mojo - where do you draw the line?

[icecycle66]

Maximized Mojo Mods!

Man, that looks like you're asking for a fire.

[anrque]

I'm giving the amp modder the benefit of the doubt. I think that cloth wiring jacket stuff is ASBESTOS. So safe in a fire, but deadly when the amp powers on, vibrates and then creates airborne particles.

[Clayford]

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The hype behind the Mojo? It's just that... or is it? Mojo-jo-jo(what I call the hype!) is crap. It's the marketing speak for the cork sniffers, rare parts (we had a bunch of odd ball parts we didn't know what to do with so we built X around it). Can I tell the difference between a PIO, Mylar, Drop, Vitamin, or a Bee(real or fake)? What I mean does a Sprague OD sound different than a Mylar of the same (measured) value ?  H e double hockey sticks (that's hell) no. But old parts drift, old parts look cool, old parts cost more(some times). If it's old and it looks cool it must be expensive right? As DIY's we are all aware of the markup on pedals, and there are some that are even remotely aware of the time and effort required to for R&D. So I don't begrudge a company figuring out a way to separate a fool and their money via extraordinary hype, and high prices. That's the free market. We have the supply and you pay what we demand. Naturally if someone is willing to buy my pedals for $200 you can bet your arse I'm gonna let them. I'd much rather sell 4 at $200 than 6 at $100.

A possible explanation... I know what "warm" and "cold" sound like, but it's not usually dictated by  the brand of caps, but more so their value (µf not $f) the controls and the pups. Lets look at a very commonly used ±20% .047 µf "greenie meanie" mylar,  at the low end it's .037 µf and the high end it's .056 µf and your run of the mill 500K tone control, also ±20% (400K/600k respectively). Your luck of the draw parts bin combination may sound unappealing, cold, harsh, icepicky, all because of a 400k pot and a .037 µf greenie, and brighter pups. So then when Joe drops (or preferably pays me to) in those brand new historical spec (that's important because they are not BumbleBee's) it could be "warmer" because of a higher cap value due to the variance. It could also very well be complete placebo effect because they paid $125 for 2 caps and it MUST sound better.  Wood, nut, pup, pot, cap, fingers(yup they actually matter) all go together to make the sound. There isn't in my years of experience any one secret sauce that makes a guitar great. This translates into pedals and amp's too.  If I find it (the secret sauce), I'll be sure to sell it to all of you at a $2 (friend price) for the recipe (and I'd be cutting me own throat!).

As previously mentioned... sometimes though certain things inspire us for absolutely no reason. Because it's different, a challenge, because Brian left room on the board, looks/sounds funky, looks/sounds/is old.  I'm one of those weirdo's that like putting one(or more) unique/old/strange part(s) in my pedals. I, like the rest of you, tinker with my stuff until it sounds right, cool, funky, or just how I want it to. Who else has a wah with a relay controlled boost in it? Not even me cause it's still on the bench because of school. Same as the choke for my JCA22H, yet my lead guitarist swears up and down my amp sounds better since I installed it.

So if carbon comps,PIO's, funk, old skool, relays, bi-color leds, hand painted enclosures, etc inspire you to make music, then by all means use them. Pick up your instrument and make some music. That right there, that's the real mojo. 

[Clayford]

I'm giving the amp modder the benefit of the doubt. I think that cloth wiring jacket stuff is ASBESTOS. So safe in a fire, but deadly when the amp powers on, vibrates and then creates airborne particles.

That looks like the stuff we used to cover wires up in computers before power supplies came sleeved. It did help airflow (a little , and if you used the right sizes) and certainly looked better when we added the plexi window on the side of the computer.

[davent]

The blue sleeving on the so called power cord looks to be Techflex where the white is described as and does look much like cut up shoe laces. I've always thought of the video as scam/hoax done by some bored solder slinger with a pile of stuff to mess with, a junk sculpture.

Anyways... for the coolest looking and best colours of sleeving there's the stuff from Nils in Munich, Bavarian Voodoo mojo. Not sure whether things are still the same but in the past the store was only open, Internationally, at random times, all over the clock, is open at this moment so can't tell whether i lucked out or he's changed his policy.

Never ordered but great looking sleeve... someday   http://en.mdpc-x.com/about.htm

dave

[gordo]

Another way to put it...doesn't your car seem to run better when it's clean?  Your brain knows it's the same car but you'd swear it runs better.

[Peteyboy]

"Electrons can survive in free space and get squashed in a crystal lattice"
^^ This is his explanation of why tube harmonics are different (HAHAHHAHAHHA)

The harmonic distortion content is different between tubes and solid state amps, because the equation that governs the tube's voltage compared to current through it, is dominated by a term taken to the 3/2 power. While transistors (BJTs at least, and I think FETs are different) equations are dominated by a squared power. This difference will cause different harmonic distortion characteristics. Also solid state amps tend to have push pull outputs, which can cancel most of the even order harmonics.

I'm still a student learning this stuff so sorry if I am also wrong here 

[Blues Healer]

this is my "scope":

[chromesphere]

Nice amp blues!

[BuGG]

I've tried Ge clipping diodes in there too, but I'm almost ashamed to say that I prefer the sound of common 1n4148s and LEDs.  I know it's not sexy, but it makes my ears happy, and that's why I built it in the first place.

Don't be ashamed, you are not alone!    My favorite clipping combination for a Tubescreamer is a single 1N4148 and a red LED.   
It's the perfect asymmetrical pair in my completely irrelevant opinion.