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Well, you've gotten this far and are still awake, but here's the part that I hope is important, so you
have to go on. Below are some pictures of some of the amps I've built over the years. They are
due for some revisions i suppose, but have nostalgic value so I included them. I have the early
ones here and there in the house, and they haven't skipped a beat. I would say that's a decent
gauge of their reliability. The whole point for you is to just turn the thing on and play. Picture
someone on stage playing through one of my amps, and it suddenly goes quiet.. (cricket sounds
here).. How could I live that down.
Here are some pictures of some of the amplifiers I have built since I got hooked on this stuff. I am
glad that I have a good camera now, since the older pictures leave much to be desired. One day
after a pretty life altering event, I decided that I needed to build these things for other people,
since I already had too many, and thought other people might want to enjoy a hand made amp,
built without regard to a profit margin. The pictures are a good example of what experience can
do for you.
Please, scroll down for the most recent builds, since the early ones were pretty much
experiments. I work downstairs in my basement and garage. Seems like a common theme for
many. I wish there was a little more room, but It's adequate. I have a nice bench to work at, and a
good sound system to listen to with while I work, tube of course. You need to have a good space
to build, or your concentration suffers, as does the quality. Good equipment and good lighting are
very important. Over time I have accumulated the things I need to do it properly, based on what I
have learned,and it makes a major difference on the final product. All of the dusty work goes on
out in the garage, fortunately it's connected, so I don't freeze, and keeps the mess out of the work
area.
have to go on. Below are some pictures of some of the amps I've built over the years. They are
due for some revisions i suppose, but have nostalgic value so I included them. I have the early
ones here and there in the house, and they haven't skipped a beat. I would say that's a decent
gauge of their reliability. The whole point for you is to just turn the thing on and play. Picture
someone on stage playing through one of my amps, and it suddenly goes quiet.. (cricket sounds
here).. How could I live that down.
Here are some pictures of some of the amplifiers I have built since I got hooked on this stuff. I am
glad that I have a good camera now, since the older pictures leave much to be desired. One day
after a pretty life altering event, I decided that I needed to build these things for other people,
since I already had too many, and thought other people might want to enjoy a hand made amp,
built without regard to a profit margin. The pictures are a good example of what experience can
do for you.
Please, scroll down for the most recent builds, since the early ones were pretty much
experiments. I work downstairs in my basement and garage. Seems like a common theme for
many. I wish there was a little more room, but It's adequate. I have a nice bench to work at, and a
good sound system to listen to with while I work, tube of course. You need to have a good space
to build, or your concentration suffers, as does the quality. Good equipment and good lighting are
very important. Over time I have accumulated the things I need to do it properly, based on what I
have learned,and it makes a major difference on the final product. All of the dusty work goes on
out in the garage, fortunately it's connected, so I don't freeze, and keeps the mess out of the work
area.
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Here's another '59 Tweed Deluxe clone. Lately, I have begun to make my own eyelet
boards for my amps, which allows me to adjust component spacing and layout to suit
modifications. As a plus, the G10 material I use is much more stable and durable. I like this
circuit, and will continue to build more of them. Finished in shellaced tweed, oxblood
grille cloth. These pictures were during the testing, but now it has an Eminence Cannabis
Rex in it and sounds fantastic!
boards for my amps, which allows me to adjust component spacing and layout to suit
modifications. As a plus, the G10 material I use is much more stable and durable. I like this
circuit, and will continue to build more of them. Finished in shellaced tweed, oxblood
grille cloth. These pictures were during the testing, but now it has an Eminence Cannabis
Rex in it and sounds fantastic!
One of the first ones. This one is about 15 years old. It's a little single ended one with tremolo. I
was a fan of the low watt craze without even knowing it. About 1.5 single-ended watts, with a
line out that is awesome. The chassis is an old mouse pad from the days when they needed a
grid, and the 6" speaker came from an old Sony radio. The pad was kind of a joke. I came up
with the name for them while I was doing this one. Sneaker is for size comparison.
was a fan of the low watt craze without even knowing it. About 1.5 single-ended watts, with a
line out that is awesome. The chassis is an old mouse pad from the days when they needed a
grid, and the 6" speaker came from an old Sony radio. The pad was kind of a joke. I came up
with the name for them while I was doing this one. Sneaker is for size comparison.
Circa 1997. It used to be a Lowrey organ. Very crude, but I was determined. This one is based
on a fender circuit, but with a low and a high gain channel. The low gain channel is so clean..
