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Post subject: DRRI mod so it takes distortion pedals?
Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2011 9:06 am
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I listened to everybody that loves the DRRI and I bought a used one yesterday. I love the clean sounds and would love to throw my pedals in front of it, but this is the 2nd time I've owned one and it just doesn't take distortion/OD pedals good. It is real fizzy. When I A/B it with my evil twin and the pedals there is no competition, the evil twin takes them great.

I heard there is a mod that can be done to fix this. Does anyone have any info on it? It could be a perfect amp if it can take pedals better: great cleans, smaller than my evil twin, vibrato, just a great sound - until the distortion/od pedal is turned on.

BTW, I've tried my Jekyll & Hyde, Steve Vai Jemini, Boss BD-2 w/Keeley mod, Blackstar distortion... none work well.


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Post subject: Re: DRRI mod so it takes distortion pedals?
Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2011 9:25 am
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What kinda tone are you after? And what don't you like about the DRRI with your pedals? What channel are you using? You might consider the Fritz mod if you're having issues taming the Vibrato channel down some...

I'm not into a very distorted tone, but a bit of OD sounds wonderful through my DRRI. Depending on the guitar, I use either a BB Preamp or TS9. Others really like the Fulltone OCD.


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Post subject: Re: DRRI mod so it takes distortion pedals?
Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2011 9:33 am
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I play blues, classic rock and rock. The blues works fine, but any type of good distortion makes it real fizzy sounding. I know some others have had this same problem and there is a mod to fix it but when I search mods for drri there are a ton of mods, but I didn't see the distortion mod. The tremolo is fine, I don't use it much.


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Post subject: Re: DRRI mod so it takes distortion pedals?
Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2011 11:10 am
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Hi tjinca1,

Since the amp is new, I would check the bias first. If the bias is cold, as they are known to be in many new Fender amps, distortion can sound terrible. Many amps benefit greatly by simply increasing the bias if it is cold. Since there is no test point to check bias, you would need a bias probe, or check the voltage drop across, and the resistance of, the OT primary halves, to calculate the Plate current.

If the bias is good, then you might consider some different preamp or even output tubes, to tame the fizz when distorted. A 5751, or 12AT7 or other preamp tube in V1 for normal channel, or V2 for Vibrato channel, might help quite a bit. To make the overdrive more creamy/smooth, I like the GT 12AX7-C, as it did wonders for the drive channel in my HRDlx. There are even different output tubes that might help the tone of your amp. But, I really suspect a cold bias as the issue. :idea:

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Post subject: Re: DRRI mod so it takes distortion pedals?
Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2011 11:26 am
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shimmilou wrote:
Since the amp is new, I would check the bias first. If the bias is cold, as they are known to be in many new Fender amps, distortion can sound terrible. Many amps benefit greatly by simply increasing the bias if it is cold. Since there is no test point to check bias, you would need a bias probe, or check the voltage drop across, and the resistance of, the OT primary halves, to calculate the Plate current.


+1

You beat me to it, Lou.

The lion's share of new amps sound sterile and brittle due to the idle bias set too low. As well, a new speaker requires a minimum of 20 to 30 hours worth of break-in time before it really starts to shine.

HTH

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: DRRI mod so it takes distortion pedals?
Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2011 11:38 am
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Oh yeah, I often forget about the speaker break-in period, good call. I guess that by the time I am done fiddling with my new amps, the speaker has had time to mellow.

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Post subject: Re: DRRI mod so it takes distortion pedals?
Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2011 12:45 pm
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I don't know how to do any of the mods for the DRRI, but I will tell you that I've heard distortion boxes sound better through the normal channel over the vibe/verb channel.


Maybe experiment with distortion on both channels (if you haven't already) & see which one, if either, sounds best to you.

There are plenty of great pedals out there to choose from that should sound really nice through the DRRI.

Check out the Wampler Pinnalce. It's a cool distortion box (famous among boutique pedal enthusiasts for emulating the coveted "brown sound" in a box). IMO, nothing comes closer than the Pinnacle. While that tone is known as "Eddies" & his early tone definitely stands out from others of that time, it's a very usuable tone for all types of Blues & Classic Rock IMO. To me "brown sound" loosely defines "cranked Marshalls of the era" ala, (early) Eddie, Jimi Hendrix, Jimi Page. Those are the 1st Guitar Gods that come to my mind any way in terms of SWEET tone.


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Post subject: Re: DRRI mod so it takes distortion pedals?
Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2011 12:52 pm
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I should have mentioned it is a used DRRI, just new to me. All that biasing stuff is over my head. Is there just something I can turn (a bias knob? :lol: ) to see if the fizz goes away?

But I am pretty sure it is a DRRI problem with dist pedals as I've read it in the past from other DRRI owners, and I had one for a couple of weeks myself before I resold it due to the same problem, but this time I'd like to fix the problem, if possible.


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Post subject: Re: DRRI mod so it takes distortion pedals?
Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2011 12:54 pm
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JPH74 wrote:
I don't know how to do any of the mods for the DRRI, but I will tell you that I've heard distortion boxes sound better through the normal channel over the vibe/verb channel.


