Opinions requested on Monte Allums Boss GE-7 mod

[guitaniac]

After many years of dragging around a Boss GE-7 as a multi-purpose backup tool, I've started making extensive use of one again. Its been especially useful for EQing my Wendler electroCoustic in a way which provides better-than-ever (for the eC) results with my Fishman SoloAmp.

In any event, my two GE-7s have become more important to me recently. I'm wondering if a Monte Allums GE-7 mod might be worth the extra $$$ in terms of improved quietness and overall performance. Does anyone here have experience with the Monte Allums GE-7 mod?

Thanks in advance for any responses.
Gary

[tbeltrans]

Gary:

I did the pedalhacker mod myself and it was well worth the effort. This is purchased through his Ebay storefront. the kit costs $30, but you can have him do it for $49 (IIRC). I have two GE-7s now, and did them both myself with good results. I did a few other little "hacks" while I was in there anyway, so my results are a bit different than the "stock" mods. Those hacks involved simply changing some center frequencies and gain, but I was looking for a certain thing that is probably not of interest to most people.

A GE-7 is a bit more complicated than your typical distortion type pedal, so you will want to be handy with a soldering iron and willing to work for an hour or so to get it done.

On the other hand, I would think that any other guy who offers the mods would be about the same in terms of the end result - there is only so much you can do with a circuit like this. So go with this Monte Allums, and I am sure the results will be worthwhile. I have never heard of him, but there are lots of guys doing this sort of thing.

Tony

[guitaniac]

Thanks for the observations and advice, Tony. Here's a link for you, or anyone else, who may be curious about Monte Allums.
http://www.monteallums.com/

Thanks also for the reference to "pedalhacker". I'll check that out on ebay and/or Google.

Gary

[tbeltrans]

Gary:

Thanks for the link. I looked at the site and particularly at the GE-7 mods. It looks interesting and has a somewhat different approach that the pedalhacker mods. I would think either would be fine, and are similarly priced. I like what he says about boutique pedals, and my experience agrees with his assessment. The one potential problem I see with his stacked ICs approach is that there is really very little room in the GE-7 for anything that takes up more space than original components. In the pedalhacker kit, the caps and resistors are somewhat larger than the originals, and there are sockets for the ICs. Altogether, you have to be REALLY careful how you dress leads and seat components and then getting the pedal together again without something shorting against something else. The individual components in the Monte Allums kit seem smaller in some cases, with the exception of the stacked ICs. But in the end, these kits really do make a difference, and I don't think he is just spewing hype.

Tony

[guitaniac]

Hi Tony,

Thanks for the further comments on the difficulty of negotiating the mod without shorting something out. That's an important consideration for a clumsy solderer like myself.

Looking at a couple of pedalhacker's auctions, it appears that his mod may alter the midpoint frequency and/or bandwidth of some or all of the EQ bands. I also got that sense from reading one of the Harmony Central reviews of his GE-7 mod. Is that the case?

Thanks again,
Gary

[tbeltrans]

Gary:

Yes, the most recent review on Harmony Central of the pedalhacker mod for the GE-7 is mine. Pedalhacker changes the frequencies of the top two bands and enhances the range of the bass range. That is how I was able to figure out how to modify that aspect of the pedal for myself and do some further tweaking.

Tony

[guitaniac]

Tony,

Thanks for the inside scoop on the pedalhacker EQ mods. The standard GE-7's EQ is working well enough for me that I'm reluctant to mess with that aspect of it. Looks like I should stick with the Monte Allums mod. I have a PreSonus EQ3B (3 band parametric EQ) if I want to mess with ultra high or ultra low frequencies.

Thanks again,
Gary

[tbeltrans]

Gary:

Well, you do need to pick the one that works for your needs. I think the main thing is cleaning up the sound, and I suspect that this is the first order of business for any of these GE-7 mod kits.

Tony