Our tube amp project just got back on track, I got my output transformer from Weber the other day. I think the hardest part so far in building it is what fabric it needs to cover the bare amp cabinet I ordered it with.

I am glad I live with two electonpushers, it makes some of this much simpler, things like not electrocuting yourself.

Ellie, which amp are you building from Weber?

Just want to throw in a word of caution here. Tube amps operate at lethal voltages, like 400 - 500 VDC, so if don't have much electronics experience or are not comfortable working around voltages like that, then I would think twice about this. Again, the operative phrase is Lethal Voltage.

Nathan, it's the 5A40, with a four 4/10 cabinet.

Ellie, I just ordered the 6A80 Head kit last week. I got the standard tweed covering, since I'm a cubicle-dwelling, Starbucks-swilling, suburban dullard. Tweed is my idea of a freak flag.

Do they make leopard Tolex?

For the record ...edgy suburbanite that I am, I thought for a moment about ordering the Levant Purple or Elephant Red. Calmer heads prevailed, but for a moment there, I saw myself quitting my compelling software job and buying a motorcycle.

Be glad you don't have the freak virus. I can't offer advice for your Starbucks issues, other than to suggest that you find a local roaster, but many fine freaks are cubicle geeks.

Yeah, they make leopard tolex, I think. I'm leaning into the pink fake fur idea.

Be warned, Weber can be a little behind on parts, and take a while to ship. It didn't bother me becuase I am not in a hurry, but if you are, it make take longer than you want.

Ellie - do consider a short hair amp variety, the long hair flourescent- patent leather crocodile amp groups, do not take well to needed grooming. I don't need to mention what would happen with the application one of your accidental IPA shampoos.

Shown here is Ms Fuzz, while not of the tube variety, she is quite nippy, and frequently picks up K10whatever.

Ms Fuzz is a little 9 volt power LM386 (i think, I haven't looked under the cloaca lately) Simple volume - on-off-overdrive switch. Used as a test amp in its plain laun box, until I came accross a pile of mock croc and fake fur. I will post a photo of the matching fuzz box in another post.

Covering is the fun part.

I actually just finished building my very first guitar amp (although I've built some audio amplifiers). It's a "New Joyzee" kit from Kendrick Amplifiers, and is electronically the same as the Trainwreck Climax (which Kendrick actually was licensed to build by Ken Fisher, who designed it). MAN there are a lot of wires in a tube amp! After building one from an existing design, I wouldn't want to try my hand at designing an amp from scratch, and I'm an engineer :).

From what I understand, there aren't really any amps around with an original design, they're mostly changed up and tweaked old designs - it started with the basic amplifier circuits that tubes were designed to be used in originally, then component values were changed and minor path differences were added, and things like extra gain stages were tacked on.

The earliest Fender amps were pretty much direct copies of the designs created by the RCA tube engineers. I think they even used the RCA designation numbers.

Charlie- I thought I read that fender amps were based on the Western Electric circuit? But I remember something about a RCA -Western Electric licensing battle or something.

Could be, there's a good chance I'm wrong- wouldn't be the first time.......

I think it was something like W.E. had to mention RCA in all there documents, given it was the basis of their design?

here is some web-say I found...

Just after WW-I, it was impossible to legally manufacture a useful vacuum tube for sale to the public because the essential technology was tied up by a series of lawsuits over two interlocking patents controlled by competing companies. The Fleming Valve patent was owned by the American Marconi Co. and the DeForest grid patent was licensed to Western Electric . A temporary agreement allowed Moorhead to make legal tubes on a limited basis, but a long term solution was needed.

The formation of the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) was the arrangement by which this conflict was resolved, and the serious production of vacuum tubes could proceed. The introduction of the UV-200 (detector) and UV-201 (amplifier) tubes by RCA late in 1920 literally allowed the radio boom of the 1920's to begin.

The tubes shown on this page represent a sampling of the many variants of the tubes that were sold under the RCA name and made by General Electric and Westinghouse during the 1920's.

Your amps look awesome. I'm in the research phase of building a vox. Hopefully it will turn out as nice.

