NAD - Marshall 2266C with some mods

[hi13ts1]

Hello all. I've been searching for a 2266C for a bit of time now as I was needing to maximize portability and volume control after playing my 2266 head and 2x12 cab for several years.

I have a 2266 head I paired with the 2x12 Egnater Tweaker cab that I put a V30 in for one of the speakers. It was an excellent sounding rig and my main one for years, but it got to a point where my gigs became numerous and the venues/sound guys were less consistent, so for convenience and tame-ability, I switched to a Fractal unit. It was incredibly impressive, but with all that it could do, there was something missing. As close as it got the feel of a real tube amp, it's still not 100% there. Also, an FRFR cabinet on stage does not feel and sound the same as Celestions roaring behind you. So I thought the best compromise would be to get the combo version of my 2266 and mod it to the point where it met my criteria for portability and volume control.

I was able to find one from N Stuff music in PA after a few months of searching. It sounded great right out of the box and I was thoroughly impressed with the G12C speakers loaded in it. Incredible tone. So after the obligatory retubing and biasing, in order to meet the portability function, I installed casters and begrudgingly took out the two G12 and replaced it with one Neo Creamback. This made the amp go from almost 70 lbs to a little under 60. I can one-arm it if absolutely necessary, however, with the casters, I've found that to be a rare event. I mounted a piece of plywood over the empty speaker hole as I liked the semi-closed back tone it had as opposed to a ported cab. For volume, I mounted a Torpedo Captor inside the cabinet and cut a rectangle out of the back panel to mount a Rockboard pass-thru XLR/Power port. This allows me to centralize the AC input as well as the output for the DI on the Torpedo. The DI is based off a 4x12 with V30s mic'd with an SM57. The emulated out actually sounds pretty good and has been my go-to method for all of my gigs so far. The most important part of it is the fact that I'm able to either attenuate the volume 20db or cut the speaker entirely and go direct if the venue and/or soundguy is really unforgiving.

I'll try to get some in-depth pictures taken, or better yet, a video made to share all of this. I'm happy to say that it's working exactly the way I want it to and is giving me back the tones I've been missing since switching to digital. The Fractal is still being used, but now as a multi-effects unit and/or amp backup. God bless Steve Dawson for designing such a wonderful amp. It nails the early-mid 60s Plexi tone that we all associate with Marshall, but it's given much more gain on tap and tame-ability volume-wise. In the meantime, I've recorded a Gary Moore song with the amp and my 2019 Gibson R0. I think it's very close to his live tone in the few years before his passing. I know he was using a 1959 SLP HW, so not quite the same amp, but the same vibe. I recorded the emulated out on the Torpedo as well as mic'd the Neo Creamback with a Sennheiser e906 and blended the two. Sort of a fitting tribute to Jim Marshall as well, given yesterday was the 10th anniversary of his passing. Thanks for reading through my post!

 

[Totengott666]

I'm glad your uh, very specific needs are being met, lol jk

 

[Maggot Brain]

Hello all. I've been searching for a 2266C for a bit of time now as I was needing to maximize portability and volume control after playing my 2266 head and 2x12 cab for several years.

I have a 2266 head I paired with the 2x12 Egnater Tweaker cab that I put a V30 in for one of the speakers. It was an excellent sounding rig and my main one for years, but it got to a point where my gigs became numerous and the venues/sound guys were less consistent, so for convenience and tame-ability, I switched to a Fractal unit. It was incredibly impressive, but with all that it could do, there was something missing. As close as it got the feel of a real tube amp, it's still not 100% there. Also, an FRFR cabinet on stage does not feel and sound the same as Celestions roaring behind you. So I thought the best compromise would be to get the combo version of my 2266 and mod it to the point where it met my criteria for portability and volume control.

I was able to find one from N Stuff music in PA after a few months of searching. It sounded great right out of the box and I was thoroughly impressed with the G12C speakers loaded in it. Incredible tone. So after the obligatory retubing and biasing, in order to meet the portability function, I installed casters and begrudgingly took out the two G12 and replaced it with one Neo Creamback. This made the amp go from almost 70 lbs to a little under 60. I can one-arm it if absolutely necessary, however, with the casters, I've found that to be a rare event. I mounted a piece of plywood over the empty speaker hole as I liked the semi-closed back tone it had as opposed to a ported cab. For volume, I mounted a Torpedo Captor inside the cabinet and cut a rectangle out of the back panel to mount a Rockboard pass-thru XLR/Power port. This allows me to centralize the AC input as well as the output for the DI on the Torpedo. The DI is based off a 4x12 with V30s mic'd with an SM57. The emulated out actually sounds pretty good and has been my go-to method for all of my gigs so far. The most important part of it is the fact that I'm able to either attenuate the volume 20db or cut the speaker entirely and go direct if the venue and/or soundguy is really unforgiving.

