Guitar Gear Forum

I've been wanting to try out the Legendary Tone Hot Mod with the 2203. I tried one out with the Friedman Runt and it sounded good but that amp didn't need it since it had a ton of gain already.

They have a new George Lynch version that has a gain pot instead of a switch so I figured that would be a better option.


It should be here by the end of the week. I'll make a demo video when it gets here.


Edit: Here's a quick demo. We're having family over this week so I had to play at low volumes, which is not the best way to demo the 2203, but it should give you a good idea of what the mod does. I will do a full volume video as soon as I have some space

I added some markers so you can here the Mod at different gain levels starting at 0 (stock amp), to full gain.

Congrats. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on it.

Sweet! Looking forward to your clips and review.

Very nice! Interested to hear your thoughts. Thought about grabbing a hot mod to give a little more gain to the Badlander crunch mode.

I am going to try it on my Koch too. I will post detailed pictures of that.

Hot Koch Mod. Should add some girth to the tone.

Kyle Bull did a video where he installed one of these into a two channel Dual Rec, and it substantially tightened up the tone. Sounded fantastic. I’m betting the 2203 will love it.

I’m interested in your findings! As I’ve been keeping you in the loop with my tone searching the last little while, I think this setup (hot mod into a 2203/2204) would probably do a lot of good for me. I have this stupid thing in my mind that I need a 4 hole Marshall, but I’ll never be able to use it “right”

TurboPablo wrote:Hot Koch Mod. Should add some girth to the tone.

Dick Hot Koch - That's a porn name right there!

I heard it works in Mesa Stilettos too... definitely curious on your review

I've be been really interested in these for a while. Looking forward to your clips and report on this. I think one of these would be super fun in my YBA-1.

I thought about trying one with the 1972 JMP, but it actually has almost enough gain stock to do early Metallica. Its crazy how much gain the 1972 circuit has. That's why Yngwie Malmsteen runs 1972's as his favorite.

Mike Oxhuge wrote:I thought about trying one with the 1972 JMP, but it actually has almost enough gain stock to do early Metallica. Its crazy how much gain the 1972 circuit has. That's why Yngwie Malmsteen runs 1972's as his favorite.

Yeah I'm not a high gain player and honestly the stock 800 has enough gain for me for everything except some leads.

But it's not just about adding gain. It's also about changing the relationship between the bright cap and the amount of gain.

As you probably know, the more you increase the gain (or volume on the NVM), the less the bright cap has an effects in the circuit.

So with this mod you can set the amp's gain knob were the amp has the tightest sound with the right % amount of the bright cap in the circuit, which is usually around 6 on the 2203 then increase the gain with the mod.
So you get "10+++" gain level with "6" tightness level since now you have the gain and the bright cap working together.


BTW, Yngwie does something similar but he uses the DOD 250 instead of a mod. But it's the same principle, set the amp were the low end is the best, increase the gain with the pedal.

Most Marshall players do that one way or the other with overdrive, treble boosters etc...

GuitarBilly wrote:

Mike Oxhuge wrote:I thought about trying one with the 1972 JMP, but it actually has almost enough gain stock to do early Metallica. Its crazy how much gain the 1972 circuit has. That's why Yngwie Malmsteen runs 1972's as his favorite.

Yeah I'm not a high gain player and honestly the stock 800 has enough gain for me for everything except some leads.

But it's not just about adding gain. It's also about changing the relationship between the bright cap and the amount of gain.

As you probably know, the more you increase the gain (or volume on the NVM), the less the bright cap has an effects in the circuit.

So with this mod you can set the amp's gain knob were the amp has the tightest sound with the right % amount of the bright cap in the circuit, which is usually around 6 on the 2203 then increase the gain with the mod.
So you get "10+++" gain level with "6" tightness level since now you have the gain and the bright cap working together.


BTW, Yngwie does something similar but he uses the DOD 250 instead of a mod. But it's the same principle, set the amp were the low end is the best, increase the gain with the pedal.

Most Marshall players do that one way or the other with overdrive, treble boosters etc...

Very very interested in how this works out for you. I have been eternally boosting the BL for gain as needed for solos, etc. It DOES not need tightening but some additional juice is always welcome.

