Build Your Own Amp. You know you've always wanted to !

Inspired by my own satisfaction with my builds, and galvanised by a recent posting from a member of the Forum, I've decided to run this topic in the hope of getting some of you to take a shot at amp. building.

I'm sure some will have considered at some time building an amp. and been discouraged, in the erroneous belief that one needs great skills and a knowledge of electronics. Of course it's an advantage to possess those faculties but, you don't need to.

I know, cos with neither, I've managed a fair degree of success with several builds. And still, I'm very much technically challenged.

You do need commitment, and be fussily attentive to detail. You'll recognize the need to check, over and over again, the work that you're doing; and be prepared to make mistakes, in spite of your fussiest efforts. Mostly, apart from fussiness, you'll have to be able to work "intelligently" and (very) patiently.

If this doesn't describe you, then you'd be best turning your energies elsewhere.

Here's a very simple build, and a starting point that I'd thoroughly recommend ...... the Fender Champ. Modified slightly from King Leo's original design but, a nice uncomplicated first-build. Apart from the general tools that the average male might possess, I built this with nothing fancy apart from an electric drill and a step drill-bit. Not to mention of course, a soldering iron.

In other words, you don't need a whole lot of fancy gear. But, the job's a little easier if you do have other than basic tools.



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This was completely scratch-built, it isn't a kit.


And, here's my most recent build. I'm also not any kind of cabinet maker. I started out only recently with no prior experience but, that's another story.

Nor is tolexing or attaching grill cloth particularly daunting. Really, all you need is a commitment and an intelligent approach.



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So, anybody out there want to embark on a journey ?

I'd love comment from the guys out there who've done some of this. I don't plan on this being "my" thread but, would appreciate it being kept chatty and low-tech.

Be assured, this carries a very high degree of satisfaction at its end and it's within most guy's capabilities.

Let's see what happens.

coastie99,

I think you're seriously under-rating your skills.

jmac

jmac said:

coastie99,

I think you're seriously under-rating your skills.

jmac

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Well, thanks for the compliment J.

But frankly, I don't think that I have any particular skill other than perhaps, a bit of a flair for design and colour.

I am, however, fussy and methodical which is the best possible starting point.

Gary.

The pic you posted of your first build is mighty impressive! That's quite a display of attention to detail - label every wire off the tube sockets, shrink tube the heater wires, etc. Looks like you need a pilot lamp bulb though. Is that a full tone stack in there?

I've done two amp builds, but not from scratch. I went the kit route - a Mission 5e3 and a Metro JTM 45. It's very rewarding to see and play the finished results. Unfortunately, Metro discontinued their kits - I was hoping to build a JMP 50 watt and/or a 2061-style 20 watt if they ever made one.

It's not that difficult to build - the kits I used came with excellent instructions. My only problem with the first one (the 5e3) was some bad ground connections due to an underpowered iron or poor preparation of the surface. My biggest problem was setting up a workplace and cleaning it up each time I did some work - I don't have a dedicated workbench. Here's a pic of the JTM45:



I'd love to build one of the VHR 50 watt kits (Hiwatt clone).

Well spotted Jeff !

Yes, all but finished in that shot. There's also an unconnected wire in the foreground.

I've had no experience at all with kit amps. I always had the desire to build from scratch. A perverse desire to make things difficult ! :roll:

An amp build thread sounds like a great idea, Gary. I've never built an amp, but I fabricate chassis and brackets on a regular basis for a friend who does. I should attempt a build, perhaps this will be the motivation.

Another option you might consider is the record player route. I picked up the guts from a record player a while back. Basically a champ but...
Uses an unusual 9 pin 6v6 variant, a 12ax7 and has a headphone jack. Needs a few bits and bobs to get it going, but has potential.

Do you do aluminum, Dr. Spivey?

We have to talk!

Default said:

Do you do aluminum, Dr. Spivey?

We have to talk!

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Sure do, Steve. I can get lots of .060, .090, .120 and .190 for scrap price. Shoot me a PM, we're slow at work right now so I have some time.

