moding a 15 watt amp

Posted: Thu Oct 05, 2006 1:59 pm

first thing, I have a Laney vh100r which sells new for around 1000-1200. I have just replaced the tubes a second time. I was in my room jamin' with my self (I hope you like jammin' too) and I said to myself "what the .... is that horible noise". Then I realized it was my amp. Other than that amp I have been using a crate 15 watt amp either with a keeley moded metal zone or a digitech metal master (recently I have been using the dist chanell on my crate and using a mxr micro amp for the main gain, this combo sounds dirty and defined, I love it).

I have never been more satisfied with my tone then when I run out of my cheapy crate amp into my 4x12 cab. (by the way this kinda pisses me off because I have used countless amps and have spent 1000 on my Laney plus re-tubing it)
My problem is that its the crate is only 15 watts, which works for recording but not live.
My question is: Is it possible to mod the amp to increase the wattage to around 200 watts. If possible, will it change the wonderfull tone and could I preform the mod myself. (I have a decent amount of experience wiring and soldering various guitar equipment).

Please don't just tell me to try another amp because I have done that plenty of times. The only amp that I love more is a bogner and I don't have 5k for the combo.

can I run it into a power amp like qsc or something?

Posted: Thu Oct 05, 2006 4:00 pm

This is really not the place for this post. There is a dedicated "Guitars and Bass" section here and you should post this question there. This is the "Pro Audio Gear" section. None of the products you listed fall into that category.
To answer your question (15 watts converted to 200) the answer, in a nutshell, is NO. Besides, "200 watts" (WTF?) is simply WAY too much power for ANY guitarist's stage rig. A 50-watt tube (OK, you can go ahead and deafen yourself by the time you're 30 with a 100-watter) amp will be plenty loud to keep up onstage with a live drummer. You could always use the Crate's line out to drive a "slave amp". And then there's the old "57 Trick" that soundmen have used for several years now. Otherwise, you need to keep looking for that elusive "tone machine".

Posted: Thu Oct 05, 2006 8:02 pm

sorry to post in the wrong section.

Ive ran it through my laney and the result was not pleasing to my ears.

yah, i do still need a 200 for a solid state or 100 for a tube (i dont want a tube amp any more though), may my ears bleed and my heart stop.

maybe moding an amp is a dumb idea but i thought i would ask any way.
i was just curious if that sort of thing was even possible

Posted: Fri Oct 06, 2006 6:54 am

No problemo, Poet. I understand your dilemna. I wouldn't judge tube amps by your bad experience with the Laney. They have never really
carried a good rep for reliability. And I am not surprised that trying to
use it as a "slave amp" didn't work out.
I have been "modding" (more like blowin' up!) tube amps for too long. There are many mods that can be done to a "point-to-point" tube circuit design. But not a solid-state, PCB design. Modding an amp an be great fun and musically inspiring. It can also be a totally frustrating experience.
IMHO, you should look at a vintage Traynor, Sunn, or Fender (pre-1972 if possible), and use it for whatever "clean" tone you may need. Then break out the stomp boxes for the dirt. Then you can mod the amp to your heart's content...

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