JiveTurkey wrote:Very very interested in how this works out for you. I have been eternally boosting the BL for gain as needed for solos, etc. It DOES not need tightening but some additional juice is always welcome.

I'll be posting some clips and a review as soon as it gets here.

I really love the BL btw, it's the Mesa amp I've been GASsing for the most. Perfect Mesa/Marshall cross.

Me too Billy. Me. Too

GuitarBilly wrote:Yeah I'm not a high gain player and honestly the stock 800 has enough gain for me for everything except some leads.

I'm almost 100% with you on this. If the 2203/2204 had just a touch more gain and the bass cutting .0022 cap from the factory it would be a seemingly perfect single channel amp for me.

But...

I like adding gain to that circuit so the overall tone gets thicker. Even when I use something like the SAT switch I back the gain off to about noon. I just like how it changes the character of the mids and gives it a little more compression.

I've been on the fence about getting the Hot Mod/Lynch Mod. One of my 2204 amps I added another gain stage to it so it has enough as is, but the other one I did the JEL mod to I'm curious to try it.

But I also want to get another Runt 50 just because

Hipster Salad wrote:

GuitarBilly wrote:Yeah I'm not a high gain player and honestly the stock 800 has enough gain for me for everything except some leads.

I'm almost 100% with you on this. If the 2203/2204 had just a touch more gain and the bass cutting .0022 cap from the factory it would be a seemingly perfect single channel amp for me.

But...

I like adding gain to that circuit so the overall tone gets thicker. Even when I use something like the SAT switch I back the gain off to about noon. I just like how it changes the character of the mids and gives it a little more compression.

I've been on the fence about getting the Hot Mod/Lynch Mod. One of my 2204 amps I added another gain stage to it so it has enough as is, but the other one I did the JEL mod to I'm curious to try it.

But I also want to get another Runt 50 just because

Well I look at this mod a bit like a pedal, whenever I want the amp back to stock I can just unplug it. So it's like between stock 2203 and a modded one, why not have both with the same amp?

I do want another Friedman Runt though, that's an amp I regret selling.

I got this today. Holy shit this thing is amazing!! I'm getting the same amount of gain I was getting with the Soldano Avenger but with the JMP tone.
I've been trying some settings and right now I have the Gain on the mod at 2 o'clock and the gain on the amp at 1 o'clock and it's plenty of gain but with the tightness you get with the bright cap halfway in.

I'm taking it to practice tomorrow and I'll make some clips. But goddamn this is killer.

So I had practice with the modded amp today and holy shit it sounded amazing. The mod add a lot of gain, without compressing the amp and without adding any noise. In fact I think the amp got quieter with the mod (hiss, not volume).
I couldn't believe how good everything sounded. Big boy tone


I also brought the Koch and played a few songs with it, it sounded great. Definitely more modern and scooped, but it's a great sounding amp in its own right. It sits in the mix really well, especially for leads.
The modded 2203 is a raging tone while the Koch is more controlled and easier to play.

Both these amps were great additions to my collection. I was a bit on the fence about the stock 2203. I liked it but I felt the DSL fit the band better, but not anymore, the mod just shot this amp to the top of the heap. That's going to be my main gigging amp for sure.

I think I will build a rack rig around the Koch since it has a more polished modern tone, 3 channels. And the loop is crystal clear and I'm sure can handle rack effects really well.

Really happy with these 2 amps and the DSL sits right in between them.

Excellent news! I have a refund I am waiting on on some pedals that went back. Once that's done; I will be digging one of these up for the Badlander. Kyle Bull was on a FB thread talking about how this was a great addition for the BL as well so between the two of you; GAS rising

Does this still come with the Deep switch? I am betting this could solve both "problems" I have (little more gain on tap while not cutting more bass).

JiveTurkey wrote:Does this still come with the Deep switch? I am betting this could solve both "problems" I have (little more gain on tap while not cutting more bass).

yes it does. Mine is off at the moment, but both positions sound really good. I will be making some videos of different settings some time this afternoon.

Here's a quick demo. We're having family over this week so I had to play at low volumes, which is not the best way to demo the 2203, but it should give you a good idea of what the mod does. I will do a full volume video as soon as I have some space

Sounds killer.