I'll try to get some in-depth pictures taken, or better yet, a video made to share all of this. I'm happy to say that it's working exactly the way I want it to and is giving me back the tones I've been missing since switching to digital. The Fractal is still being used, but now as a multi-effects unit and/or amp backup. God bless Steve Dawson for designing such a wonderful amp. It nails the early-mid 60s Plexi tone that we all associate with Marshall, but it's given much more gain on tap and tame-ability volume-wise. In the meantime, I've recorded a Gary Moore song with the amp and my 2019 Gibson R0. I think it's very close to his live tone in the few years before his passing. I know he was using a 1959 SLP HW, so not quite the same amp, but the same vibe. I recorded the emulated out on the Torpedo as well as mic'd the Neo Creamback with a Sennheiser e906 and blended the two. Sort of a fitting tribute to Jim Marshall as well, given yesterday was the 10th anniversary of his passing. Thanks for reading through my post!

Sounds amazing man! I loved my VM 2266h but rather have the 2466 if I was going to own a VM again.

Congrats!

You selling those G12C??? I've been looking for Some! PM me!

 

[ricksdisconnected]

hnad

 

[JohnH]

Your playing sounds great and it's good your amp works well for what you need. I'm a little sad that those G12C's are out of it though! I like my VM combo very much.

 

[hi13ts1]

Sounds amazing man! I loved my VM 2266h but rather have the 2466 if I was going to own a VM again.

Congrats!

You selling those G12C??? I've been looking for Some! PM me!

Thank you.

Not at the moment. I'm looking to put that in my 2x12 cab for whenever I have gigs with the head/cab situation. I'm thinking of stepping up to a Torpedo Captor X in the near future so I can use IRs for the direct out. Might be able to capture my actual cab as an IR. It's really a great set of speakers, but at the moment, the weight compromise with the Neo is worth it.

 

[Whiteknuckle]

Wow man!
How can this post get so little response?
Both you and the amp sound magnificent.
I scoped out your youtube, and i really dig the diversity you display.
At some point will you try doing a metal cover using the VM?
The 'mods' you did sound really like they're working for you. How do you get along with your NEO cream?

 

[scozz]

Excellent, well done man!

 

[vintmodJCM]

Hello all. I've been searching for a 2266C for a bit of time now as I was needing to maximize portability and volume control after playing my 2266 head and 2x12 cab for several years.

I have a 2266 head I paired with the 2x12 Egnater Tweaker cab that I put a V30 in for one of the speakers. It was an excellent sounding rig and my main one for years, but it got to a point where my gigs became numerous and the venues/sound guys were less consistent, so for convenience and tame-ability, I switched to a Fractal unit. It was incredibly impressive, but with all that it could do, there was something missing. As close as it got the feel of a real tube amp, it's still not 100% there. Also, an FRFR cabinet on stage does not feel and sound the same as Celestions roaring behind you. So I thought the best compromise would be to get the combo version of my 2266 and mod it to the point where it met my criteria for portability and volume control.

I was able to find one from N Stuff music in PA after a few months of searching. It sounded great right out of the box and I was thoroughly impressed with the G12C speakers loaded in it. Incredible tone. So after the obligatory retubing and biasing, in order to meet the portability function, I installed casters and begrudgingly took out the two G12 and replaced it with one Neo Creamback. This made the amp go from almost 70 lbs to a little under 60. I can one-arm it if absolutely necessary, however, with the casters, I've found that to be a rare event. I mounted a piece of plywood over the empty speaker hole as I liked the semi-closed back tone it had as opposed to a ported cab. For volume, I mounted a Torpedo Captor inside the cabinet and cut a rectangle out of the back panel to mount a Rockboard pass-thru XLR/Power port. This allows me to centralize the AC input as well as the output for the DI on the Torpedo. The DI is based off a 4x12 with V30s mic'd with an SM57. The emulated out actually sounds pretty good and has been my go-to method for all of my gigs so far. The most important part of it is the fact that I'm able to either attenuate the volume 20db or cut the speaker entirely and go direct if the venue and/or soundguy is really unforgiving.

