6 Epiphone Valve Jr.•Mercury Upgrade Kit
ThisprojectanditsdocumentationistheresultoftechnicalinvestigationsmadebytheengineeringstaffofMercury Magnetics.Thedisclosureoftheinformationhereinmaypertaintoproprietaryrightsand
thefurnishingofthesedocumentsdoesnotconstituteanexpresedorimpliedlicensetousesuchmaterials.
Factoid:AMercuryMini-Choke™replacesaresistorand
addsadiscernableamountoftonaldimensiontothecircuit.
PerformyourownexperimentwhenworkingonyourValve Jr.—
tryitwithandwithoutthechokemodtothecircuit.You’llhave
nodifcultyhearinghowmuchbetteritsoundswiththechoke.
Chokeswereoriginallyusedinvintageampsbutseldomare
nowduetotheeconomicsofampbuilding(acostissue,nota
tonalone!).Chokesextendthelifeofthepower transformer
andrectier.Achokeismuchmorethanasimpleinductor.It
canalsostoreenergylikeacapacitor.Bettervoltageregulation
resultsfromusingachokethatputslessstressonyourpower
transformerhelpingittolivelonger.Chokespermithigher
loadcurrentstobedrawnfromvacuumtuberectierswithout
exceedingtheirpeakcurrentrating.Thismeanslifeextension
foryourtuberectier!Solidstaterectiersrunhappieraswell.If
that’snotenough,thetoneofyourampwillnoticeablyimprove
witha“peakedandtweaked”hand-tunedchokefromMercury.
You’ve made the Mercury Upgrade – now you’re ready to play!
O
“State-of-the-Art”
Studio Samples
Followtheselinkstoaselectionofundoctored
MP3samplesoftheprototypeMercuryUpgraded
ValveJr.Justforthefunofitthesesampleswere
madeunderprimitiveconditions(seethephototo
theright).
Aspecial“Thankyou!”goesouttoLAmusician
PhilWoodwardforhisguitarworkonthese
tracks:
Mercury UpgradeSample1
Mercury UpgradeSample2
Mercury UpgradeSample3
Mercury UpgradeSample4
Mercury UpgradeSample5