Amp Builds... the many clones...

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MatchBook_Notes

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How many of you have built your own amps, how difficult was it? how much equipment did you use, how exspensive was it over all rather than hunting down a vintage?
And what are the good websites, I know there's ceria tone, I am considering one of their trainwrecks or the jtm45, but I was wondering if there was a site that offered an orange clone kit...
thanks!
 
P.S. I'm aware of the deadly voltages in the caps and such, when I actually decide what to get, I will make sure I use the utmost safety steps :)
 
Watching this thread, I have some of the same questions.
 
I just recently designed and built a effects pedal for my guitar because there was nothing on the market that did what i wanted and had to learn a fair amount of basic electronic theory to do it. This has given me an interest for electronics projects.

I am currently spending a bit more time studying theory to get a better handle on the subject, and I have 3 projects I would like to do either late this year or early next year.

I intend on building a Marshall 18 watt clone. They are fairly basic I think and a good place to start.

The other projects I want to tackle are a Pultec EQ clone and a La2a Compressor clone.

This could become a very addictive hobby.

I am probably going to get the Marshall clone from here.

Amp Kits - Mojotone.com

The Ceria tone site is also very cool. Their Dumble clones go for a good price.
 
I've built a few. What I did was to canabalize old radios for power and output trannies and such. As a matter of fact, I built an 18 watt Marshall clone completly from parts scavenged an old hi fi just to see if it could be done and it can. 18 watt.com is a good resource as AX84.com.
 
The problem is that unless you have experience, you usually run into trouble. Fixing something that once worked is easy. Build something that never did work, and try to figure out why. Even experience fixing the regular Fender/Marshall types helps. You see how they did it, and there's a reason they did it that way. If you have a ground loop, whaddaya' gonna do? You have to know not to run high voltage DC wiring close to low level signal wiring. There's a lot to know beyond electronics theory, but if you're crazy enough to do it, it's a heck of a lot of fun.
 
I have built a few over the past years and have collected a few. Building an amp can be fun if your into building things with your hands or have a passion for electronics. Tube amps can also be very dangerous due to the HIGH VOLTAGES generated by the amp (were talking about a couple hundred volts or more).

Equipment:
DVM (Digital Volt Meter) A good one. (Something like this would be just fine MS8217 Auto Ranging 1000V 10A DMM Digital Multimeter, Frequency, Capacitance, & Temperature )
Soldering Station (don't use the gun type or you will surely burn up the components) (I use something like this from Weller Weller WTCPT: Weller Temperature "Tip" Controlled Soldering Station)
Illuminated Magnifier (like one of these Search Results: ILLUMINATED MAGNIFIER - All-Spec Industries)
Small hand tools (needle nose, various phillips screwdriver sizes and flat head (slotted) sizes
Solder - 60/40 is fine but i like the Silver stuff but is costly.
You can also build your own cradle to hold the boards/amp in place while your work on it or you can buy em for about $150 (better to make your own if your handy with wood working).

The expensive part is getting everything together if you don't have it, like the equipment above and THEN you have to order the parts. You can take the risk and order just what you need or what the schematic has listed or you can purchase a few extra just in case. I purchase in small quantities of 40 to 50 of each component and measure each component before solder touches it. The Transformers and Speakers will be the most expensive. Stuff you will have to order will be:

Hook up wire - (solid or stranded)
Chasis - depends on what your building
Transformers - Power, Output, choke (if needed), Reverb Transformer (if needed)
Tubes - (oh yeah, these can get pretty pricey) (the new production stuff is just as good but you might have to try a couple)
Tube Sockets - Power and Preamp
Knobs
Potentiometers - anywhere from 1 to 24 can be used on a tube amp
Heavy Duty Switches for On/Off and Standby
Component Board - Different kinds, Circuit, Turret, Eyelet...etc.
Input Jacks
IEC AC Input
Fuse Holder
Lamp
Resistors
Coupling Capacitors - Go by what the schematic says or by what has been used/modded for better tone.

Theres more to the list but you get the idea.

So YES, it can get a little expensive but probably not as much as hunting down a vintage. Example: It would cost me less to build a Blackface Deluxe Reverb Kit (all the parts for a complete amp. cabinet, speaker, transformers...etc.) then it would to by a Vintage Blackface Deluxe Reverb. Here are some kits ( https://taweber.powweb.com/store/kits_60a.htm ). A REAL one will run you about $1500 minimum and go up from there (I have one. Bought it at a garage sale for $20 and almost done restoring it). A reissue one will run about $1000.


Good sites for reasonably priced AmpKits:

CeriaTone.Com - DIY Guitar Tube Amp
https://taweber.powweb.com/store/kits.htm (Ted has an Orange Amp Kit ( https://taweber.powweb.com/store/6o100_ad.htm )


Hope this helps.
 
