How much difference do the various NV400 mods make?

Ed Boyd · From: Illinois, USA

How much difference do the various Nashville 400 mods make?

I'm curious because I have what I am guessing is a stock NV400 I picked up at a pawn shop. I like it as is. I'm not real fond of the Mid EQ controls but it is OK. I ask because I am considering buying another one if I can find one for a good price. I would like to run two in stereo out of a Lexicon MX200.

I'm thinking I want the 2 amps to be as similar as possible. If the mods change the amps a lot it may be best to pass on it and wait for a completely stock NV400.

Thanks

Bill Ferguson · From: Milton, FL USA

I guess I am not reading this right.
You say you have a stock 400, but then you say you might pass it on and wait for a stock 400.

The Nashville 400 has been the workhorse (and still is) for more players than I can name over the years.

The original chrome corner models has a little too much mids for me, but when Peavey did a mod to the circuit, it really sweetened up.

I was not a fan of the after market mods as they tended to be muddy sounding to me.

I still own 2 Nashville 400's and still love them, even though I carry a lighter weight amp to most gigs.

If you find one, it will surely be at a good price.
Send the chassis to Peavey and let Jimmy McQuaid go through it. You won't be sorry.
_________________
AUTHORIZED George L's, Goodrich, Telonics and Peavey Dealer: I have 2 steels and several amps. My current rig of choice is 1993 Emmons LeGrande w/ 108 pups (Jack Strayhorn built for me), Goodrich OMNI Volume Pedal, George L's cables, Goodrich Baby Bloomer and Peavey Nashville 112. Can't get much sweeter.

Jack Stoner · From: Kansas City, MO

Greg Cutshaw · From: Corry, PA, USA

I ran two Nashville 400 amps in stereo for many years. Actually the reverb was mono but the delay was last in the effects chain and output in stereo, one side to each amp. Super fat sound. Not sure what speaker was in mine but one had silver corners and one had black corners. I modded the silver cornered one and it went from lack of bass response to thunderous bass response with the Peavey factory mod kit. I installed it myself and it was easy to do!

Ed Boyd · From: Illinois, USA

Thanks everybody. I don't think I did a very good job writing my post.

I have an old stock NV400 and I am satisfied with it. Not sure which speaker is in it. The amp has silver corners and the speaker's graphic is the old style Black Widow with the red thing on it. I would like a 2nd one but many of them I am finding for sale have been modded. The Fox mods seem to be popular.

If the mods completely change the character of the amp I'm not sure how well the two amps would work together in stereo. What I was trying to get a handle on is how radical of a change do these mods make to the amp's voicing.

Maybe it would not even matter. Two may sound great regardless. I know I have purposely used two different speakers inside Twin style combos in the past with good results.

What has inspired me is I have used tube amps most my life but in the 80s I played in a group that used all peavey gear. My road rig was 2 Bandit 65s in stereo. It sounded great, especially the chorus. I wanted the redundancy in case one amp went down I would still have a working amp. Back then I was kind of suspicious of Peavey's quality but those Bandits turned out to be bulletproof. I never had any problems with either one. I went back to tube amps later but the Bandits really did do a good job at the material we were doing at the time.

Thanks again.

Ken Fox · From: Nashville GA USA

I have not done the full "Intense Mods" since I closed the repair shop at the end of 2012. Still selling the chip mods for user install.

What that changes out are the audio amplifier chips in the pre-amp. Much like changing out pre-amp tubes in a tube amp. Going from cheap Chinese tubes to a better pre-amp tube or NOS tube can change the amp favorably.

The stock chips used in the amps were 4558 IC chips. The Burr Brown is a chip designed for audio amps with a much better frequency response. It really does help clean up the mid range and give a better overall tone. However there a few folks with very bad hearing damage and could never hear the difference. I suffer from a lot of high frequency loss myself, but I can still appreciate the tonal improvement made by a great pre-amp audio amplifier chip.

I remember when I did a Nashville 112 for Larry Sasser in his home shop. We tested the un-modded amp and the modded amp (he had two). The un-modded amp sounded like it had a blanket over it by comparison. We modded the other amp and Larry was then completely satisfied with his amps.

There are probably a hundred comments about the Burr Brown IC mods in the electronics section here on the Forum. Just research a little and you can find a lot comments.

I have an old LA-400 I use along with a Fender tube amp for steel. You can bet I put Burr Brown chips in it! Love the sound of it mixed with a good tube amp for steel and guitar.

Greg Cutshaw · From: Corry, PA, USA

I ran two amps that were different for a few years, a twin and a session 400 and that was great. Not sure they have to be matched, you just have to like each amp on its own. It sure looks neater on stage to have matched amps though. In some situations appearance counts a lot!

Richard Sinkler · From: aka: Rusty Strings -- Missoula, Montana

To the best of my knowledge, the 1502 has a ribbed cone and the 1501 has a smooth cone. I have a NV400 with silver corners. It came with a 1502, which is my favorite speaker. The amp sounded great right out of the box. But, I kept hearing so many great things about the Fox mod, I sent it to Ken for the mod. It really sweetened every thing up. The highs seemed to be a little more "defined", meaning each string had some separation, and it was easier to hear each string. It made the mids easier to adjust the "honk" out. But my favorite thing was it made the bass strings come alive. I love adding the 10th string instead of, or along with the 5th string in the higher grips.

Because of my back issues, it got to where I couldn't carry my amp, so I put a Telonics neo speaker in it. I seem to have lost what I gained with the mod. I'm having Rick Johnson making a cabinet for the head. Then I will put the 1502 back in the cabinet, and hopefully get my tone back. Don't care for the Telonics.
_________________
Carter D10 8p/8k, Dekley S10 3p/4k C6 setup,Regal RD40 Dobro, NV400, NV112 . Playing for 54 years and still counting.

Ed Boyd · From: Illinois, USA

Thanks again everybody for the information. I just looked at the speaker in my amp and found the label by the terminals and it says my speaker is a 1502. It's pretty dirty.

Richard Sinkler · From: aka: Rusty Strings -- Missoula, Montana

Cool
_________________
Carter D10 8p/8k, Dekley S10 3p/4k C6 setup,Regal RD40 Dobro, NV400, NV112 . Playing for 54 years and still counting.

Tony Glassman · From: The Great Northwest

I thought the Fox mod improved my N-400 tone quite a bit. Was actively considering selling the amp pre- mod but loved it afterwards.i used it for years until I decided to lighten my load with a rack system.

Tony Glassman · From: The Great Northwest

I thought the Fox mod improved my N-400 tone quite a bit. Was considering sell the amp pre- mod but loved it afterwards.

Forum Index > Electronics		Next oldest topic :: Next newest topic

All times are GMT - 8 Hours	Jump to: