Building small combo amplifiers...

[TrueTone500]

I'm thinking about making my own brand of small, low watt combo amplifiers. Can you guys give me recommendations for fabricators who will build aluminum chassis housings to custom specs? I still don't know what people want, so I'm not sure which route to take? Vox inspired, Fender Tweed, Marshall, Matchless? Are "lunch-box" heads more popular?

 

[aulo]

I can't point you in the direction of any fabricators, but in terms of "what people want" in combos, this is the kind of thing I dig: Keep it simple; one of my current favourites is the Jim Kelley reverb combo—very simple but stupid spendy. It's got a great boxy sound and it takes pedals brilliantly.

My other current favourite (purely by all the reading/listening I've done) are these Tex Amps! Colin Cripps (Blue Rodeo, Canadian session cat) uses them. Our buddy Ian Thornley has also used them all over the Albatross record, apparently. I remember him saying that they're low wattage, relatively small, but have a bigger recorded sound (says he blew the SNOT out of 'em) than a lot of his heavyweight amps. Again, these are simple amps and take pedal colouration very well.

http://www.texamps.com

I'm only one guy, but that's the kind of thing I'm after in a low wattage combo. Simple, chunky, boxy, pedal friendly.

 

[H Golf Sport]

Swap meet inspiration maybe? Could do a LV special ed. or Gucci???
Just get some Home Depot alum or steel sheet and bend up a U channel for the Chassis.

 

[TrueTone500]

I can't point you in the direction of any fabricators, but in terms of "what people want" in combos, this is the kind of thing I dig: Keep it simple; one of my current favourites is the Jim Kelley reverb combo—very simple but stupid spendy. It's got a great boxy sound and it takes pedals brilliantly.

My other current favourite (purely by all the reading/listening I've done) are these Tex Amps! Colin Cripps (Blue Rodeo, Canadian session cat) uses them. Our buddy Ian Thornley has also used them all over the Albatross record, apparently. I remember him saying that they're low wattage, relatively small, but have a bigger recorded sound (says he blew the SNOT out of 'em) than a lot of his heavyweight amps. Again, these are simple amps and take pedal colouration very well.

http://www.texamps.com

I'm only one guy, but that's the kind of thing I'm after in a low wattage combo. Simple, chunky, boxy, pedal friendly.

How important is built-in reverb? Do most players want it?

 

[TrueTone500]

Swap meet inspiration maybe? Could do a LV special ed. or Gucci???
Just get some Home Depot alum or steel sheet and bend up a U channel for the Chassis.

I was thinking of going with this type of chassis design...

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

Make it all black and call it "The Heat Seeker" VOX/Fender clean , pushed cleans crunch to Marshall JTM/Plexi then an extra gain stage. Maybe some additional saturation somwhere. Essentially just rip off the BLADEZ and make it safe!

 

[maddnotez]

Hubcaps over the speakers are a must.

 

[JackTripper]

I still don't know what people want, so I'm not sure which route to take? Vox inspired, Fender Tweed, Marshall, Matchless? Are "lunch-box" heads more popular?

You should know the answers to these kinds of questions before you invest time and capital into launching a company. Vision. Figure out who your demographic is, your price point, what other companies in that price point offer, how you can differentiate your product from competiors, etc.

 

[paulyc]

Supro Thunderbolt clone for Zepplin riffage.

 

[TrueTone500]

I still don't know what people want, so I'm not sure which route to take? Vox inspired, Fender Tweed, Marshall, Matchless? Are "lunch-box" heads more popular?

You should know the answers to these kinds of questions before you invest time and capital into launching a company. Vision. Figure out who your demographic is, your price point, what other companies in that price point offer, how you can differentiate your product from competiors, etc.

That's why I'm asking... I'm not really interested in doing a high-gain amplifier. I was thinking something along the lines of a Fender tweed or Vox type amp, but I'm not sure what todays small amp players want?

 

[311boogieman]

We want cup holders damnit!





But seriously, I wouldn't worry about built in reverb. Most people have that covered. Fender tone has been done to death - I'd go Vox. That boxed in reinforced chassis you posted is the way to go.

Most of all....Good Luck!

Maybe cut back on teh trolling and diarrhea video's if you want people to take you seriously.

