Express optional gain mods?

[Ledvedder5150]

Hi everyone, I've been playing my Express build all morning, and it's a beast! I put a 12at7 in the PI and a 5751 in v1. Being the curious person that I am, I'm wondering if anyone has implemented any successful mods to switch to a lower gain? I put a fast/gradual switch in my Liverpool build that I like. But I'm not sure how well it would work in the Express circuit. Any recommendations?

[Littlewyan]

An idea I've pondered but not tested is creating a voltage divider between the 2nd and 3rd gain stages. Right now you should just have a 150K resistor to ground. Perhaps try two 82K resistors in a voltage divider configuration instead to bring the gain down.
Or I believe earlier modded Fenders that were 'nuked' had a 220K/220K voltage divider after the 3rd gain stage, that would also lower gain.

[wpaulvogel]

I use a 68k/10nF coupling cap grid reference combination to lower the gain and retain the frequency response. Another trick you can try is to use a 250 audio volume pot and a 680k or 750k series resistor to give you more sweep in the volume control. With the pot you’ll have to play with the pot/resistor values to get the full sweep before the amp goes to mud. I really never turned mine past noon with the original 1 Meg pot.

[Ledvedder5150]

I use a 68k/10nF coupling cap grid reference combination to lower the gain and retain the frequency response. Another trick you can try is to use a 250 audio volume pot and a 680k or 750k series resistor to give you more sweep in the volume control. With the pot you’ll have to play with the pot/resistor values to get the full sweep before the amp goes to mud. I really never turned mine past noon with the original 1 Meg pot.

Do you have the 68k/10nF on a switch, or permanently in place?

[wpaulvogel]

It’s permanent. The Express has so much overdrive that even with all the gain reduction/volume pot modifications, I still can’t turn it up full clockwise. It’s just way more user friendly.