Help with project ideas please

[firebirdV]

I'm thinking of starting an amp project, but I'm not 100% on what I want. I can solder competently due to a combination of robotics club and anal retentiveness. My father went to school for electronics, so I also have someone around to make sure I don't do anything stupid.

So my main problem is figuring out what I want to build/mod. I don't have a full amp, just a mesa preamp, so I was considering picking up a sf fender and modding it. I don't need anything large at this point, so I'm fine with lower wattage things.

My first idea was to get an old beat up sf champ tweak the guts to my liking and to slap a larger transformer on so it would have more headroom and could accept a 112 extension cab I have laying around. Then I could stick the mesa in front of it for higher gain stuff, or just plug straight in for a more vintage sound. The downside of that would be that it's low wattage so I would be sinking a lot of money into something that will never be very much and I don't actually know how it would sound.

One step up from that is a single ended amp utilizing a larger tube. More headroom, louder, etc... The downside this time is that I would probably have to buy everything and do everything from scratch (probably needs a larger power transformer) which may be a bit too much for me. I also have no idea of how it would sound.

Another step up would be to make a 12-18 watt type amp (tweed deluxe?). Now we're getting a little expensive for my taste. Plus, I'd probably end up buying a kit where I wouldn't actually do much other than solder and bolt stuff together.

Any advice?
Don't know if it helps, but I like a lot of old blues and rock stuff: Johnny Winter, Zep, the Stones, Savoy Brown, Allman Bros, etc...

If I could get anything close to any of these sounds with a little versatility, I'd probably be very happy.

 

[ES350]

Re: Help with project ideas please

Get a tweed Deluxe kit (chassis and board kit only), sub an OT with a primary Z better suited for EL34 or 6L6 OT (hint: see new Hammond transformer line) and a suitable PT, put it in fixed bias (maybe switchable cathode/fixed), and you've got a very nice little 35-40 watt amp with some hair (see the Weber Proluxe for an example). You can make a head box for it pretty easily and use it with a bigger cab...and it'll be something you can keep.

 

[firebirdV]

Re: Help with project ideas please

Thanks for the suggestion.

A kind of souped up deluxe sounds fun. I'm going to seriously consider this; it seems to meet all of my requirements and I'll get to spend a time thinking about it as opposed to just putting it together.

 

[ES350]

Re: Help with project ideas please

If you want to use the Mesa preamp in front, it makes sense to have something with enough power to reproduce that without introducing its own artifacts. A Champ or 18 watter won't be able to do that at more than bedroom/practice levels. With 30-40 watts in fixed bias, you will be able to use it standalone or with the preamp and get some low end and fidelity. Most of the tweed Deluxe gain tricks are still available, so it could be a versatile rig...if you go with a multitap OT (2-4-8), you can use a lot of different cabs as needed. While you're at it, build me one...