Craig Anderton's Sound, Studio, and Stage

[cereal]

I have no background in this.
I think I want to build a little Champ.
Or maybe talk me into a mini-blackface.
I need lots of directions and pictures.
I want really good components.
It would be cool to keep the tone on the cleaner side - sort of 12at7ish.
Extra low wattage is a plus.
Looks don't matter.
Can you suggest a good DIY kit? :cool:

[Beck]

Back in the day I modded a few amps to the point that the only thing original was case, but no, never built one from a kit. Not that there aren't plenty of capable folks here in SSS that probably have experience with this, especially Anderton, our fearless leader, I think you'll probably get a lot more responses in the DIY forum.

http://acapella.harmony-central.com/forumdisplay.php?94-DIY-%28Do-It-Yourself%29

[cereal]

What Beck said. CRAIG!!!! can we move this to DIY?

[Jeff Leites]

I've built the McTube II overdrive, and a Fender type spring reverb unit, but not a complete amp, though I've been meaning to do so for years. I actually started a 12ax7 preamp for such a project, but I've been kind of stalled on it. I good resource for you would be the AX84 site and forum.

[MikeRivers]

I have no background in this.

If you really want to get into building audio equipment, then a small tube based instrument amplifier is a good place to start. But I'll tell you that there's more to it than you imagine, and it's not all about electronics. You'll need to be able to do some nice metalwork and woodwork in order to package it. That's probably the hardest part. There are plenty of parts suppliers so obtaining parts won't be too difficult.

I'd suggest that you search for DIY amplifier kits and start your project from a kit rather than designing something from scratch. Most of the people who sell amplifier kits and parts offer as much or as little as you want to buy, but most important is probably the chassis and transformers. You can get a pre-assembled circuit board or work from a schematic. You can research amplifier modifications and customize it as you see fit.

It's something that will keep you busy for a couple of years before you can consider your project finished - unless you buy a complete kit, assemble it, and it works - and it will cost a lot more than buying an amplifier that suits your needs, but it can be a lot of fun.

[yanktar]

If you really want to get into building audio equipment, then a small tube based instrument amplifier is a good place to start. But I'll tell you that there's more to it than you imagine, and it's not all about electronics. You'll need to be able to do some nice metalwork and woodwork in order to package it. That's probably the hardest part. There are plenty of parts suppliers so obtaining parts won't be too difficult. I'd suggest that you search for DIY amplifier kits and start your project from a kit rather than designing something from scratch. Most of the people who sell amplifier kits and parts offer as much or as little as you want to buy, but most important is probably the chassis and transformers. You can get a pre-assembled circuit board or work from a schematic. You can research amplifier modifications and customize it as you see fit. It's something that will keep you busy for a couple of years before you can consider your project finished - unless you buy a complete kit, assemble it, and it works - and it will cost a lot more than buying an amplifier that suits your needs, but it can be a lot of fun.

Definitely start with a kit. You could simply build a straight-forward mono power amp, then add a preamp and stomp-box setup as you wish.

[onelife]

There is lots of good info along with kits at torresengineering.com

[sailorman]

I built the Gilmore Jr. kit from http://www.guytronix.com/ a few years ago. I hadn't built a kit since around 1980, and it was great fun. Plus it sounds fantastic. I had a couple questions while building the kit and emailed 'support'. Not a return email, a phone call (from California to New Jersey) to walk me through it. And the amp sounds fantastic, I use it for recording and practice and it sounds great with pedals. Recommended.

[E-money]

I built the Firefly amp last year: http://www.maizingrayz.com/firefly.htm Troubleshooting hum was the most difficult part. Great sounding low wattage amp for studio use.

[philbo]

I have no background in this.
I think I want to build a little Champ.
Or maybe talk me into a mini-blackface.
I need lots of directions and pictures.
I want really good components.
It would be cool to keep the tone on the cleaner side - sort of 12at7ish.
Extra low wattage is a plus.
Looks don't matter.
Can you suggest a good DIY kit? :cool:

It's one thing to build one, it's quite another to design one. I've done both, but would strongly recommend that you start with an existing design. At that point, it makes good sense to buy and build a kit, as others suggested.

[banksy195]

Has anyone checked out this cool compact amp?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-nhkAlbgx0&feature=youtu.be#
Cos it looks quite good