Maybe experiment with distortion on both channels (if you haven't already) & see which one, if either, sounds best to you.

There are plenty of great pedals out there to choose from that should sound really nice through the DRRI.

Check out the Wampler Pinnalce. It's a cool distortion box (famous among boutique pedal enthusiasts for emulating the coveted "brown sound" in a box). IMO, nothing comes closer than the Pinnacle. While that tone is known as "Eddies" & his early tone definitely stands out from others of that time, it's a very usuable tone for all types of Blues & Classic Rock IMO. To me "brown sound" loosely defines "cranked Marshalls of the era" ala, (early) Eddie, Jimi Hendrix, Jimi Page. Those are the 1st Guitar Gods that come to my mind any way in terms of SWEET tone.


That pedal sounds awesome, but I'm sure GC wouldn't have it and before I order one I'd want to see if it works with the DRRI. I'll see if they have a return policy if I order one. Thanks for the info.


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Post subject: Re: DRRI mod so it takes distortion pedals?
Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2011 1:08 pm
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tjinca1 wrote:
JPH74 wrote:
Check out the Wampler Pinnalce. It's a cool distortion box (famous among boutique pedal enthusiasts for emulating the coveted "brown sound" in a box). IMO, nothing comes closer than the Pinnacle. While that tone is known as "Eddies" & his early tone definitely stands out from others of that time, it's a very usuable tone for all types of Blues & Classic Rock IMO. To me "brown sound" loosely defines "cranked Marshalls of the era" ala, (early) Eddie, Jimi Hendrix, Jimi Page. Those are the 1st Guitar Gods that come to my mind any way in terms of SWEET tone.


That pedal sounds awesome, but I'm sure GC wouldn't have it and before I order one I'd want to see if it works with the DRRI. I'll see if they have a return policy if I order one. Thanks for the info.


You're right, I don't think that GC carries it. PGS.com carries way more boutique stuff than GC. Look into the return policy of PGS, with a little luck you can & order it, decide, & still have the option of sending it back if it's not for you.


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Post subject: Re: DRRI mod so it takes distortion pedals?
Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2011 1:49 pm
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I have a couple of pedals "ZVEX Distortron" , "Danelectro Cool Cat Drive" and "Dunlop Wah" and a all-in-one pedal "Digitech RP250" and they all sound fine thru my DRRI. No mods.

You're not talking about the inherent tube "hiss" are you? You hear that without anything plugged in.

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Post subject: Re: DRRI mod so it takes distortion pedals?
Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2011 2:20 pm
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tjinca1 wrote:
... All that biasing stuff is over my head. Is there just something I can turn (a bias knob? :lol: ) to see if the fizz goes away? ...


If bias check is too much for you, the ONLY knobs that you should adjust are the ones on the front panel. If you try to adjust the bias without a meter, you can do some damage, best to get a pro or learn how to do it yourself. Checking the bias isn't extremely difficult if you can use a simple volt meter, and check voltages up to around 400 VDC for this amp.

If it is a used amp, no telling what was done by the previous owner (if anything), and hard to say what kind of tubes are installed now. Your amp may already have some kind of mods, or it could be bone stock and just need a simple bias adjust. Maybe even a tube on the edge of failing, who knows without checking.

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Post subject: Re: DRRI mod so it takes distortion pedals?
Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2011 2:42 pm
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shimmilou wrote:
tjinca1 wrote:
... All that biasing stuff is over my head. Is there just something I can turn (a bias knob? :lol: ) to see if the fizz goes away? ...


If bias check is too much for you, the ONLY knobs that you should adjust are the ones on the front panel. If you try to adjust the bias without a meter, you can do some damage, best to get a pro or learn how to do it yourself. Checking the bias isn't extremely difficult if you can use a simple volt meter, and check voltages up to around 400 VDC for this amp.

If it is a used amp, no telling what was done by the previous owner (if anything), and hard to say what kind of tubes are installed now. Your amp may already have some kind of mods, or it could be bone stock and just need a simple bias adjust. Maybe even a tube on the edge of failing, who knows without checking.


I know it is something with just DRRIs and some pedals. I've seen other posts, even on other websites, of people with the same problem. Frustrating. I'll take it to an amp tech.


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Post subject: Re: DRRI mod so it takes distortion pedals?
Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2011 3:25 pm
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Sorry that you're having problems. :( Maybe it is something simple, like a tube and/or bias and hopefully the tech will be a good guy and treat you right.

I would suspect either the same thing as your amp, or operator error as far as the other posts and websites go. No one posted a possible "solution" on the other sites? The DRRI should be able to handle just about anything, pedals, guitars, whatever. I have even heard tales that possibly even accordions were used with these amps. Not sure if that is true, but guys like Weird Al had to use some kind of amp for their Rock and Roll accordion stuff. :lol:

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Post subject: Re: DRRI mod so it takes distortion pedals?
Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2011 3:43 pm
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Finally found the thread I started months ago when I got my first DRRI. Here's what was said then:
https://www.fender.com/community/forums ... 57&start=0

Here's another link of someone having the same problem: http://www.hugeracksinc.com/forum/viewt ... 80&start=0


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