode to '80s' diode clipping.

I opted to have the buffered loop with on off switch installed. When I turn the loop on I get a decent amount of white noise, even when bridged with a quality patch cable. Is this normal?

View attachment 158606View attachment 158607

Congratulations on an awesome amp. That’s a nice look for that amp, I thought it was a Leviathan at first. What did you change in the amp? I got the buffered loop as well, and had mine wired to the Chupa tone instead of the Yeti. I personally love the ERA switch it makes life easier when looking for the right tone. The Solo Boost is a nice touch too. When does the loop make noise? Is it empty or with an effect in it? I never noticed it in mine but will check for you this weekend. It’s funny, somehow they can ship a heavy amp half way around the world and have it arrive in perfect condition in just 3 days. Remarkable. I hope you like it as much as I love mine. Let us know what you think.

 

[Hydreigon]

The amp is silent with the loop switched off. When I bridge the loop with a quality patch cable and switch it on I get quite a bit of white noise, to the point where it would be unusable for me.

The options I went with were:
-Chupa preamp
-Buffered loop
-NFB switch
-Stainless face plates and chassis
-Vintage cloth

 

[FourT6and2]

The amp is silent with the loop switched off. When I bridge the loop with a quality patch cable and switch it on I get quite a bit of white noise, to the point where it would be unusable for me.

The options I went with were:
-Chupa preamp
-Buffered loop
-NFB switch
-Stainless face plates and chassis
-Vintage cloth

Try this:

1. If tube-buffered loop, try replacing the tube.
2. When you have a patch cable in the loop and white noise, do the bright switches and/or gain controls affect the white noise?

 

[ampeq]

The amp is silent with the loop switched off. When I bridge the loop with a quality patch cable and switch it on I get quite a bit of white noise, to the point where it would be unusable for me.

The options I went with were:
-Chupa preamp
-Buffered loop
-NFB switch
-Stainless face plates and chassis
-Vintage cloth

I tested mine to see how much noise I could get with it empty, a fuzz pedal and a delay pedal. It all seemed to be about the same, no noise to speak of. Check to see if the tube is ok and seated good. Maybe it loosened up during shipping or got damaged. Try replacing it with one of the others or one you may have. Email Nik, he should have a good idea about what it might be. I don’t know what putting a cable between send / return does so I didn’t try that. I found no difference between clean and dirty channels either. It must be in something that got bumped in shipping I would think, they test the hell out of these things before they leave. Have you tried a delay or reverb in the loop? I would not go by how a cable sounds, try a couple good quality pedals. I’m curious to know what is causing this. Good luck.

 

[Hydreigon]

I emailed Nik and he was very helpful and concerned about the matter. He suggested placing the pedals further from the amp and dialling back the return level slightly.

I am no longer getting any noise when the loop is switched on, even when bridged with a patch cable. I think I may have dirty power as I tested another amp and was getting some noise also which has ceased.

I'm going to get a power conditioner and a higher quality pedal power supply just for good measure.