Marshall 18-watt clone coming along!

famous beagle

Well-known member
Hey y'all,

I'm over halfway done with my Marshall 18-watt clone build and thought I'd post some pictures. I ordered the kit from Weber, but I left out the tubes and the cabinet. I ordered some NOS tubes (this will be my first experience with them), and I'm building the cabinet(s) myself.

This is my first amp build. It's been a great learning experience, and there have been several "I should have done this before I did that" moments. But that just means my next one will go smoother! :)
 
and here are the pics...

(Forgot to post them in the original post!)
 

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that looks like it's going to be so kickass... There's a guy in my neighborhood who builds his own amps. I hope to be doing it eventually.
 
and a few more...

This has been seriously fun. Can't wait to build one for my 3-month old son! :)
 

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Hmmm, a few questions.

How easy would this be for someone with limited building experience? (I have worked with wood and soldering before, but nothing on a large scale)
How expensive were these components?

A small wattage marshall-style amp is kinda what I'm looking for for my recording studio, so I am interested in this.
 
Hmmm, a few questions.

How easy would this be for someone with limited building experience? (I have worked with wood and soldering before, but nothing on a large scale)
How expensive were these components?

A small wattage marshall-style amp is kinda what I'm looking for for my recording studio, so I am interested in this.

Hey Seafroggys,

Hmmm. That's hard to say. Before I built this, I had built a few pedals, but that was it. So I certainly have "limited building experience" as well. Before I did that, I had read up on electronics on and off for about a year or so, but I still have so much to learn (as my many questions on this board will show!). I mean, now I can identify all the components, and I can understand schematic diagrams, although I still have a lot of trouble still turning a (fairly complex) schematic into a workable layout for the components.

With this kit, you don't need to be able to do that. You'll get the schematic as well as a layout that shows where the components go. So, for ... I'd say ... 85% of it, it's kind of like a paint-by-numbers thing. You do have to know, for instance, the pin numbering scheme for tubes so that you know what it means when the layout says pin number 1, 2, 3, etc., and how to tell the values of components, so you can tell a 470 ohm resistor from a 4,700 ohm resistor (resistors are color-colored with bands that tell their value).

All of these are things you could learn very quickly just with online resources. Part of the reason I spent a year reading up on things is because I want to understand what I'm doing. I don't wanna just be able to put together a pedal by looking at the parts and soldering them where the layout says to put them. I want to know why it's using a 100 ohm resistor, why is it a 10uf capacitor? That's just me; I'm a perfectionist and need to know the "why" in things.

Anyway, I think if you have a good soldering technique, and a willingness to look up things when you don't understand them and/or ask for help on sites like this, you could do it. However, in case you haven't been told already. Working on an amp can be deadly if you don't know what you're doing. I mean ... it can't be until you've finished it and turned it on. But once it has power, even after you unplug it from the wall, you can electrocute yourself if you don't properly discharge the caps before touching the components. I don't want to scare you or anything. But it's not something to be toyed with. As long as you read up on things and be safe, there's nothing to worry about.

I've been keeping a tally of what I've spent so far:

Amp kit and speakers (2 x 10): $630
Tubes (NOS): $220
Wood: $32
Vinyl covering: $30
Miscellaneous hardware (jacks, knobs, switches, handles, rubber feet, grill cloth, metal corners, paint, etc.): $130

So that's about $1050.00 in all for an amp that costs about $2300 as a reissue:

http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Marshall-1974X-Handwired-18W-1x12-Combo-Amp?sku=482706

Of course, if you didn't go with NOS tubes, you could probably get an entire set of JJs for around $70 or $80 or so. So then your cost would be more like $900 or so. I just decided to go all out to try and make the amp the best I could make it.
 
I just want to say that I am profoundly jealous. I'm still in the middle of my first guitar build, but an amp is definitely next! Keep posting!
 
