DIY amp build: Done with the headshell ..now comes the tough part :p

[Phantasmagoria]

Yeah, finally, after long hours of insane toil ...pretty much done with it .. :bigthumb:

^^ Just a mock-up with the knobs/buttons/logo..they're only 'placed' in position for now. Nothing's actually gone in yet.

Gotta say I'm pretty happy with the way it's turned out. All I really had to work with was a drill, a jigsaw & a hand file ...so yeah, I'm happy
.
Now to get on with the hard part (getting everything in there & making it work) :laugh2:



It's going to have separate Solid State & Tube pre's which can be switched in/out of the circuit or run together & a 250 Watt power output.

Controls are: Clean/Stnby/dirt 3-way selector. Individual level knobs/on-off buttons for the tube & SS preamps, a tone knob, an active 'mid-sweep' to change the mid-frequencies (Q), gain knob & a master volume. Also on/off switchable onboard delay/chorus.

Effects Loop at the back & an 8 Ohm speaker out.

Illuminated control panel & Twin 60 mm cooling fans on top so it does'nt catch fire :laugh2:

And a 1 inch thick cheap bamboo chopping board (at the bottom of the pic) cut to size & covered in black Tolex with rubber feet for the bottom/base.

That's the plan

 

[Jacew]

Re: DIY amp build: Done with the headshell ..now comes the tough part

That looks awesome

 

[Phantasmagoria]

Re: DIY amp build: Done with the headshell ..now comes the tough part

Thanks! :beerchug:

I don't have camera so my kid took a couple of goofy-angled pics with his cellphone.. here's a better one (without the chopping board base :laugh2

It looks a lot better in person though. I used some pretty sweet "brushed gold" printable metallic sheeting for the control panels & the effect is way cooler than you can tell in the pics. Also there's a channel/groove around (behind) the front panel edges that I'm going to run a length of yellow/daylight EL wire in (with a soft start) that's going to provide "panel illumination"

EDIT: Just posted this pic of the top..

I'll be switching the blue fans & chrome grilles for black ones..

 

[jeremy]

Re: DIY amp build: Done with the headshell ..now comes the tough part

so what is the amp based on? seems pretty unique.

 

[Adieu]

Re: DIY amp build: Done with the headshell ..now comes the tough part

What's the reasoning behind such high wattage?

 

[Jacew]

Re: DIY amp build: Done with the headshell ..now comes the tough part

What's the reasoning behind such high wattage?

SS amp so more is always better?

Besides. It's Evil Ogre. Can't be shy on wattage with that branding

 

[Adieu]

Re: DIY amp build: Done with the headshell ..now comes the tough part

SS amp so more is always better?

Besides. It's Evil Ogre. Can't be shy on wattage with that branding

Is it?

Btw, oldskool wattage or "peak" like they label consumer electronics?

 

[Phantasmagoria]

Re: DIY amp build: Done with the headshell ..now comes the tough part

so what is the amp based on? seems pretty unique.

Thanks, It sounds like a Dual Rec with the mid-sweep off, roundish, a bit scooped, big bottom, a bit of sag, meaty as hell with some glass on top ..nice sparkle & chirp on top for solo's.

With the Mid Sweep/boost switched on it can cover a lot of other (hi-gain) ground.

 

[Phantasmagoria]

Re: DIY amp build: Done with the headshell ..now comes the tough part

What's the reasoning behind such high wattage?

I like LOUD

 

[Phantasmagoria]

Re: DIY amp build: Done with the headshell ..now comes the tough part

Is it?

Btw, oldskool wattage or "peak" like they label consumer electronics?

No PMPO bull**** ..this is 100% RMS

I've tested the circuit outside the box..it's very,very loud & sounds really awesome. The feel is super tubey as well. I built in a sag circuit (just a coupe of large ceramic resistors in line) which helps with that..

The Tube preamp is basically just a clean buffer..it does'nt break up and stays clean all the way to max. It's a buffer that goes between the SS preamp & the power amp. I used an old preamp that I built for my hi-fi amplifier a few years ago & which I have'nt been using since I got a new Mosfet hi-fi amp a while ago (which sounds pretty warm/tubey already) .

It uses some Russian pentodes ...they are clean & sweet sounding & it (tube pre) will be the default "clean channel". it can be switched ON down-line from the SS pre & blended in (to taste) with the SS signal for a very tube-like hi-gain sound or crunch depending on the amount of SS preamp gain vs. tube pre boost dialed in.

The power amp is a Class D mono Chinese board I bought off ebay for $16.00 ..sounds fantastic actually & it's shockingly loud

 

[Demanic]

Re: DIY amp build: Done with the headshell ..now comes the tough part

What's the reasoning behind such high wattage?

Metal

Sent from my Alcatel_5044C using Tapatalk

 

[Phantasmagoria]

Re: DIY amp build: Done with the headshell ..now comes the tough part

The only problem is it's a lot of cicuitry to fit into the box. it fits but I need to mod some stuff first ..cause I ran into some (hopefully fixable/minor) space problems when I tried.

