Legendary Tones Hot Mod V2 EVO 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 STANDARD 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 Standard Wired:
For original JMP and JCM 800 series 2203/2204/1959/1987. The standard wired model also works for the early reissue 1959/1987 models without the factory-installed effects loop. Choose the standard wire option if you use the new Marshall studio series SC20H/SV20H heads as well!

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

HOT MOD V2/LYNCH MOD STANDARD WIRED COMPATIBILITY LIST:

Marshall (vintage, JMP):
1986, 1987, 1987T, 1959, 1959HW (reissue), 1962,1968, 1992, 2203*, 2204*, 2104, 2103, 1989, 2245 (JTM 45)

Marshall JCM 800:
2000 (V3 position), 1987, 1959, 2103, 2203, 2203KK, 2104, 2204, 2205 (1981-1983 models only), 2210 (1981-1983 models only), 4010, 4103, 4104, 4210 (1981-1983 only), 4211(1981-1983 only), 4212 (1981-1983 only)

Marshall JCM 900:
2500, 2501, 2502, 2100, 2101

Marshall Vintage Reissue:
1987x (pre-2003 without Marshall factory effects loop), 1959 (without factory effects loop), 2245THW (handwired JTM 45 reissue), 1959 YJM

Marshall Studio:
This new series of mini 20 watt heads require the removal of the L bracket and thumbscrew so that the units can fit into the PCB-mounted socket in the amp which does not use a base tube shield.

SC20H/SV20H (Heads only)

Friedman Amps:
BE-100, BE-100 DLX, BE-50 DLX, Small Box, PT-20**, Twin Sister, Plex

**NOTE 2: While the Friedman PT-20 is sonically compatible with the HMV2E and Lynch 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.

Orange Amps:
OR50

Peavey Amps:
VTM-60, VTM-120 and Butcher (original 1980s version)

Sovtek Amps:
Mig 60, Mig 100

Jet City Amps:
JCA5212 standard wire V4 position

NOTES ON OTHER AMPS

Clones:
The Hot Mod V2 has been found to work well in a variety of Marshall 1959/1987/2203/2204 clone and similar circuits including: Ceriatone, Germino, Mojotone, Wangs, and Bugera (Bugera needs reverse wired model and is compatible with pre-Infinium 1960 model only. Bugera Infinium 1960 does NOT work).

Other Amps:
The Hot Mod V2 is designed to work with amps which use a cathode follower design into the tone stack. It adds a gain stage essentially on top of the cathode follower. As a result, the HMV2 will function in other classic amps like Fender Pro, Super, Twin, etc. as well as others like Vox AC30 or certain Traynor amps, etc. However, the circuit of the HMV2 has been tuned and optimized for Marshall circuits, so LegendaryTones generally recommend they be used for the models in the list above only. If they were to make a design for a Fender for example, it would be tuned differently just like it would also be tuned differently for a Vox.

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 quickl