From Scratch Amp Building Chronicle - 6/13/10 UPDATED!!

  • Thread starter Thread starter Anonymous
  • Start date Start date
Giga":3rtvihjg said:
Jeezz, I'm jaleous (sp?); I'm sort of working on a hobby amp project but I am very insecure about my electrical abilities. As a result I'm sorta stalling. You seem so sure of yourself, way to go !

I've posted the schematic (which is a mix of 2 existing amps really, or it should be haha) on a forum hoping someone would look at it and point to the mistakes. No luck so far, so now I'm considering hiring a certified tech to check it for me. I'll have to get a Variac for easy startup also.

Remember I talked to you about schematic drawing software ? I found this: http://tinycad.sourceforge.net/ after trying several other free programs. I like it; it's really simple and intuative, for me at least.

Your project looks great ! I'm gonna follow this closely

Giga.
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I'm kinda surprised you're not getting any help from anyone... Have you tried metroamp? Glad you found a schematic program you could get along with! I'll keep posting updates whenever I've completed something interesting...

Steve
 
Man, I love these kind of threads! :thumbsup: Can't wait to see and hear the finished product :rock:


Thanks for sharing Steve!
 
Chronicle 4: Getting My Plexi Panels Made

So... before I got too far on building my amp, I wanted to get my plexi panels made so I didn't have to take things apart once I started building. So I did a bit of research and found amplates.com:

Amplates.com

Joe Vallina, who is the one man shop behind the site was a great guy to work with. I took detailed measurements of my hand cut chassis and sent him a diagram with measurements. We went back and forth a bit on design through email and he was very responsive and worked with me to get what I wanted. In order to make sure everything was cool, I took the proof files to a pro printer and had them print out full size panel proof images - which are about 25"L x 2.5" H. I then used a circle template and an exacto knife to cut out the holes in the printouts and laid it over my chassis to make sure it would fit. Kind of a pain in the ass, but I wanted these to be right. We made a few more fine adjustments and everything looks good. Joe will now send these to production. The face and backplates will be gloss black with white writing - I can get them in other color combos depending on what people want to order...

I also wanted a plastic nameplate for my head case and I had Joe design this as well. It will be a white plastic cutout like a vintage Marshall. As you can see below, I decided against using Rogue as the name of my company and went with my last name. You can also see the name I decided on for the amp. Here are the final designs - I'll post pictures when I get the actual plates as well. Obviously, these are not full scale - I just wanted you to be able to see what they look like:

FACEPLATE.jpg

BACKPLATE.jpg

nameplate.jpg


Steve
 
I Like it! PlexRod 100 :thumbsup:

I noticed just now that you've got a loop bypass option in your design as well. Bonus!! Sometimes, most times actually I dig loopless amps. Talked with Bill at Soldano about sending my SLO to them to have them do a "loop bypass" mod/switch. :rock: I just think it makes amps a little punchier and feel/sound more articulate. Nice to have a loop. Even better to be able to switch it out if you want. :yes:
 
looks awesome,cant wait to hear it.any idea what you wiil charge,or is it still to early.i hope u sell a ton of them good luck. mike
 
loudgtr":3e83mcyd said:
I Like it! PlexRod 100 :thumbsup:

I noticed just now that you've got a loop bypass option in your design as well. Bonus!! Sometimes, most times actually I dig loopless amps. Talked with Bill at Soldano about sending my SLO to them to have them do a "loop bypass" mod/switch. :rock: I just think it makes amps a little punchier and feel/sound more articulate. Nice to have a loop. Even better to be able to switch it out if you want. :yes:
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Glad ya like the name, man! I agree on the loop - mine has three choices - off, series, parallel. Since I do my effects off the line out and a separate power amp, I wanted the ability to turn it off.

Steve
 
megamike":68guzg0k said:
looks awesome,cant wait to hear it.any idea what you wiil charge,or is it still to early.i hope u sell a ton of them good luck. mike
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Thanks! It is still a bit early, however, I'm trying to keep the cost reasonable (given that it is hand built and has a lot of options). It'll probably come in at the lower end of multi-mode, hand built boutique stuff...

Steve
 
You'd better start kissing Mr. Rareguitar's ass to get your own corner of RT

Giga.
 
It's seriously gonna be awesome Steve
This kinda stuff is very inspiring :rock:

-Stef
 
Thanks for all the comments fellers! Stay tuned! Lots more to come...

Randy - I need your email address to send you that stuff - PM it to me. Oh... and this amp I'm building will be heavy enough that you can do your own Neck Mod! :lol: :LOL:

Steve
 
Chronicle 5: Initial Assembly and Testing the Fit of my Custom Panels

So, I started assembling my amp. I also received my custom faceplates and wanted to test the fit. Of course, it wasn't perfect because my measurements after I cut the chassis weren't 100% accurate but the face and backplates were because they were laser cut. I had to use a hand reamer to make some of the plexi panel holes a bit bigger, but as you can see everything looks really good now. You can see I'm missing one switch on the front panel, which is a DPDT I should receive in the next day or two. You can see that the LEDs for the switches are in as well. My Mercury Magnetics transformers and choke are in, as well as the big filter caps, tube sockets and miscellaneous control hardware. Everything fits nicely. When I start soldering, I may need to remove a control or two at times to make it easier, but no big deal - I wanted to see everything together. I'm waiting for some parts for the DC heater circuit and as soon as I receive those, I'll start soldering. I still have to layout my board(s), figure out my star ground point, etc. Lotta work to go still, but I thought I'd post an update anyway. Here are some pictures:

plexrod_3.jpg

plexrod_4.jpg

plexrod_5.jpg

plexrod_6.jpg

plexrod_7.jpg

plexrod_1.jpg

plexrod_2.jpg

plexrod_8.jpg

plexrod_9.jpg

plexrod_10.jpg

plexrod_11.jpg

plexrod_12.jpg

plexrod_13.jpg


Steve
 
Code001":3i41wwn6 said:
Man, that thing is coming along awesomely!
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Thanks man! I should be making much faster progress now that the chassis is cut and the panels on...

Steve
 
Looks beautiful man! I can't wait to hear it and your Egnater seminar amp.
 
Now let the real fun begin :D

Looks great, Steve.

Did you think about using Jubilee-Knobs? Depending on the rest of the amp (headshell, piping) they might look (not better but) different ;)
 
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