Has anybody done the Mercury "Holy Terror" mod?

[Leo_Gnardo]

I can't say that I really understand the whole gig-bag concept. Guitars and amps get protected in hard cases and broken in soft cases.

Sorta off topic, but that's what we do here. Hard cases if your gear is going to be handled by persons other than yourself & other band members. Stage crews, airlines, like that. IF you're going to handle your own gear, or others that depend on it working to collect their gig payments - band members for instance - carried in a car or small van - can get away with soft cases. Presumably there's a local feedback loop: "If the gear gets broke, I don't get paid." So hopefully, they'll take some care in packing, maybe even have some cushioning, a couple packing blankets, seat pads off an old sofa, like that.

There was a trend around here 20-25 years back, all the blues bands suddenly bought road cases. Then they started bringing in their damaged amps. I had to let 'em know, just because your amp's in a road case doesn't mean you (or your drunken friends) can throw it around like it's a bowling ball. It's all about how much care you give them, how well they survive. On tour, most places I could get in the truck & set a good example for the truck loading crew. And they were glad to have an extra hand plus someone who could direct them how to pack the gear so it would fit. In some other places I was barred from the truck and had to stand on the dock while a gang of bad-attitude packing crew tried to turn my stage gear into pulverized splinters. Philadelphia teamsters #2, I'm talkin' about you...

Now about the Orange Mercury Mods, still taking comments on that. nsubulysses, thanks for yours!

[bob p]

my big worry is that if i have a guitar or a bass in a gig bag, the drummer is going to throw his cymbal case on top of it. drummers do things like that.

[Steve A.]

I don't find triode/pentode switching to be a very useful mod, but then I've never liked the tone of power pentodes switched into triode mode. I've always thought that mod sounded bad.

I never used pentode/triode switches strictly to lower the wattage but to smooth out a signal with some harshness like a velvet glove... in other words to increase the sonic options.

Steve A.

[Steve A.]

I can't say that I really understand the whole gig-bag concept.* Guitars and amps get protected in hard cases and broken in soft cases.

When a friend is playing a gig at The Saloon in SF with the nearest parking 2 or more blocks away having a gig bag on his back can allow him to bring in all of his equipment in a single trip. Of course you must be very careful where you set it once inside the bar.

I store my guitars in gig bags in my condo because I don't have the room for so many cases. I do have both hard and the softer zipper cases when I need more protection when playing out.

Actually I did have a problem from storing my guitars in gig bags at home. I'd stack them in a corner leaning them against each other and happened to put a 10 lb Agile LP against my Squire Vintage 50's tele (the "pinecaster"). I left it there for a few years and when I finally took it out of the gig bag I found that the strings had pressed so hard and so long against the fretboard that there were little notches under the G and B strings... Ouch!!!

Not a total loss because it did inspire me to learn how to refret my guitars but I certainly did not want it to happen again so I designed a rack from PVC tubing to hold guitars in gig bags as explained in this thread from 2013:

http://music-electronics-forum.com/t35093/

And here is what it looks like...




Steve A.

[Leo_Gnardo]

my big worry is that if i have a guitar or a bass in a gig bag, the drummer is going to throw his cymbal case on top of it. drummers do things like that.

Drummers around here that do that sort of things either lose their gigs or are encouraged to provide their own transportation. Musos seem to be mature & cooperative in this area when they reach the small-tour stage, zoom around the northeast in a minivan or next size up van. I had a conversation last week with a young woman who tours nearby states with her band. One of the daily hassles is fending off that drunk and/or doped up sad sack who insists on helping load out after pub gigs. You know the type, they have a beer can in one hand, cigarette in the other, think they're Superman but can't really run anything but their mouth. Then they drop your guitars, woops, hadda lite my cig! Then complain ooh that's heavy, as they drop your amp into a puddle. Sad sack whines & tries to start a fight if you ask 'em to please! keep their hands off your gear. And there's one there after every dam' gig, sure as heck, you can count on it. "Awwww, I'm just tryin' to help!" OK then just open the door. And they can't even get that right.

[kHz Tube Amps]

Putting Mercury iron into an OTT is a great way to turn an inexpensive lunchbox amp into an expensive lunchbox amp.

For example: I paid $300 locally for my OTT. Your customer is talking about putting a $300 kit into a $300 amp. He's doing to double it's price and the amp isn't going to sound very different. If he wants to spend $600 there are better amps out there.

If he likes the amp, then he should play it as it is.

If he doesn't like the amp, then he should sell it.

Spending as much on the iron as the amp is worth is just effing stupid. There's no way I'd ever consider doing it, and I'd never consider paying someone to do it for me.

Indeed