I still don't know what people want, so I'm not sure which route to take? Vox inspired, Fender Tweed, Marshall, Matchless? Are "lunch-box" heads more popular?

You should know the answers to these kinds of questions before you invest time and capital into launching a company. Vision. Figure out who your demographic is, your price point, what other companies in that price point offer, how you can differentiate your product from competiors, etc.

I think he is trolling but we'll see.

 

[TrueTone500]

We want cup holders damnit!





But seriously, I wouldn't worry about built in reverb. Most people have that covered. Fender tone has been done to death - I'd go Vox. That boxed in reinforced chassis you posted is the way to go.

Most of all....Good Luck!

Maybe cut back on teh trolling and diarrhea video's if you want people to take you seriously.

I still don't know what people want, so I'm not sure which route to take? Vox inspired, Fender Tweed, Marshall, Matchless? Are "lunch-box" heads more popular?

You should know the answers to these kinds of questions before you invest time and capital into launching a company. Vision. Figure out who your demographic is, your price point, what other companies in that price point offer, how you can differentiate your product from competiors, etc.

I think he is trolling but we'll see.

I'm thinking Vox also. Tone is subjective, so my focus is to build a high quality, compact, single channel w/boost, hand-wired amplifier that sounds great! The hard part is coming up with a exterior design people will find attractive.

No trolling... It is criminal to accuse anyone of producing unsafe products without verifiable proof. Slander is one of the most aggressive (non-phyiscal) types of assault a person can engage in. If people want to consider defending Billy Blades as trolling, then I'm guilty!

The diarrhea clip is a metaphor...

 

[maddnotez]

We want cup holders damnit!





But seriously, I wouldn't worry about built in reverb. Most people have that covered. Fender tone has been done to death - I'd go Vox. That boxed in reinforced chassis you posted is the way to go.

Most of all....Good Luck!

Maybe cut back on teh trolling and diarrhea video's if you want people to take you seriously.

I still don't know what people want, so I'm not sure which route to take? Vox inspired, Fender Tweed, Marshall, Matchless? Are "lunch-box" heads more popular?

You should know the answers to these kinds of questions before you invest time and capital into launching a company. Vision. Figure out who your demographic is, your price point, what other companies in that price point offer, how you can differentiate your product from competiors, etc.

I think he is trolling but we'll see.

I'm thinking Vox also. Tone is subjective, so my focus is to build a high quality, compact, single channel w/boost, hand-wired amplifier that sounds great! The hard part is coming up with a exterior design people will find attractive.

No trolling... It is criminal to accuse anyone of producing unsafe products without verifiable proof. Slander is one of the most aggressive (non-phyiscal) types of assault a person can engage in. If people want to consider defending Billy Blades as trolling, then I'm guilty!

The diarrhea clip is a metaphor...

Remember. You have to create a completely fresh design, not based off of any other amplifier ever made and source your parts from outerspace or else you are a thief.

 

[C1-ocaster]

I still don't know what people want, so I'm not sure which route to take? Vox inspired, Fender Tweed, Marshall, Matchless? Are "lunch-box" heads more popular?

You should know the answers to these kinds of questions before you invest time and capital into launching a company. Vision. Figure out who your demographic is, your price point, what other companies in that price point offer, how you can differentiate your product from competiors, etc.

That's why I'm asking... I'm not really interested in doing a high-gain amplifier. I was thinking something along the lines of a Fender tweed or Vox type amp, but I'm not sure what todays small amp players want?

I like the idea of clean amp that can take pedal well, Fender like.
There are plenty of high gain amps out there and that's great.
I've been wanting a Fender amp for the brilliant clean tones and the REAL spring reverb, so for me, YES, great spring reverb is a must.
I have a reverb pedal that has some good verbs, but I still prefer a real analog spring, the kind that makes that nasty noise if you bump the amp.
Let's you know it's real.

Some say Fender tone has been done to death, but I disagree.
The only amp with Fender tone is a Fender. There are plenty of "clean" amps that claim to have "Fender Clean" but they don't.
They have a clean tone that may be nice, but the timbre is not Fender.
Egnater has a really nice clean tone, and some would say it's "Fender like", well it's not at all.
It's a really nice Egnater clean.
Vox is cool, but I prefer 6L6 power tubes.
Vox with 6L6's? Why not.