Looks great.
Good luck with first power-up moment :D
Post pics when you finish it... or as it goes.

btw
But that just means my next one will go smoother! :)
I'd say, if next = new/different, then expect nothing smooth there , You'll get more of different "should have done"(s) :D
 
Looks great.
Good luck with first power-up moment :D
Post pics when you finish it... or as it goes.

btw

I'd say, if next = new/different, then expect nothing smooth there , You'll get more of different "should have done"(s) :D

I'm sure you're right about that!
 
Man, if you want Marshall EL-84 tone, but don't want to spend the big bux, OR hours building it from scratch, you owe it to yourself to check out the Peavey Bravo112. Cab is a bit dated in design, but you can remedy that by building your own.
 
If you get an Almighty squeal from it when testing, then you may need to swap the audio output transformer connections. This is noted on some Weber designs, but not on all (I made a JTM45 clone).

Also stay away from televisions and tube lighting as you will get a lot of noise.

My only other lessons learnt is that you may get a lot of noise from the tube heater wiring unless you make sure it is 'balance' ie has an earth reference.
 
I can just about make my lunch - & even then I buy the bread already sliced and the peanut butter already blended!
Those things look grand!
 
If you get an Almighty squeal from it when testing, then you may need to swap the audio output transformer connections. This is noted on some Weber designs, but not on all (I made a JTM45 clone).

Also stay away from televisions and tube lighting as you will get a lot of noise.

My only other lessons learnt is that you may get a lot of noise from the tube heater wiring unless you make sure it is 'balance' ie has an earth reference.

Thanks for the tips; I'll keep them in mind! :)
 
where do you get kits telling you how to build these?

I don't want to steal Beagle's thunder, but he last posted 4 weeks ago and may take a while to respond.

I have built 3 amps. A Weber JTM45 clone, and 2 AX84 amps.

Weber only gives the schematic, overlay (that shows where to put the components) and the drill diagram for the chassis.

The 110/240V wiring is my main worry with inexperienced people building amps etc. My next worry is the high voltage tube circuits. The rest is pretty easy.

I don't know of many kits that will tell you how to do the 110/240V wiring. It is probably illegal and if you get killed, they may get sued. Seriously...

Have a look at the AX84 site, Full of good designs and amp building know-how.
 
I don't want to steal Beagle's thunder, but he last posted 4 weeks ago and may take a while to respond.

I have built 3 amps. A Weber JTM45 clone, and 2 AX84 amps.

Weber only gives the schematic, overlay (that shows where to put the components) and the drill diagram for the chassis.

The 110/240V wiring is my main worry with inexperienced people building amps etc. My next worry is the high voltage tube circuits. The rest is pretty easy.

I don't know of many kits that will tell you how to do the 110/240V wiring. It is probably illegal and if you get killed, they may get sued. Seriously...

Have a look at the AX84 site, Full of good designs and amp building know-how.

Thanks Neve. I had missed JG96's question.

I got my kit from Weber as well.
 
As a retired Navy Chief (electronics), I can tell you from experience that some color codes on resistors are difficult at best to decipher. If doing this kind of work, you obviously have a meter, so use it when in doubt. In other words, don't even bother with the colors, just read the resistor (out of circuit of course) with a meter, and then you'll know for sure.
Grid and heater voltages on triode and pentode vacuum tubes are DC, and in some instances, are at a level where they can definitely hurt you, so be careful and conscientious. Oh yeah, be careful of those caps as well. Even with power removed, they can bite!
As a teenage guitar player back in the 60's, (had a '64 Strat and Super Reverb amp) it was easy to tell why the amp was dead by looking at the tubes in back to tell which one wasn't glowing. Then take it out, go down to the local TV repair shop, and for a buck fifty get a replacement and plug it in. I was so thankful to see solid state amps later. Now, WOW, how far we've come. Everybody wants to go back to the old tube type designs for the tone.
It just blows me away how much these boutique tube amps cost, when they were so cheap back in the day. One reason for the high cost is the tube sockets. It would be economically difficult to hand solder (and I guess the demand is too low to do it by machine) those leads on a large scale, and they must be done right, or you'll induce all kinds of problems.
Damn, thanks for the flashback fellas! :)
 
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