Default said:

Another option you might consider is the record player route. I picked up the guts from a record player a while back. Basically a champ but...
Uses an unusual 9 pin 6v6 variant, a 12ax7 and has a headphone jack. Needs a few bits and bobs to get it going, but has potential.

Click to expand...

Tell us more?

Dr. Spivey said:

An amp build thread sounds like a great idea, Gary. I've never built an amp, but I fabricate chassis and brackets on a regular basis for a friend who does. I should attempt a build, perhaps this will be the motivation.

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Hi Doc; besides fabricating chassis, can you punch, drill, and solder or weld to either aluminum or steel?

That is, if somebody sent you a dimensioned drawing .... ref Jeff Haddad's chassis pic above ... showing all the tube socket holes, holes for controls in the faceplates, maybe a 2" square punched hole for a transformer ... could you do?

One of the biggest headaches for DIYers is having a soldering iron of 600-800 watts to get a good primary ground solder joint on a steel ... or an aluminum chassis ... is this something you could do too?

Looks great, Gary.

You certainly did pay attention to detail on those builds.
Just awesome.

Ok so here's the thing. My original intent was to build a tweed deluxe kit from tube depot. After gathering some much needed and welcomed advice, I decided to start with their champ kit. It was suggested that I do the head version but I don't seem to be able to find a head cab cheap that I am sure will fit the Tube depot chassis. So, since this is a practice project for experience purposes, I'm going back to building the Tube depot champ kit as it comes. Been picking up tools at Lowes since we were snowed in cause it got me out of the house. Next step is setting up a work space. I'm sure I can find a couple of clip on light fixtures around the house from my wife's old photog days.
I am basically anal retentive, obsessive compulsive, structure dependent and a sucker for shiny objects so this kind of project is right up my alley.
Also, My mother in law's old house is full of stuff. There's at least a couple of old stereos, amps , tuners, meters, etc. I don't know if there's anything I can use but it kind of kindles my inner scavenger.

Default wrote:
Another option you might consider is the record player route. I picked up the guts from a record player a while back. Basically a champ but...
Uses an unusual 9 pin 6v6 variant, a 12ax7 and has a headphone jack. Needs a few bits and bobs to get it going, but has potential.

Click to expand...

Default, if you're talking about modifying an old record player to use as a guitar amp, then I agree, its a really good option. In fact my ONLY amp for years was one I made from a old record player. I still have it but it doesn't work anymore.

I have iron from a few things. One set is trannies from an RCA Victor record player, two 6v6s and a 5y3. It's the time and workspace that's the problem. I have a bunch of things that have taken the backburner while I get a few other things taken care of.

So, we're going to need a heap of parts, and here's where I hang out ................

Antique Electronic Supplies. http://www.tubesandmore.com/ A virtual one-stop-shop. Nice people and very prompt service.

Hoffman Amplifiers. http://www.hoffmanamps.com/ Same comments as above. This is where I get component-board building stuff.

Weber Speakers. http://www.tedweber.com/ For good quality, moderately-priced transformers. Made in China if that is a concern for you.

Mercury Magnetics. http://www.mercurymagnetics.com/ For more expensive transformers.

There are of course a heap of other suppliers. Some might be a little cheaper but, I've had only a very rare need to stray from the above.

I should add that Hoffman amps. has a great Forum. Down to earth, chatty types who treat newbies with all due respect.

http://www.el34world.com/Forum/index.php

Here's the layout for the board where we're going to start our build, and below, a finished board.

This is a Fender Champ layout, a little modified. It uses individual capacitors in the power supply instead of a cap. can ...... the large aluminium tube that you'll be familiar with on old amps. And it has a revised grounding arrangement.



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The components whose values are written in red, are Capacitors. The components with what looks like a W written across them are Resistors.

That's my lot for a couple of days. Like the Terminator said; "I'll be back".

Beautiful job on the wiring there coastie: very neat and tidy. However since you appear to need patience and intelligence for this assignment, I'll have to pass. Look forward to reading about others progress though.

Cheers, Ian

Thanks Ian.

I have no doubt whatsoever that you'd be able to accomplish this !