pics of Mesa DC-3 with Hammond OT & choke

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talltxguy

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The Hammond OT allows a 16 ohm tap. I never used the 4 ohm speaker input on the DC-3, so the 4 ohm speaker input has now become a 16 ohm speaker input, which is handy when I only wanna use one speaker in my 2X12. The 8 ohm speaker input is used for when I wanna use my two 16 ohm speakers that are wired in parallel.
 
I was just sitting here thinking it sucks because I am shipping my old DC-3 out tomorrow. I sold it to another forum member in a fit of GAS and really don't want to part with it.....
I'm gonna have to get another one. Just such a great all around amp!

I bet it flat out rocks with the Hammonds too! I have a clone of a Lee Jackson Metaltronix amp that I built with the 1645, it sounds incredible!
 
so Schumacher does thier OT that bad it needs a hammond or MM one?

i saw a demo on youtube before after change, it modify alot the soul tone of the amp, getting brighter tones..

i would mind it up 3 times before changing mine , if its worth changing..

would be nice if you can describe pros and cons of this change,

thx
 
BlackBoxy, I had the tech do clean channel mods, add a choke, and put a new OT on there at the same time; so I'm not sure exactly which of the three mods had the greatest effect. Even though it's an EL-84 amp, I wanted more Fender-like cleans; and I feel like that has been accomplished.

Here's what I've noticed after a couple of weeks:
1) The reverb sounds better. Even though the tech did no direct mods to the reverb, he explained why I might think that. I am sorry, but I cannot repeat what he said due to pure technical ignorance.

2) The amp is brighter without any risk of being brittle or glassy. And this is pure delight! The only Fenders I've played are a Twin, a Blues Junior, and a Deluxe Reverb. My DC-3 is more Twin-sounding than Blues Junior or Deluxe Reverb, which is good for me because I thought the Blues Junior was too glassy (with Tex Mex pickups) and the Deluxe Reverb too blanketed.

3) The cleans sound thicker, kind of like the difference between using .008s & .010s.

4) The low strings and high strings play nicer than they did. When I play chords, they sound more natural and not so high-string dominant as before. When I do runs from the low strings to the high strings, the notes flow into each other in a smoother kind of way.

5) The high E now has that sparkle that the B & G strings possessed.

6) On the lead channel, I'm finding that #3 & #4 apply; and I'm finding the lower gain regions are more useable and don't sound quite so brittle.

I hope this helps. I don't make my living by playing music; I'm what you might call a professional hobbyist. 8) So I don't have the experience or technical jargon that many of the Boogie boarders possess. I'm working on getting a nice audio interface to do some recording so that I can post some samples.

Hope this helps,
Scott
 
Ths Scott, if its getting the best tone for you, its great, its your amp, maybe one day i could try an hammond OT, would be nice to know which OT would be the best, 1650N? Monsta tone could help?

thx
 
So.......
I got another DC-3.
How are you still liking the amp?

I'm thinking a choke is the 1st thing I'll add, just to see what the difference is.
:mrgreen: I get dealer pricing at Mercury, so maybe I'll get the whole set...... :mrgreen:
 
I'm really digging the amp, Andy. The thing that's nice about this amp is that I can crank it up without rattling the foundations of the house. I have no ambitions to trade it or sell it, which is amazing for a tone hound like myself. :lol:

I would definitely recommend the choke & the larger OT tranny - not just for clean sounds but for distorted too. The gain seem much more useable.

I didn't have the money to do the power transformer when I had the choke & OT done, but I plan on adding a new PT.

Let us know how things go!
 
Monsta-Tone said:
So.......
I got another DC-3.
How are you still liking the amp?

I'm thinking a choke is the 1st thing I'll add, just to see what the difference is.
:mrgreen: I get dealer pricing at Mercury, so maybe I'll get the whole set...... :mrgreen:


Monsta, which OT would you choose for a DC5a, hammon or Mercury ?
and wich hammond type?

thx
 
For the DC-3 or DC-5, you could pretty much look at the same specs. I think the DC-3 (all Mesa 4xEL84 amps) has a smaller OT for a couple of reasons:
1. Keep costs down
2. Keep size down
3. Make the amp easier to overdrive. The smaller the OT, the quicker it will go into saturation, meaning it can't possibly absorb anymore energy and it starts distorting.

Hammond - is a great brand. The thing I don't like about them is that they rust a little bit quickly out here, and the extra wires for the Ultra-Linear selection are a bit useless to me. They sound phenomenal though!
- Also, you have to use their impedance selector or figure out which wires to use for the output jacks
- 1645 would probably be a great choice for an amp with an immense amount of headroom.
- 1620 might be a good choice for an amp that likes to be overdriven a lot.
This guy has a reputation of being a "Hack," among Fender Vintage die hards. I don't know him, but used to have his book. His descriptions of the Hammond transformers is pretty accurate: http://torresengineering.stores.yahoo.net/hambeauttubo.html
I think they are cheaper at www.tubesandmore.com though.

Heyboer - Another great brand. Really affordable, really well built. Most of their products are built to "Vintage" specs, which means they use paper spacers, wooden bobbins and build them the way the original Schumacher (Fender) transformers were built.
- Pro Reverb or Bassman or AC-30 would all be great choices for replacement transformers, but they are way too huge for a DC-3 chassis.
- Allen Amplification has a few models that are great for Mesa amps, you might drop him an email

Mercury - These guys care way more about quality than they do price. This can get in the way of most people's budgets, but if you want the best transformers, I think there are only a few companies that can top them. Soldano uses Mercury transformers on all of their production model amps. They use DeYoung on the SLO.
- Mercury will work with you to find exactly the OT you are looking for. When I call them and say, "I have this amp, and I want it to sound this way," they tell me my options and have me email photos of the chassis (with measuring tape in pictures) in to them. They try as hard as they can to make sure that the new transformers will fit before they sell them to you.
- I have never installed one and had the customer tell me that it sounded better before.
- A little expensive, but rock solid and it seems like they are the only transformer company that will actually increase your resale value.

Another great thing to do for a 4xEL84 Mesa amp is to find a used DC-5 (Just about any 50 watt Mesa amp) (Mesa part # 562051) output transformer and install it in your amp. It's way cheaper, if you can find one, they run about $40 or so. You won't believe the difference in tone and headroom!

Just keep in mind that almost any transformer will be physically larger than the one in the DC-3.
I have had great luck with the DC-5 transformer (barely fits, you have to re-drill 1 hole).
I have also had really great luck with the Mercury direct replacement for the DC-3.
 
:D Sure. I just ordered a full set (including choke) from Mercury. I will let you know how I like them.
I am going to start with the choke 1st because it is the biggest change to the stock circuit.
Then, I'll do the power transformer.
Then the OT last.

I'll play it for about 20 minutes between each to see what really happens.
 
Monsta-Tone said:
:D Sure. I just ordered a full set (including choke) from Mercury. I will let you know how I like them.
I am going to start with the choke 1st because it is the biggest change to the stock circuit.
Then, I'll do the power transformer.
Then the OT last.

I'll play it for about 20 minutes between each to see what really happens.


gr8t Andy , and yet thanx alot for the feedback !
 
I have dc5 otin my el84 50 ca, love it and it sounds great on the clean channel. Lost some od on dirt channel, I use a ada mp1 with it
 
Sorry to hear about the loss of OD. It's probably due to higher headroom.

I just put the full set of MM transformers in my DC-3. I'll post results in a different thread so that I'm only partially hijacking this one.... :mrgreen:
 

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