I'll try to get some in-depth pictures taken, or better yet, a video made to share all of this. I'm happy to say that it's working exactly the way I want it to and is giving me back the tones I've been missing since switching to digital. The Fractal is still being used, but now as a multi-effects unit and/or amp backup. God bless Steve Dawson for designing such a wonderful amp. It nails the early-mid 60s Plexi tone that we all associate with Marshall, but it's given much more gain on tap and tame-ability volume-wise. In the meantime, I've recorded a Gary Moore song with the amp and my 2019 Gibson R0. I think it's very close to his live tone in the few years before his passing. I know he was using a 1959 SLP HW, so not quite the same amp, but the same vibe. I recorded the emulated out on the Torpedo as well as mic'd the Neo Creamback with a Sennheiser e906 and blended the two. Sort of a fitting tribute to Jim Marshall as well, given yesterday was the 10th anniversary of his passing. Thanks for reading through my post!

I'm very impressed, young man! Beautiful rendition of "in My Dreams" by the late, great Gary Moore! And radically tweaking an amp with such bravery is the kind of thinking that the late, great Eddie Van Halen would have no reservations in doing. In fact, it's kinda rare these days. Funny story: I had a Vintage Modern 2266c years ago and sold it to fund a barely used YJM100 which I bought in 2012 from a guy in Pittsburgh. In fact, I met him up the street from Pianos 'N Stuff at the strip mall with the laundromat. At the time, there was a YJM100 for sale at Pianos 'N Stuff for a lot more than I paid for mine. Also before I sold the 2266c, I had modded the amp to use EL34s and installed a PPIMV with a Silver Jubilee-style clipping diode to the VM 2266c that made the amp a triple-threat beast. I've kicked myself for not holding onto it ever since, even though I fell in love with the versatile YJM100 (which has 6CA7s and 6L6GCs in it right now). I always trick out my guitars and amps to make them better than stock, much like hot rodding cars. It has saved me from dumping a lot of gear over the years after the honeymoon was over. Most gear can be easily tailored to suit one's needs if one is ambitious enough to experiment and learn. **Just don't do any electronics work without understanding how to safely deal with the deadly dangers of stored voltage. That said, it's awesome that you knew what you wanted from your 2266c and weren't afraid to make it happen!

 

[Mitchell Pearrow]

Hello all. I've been searching for a 2266C for a bit of time now as I was needing to maximize portability and volume control after playing my 2266 head and 2x12 cab for several years.

I have a 2266 head I paired with the 2x12 Egnater Tweaker cab that I put a V30 in for one of the speakers. It was an excellent sounding rig and my main one for years, but it got to a point where my gigs became numerous and the venues/sound guys were less consistent, so for convenience and tame-ability, I switched to a Fractal unit. It was incredibly impressive, but with all that it could do, there was something missing. As close as it got the feel of a real tube amp, it's still not 100% there. Also, an FRFR cabinet on stage does not feel and sound the same as Celestions roaring behind you. So I thought the best compromise would be to get the combo version of my 2266 and mod it to the point where it met my criteria for portability and volume control.

I was able to find one from N Stuff music in PA after a few months of searching. It sounded great right out of the box and I was thoroughly impressed with the G12C speakers loaded in it. Incredible tone. So after the obligatory retubing and biasing, in order to meet the portability function, I installed casters and begrudgingly took out the two G12 and replaced it with one Neo Creamback. This made the amp go from almost 70 lbs to a little under 60. I can one-arm it if absolutely necessary, however, with the casters, I've found that to be a rare event. I mounted a piece of plywood over the empty speaker hole as I liked the semi-closed back tone it had as opposed to a ported cab. For volume, I mounted a Torpedo Captor inside the cabinet and cut a rectangle out of the back panel to mount a Rockboard pass-thru XLR/Power port. This allows me to centralize the AC input as well as the output for the DI on the Torpedo. The DI is based off a 4x12 with V30s mic'd with an SM57. The emulated out actually sounds pretty good and has been my go-to method for all of my gigs so far. The most important part of it is the fact that I'm able to either attenuate the volume 20db or cut the speaker entirely and go direct if the venue and/or soundguy is really unforgiving.

