Honestly....

ZoSo0789

New member
.... how hard is to to build a simple tweed clone from a kit? Ya know, for someone whos never had any soldering experience much outside of overhauling your guitar's electronics. My friend is thinking of biting the bullet and getting a small Tweed Champ clone from somewhere, and if he does I might bite the bullet as well. All in all for the amp, chassis, trannies, speaker, and cabinet, it's looking to cost around $450 to build one.... which isnt bad at all for getting premium quality stuff. Only thing holding back is if someone with our experience (lack there of) has the skills to put it together properly to where the assembly can rival the quality of the parts.
 
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 :D

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
 
Re: Honestly....

I also keep thinking about building a valve amp.
Looking at circuits makes you realise that single channel amps are not that complicated, especially if you have a class A power section and thus don't have to worry about exact biasing of the power tubes.
 
Re: Honestly....

Anyone else want to chime in? I know more of you have built these...
+1 for what Fresh_Start said.

I built a Princeton-inspired amp from Dave Hunters, The Guitar Amp Handbook and it ended up costing me closer to $500 when it was all said and done.
I did it as a head and made my own box.
I hook it up to an open-back Carvin Vintage 212 with a Celestion G12H30/Vintage 30 duo.
It was a lot of fun and a great experience.
But definitely do your homework first.
Understand how capacitors work and why they can hurt you.
Never work on it when tired or non-sober.

That said, if I had to do it all over again, I think I'd opt for the Tweed Deluxe... something about hearing Neil Young abuse his really, really makes me want one. Plus, you can gig with it... as opposed to the Champ which is a great recording/bedroom amp.

Things won't get complicated until you decide on a multi-channel or reverb/tremolo amp.

I say go for it.
What have you got to lose?
Introduce yourself at Hoffmans forum and if you get stuck pick their brains.

My only advice is to not skimp on parts.

Good luck.
MM
 
Re: Honestly....

Hm... thinking about a 5e1 Champ w/ a tone control inside a 1x10".... anyone know the hookup
 
Re: Honestly....

Hm... thinking about a 5e1 Champ w/ a tone control inside a 1x10".... anyone know the hookup

You're basically asking for my first build - a 5F2-A circuit (Tweed Princeton) with a choke added and a cab that I KNOW Mojo makes to fit the 5F2-A chassis and a 10" alnico speaker. Don't do what I did and try to figure it all out yourself. I've re-built that amp twice now. It's a great amp to play :D Call Bruce Collins at Mission Amps and ask if he can put a kit together for you. Trying to pull together the parts yourself is a bear the first time.

Chip
 
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