Vox VBM1 "Deacy" mods

A presentation of the changes in tone achieved through the manipulation of the placement of a Shure 57, close-micing the cabinet of a Vox VBM1, followed by a demonstration of an array of the tonal possibilities which can be expected from the addition or subtraction of any variation of the following components: internal booster, external booster, stock speaker, Dai Ichi DC-65 30, 1uF capacitor and 390uH inductor. (or nearest available equivalents) In the long quest to unlock the secrets of the Brian May tone, one finds himself in need of a Deacy amp replica. But not all Deacy's are created equal... this video will showcase a few of the changes suggested by other users and makers to squeeze a bit more Deacy out of the Vox VBM1 amp. First, is a demonstration of how the placement of a close up mic affects the tone. In this case, I used a Shure 57. No EQ changes were done in post. I think mic placement is possibly equally as significant as any of the other changes in this video. The amp, on it's own, is very versatile... and with time an effort, can be use to great effect. For hardware changes, I made one of Nigel Knight's internal booster bypass Kat Kables. TRS on one end, TS on the other, plugged into the "booster output" jack, it allows one to add their favorite external Treble Booster. In this video, I used my Fryer Treble Booster Super. Which sounded super! Next, I made a very common modification to this amp, swapping the stock speaker for a Dai Ichi DC-65 30. I then added in two 2.2uF capacitors (because I couldn't obtain a single 1uF) and a 390uH inductor, as per Nigel Knight's suggestion. I could not find the exact equivalents in the states easily, so I got my parts from RS-components.com in the UK. The exact parts are: Panasonic 390 μH ±10% Ferrite Leaded Inductor, 1.3A Idc, 250mΩ Rdc ELC16B Panasonic 2.2μF 50V dc Bipolar Electrolytic Capacitor, Through Hole 5 (Dia.) x 11mm +85°C 5mm 2mm Two notes I should make - I played with the mic placement until I got something I regarded as closest to how I perceive certain characteristics of the original Deacy to be. I did not move the mic or alter the placement based on the changing components after I placed it the first time, knowing repositioning it could very well change the subsequent sound for the better. (or worse) For reference, I settled on the "6th" sample in the mic placement portion of the video. Secondly, I wish I would have added in a second, "room" mic... I think this would have captured different characteristics not necessarily present in the close mic, such as those "ethereal" and "far out, man" type things guitar players can feel in their fingers or in the air. When I used the Fryer booster, I got a different response from the strings, I could feel it wanting to sustain longer, and some of the higher frequencies could be coaxed out of the strings easier... which was why my playing slowed down on occasion, because I was seeing what it would do from time to time. I hope this video is instructive on it's own, but I will make a note here to point out I know almost zero about electronic components, so please keep this in mind if you ask any questions in the comment section. :)