A clean tone like Fender Twin, but with only half the power, 6L6 power.
Single channel with full eq is fine for me to keep the cost down.
If it's 2 channel, then one channel with a different tone stack over the other, otherwise why bother.
Bright switch or other eq to tame some pedals if or when needed.
Parallel effects loop, tube driven for tone, SS is fine for lower cost.
A built in switchable tube and SS rectifier would be nice, one for saggy feel and the other for quicker attack.

Class A operation? For sensitivity I say YES.
But keep the clean level high so it doesn't break up too early like the Fender Deluxe reverbs, the '65 and '68.
1x12 in a box the size of a Fender Deluxe Reverb. The larger box gives a nicer tone.
A 2x10 option in the same box would also be cool, or even a 1x15 would be sweet.

Why do that when Fender makes amps?
Fender doesn't make the amp I describe.
And more importantly, I'm on my 3rd Fender '68 custom dlx reverb because the first two don't work properly.
If Fender built their amps with some construction integrity, then ok, but they don't.

 

[TrueTone500]

I still don't know what people want, so I'm not sure which route to take? Vox inspired, Fender Tweed, Marshall, Matchless? Are "lunch-box" heads more popular?

You should know the answers to these kinds of questions before you invest time and capital into launching a company. Vision. Figure out who your demographic is, your price point, what other companies in that price point offer, how you can differentiate your product from competiors, etc.

That's why I'm asking... I'm not really interested in doing a high-gain amplifier. I was thinking something along the lines of a Fender tweed or Vox type amp, but I'm not sure what todays small amp players want?

I like the idea of clean amp that can take pedal well, Fender like.
There are plenty of high gain amps out there and that's great.
I've been wanting a Fender amp for the brilliant clean tones and the REAL spring reverb, so for me, YES, great spring reverb is a must.
I have a reverb pedal that has some good verbs, but I still prefer a real analog spring, the kind that makes that nasty noise if you bump the amp.
Let's you know it's real.

Some say Fender tone has been done to death, but I disagree.
The only amp with Fender tone is a Fender. There are plenty of "clean" amps that claim to have "Fender Clean" but they don't.
They have a clean tone that may be nice, but the timbre is not Fender.
Egnater has a really nice clean tone, and some would say it's "Fender like", well it's not at all.
It's a really nice Egnater clean.
Vox is cool, but I prefer 6L6 power tubes.
Vox with 6L6's? Why not.

A clean tone like Fender Twin, but with only half the power, 6L6 power.
Single channel with full eq is fine for me to keep the cost down.
If it's 2 channel, then one channel with a different tone stack over the other, otherwise why bother.
Bright switch or other eq to tame some pedals if or when needed.
Parallel effects loop, tube driven for tone, SS is fine for lower cost.
A built in switchable tube and SS rectifier would be nice, one for saggy feel and the other for quicker attack.

Class A operation? For sensitivity I say YES.
But keep the clean level high so it doesn't break up too early like the Fender Deluxe reverbs, the '65 and '68.
1x12 in a box the size of a Fender Deluxe Reverb. The larger box gives a nicer tone.
A 2x10 option in the same box would also be cool, or even a 1x15 would be sweet.

Why do that when Fender makes amps?
Fender doesn't make the amp I describe.
And more importantly, I'm on my 3rd Fender '68 custom dlx reverb because the first two don't work properly.
If Fender built their amps with some construction integrity, then ok, but they don't.

Awesome post!

I believe 65 Amps has already done a 6L6 "Vox" circuit, but I could be wrong. I just want to make one great amp, and nothing more. A 2x10 and a 1x12 combo with the same chassis. Whether or not that's something people want, I don't know? I agree on class A though... I love the immediate response of a SE class A and cathode bias circuit.

A true two channel amp would require 2 x tone stacks, and that's not really where I want to go. If I do that, then I'd want to use a high-speed relay switch, switchable voicing, boost, effects loop, etc... Before you know it, I'm building a 4 x gain-stage monster! I have the time, short-term capital, knowledge, and facilities to build what ever type of amp I want (within reason). I know what I like, but I want to build something other people want. I was thinking about going tube rectified, and include a solid-state converter with the amp.