How does the quality of these guts look to you guys?

[Shreddy Mercury]

Yes, yes, this is a Blades Firebolt. I've read the thread and I know some of you guys hate them because of the wiring on his prototype that looked like total crap. As an amateur occasional solderer myself, I could tell it looked pretty bad, but then again that was a little while back. He seems to still be in business and I'm considering picking one up in the used market for a pretty good price to nail some 80s tones, because the clips sound great.

Anyways, since this is a newer amp, you guys that are experienced modders, builders, repairmen, etc, take a look at it and see if you see any shortcuts or red flags that I can't notice:







I'd love a good rockin' amp but obviously don't want to burn my house down lol

 

[rottingcorpse]

The wiring doesn't seem very neat and tidy IMO.

 

[LP Freak]

It's not a work of art but neither were the early Marshall and Fenders. Looks like you've got a smoked resistor BTW.

 

[Deleted member 21375]

Looks like crap

 

[Shreddy Mercury]

It's not mine, was one I was considering driving to go test out and see if I liked it.

 

[FourT6and2]

I've seen worse. However a few things are red flags.

He claims they are Point-to-Point. That doesn't appear to be PTP.

And many of the solder joints look suspect (i.e. cold and/or improperly soldered to industry standards). If that bothers you, it's something to think about. But will it "work"? Probably.

All in all, it looks like a run of the mill, amateur DIY build that could have been someone's first—maybe second—build. Would I pay money for it? No. No I would not. You'd be better off build one for yourself as the schematics and "mods" this thing is based on are available on the web if you look. Go buy a Ceriatone Chupacabra or Yeti and throw in the transformers of your choice and you'll have a much more reliable amp.

 

[mjtripper]

Looks like a lot of bad solder joints to me also, probably work for a while but I would be worried about long term reliability.

 

[Guitarnobody]

Looks don't bother me, I'm after tone, not pretty amp wiring. I must have missed the burnt resistor and bad solder joints...since these pictures aren't very clear. Billy is a bit nutty, and he clearly isn't the first to steal other peoples amp designs, maybe change a few values, and call it his own. His stupid cup cut out is clearly a step in the wrong direction. lol

I find his amps to sound better than a bunch of other hobbyists amp companies, which shall remain nameless since this isn't about anyone else, just my opinion based on actual clips I've heard.

 

[FourT6and2]

Looks don't bother me, I'm after tone

Bad lead dress and bad soldering are both red flags. Amp could sound amazing, but I wouldn't actually pay someone money for it. I could just put that money toward parts and build my own.

 

[Deanmachine]

Spaghetti tornado in there...

 

[Racerxrated]

Looks don't bother me, I'm after tone, not pretty amp wiring. I must have missed the burnt resistor and bad solder joints...since these pictures aren't very clear. Billy is a bit nutty, and he clearly isn't the first to steal other peoples amp designs, maybe change a few values, and call it his own. His stupid cup cut out is clearly a step in the wrong direction. lol

I find his amps to sound better than a bunch of other hobbyists amp companies, which shall remain nameless since this isn't about anyone else, just my opinion based on actual clips I've heard.

A bit nutty???? He's a fuckin loon. And that latest garbage to come out of him about Mike Fortin shows he's an ass as well. Dude doesn't need to insult anyone really yet he continues to come off as an assclown of the highest order. I don't care how his amps sound...and after ripping off 5-6 different circuits I'd imagine they probably sound good. He won't get a dime from me. Its your money though..spend it wherever you want!

 

[Scumback Speakers]

This is just for reference for those of you who "solder by numbers" like I do with amp builds. If you actually give a crap, and follow directions, wiring diagrams, lead dress rules, and cut the wires to fit properly with the right # of twists, etc...you can make an amp gut shot like this. This is the 2nd amp I put together. I finished it in late 2007. It's a Metro 50w kit (1987) with different transformers than George sells them with. It had lots of extra PT wires (which you can see the black zip tie around on the right) to trim and tidy up.

This is one of my demo amps in the shop, the purple head cab one called "Barney". Some may have heard about it online. It's got two cap changes total from a stock 1987 Marshall, and then the PT/OT from Mercury.

It's just not that tough to do (especially if I did it, a rank beginner) this if you pay attention.

http://www.scumbackspeakers.com/metro50/50w112707.jpg

With regard to the gut shots of the BB amp above...all I can say is "Wow." Just keep a fire extinguisher handy, that's all.

 

[PlinytheWelder]

The lead dress and soldering could be better, but I've seen worse. Looks don't mean
everything in amps... I worked on a Gibson GA-8T once and it really was point to
point. Parts just soldered to each other in mid air. Looked like a rats nest but sounded
glorious. A lot of the old stuff that people love was like that.

 

[FourT6and2]

The lead dress and soldering could be better, but I've seen worse. Looks don't mean
everything in amps... I worked on a Gibson GA-8T once and it really was point to
point. Parts just soldered to each other in mid air. Looked like a rats nest but sounded
glorious. A lot of the old stuff that people love was like that.

That's correct. But a sloppy build—today, in 2015— can be an indicator that the builder is careless and doesn't pay attention to detail. And probably isn't trained. I don't give my money to people like that. And many of the solder joints shown appear suspect to me. That's not what proper soldering looks like. Again... it's not about "looking pretty." It's about there being a proper and improper way of doing something. When it comes to soldering and lead dress, I stick to industry-accepted standards and methods like Mil-Spec and IPC standards, not a DIY, hack job approach. The reason why amps back in the day looked like that is because either the builder didn't really know what they were doing and/or because industry standards hadn't been fleshed out at the time or laziness or cost-cutting. Today, in 2015, we have industry standards and for good reason. So when a BRAND NEW amp comes out and it fails to meet basic standards, it raises my suspicions. Especially when the builder claims it is "built like a tank."

Hell, one could even just Google a basic how-to, like this and learn how to do it better:

 

[Shreddy Mercury]

I appreciate the good info in this thread...it was kept professional and honest, which is better than what I read in the big long thread about his amps lol

However, whilst considering this, I had an opportunity to run up the interstate a couple hours and pick up a Budda SD45 for a great price instead, so I did that. May not sound as hot off the shelf as the BB would have but I've wanted a Budda for years and finally had an opportunity to nab one, so I took that instead. Thanks for the help guys!

 

[longfxukxnhair]

Nothing like a good Blades thread to bring the community together

 

[Stealthtastic]

Even ISIS switched to using Blades Amps because they explode better than their usual improv explosives.

 

[Adambomb]

Yea He could have just made a few of them wired a couple inches longer and twisted them together, just several routes he could have took to make this easier to work on and map out. And most the soldering looks like it was done in some amp building speed marathon. I just wouldn't touch it man, but if the tone really blows you away then maybe.

 

[jcj]

Nothing like a good Blades thread to bring the community together

Almost as good as a Cameron thread.

 

[JTyson]

I bet billy did not solder any of that. It's much better than what weve seen that we know he did
Smoked resistor at first X pattern lower right from input side of board.
He's an idiot smoke blower. Case closed for me.