Re: Honestly....
The unanswered question is "How good is the kit?" With a really complete kit, excellent documentation (especially the layout), and some form of support, a Tweed Champ or Princeton is a great starting point - and a nice amp to have
The documentation for a lot of Champ kits is simply going to be the vintage Fender layout and schematic:
like this. I can build an amp starting with that now, but couldn't have for my first build. Actually, I've re-built my 5F2-A twice already and it's overdue for another go around
Weber makes great speakers but you should do a search about parts quality and support before buying one of their amp kits...
Mojo Musical Supply sells complete kits but there's no support. Marsh Amplification sells Mojo kits for less than Mojo does - I don't get it! I do not know how much support he provides.
Not to be a weenie, but there are deadly voltages inside tube amps. You
need to know how to stay safe! Here's a good start:
http://www.drifteramps.com/safety.html
Here's a sub-forum specifically on kit amps:
http://music-electronics-forum.com/f25/
You can learn TONS over on the
AX84 forum
Instead of typing a bunch of other links here, please check out this thread from the Hoffman Amps forum
References (yes, I started that thread - trying to pay back a little of all I've learned from others)
Just the other day someone was talking about getting a Tweed Princeton (5F2-A) in a slightly larger cab to accomodate a 10" speaker. It's possible that Bruce Collins at
Mission Amps might put together a kit like that for you - no promises, but Bruce can't be beat in terms of support plus he's our forum bro' Lew's brother.
For that matter, would you rather end up with a 5E3 Tweed Deluxe? Mission Amps makes a
great kit for that amp.
You're not going to save any money building the first amp. You'll need a good digital multimeter, a good soldering iron, assorted other tidbits, and a ton of patience. It's big fun when the amp works at last though!
Cheers,
Chip