Things don't get hot outside the box but I'll have to see how that goes with everything moved inside..hopefully the large air vent/twin fans on top will help

 

[Phantasmagoria]

Re: DIY amp build: Done with the headshell ..now comes the tough part

Metal

Sent from my Alcatel_5044C using Tapatalk

:headbang:

 

[Adieu]

Re: DIY amp build: Done with the headshell ..now comes the tough part

Just seems like 250w in a guitar amp (not bass, right?) is creating unnecessary risk avenues for blowing speakers or overheating a compact enclosure

 

[Demanic]

Re: DIY amp build: Done with the headshell ..now comes the tough part

Just seems like 250w in a guitar amp (not bass, right?) is creating unnecessary risk avenues for blowing speakers or overheating a compact enclosure

Don't use a compact enclosure.
Use a high watt 4X12 with a 1X18.

Sent from my Alcatel_5044C using Tapatalk

 

[Phantasmagoria]

Re: DIY amp build: Done with the headshell ..now comes the tough part

Just seems like 250w in a guitar amp (not bass, right?) is creating unnecessary risk avenues for blowing speakers or overheating a compact enclosure

Well volume-wise I would expect it (have'nt tried this ) to be about as loud as a 120 watt tube head when maxed ..maybe a bit louder..but not by much because SS watts don't sound as loud as tube watts. So it's going to be loud but probably not eardrum-bustingly loud :laugh2:

Regarding over-heating. I have'nt seen any evidence of a heating problem when things have been hooked up outside the box. The amp board just gets slightly warm after an hour+ of playtime (it also has a dinky onboard fan & heat-sink of it's own - attached to the board). Things will be different in the box naturally but I still don't think it will be a problem with the large vent on top (about a third of the ceiling's surface area) & the two fans..

The problem with class D amps it they can be a bit thin/wimpy sounding/lack bottom if they are'nt high wattage. Plus a lot of SS guitar (not just bass) amps are pretty high wattage anyway ..Randall's, Crates, even the newer Quilter's etc (also pretty tiny) are often in the 250-300 watt range.

 

[Phantasmagoria]

Re: DIY amp build: Done with the headshell ..now comes the tough part

Don't use a compact enclosure.
Use a high watt 4X12 with a 1X18.

Sent from my Alcatel_5044C using Tapatalk

Yeah, this will be hooked up to one of my 4x12's ...too bad I don't have an 18" speaker for them though ..maybe later

 

[GoldenVulture]

Re: DIY amp build: Done with the headshell ..now comes the tough part

No PMPO bull**** ..this is 100% RMS

I've tested the circuit outside the box..it's very,very loud & sounds really awesome. The feel is super tubey as well. I built in a sag circuit (just a coupe of large ceramic resistors in line) which helps with that..

The Tube preamp is basically just a clean buffer..it does'nt break up and stays clean all the way to max. It's a buffer that goes between the SS preamp & the power amp. I used an old preamp that I built for my hi-fi amplifier a few years ago & which I have'nt been using since I got a new Mosfet hi-fi amp a while ago (which sounds pretty warm/tubey already) .

It uses some Russian pentodes ...they are clean & sweet sounding & it (tube pre) will be the default "clean channel". it can be switched ON down-line from the SS pre & blended in (to taste) with the SS signal for a very tube-like hi-gain sound or crunch depending on the amount of SS preamp gain vs. tube pre boost dialed in.

The power amp is a Class D mono Chinese board I bought off ebay for $16.00 ..sounds fantastic actually & it's shockingly loud

One of these ? Did you get the matching power supply for it ?
- https://www.aliexpress.com/item/IRS...Power-Amp-Board-High-Quality/32803925812.html -

I bought two of these and made a stereo power amp for my sound system with them. They perform amazingly and have a really good frequency response from top to bottom. I'm actually really impressed how well they work the bottom end.

 

[Phantasmagoria]

Re: DIY amp build: Done with the headshell ..now comes the tough part

Yep..that's the one & the only 65V dual rail switched mode power supply I could find for it..I guess that's the matching one you're talking about. I'd take a pic but don't have a phone or camera. Maybe when my son gets home later..

I agree..it sounds absolutely fantastic..big fat bass & everything

Pretty shocking how tiny it is too..

 

[GoldenVulture]

Re: DIY amp build: Done with the headshell ..now comes the tough part

Yep..that's the one & the only 65V dual rail switched mode power supply I could find for it..I guess that's the matching one you're talking about. I'd take a pic but don't have a phone or camera. Maybe when my son gets home later..

I agree..it sounds absolutely fantastic..big fat bass & everything

Pretty shocking how tiny it is too..

- https://www.aliexpress.com/item/500...g-power-supply-board-for-DIY/32808670080.html -