Legendary Tones Hot Mod V2 EVO Reverse Wire Plug-In High Gain Tube Modification Module

HOT MOD V2 EVO: The Ultimate High-Gain Plug-in Tube Modification Module!

Note: This listing is for the REVERSE WIRE version (***more info below)

Introducing the LegendaryTones HOT MOD V2 EVO, a plug-in dual 12AX7 pure tube module specifically engineered to dramatically increase gain in Marshall amps. The HOT MOD V2 EVO requires NO chassis cutting, drilled holes, or wiring modifications to your amp – it simply and easily installs in place of the middle V2 tube position. The circuit within harnesses the power of an additional gain stage now running an additional preamp tube.

Want your classic Marshall to sing with increased sustain and pure vacuum tube tone? Your tube high-gain solution is here. No solid state tricks or clipping diodes. 100% pure tube gain. The HOT MOD V2 EVO circuit was carefully designed to give you gradual increases of gain when using the amp’s preamp control. From adding a touch of sweet sustain, to full-on metal, your Marshall will now have greater flexibility and deliver a wider range of tones.

With the HOT MOD V2 EVO (HMV2E), because the increased gain is created inside the amp rather than through an external pedal booster running in front of the input, the noise level of the HMV2E is dramatically reduced even at higher gain settings compared to when using an overdrive or EQ pedal used as a clean boost. Additionally, because of the HMV2E design focus was articulation with sustain, your signal can still clean up well by rolling back your guitar’s volume control. And if for some reason you still wanted more gain from an external pedal to shape or increase the signal gain further, you can still do it. You likely won’t need to, but go ahead and hit the front end of your amp with a hotter signal and the HMV2E will take it just fine!

The Marshall JMP and JCM 800 series amps from the 1970s and 1980s are legendary. And back in the day, they were getting hot rodded in numerous ways and indeed were a fantastic platform to work from. The quality of the transformers and components used in those classic amps was unparalleled. Now you can get many of the same high-gain Marshall tones with the simple and easy-to-use HMV2E. With the quality build and components (transformers, capacitors) found in those original early Marshall JMP and JCM 800 series amps and pure tube signal and tone that’s straight-forward and organic, the HMV2E is a great way to modernize and get the most out of your amp.

Now, there’s no need to cut up or drill into your classic amps and reduce their value. The HMV2E is a simple plug-in device that injects more gain and FUN into your Marshall! Isn’t that what it’s all about?

NEW FEATURE! BASS BOOST/CUT WITH 2-STAGE GAIN SWITCH

The original Hot Mod V2 introduced in late 2019 was a hit! But along the way, Legendary Tones refined the circuit and now, due to customer requests, they’ve refined it further and renamed it the HOT MOD V2 EVO as the evolution of the original Hot Mod V2.

The onboard Bass boost/cut switch is a customer request for those players who wanted to have a tighter low end. In the down position, the note articulation stays tight. When in the up position, a nice range of low-end resonance.

The 2-stage Gain switch gives high-gain boosts in both positions. In the down position it has more note clarity and attack, in the up position, even more sustain and compression. The down position is based on the tuning of the original Hot Mod V2.

***There are two different models currently available. This listing is for the Hot Mod V2 Evo Reverse Wired:
For 2203x/2203zw, as well as 1959SLP/1987X plexi reissue models w/factory effects loops (2003+) that have reversed triode wiring.

Will my Hot Mod V2 or Lynch Mod work in my amp?

HOT MOD V2/LYNCH MOD REVERSE WIRED COMPATIBILITY LIST:

JCM 800 800 2203X reissue (all years), 2203ZW (Zakk Wylde signature)

1987X (model year 2003+ w/Marshall added effects loop)

1959SLP (w/Marshall added effects loop)

1959RR (Randy Rhoads Signature)

JTM 45 reissue model 2245, Bluesbreaker reissue combo 1962

Friedman Amps:
Runt 50 (V3), Runt 20** (V2), JEL-20 and JJ Jr.**(V2) are each compatible with the reverse-wire version of the Hot Mod V2 Evo and Lynch Mods (use in V3 position of Runt 50).

**NOTE 2: While the Runt 20 (reverse wire), JEL-20 and JJ Jr. (reverse wire) models are sonically compatible with the HMV2E and Lynch Mod/Mr. Scary Mod, the head enclosures are too shallow and don’t have enough depth to fit the HMV2E chassis without FIRST removing the amp chassis from the head box. So if you would like to use the HMV2E with these amps, you first need to remove the chassis bolts, slide out the chassis, install the mod, and then slide the chassis back into its head box and retighten the chassis bolts.

Popular amps that the HMV2/Lynch Mod/Mr. Scary Mod DO NOT WORK with include: Marshall Silver Jubilee series, Marshall Origin series, Marshall Vintage Modern Series, Mesa Boogie Mark series amps, Bugera 1960, and Hiwatt DR series.

Some History

Back in the late 1980s, Mike Soldano of Soldano Custom Amplification released his original Hot Mod, a design based around use of rare 6C10 (and then later 6K11) tubes. These tube types added more gain much the same way that the HOT MOD V2 EVO and Lynch Mod do, but they had limitations. The tubes were long out of production, getting expensive to find, and often would become microphonic and therefore limited in capability. The original Soldano Hot Mod had lots of gain and delivered on its promise, but it was ultimately taken out of production primarily due to the challenges with finding consistent and quiet tubes.

Still, the original Hot Mod was the inspiration for the HOT MOD V2 EVO and Lynch Mod, which function in much the same way as the original, but now have additional circuitry that further stabilize the design, provide more clarity, and deliver a wider, more controllable range of gain on the preamp control of the amp rather than coming onto high-gain territory too quickly. And of course the HMV2E and Lynch Mod now also uses a 12AX and 12AT7 tubes that are commonly available.