sah5150 when will your Jose inspired amp be done?!

[Chubtone]

Sup brother?! I'm getting antsy to hear your updated take on the classic Jose mod. I'm hoping there is going to be some wicked tones in there from EVH to Joe Holmes and more. Your last post seemed like months ago on the amp. I trust your ear for tone so I am jonesing to hear what you come up with! Now stop reading this forum and fire up the soldering iron!

And how about a Motor City Blisster Bucker review too?

 

[Anonymous]

Sup brother?! I'm getting antsy to hear your updated take on the classic Jose mod. I'm hoping there is going to be some wicked tones in there from EVH to Joe Holmes and more. Your last post seemed like months ago on the amp. I trust your ear for tone so I am jonesing to hear what you come up with! Now stop reading this forum and fire up the soldering iron!

After finishing the design with a lot of help from Olaf, I realized that the current chassis, already punched for the Super Lead, would not work. I have had to order a blank (unpunched) Super Lead chassis (as well as a set of Greenlee punches and other specialized cutting tools) to do this right. This has set me back a bit and I'll have to unsolder some stuff from the old chassis, but the bottom line is that the new blank chassis arrived today and I have all the rest of the parts for the amp AND footswitch and am ready to rock!! I'm aiming to have the prototype finished (completely tweaked tone-wise) by mid-Feb... You are gonna dig it, bro!

And how about a Motor City Blisster Bucker review too?

So... it's a good pickup... IMO, more 80s metal (DeMartini especially) than EVH. Pretty bright too - I had to adjust my amp to get it sounding like I wanted. I'm going to keep it in one of my guitars, but I prefer the Duncan Custom 5 for 80s metal and BY FAR the Mojave pickup for EVH. YMMV... Not much else to say... Not cheap either...

Steve

 

[AmpliFIRE]

So... it's a good pickup... IMO, more 80s metal (DeMartini especially) than EVH. Pretty bright too - I had to adjust my amp to get it sounding like I wanted. I'm going to keep it in one of my guitars, but I prefer the Duncan Custom 5 for 80s metal and BY FAR the Mojave pickup for EVH. YMMV... Not much else to say... Not cheap either...

Steve

That's exactly what I though of the clip that was posted of that pickup...waaaaay too bright! I'm picking up a custom made S style guitar tomorrow and it's got a Duncan '78 EVH in the bridge

 

[Chubtone]

BY FAR the Mojave pickup for EVH. YMMV... Not much else to say... Not cheap either...

Steve

I picked up a Mojave pickup used from motrock for a sweet price and I'll tell you it is killer. It has that low PAF output but sustains and squeals out harmonics way better than any other PAF type I have ever played.

 

[duesentrieb]

Reminds me that I wanted to send the DC heaters stuff, Steve . . .

You need the following parts:

1 x bridge rectifier 10 (!) Ampêre, 40 Volt (or similar)
1 x 10,000 (ten thousand) - 15,000 µF cap, electrolytic, 10-16V (they're huge )
1 x 200-250 Ohm pot, heavy duty, 2-4 Watts (not the normal stuff)
1 x 1µF (like a Mallory, OD, Sozo or whatever)

 

[Anonymous]

Reminds me that I wanted to send the DC heaters stuff, Steve . . .

You need the following parts:

1 x bridge rectifier 10 (!) Ampêre, 40 Volt (or similar)
1 x 10,000 (ten thousand) - 15,000 µF cap, electrolytic, 10-16V (they're huge )
1 x 200-250 Ohm pot, heavy duty, 2-4 Watts (not the normal stuff)
1 x 1µF (like a Mallory, OD, Sozo or whatever)

Thanks Olaf! I've got a bit of an idea of how it goes together, but I'll look forward to a drawing from you when you get a chance...

Steve

 

[tweed]

I'm aiming to have the prototype finished (completely tweaked tone-wise) by mid-Feb... You are gonna dig it, bro!

