DC-5 with Mercury Magnetics!!!!!!!!

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Monsta-Tone

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Well, I finally found the time to put the Mercury Magnetics transformers into my DC-5. I sent the original ones in to be cloned.
I will have to ask Paul if he beefed up the filament windings. I had mentioned that it would be nice to be able to use EL-34's in this amp. Mesa uses the same transformers in almost all of their 50 watt amps, but this amp uses the filament taps for the channel switching functions too, so I don't know if the originals have enough amperage for the EL's.

I biased it and test drove it for around 20 minutes or so.

Here is what I found:
Cleans are spanky and clean! For the 1st time in this amp's life, it actually has a clean channel! I can only get it to break up if the gain is cranked to 10!
There is a ton of sustain on the clean channel too!
I can't tell you how many small mods I've done to the amp to try and squeeze some more clean out of it.

I didn't even try the dirty channel yet, too busy exploring the cleans.


:lol: :lol: :lol: In hind sight, I guess I didn't really have much to report yet. Except that this amp actually has a clean channel now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Well how do you like your amp with the new transformer now that you've had more time with it? I like the idea of additional clean headroom but not sure if I want to go through the expence of the transformer and possibly buying new speakers. I'm using 2 C90's now.

Was this the output transformer you replaced and was it one they cloned for you or did Mercury have it on the shelf?
 
I haven't been able to play it yet. We have 3 small kids and we all have a bad chest cold right now.

I sent the originals in to be cloned. I asked them to beef up the power transformer a little so that I could use EL-34's if I wanted to.

The Output tranny looks like the same basic size and shape, but the Power tranny is twice the size of the original.

I'll let you know as soon as I get the chance to unleash it. I'm also using 2 C-90's. I might try a Beam Blocker before I try a new speaker. I just happen to have one sitting on the work bench right now.
 
I had paul clone my output tranny in sept/october for my dc-5, you must have been the other guy he mentioned.

I now have both the OT and PT installed and i couldnt be happier. I dont really use the Lead channel on my DC-5 as i mostly use it for a pushed blues sound rather than high metal. The new trannies give it a warmth it was missing. Head room is to the celing.
 
some pics

http://adamgraced.smugmug.com/gallery/6609493_DAPu4#421231124_xneLc

http://adamgraced.smugmug.com/gallery/6526758_kEo5x#414545750_MNMoS

there are some really rough sound clips there
 
:D Those are some nice tones!
I just recovered mine in the same color. Still haven't done the back panel yet though!



I still haven't had time to mess with mine enough.

I'm thinking that I'll use a beam blocker on the combo and not on the 1x12 3/4 back that it sits on.

That should tame some of the highs.
 
my combo has an MC-90 in it. Lots of bottom end and the highs arnt to crazy... is the MC-90 actually just the C 90? its an 8 ohm
 
when you do get to play with your amp..i was wondering if you could try something for me...or maybe you just know off the top of your head. I have a general hum that is on both channels of my amp...aside from tube swaps, the one really weird thing i noticed is that when on the rythem channel, i can crank the lead gain and it causes a microphonic swell while i am still playing with the rhythem channel engaged. Do you get this channel bleed? i assume that the LDR's would totally shunt the GAIN channel so it should not be active at all...i am wondering if perhaps they are not functioning properly and i have both channels active...
 
If I may ask, how much does it cost for this mod? Better clean tones sounds very appealing!
 
mercury now sells the trannies as a stock replacement, but when we sent ours in, the guys at MM used ours to base the design. I think the OT is now selling for like 150 and the PT is selling for 250 i believe. Really worth it though.
 
Monsta- one thing i forgot when Paul was making the trannies was to ask him to use a funky color for the covers! did you get just black covers...i totally forgot to ask. i might email him and see what i can get...not like you ever see them! but it would have been cool
 
ok, same colors here. I to am getting into my amp tonight, hopefully i will have some stuff to post.
 
I would really like to get your opinion on it.

I love the clean headroom that mine has now, but it doesn't have the same sizzle that the cleans did before. It sounds too tight now.

I really like the distortion channel though!

Finally got to crank it.
 
i am rocking a 5751 in V1. The clean channel now sounds a lot more natural to me. I have found a good overdriven blues tone, but i have been messing around with the treb, bass, and mid knobs a bit more lately. My basement got to cold over the past few days so the gretsch and i have been hiding upstairs.
 
also pull boost is really rockin. its control is still a bit crazy to me, but with it i am hardly using any of my tube screamer pedals anymore, they just seem to be lacking the bottom end.
 
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