Recent content by Fresh_Start

I’ve got a neck with a blank peghead that I’m going to put on a Warmoth Strat body. Some really basic questions: Is there an advantage to machine heads secured with 1 or 2 posts instead of a tab/extension with a screw? Is a 12:1 ratio good enough or is a 16:1 or 18:1 really an improvement...

A Celestion Alnico Blue speaker is out of my price range. I can read the product descriptions of the Weber 12A125, 12A125-A and 12A125-S, but just don't have a feel for which is the best choice for this circuit. Think Strat and Tele for blues and relatively clean rock. Anybody have experience...

Really basic stuff here but helpful if you're just starting out: http://www.stewmac.com/tsarchive/ts0186.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=ts0186 A couple of things he doesn't mention: 1) make certain that the parts can't move while you're soldering them together. 2) if...

This was my first pedal build. Great instructions, well made board with good layout, and quality components with one exception. I can't understand why anyone would want carbon composition resistor noise right at the start of their signal chain - fortunately there were metal film replacements...

Glassman was nice enough to send me a PM and straighten me out on a couple of misconceptions I had about electronics, specifically in post #10. Most folks tend to think that if a tube is called 12A?X, then it can be substituted for any other 12A?X tube. That is not necessarily a good...

Check this out: It's a complete recreation of a Marshal 2204 made by one of the guys on AX84.com. The custom designed PCB board is 1/8" thick with 4 oz. copper traces and gold plated through holes. Every preamp stage has a separate power supply filter. Even if you don't like the red &...

Just thought I'd share an interesting experience with you all. My first amp is a Blues Jr. I've tried a bunch of different power tubes in it: Sovtek Groove Tubes Mesa Electro Harmonix Ei JJ The Ei EL-84s were my runaway favorites in the Blues Jr. I absolutely hated the dark, muddy tone...

Have one of these gems on my bench. I'm interested in your thoughts on the 6V6 power tubes and the 5AR4/GZ34 rectifier. Sovtek 5AR4 - anything better (not NOS) to replace it with? Power tubes - I've used Tung Sol 6V6s in a couple of P.R. clones. Any other new 6V6 tubes sound better? (please...

I've decided to replace the bridge on my Heritage 535 (335 clone) and have three choices with a pretty wide price range. What do you all think? 1) Wilkinson Brass Roller Bridge - $24.95 and locks up! Immortal Six suggested this bridge in another thread, and it looks like a good option...

I've got a Heritage 535 and something's been bugging me for a while. To get the high & low E strings clear of the back edge of the bridge, I have to crank the stoptail WAY up - especially on the bass side. The tailpiece studs are barely in the bushings. I tried doing the top-wrap approach...

Updated Slideshow 8/15/09 I'll be adding to this slideshow as the build progresses. It's an AB763 Super Reverb derivative. The "Vibrato" channel is very close to stock except it has the bias-vary tremolo of a 6G16 Vibroverb. Full credit goes to Doug Hoffman for his version of the AB763...

My buddy has an Epiphone Joe Pass Emperor. Spruce top, laminated maple body, maple neck & rosewood fingerboard. Stock pickups are alnico 5. He's a late beginner (like me) and wants to play jazz & some classic rock tones. Likes old Santana too. Only amp is a Princeton Reverb clone I built...

I took some pics while re-wiring my Heritage 535. slideshow I tied a string to each pot and the switch, with a cardboard tab on the other end of each string. Then I carefully fished everything out through the f-hole. I re-mounted all of the components except the jack on a piece of cardboard...

Sorry - should have used "Search" function first! Here's what I did: 500K tone pots Tone caps to taste - .015 neck & .022 bridge Cap & 150K resistor in series with 680pf cap for bridge volume and .001uf cap for neck volume. I really like the .015 tone cap in the neck - much more usable range...

It lives & breathes & makes music... or at least it would if I were any good at playing guitar... This is my second build based on the Princeton Reverb circuit. In addition to improving the grounding arrangement and power filterings, there are a few other changes: - Raised supply voltage to...