I'll try to get some in-depth pictures taken, or better yet, a video made to share all of this. I'm happy to say that it's working exactly the way I want it to and is giving me back the tones I've been missing since switching to digital. The Fractal is still being used, but now as a multi-effects unit and/or amp backup. God bless Steve Dawson for designing such a wonderful amp. It nails the early-mid 60s Plexi tone that we all associate with Marshall, but it's given much more gain on tap and tame-ability volume-wise. In the meantime, I've recorded a Gary Moore song with the amp and my 2019 Gibson R0. I think it's very close to his live tone in the few years before his passing. I know he was using a 1959 SLP HW, so not quite the same amp, but the same vibe. I recorded the emulated out on the Torpedo as well as mic'd the Neo Creamback with a Sennheiser e906 and blended the two. Sort of a fitting tribute to Jim Marshall as well, given yesterday was the 10th anniversary of his passing. Thanks for reading through my post!

Excellent work brother thanks for sharing this

 

[GregM]

Hn portable amp day !

 

[mrjones2004x]

Loved the tone.
Just checked out your channel. Nailed ‘Beat it’ great cover, also your voice really suited the human nature cover. Softer voice sits well with that track.

 

[hi13ts1]

Wow man!
How can this post get so little response?
Both you and the amp sound magnificent.
I scoped out your youtube, and i really dig the diversity you display.
At some point will you try doing a metal cover using the VM?
The 'mods' you did sound really like they're working for you. How do you get along with your NEO cream?

Thank you.

Yes, I can try to work on a metal cover with the VM in the near future. There's certainly enough gain, but the low end is more open and woolly than what would be ideal for modern metal. It can done, though, with some tweaking. Also, it'll impart its own flavor, being a vintage style amp. If you wouldn't mind subscribing to my channel, I would appreciate it and it will notify you when I get a video of that up.

The Neo Creamback is acceptable. It definitely gives a Greenback vibe, but a bit more squishy, maybe brighter. Perhaps in time, it'll break in and be more pleasant. Although I like the Creamback tone in general, I'm more partial towards V30s, but they're much too heavy and I haven't found a neodymium version of one. I really liked the stock Greenback G12Cs that were loaded in the amp as well, but the two of them together were also too heavy. I couldn't use just one of the speakers as it wouldn't have the impedance nor enough wattage to allow me to use it that way. Most of my gigs have me running in-ears so the emulated out is the majority of what I hear, and I think the Torpedo does a great emulation of a 4x12 loaded with V30s. The speaker on stage is essentially for feel and a bit of color, as my in-ears aren't totally isolating, so I feel the Neo Creamback is currently an acceptable compromise. Actually, it might the be best compromise as Celestion doesn't have many Neo speakers available yet. The Creamback was the best out of the three to my ears.

 

[hi13ts1]

I'm very impressed, young man! Beautiful rendition of "in My Dreams" by the late, great Gary Moore! And radically tweaking an amp with such bravery is the kind of thinking that the late, great Eddie Van Halen would have no reservations in doing. In fact, it's kinda rare these days. Funny story: I had a Vintage Modern 2266c years ago and sold it to fund a barely used YJM100 which I bought in 2012 from a guy in Pittsburgh. In fact, I met him up the street from Pianos 'N Stuff at the strip mall with the laundromat. At the time, there was a YJM100 for sale at Pianos 'N Stuff for a lot more than I paid for mine. Also before I sold the 2266c, I had modded the amp to use EL34s and installed a PPIMV with a Silver Jubilee-style clipping diode to the VM 2266c that made the amp a triple-threat beast. I've kicked myself for not holding onto it ever since, even though I fell in love with the versatile YJM100 (which has 6CA7s and 6L6GCs in it right now). I always trick out my guitars and amps to make them better than stock, much like hot rodding cars. It has saved me from dumping a lot of gear over the years after the honeymoon was over. Most gear can be easily tailored to suit one's needs if one is ambitious enough to experiment and learn. **Just don't do any electronics work without understanding how to safely deal with the deadly dangers of stored voltage. That said, it's awesome that you knew what you wanted from your 2266c and weren't afraid to make it happen!

Interesting mods on the VM. The EL34s and diode clipping must've breathed fire.

Congratulations on the YJM. I've heard nothing but good things about it and it sounds glorious in video demos. I suspect the features on the planned but scrapped Gary Moore signature amp would be similar to the YJM as they're both essentially Super Leads with modern features. The built-in power attenuation and bias assistance is most intriguing.