You guys (and gals) are nutty. The troll hair cabinet is nice though. Would certainly get some looks onstage, likely the wrong kind, but you do what you can. All you'd need is a fuzzy guitar and some fuzz pedals.

Every time I look at this site I add another project to the 'probably will never get done' list. 'Build amp' was already on there, but now it gets bumped up to somewhere around 'fix leak in roof.' Ah, what the hell, the rains just stopped, I'll just let the roof leak and have another amp...

Just thought of something else-- a question-- if using a pedal with stereo output which is getting its signal from a mono effects loop-- would it be possible to use the stereo sound by just running the 2nd channel on the pedal out to a power amp? I suspect it is, I'll have to look into just making a tube power amp (the amp being used now is a 22watt Mesa).

A power amp usually needs a line-level input, which a typical guitar pedal does not output. Three will also be no EQ on this signal, so it won't sound the same as the other channel. Of course, if you're building the power amp, you could modify the input stage so that the level is compatible with the pedal output.

I ordered everything for my amp last night, minus the transformers, choke, and tubes. I'm going to photo document the process. I don't know anything about electronics, but did enough research to get comfortable with what I ordered and putting it together.

Nathan, that backlit plate is so cool. May I ask where you got it?

I made the backlit plate myself. I have a small homemade CNC machine that I engraved it with. A local trophy/awards shop that does laser engraving could do a nice one for you.

Here's a better picture of the amp... You could not tell that I covered it in purple tolex in the other picture.

Thanks Ellie, Building amps, guitars and using them are my true love in life. Over the last 20 years; different past times, hobbies, time wasters have came and gone. But music never grows old and being able to apply my general handiness and learned skills to music related things in addition to playing is so rewarding. This is for sure something that I'll be doing till the day I die. Maybe one day I'll tool up enough to try getting guitars that I build out into other people's hands and hope they enjoy them as much as I do.

~Nathan

The speakers in the amp are Eminence GB12s and The crunch channel on that amp is like one of the best old school Marshalls and the combination of the the two make for a super punchy - singing tone. And the Overdrive channel is just insane (I never get the gain above 1:00 though) yet very toneful. No wonder Soldanos are so loved by their owners. I also have an old Laney Pro-Tube 50 that I gutted and rebuilt with a 1987 plexi circuit and OEI Plexi transformers that has tone for days.

I've wound a few pickups and curently am still using one humbucker that I wound that is quite sweet, I've only got one guitar with single coils and they are early (84 or so) Duncans that sound excellent. I'm working on a tobacco burst rear routed strat style hardtail guitar that I'm seriously thinking of winding a P-90 for the neck position. I got my first real taste of P-90s when I repaired an old LP Jr. a couple of weeks ago. That '58 P-90 was just indescribeable. It sang like nothing I've ever heard through the purple amp. Rythym tones were punchy and tight and the first lead I did almost made me mess myself the way notes jumped out and swelled.

That's awesome! How did you light it up? It looks like the light is coming from the sides? I wonder how fine the engravers can get? I have an illustration with a lot of detail that I'd love to try a more appropriate version of.

I use a single cold cathode flourescent tube mounted above the plate. Half of the tube is taped because the full light of the tube is a bit too intense. The tube is the same kind that computer case modders use to light up the inside of their computer. I used a separate 6.3v-0v-6.3v Transformer; Then rectified and regulated that voltage to 12VDC and power the Cold Cathode from that.

It might be possible to do an engraving of the raster image that you posted with a laser to produce a half-tone style engraving. A rotary engraver like I used can't do half-tone images without a great deal of difficulty but lasers can make quick work of raster images. Line art makes more dramatic illuminated signs though.

Thanks Nathan. It would be a modified version of it, with just a tree. The white tree in the center has a few trees behind it, but the one on the right is rather clear. I'm not sure this would work as well as a backlit faceplate from a custom plate service with the simple positive/negative approach, but yours is so so cool that it really tempts me.

Nathan- check out these links for other cool glowing stuff.

http://www.luminousfilm.com/

http://www.lighttape.com/

I have a Baldwin Fun Machine (a cheezy combo organ) that has a 4 foot flourescent tube that introduces all sorts of noise in the studio, it is my hope to use this stuff to fix it.