That's really cool stuff guys. Tip o' the cap, hoist o' the beer.


lou
 
thanks y'all, and thank you for taking the time drumslinger, I appreciate it. I noticed ted and ceria are the most reasonably priced websites... ceria is kind of cool where they'll build it for you...
 
I built a Trinity TC-15 from a kit. I had no prior experience and the project was a complete sucess. Man that amp knows how to sing.

Welcome to Trinity Amps

I recommend them if they offer kit that suits you. Their pricing is quite competitive.

It cost me about the same to build as buying an amp of similar features would have. It built my own because I wanted to build my own. Saving money was not an issue. I enjoyed the experience so much that I'm planning a next project that will not involve a kit and isn't based on a model that's out there.

Read everything you can and choose your project carefully. Building one takes time, Build the simplest amp you really want for a first project.

There are many suppliers of amp kits. just do a search on "Amplifier Kit" to get started.
 
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I've been wanting to ..... maybe this thread will prod me in that direction.
 
It's a blast AND can become addicting like recording. After you build one...YOU WANT TO BUILD MORE!! :)
 
"because there was nothing on the market that did what i wanted "


Do tell what this mystery pedal does?
 
If you want to start small and simple (with less chance for f*cking up), I know Mojo sells a tweed Champ kit. You'd have a pretty cool recording amp you made yourself for about $500. Or $700 buys a Deluxe kit. Expensive? Yes. But if you want to learn, and not worry about your cabinet building skills or how well you can cover a box, this is an option. If you have a punch press and a brake in your garage, this isn't such a good deal.
 
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I second the 5E3 Deluxe kit. There are many mods for the amp but building it stock, first, is recommended.
 
Now, here's something about amp building that I don't understand: Why, really, do you need to know anything about electronics to build one from a kit? Well, okay, you need to know how to read color codes on resistors and decode the other stuff on caps, transformers, etc., but couldn't you get by just fine without the rest of the knowledge? The people in China, or any where else for that matter, don't know ANY of the theory, and that includes reading resistor color codes- they just take a part out of a bin, solder it where they are told it goes, and repeat. If you know just a little, I would think you could basically "be" the first worker on the assembly line, then the next, etc. etc. till the amp is built. If you can follow directions TO THE LETTER, you don't need to know the theory- right?

And, if you wanted to build the amp from parts, I'd think that would be only a little harder- the only additional thing you need to know is how to read the schematic. So, if I am correct, you could build ANY amp from parts by knowing:
1. How to read the codes on parts like resistors, caps, etc.
2. How to read schematics, and
3. How to follow directions, exactly.
No theory needed.

What say you, ladies and gentlemen?

My interest in this is I've been thinking of building the amps my son would "need" for his business, and along the way build a Princeton Reverb for myself. Along the way, I get efficient at building them, and I can then build others and legitimately call them "hand built."

And really, what's the difference between a Matchless and a careful home-brew, and (for that matter) a Dumble, except the name on the front of the amp? Oh, sure, I don't work and live in a honest-to-gosh castle, dress like a troll and glare at my money-paying customers, but I would THINK that I could put together the right components as well as Eric...
 
First of all, if you're interested in building an electronic amp, it's handy to know a little something about electronics. For one thing, it's INTERESTING. Also it can keep you from killing yourself or someone else. Without a little knowledge, you might not recognise a dangerous condition.
 
Well, you can be an assembly line person, and what's so bad about that? Everything is done for you, saving you a lot of time. I'll bet my left nut the same person who wants to learn to build from scratch will be back here (or some other forum) asking where to buy transformers, where to get Tolex, what's the best speaker for a 5E3 clone, blah blah blah. Then you have to get a minimum order together.
Do you need to know electronics? No, but it only makes you smarter and your builds better. Maybe you want to tweak the tone stack for a little more mids? Wait, you don't know anything about electronics, so you can't. Maybe you want to remove the negative feedback for more grit. Wait, what's negative feedback? You get the idea. You can also determine if you want to change the kit slightly by adding some shielded wire here and there, maybe adding a push/pull bright pot instead of the regular volume or tone control that comes with the kit, maybe you want to swap a 12AT7 for the phase inverter and get more clean headroom, whatever.
The difference between Matchless, Dumble, and you is everything I just said. Dumble goops the Hell out of his amplifiers so you don't get pissed off that it is just a Fender with a lot of those tweaks I just mentioned. Matchless just adds a little more cayenne to a Vox AC30. But it takes years to know what works best, after tweaking countless customer amplifiers, and that's why they are who they are.
 
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