amp building
- Thread starter skyking
- Start date
JumpMarine
18 watts of Mayhemologist
Re: amp building
Just start reading everything you can on some of these forums:
www.18watt.com
www.hoffmanamps.com
www.ax84.com
www.firebottle.com
www.metroamps.com
And don't be afraid to ask questions!
Just start reading everything you can on some of these forums:
www.18watt.com
www.hoffmanamps.com
www.ax84.com
www.firebottle.com
www.metroamps.com
And don't be afraid to ask questions!
kmcguitars
GuitarArtologist
Re: amp building
There are many books on the subject,But the best way IMO would be to get a small kit that has good instructions and tech support. You'll need to develop good soldering skills and understanding of the components and the proper values. If you already have training in electronics from your job, You should be better than half way there Understanding whats going on inside a Amp and the dangers that lurk in there.
There are many books on the subject,But the best way IMO would be to get a small kit that has good instructions and tech support. You'll need to develop good soldering skills and understanding of the components and the proper values. If you already have training in electronics from your job, You should be better than half way there Understanding whats going on inside a Amp and the dangers that lurk in there.
Re: amp building
The best kit to start from IMHO is the Mission Amps 5E3 Tweed Deluxe. Why Mission? Well, because Bruce supports the heck out of you. The parts arrive in individual labeled bags. The chassis is pre-drillled. Some kits require you to figure out where to mount the board, drill out the holes, etc.,. He gives you a link to his webpage where you can look at a bunch of photos of the build in progress. There are no written words as such, like connect wire a to b. or any of that garbage. You get a schematic and a layout. The layout is like following a puzzle. If you can put the parts where they show up on the layout and take your time to solder it all together correctly, you're there.
Mojo makes a good kit as well, but they don't hold your hand as much as Bruce does.
If you're looking for extreme low cost kits, Weber offers a zillion of them. Not as much support, overseas cheaper parts, but very low cost.
Good luck. get a nice multimeter, some good wire cutters, some hemostats with the curved end, a soldering iron with caddy and you're ready to go!
The best kit to start from IMHO is the Mission Amps 5E3 Tweed Deluxe. Why Mission? Well, because Bruce supports the heck out of you. The parts arrive in individual labeled bags. The chassis is pre-drillled. Some kits require you to figure out where to mount the board, drill out the holes, etc.,. He gives you a link to his webpage where you can look at a bunch of photos of the build in progress. There are no written words as such, like connect wire a to b. or any of that garbage. You get a schematic and a layout. The layout is like following a puzzle. If you can put the parts where they show up on the layout and take your time to solder it all together correctly, you're there.
Mojo makes a good kit as well, but they don't hold your hand as much as Bruce does.
If you're looking for extreme low cost kits, Weber offers a zillion of them. Not as much support, overseas cheaper parts, but very low cost.
Good luck. get a nice multimeter, some good wire cutters, some hemostats with the curved end, a soldering iron with caddy and you're ready to go!
Re: amp building
I'd suggest a getting kit as Scott F recommends.
I'm building my first amp from a schematic and layout sketch. Not as easy as I thought it would be.
I have a friend ( who has built several tube amps ) that helped source the parts and indicated that he will help me whenever I run into problems. That is great, except that he is not all that easy to contact and lives about 40 miles away.
Good luck on your build !!
Dave
I'd suggest a getting kit as Scott F recommends.
I'm building my first amp from a schematic and layout sketch. Not as easy as I thought it would be.
I have a friend ( who has built several tube amps ) that helped source the parts and indicated that he will help me whenever I run into problems. That is great, except that he is not all that easy to contact and lives about 40 miles away.
Good luck on your build !!
Dave
JoeBC
New member
Re: amp building
I did the AX84.com High Octane and really like it. Most of the fun is learning how to do it on the forum. It tales a lot of reading and research to get it all down before you start hacking up the chassis and mounting things.
The amp has an octal socket mod added so I could use a KT66, the tube sounds way better than an EL84 to my ears. The amp can have either power tube plugged in, but only one at a time. The speaker cab was something I threw together but sounds awesome. It's the same dimensions as a Mesa 1x12 Recto enclosed bottom, it's huge. Sounds awesome with a Reverend All tone 12 inch speaker. It sounds like a mini Marshal stack (master volume), gets awesome high gain tube distortion.
The amp next to it is a Fender Blues Junior so you can see the size of it. Running these two amps in stereo through a Boss Chorus sounds huge.
I did the AX84.com High Octane and really like it. Most of the fun is learning how to do it on the forum. It tales a lot of reading and research to get it all down before you start hacking up the chassis and mounting things.
The amp has an octal socket mod added so I could use a KT66, the tube sounds way better than an EL84 to my ears. The amp can have either power tube plugged in, but only one at a time. The speaker cab was something I threw together but sounds awesome. It's the same dimensions as a Mesa 1x12 Recto enclosed bottom, it's huge. Sounds awesome with a Reverend All tone 12 inch speaker. It sounds like a mini Marshal stack (master volume), gets awesome high gain tube distortion.
The amp next to it is a Fender Blues Junior so you can see the size of it. Running these two amps in stereo through a Boss Chorus sounds huge.
Last edited:
casblah
New member
Re: amp building
That'd be the Toxic 20...it's a single-ended, class-A amp, that was built by me & my boss @ our shop. We actually built 6 of them, so it was a considerable amount of work. 2 channels, one output tube (KT88), and 2 preamp tubes. I'll defer you to a thread I posted...."Of Blood, Sweat, and Splinters" for more info & pics.Scott_F said:
shredaholic
New member
Re: amp building
Get a kit from Metroamp.com, then sign up to the forum there and start tweaking it - you'll soon find yourself learning loads!
Get a kit from Metroamp.com, then sign up to the forum there and start tweaking it - you'll soon find yourself learning loads!