Beautiful. It can accommodate several different output tube types, using a widely adjustable
fixed bias circuit and switch selectable socket wiring. The cab is my test mule, hastily made out
of an old cherry bureau I saved from the landfill. The vintage Randall speaker is very similar to a
Celestion, but made by Eminence. It's a great driver for evaluation purposes.
on a fender circuit, but with a low and a high gain channel. The low gain channel is so clean..
Beautiful. It can accommodate several different output tube types, using a widely adjustable
fixed bias circuit and switch selectable socket wiring. The cab is my test mule, hastily made out
of an old cherry bureau I saved from the landfill. The vintage Randall speaker is very similar to a
Celestion, but made by Eminence. It's a great driver for evaluation purposes.
Wow, where have the last ten years gone. Ya! I love the old Ampeg style cabs. The deeper
design causes less cancellation of low frequencies. This one's made of 3/4" mdf, covered with
the old vinyl wallpaper from where I work..lol! This baby's kinda heavy. It's got footswitchable
Ampeg style reverb, and a mid shift on the tone controls. It puts out about 32 watts using a 5ar4
and fixed bias 6l6gc outputs. This is the one I still personally use. It's due for a bench session,
but I can't bring myself to modify it, despite it's flaws. I was never happy with the mid control
range. I made this one before I discovered Duncan's Tone Stack Calculator.
design causes less cancellation of low frequencies. This one's made of 3/4" mdf, covered with
the old vinyl wallpaper from where I work..lol! This baby's kinda heavy. It's got footswitchable
Ampeg style reverb, and a mid shift on the tone controls. It puts out about 32 watts using a 5ar4
and fixed bias 6l6gc outputs. This is the one I still personally use. It's due for a bench session,
but I can't bring myself to modify it, despite it's flaws. I was never happy with the mid control
range. I made this one before I discovered Duncan's Tone Stack Calculator.
Time warp to a couple years ago. Here's a custom build, a '59 Tweed Deluxe clone. Neil Young
RULES Baby! Sounding like it's on the edge of self destruction, there's nothing like the tone
of a simple vintage circuit, wailing away at full bore.
This little tone monster was what inspired me to build these things in the first place. I never
knew that Neil used one of these until I found this crazy thing called the internet. I like this
circuit, and will continue to build more of them. Finger jointed poplar cabinet, finished in
amber shellac, oxblood grille cloth.
RULES Baby! Sounding like it's on the edge of self destruction, there's nothing like the tone
of a simple vintage circuit, wailing away at full bore.
This little tone monster was what inspired me to build these things in the first place. I never
knew that Neil used one of these until I found this crazy thing called the internet. I like this
circuit, and will continue to build more of them. Finger jointed poplar cabinet, finished in
amber shellac, oxblood grille cloth.
Another custom build, a parallel single ended Tweed Princeton clone. This one's
dimensioned a little differently than the original style. It runs parallel single ended 6v6
outputs. It can also run an EL34. I used a Hammond 125ESE output transformer to handle
the extra current, and give it a nice bottom end. Gorgeous sounding, single ended magic!
dimensioned a little differently than the original style. It runs parallel single ended 6v6
outputs. It can also run an EL34. I used a Hammond 125ESE output transformer to handle
the extra current, and give it a nice bottom end. Gorgeous sounding, single ended magic!
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Here's another Deluxe style amp. This one was for a personal friend as a gift. I used a
generic Hammond chassis, and a sort of Univox style cabinet. Crazy tolex eh? I have
to check out local sources for faceplates.
generic Hammond chassis, and a sort of Univox style cabinet. Crazy tolex eh? I have
to check out local sources for faceplates.
Here's a P.A. head that got a facelift. I gutted this one completely because the original
layout was a total rat's nest. High and low gain inputs, master volume, Voxy tone stack.
Twenty five watts of octal goodness.
layout was a total rat's nest. High and low gain inputs, master volume, Voxy tone stack.
Twenty five watts of octal goodness.
Here's my rendition of a '65 Princeton Reverb. The Weber speaker is the perfect match
for this amp. I do a couple of slight mods to the circuit to make the reverb useable over
a wider range, and my own failsafe adjustable fixed bias.
for this amp. I do a couple of slight mods to the circuit to make the reverb useable over
a wider range, and my own failsafe adjustable fixed bias.