And how about a Motor City Blisster Bucker review too? Steve

Mid Feb? Are you nuts? Jan 15th is the date you meant to say. *insert Jedi Mind Trick here* You will have it done by Jan 15th.

 

[Anonymous]

I'm aiming to have the prototype finished (completely tweaked tone-wise) by mid-Feb... You are gonna dig it, bro!

And how about a Motor City Blisster Bucker review too? Steve

Mid Feb? Are you nuts? Jan 15th is the date you meant to say. *insert Jedi Mind Trick here* You will have it done by Jan 15th.

I wish I could get it done faster, believe me!

Steve

 

[JTyson]

Dam Steve, that sux that you got that close, only to have to start over. I've been watching from the sidelines as you and Olaf have been sorting through the brass tacks of this project, I just can't say how cool it is that he is willing to give insight into helping you get this where you want it. He is truly a class act. I've been wondering this whole time, what do you do for a living? You must have a considerable electronics background to take on a project like this. My hats off to the both of you To me, THIS is what R-T is all about I can't wait to hear the finished product - Jim

 

[Anonymous]

Dam Steve, that sux that you got that close, only to have to start over. I've been watching from the sidelines as you and Olaf have been sorting through the brass tacks of this project, I just can't say how cool it is that he is willing to give insight into helping you get this where you want it. He is truly a class act. I've been wondering this whole time, what do you do for a living? You must have a considerable electronics background to take on a project like this. My hats off to the both of you To me, THIS is what R-T is all about I can't wait to hear the finished product - Jim

Jim - I actually didn't get too far before I realized I needed to cut a custom chassis. I had the transformers and tube sockets in and had wired the heaters. That is it. So it was ok that I am starting over now.

Olaf is a great guy and incredibly knowledgeable - he has been an amazing amount of help in getting this done...

As far as what I do for a living - I'm the VP of Sales and Marketing at a startup software company. That said, my college degree is in Electrical Engineering... I haven't used any of that for many years, but obviously I studied basic circuit theory. Truthfully, I learned more about amplifier circuits and design from the two day Egnater Seminar I took. I also got hands on experience with actually putting one together - very helpful...

You can bet that I'll post clips/pics of the amp when the project is completed!

Steve

 

[JackBootedThug]

when will you be taking orders steve?

 

[Anonymous]

when will you be taking orders steve?

When I have it sounding exactly like I want it to sound in all 3 modes, the switching working perfectly, suppliers lined up (for head cases, custom chassis and front/rear panels) and I am clear on exactly what a reasonable production rate is for just me building them. I'd like to be at that point in mid-2009... My plan is that if you order one, you get it the month you order it. No waiting list. No ridiculous wait times. If people hear them and demand is higher than I can produce, my idea is a random drawing each month and the name(s) drawn get their amp that month. I'll probably start with one amp per month and see how things go. You'll be able to make your choice on cosmetics (front and rear panel colors, head case tolex color/pattern and knob styles). I'll also be putting together a "tweak kit" with full instructions/parts to mod the amp channels for different style tones for those that get into that.

My design will be completely "open source" as well and like open source software, I'll be publishing the final layouts, schematics, detailed build instructions and pictures, parts list, etc. Anyone who wants to build the amp or tweak it themselves will be welcome to do so and all the design documentation will be available to them to do so. No black goop on circuit boards, no "secrets". I'll set up a board (maybe here at rig-talk, who knows?) where folks can share their build/questions/tweaks. Anyone who wants one and doesn't want to build it from scratch can just get one built by me...

Steve

 

[EvilBatman]

That's an awesome plan Steve! Hope it works out.

 

[loudgtr]

That is a great plan!! Good luck and looking forward to seeing it and hearing clips.

Wow...I'm actually excited about this!

 

[stephen sawall]

I did not see that one coming. Very cool.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks guys! I really am looking forward to bringing this amp and concept to market. Everything just seems to take longer than you think it will, especially when you are doing this as a side business in addition to a demanding day gig. I am really enjoying it though and that is the main reason I'm doing it!

Stay tuned!

Steve