building amps cheap?
Question:
In an earlier posting I mentioned buying a new guitar amp, but isn’t building one yourself cheaper? I’ve a few questions about building my own amp? 1)Is building an guitar amp (solid state/tube) from a kit cheaper than buying one? 2)Is it difficult? 3)I’ve got a GX-700 effect processor. Can I use this as a pre-amp, and only build a power-amp in order to get some decent sound? 4)I want to use tubes. Tube sound rules. Do I get ‘tube sound’ if I only build the power amp with tubes and use my GX-700 as pre-amp(like in question 3), or just use a solid state pre-amp with a tube power amp? 5)Is building a solid state amp cheaper than one with tubes (I guess so) 6)where do I get information on building a proper guitar amp? I know these are a lot of questions, but could somebody please answer them? I’ve got no experience (yet) with building guitar amps, but I have experience in building other electronic kits (like ones for car alarms, light show equipment etc.). Thanks in advance Joeri
Response:
Hello Joeri, I am a custom amp builder in Canada so I feel I can comment. > In an earlier posting I mentioned buying a new guitar amp, but isn’t > building one yourself cheaper?
Not when you consider the wholesale prices of parts available to "bulk" purchasers. Not to mention parts you blow up in the experimenting process. > 2)Is it difficult?
It is not difficult to copy a schematic and get reasonable performance. If you want truly great tone…you must sweat. > 3)I’ve got a GX-700 effect processor. Can I use this as a pre-amp, and > only build a power-amp in order to get some decent sound?
Not recommended. Since you have to build the driver section and the power section ( as well as everything else ) you would seriously limit yourself without a good pre-amp. Properly driving an amp is serious business. > 4)I want to use tubes. Tube sound rules. Do I get ‘tube sound’ if I only > build the power amp with tubes and use my GX-700 as pre-amp.
Yes, but see previous suggestion. > 5)Is building a solid state amp cheaper than one with tubes (I guess so)
Yes. Much less. But at what cost? Will the IC’c you chose be available in 5 years. The 6L6 is over 50 years old and going strong. > 6)where do I get information on building a proper guitar amp?
direction. Blair M
Response:
Hello, Im a hoby amp builder so I thought I could put a little different prespective on building your own amp. Although I agree with what Blair said too.
: Hello Joeri, : I am a custom amp builder in Canada so I feel I can comment. : > In an earlier posting I mentioned buying a new guitar amp, but isn’t : > building one yourself cheaper? : Not when you consider the wholesale prices of parts available to "bulk" : purchasers. Not to mention parts you blow up in the experimenting process. Joeri, since you are just building this for yourself, you dont have to buy new parts. It seems from your Email that you are interested in building this "on the cheap". Let me just say that you wont build an amp for less then you can buy one if you factor everything in, but! If you count your time as free and dont mind doing a bit of scrounging then you can build a tube amp for hardly any cash at all. Here is the basic plan for a CHEAP tube guitar amp. Go to any and all garage sales swap meets and flea markets and look for old audio or PA tube amps. Look especialy for mono amp with a tube compliment the same as or similar to what you would like to build. (this is were your time comes in. Between researching what it is that you should look for and actually doing the looking you could spen a lot of time… at $5 an hour?) If you can find something good? now you have a chassis, power and output transformers, sockets, maybe even good tubes? Reduild the circuit to the schematic of your choice! (you may not even have to do this? May sound good as is?) : > 2)Is it difficult? : It is not difficult to copy a schematic and get reasonable performance. If : you want truly great tone…you must sweat. Very true. : > 3)I’ve got a GX-700 effect processor. Can I use this as a pre-amp, and : > only build a power-amp in order to get some decent sound? : Not recommended. Since you have to build the driver section and the power : section ( as well as everything else ) you would seriously limit yourself : without a good pre-amp. Properly driving an amp is serious business. : > 4)I want to use tubes. Tube sound rules. Do I get ‘tube sound’ if I only : > build the power amp with tubes and use my GX-700 as pre-amp. : Yes, but see previous suggestion. : > 5)Is building a solid state amp cheaper than one with tubes (I guess so) : Yes. Much less. But at what cost? Will the IC’c you chose be available in 5 : years. The 6L6 is over 50 years old and going strong. : : > 6)where do I get information on building a proper guitar amp? : : direction. : Blair M If you build your own amp you have to do it cause you are interested in learning and want to build it for the fun of building it. If you are only trying to save a buck then it is probly not a good idea. I have had lots of fun scrounging around and building amps. Sometimes you find something that sounds really good that you wouldnt have expected. I think there is (was?) a web page out there that talks more about turning an old tube PA amp into a guitar amp. dont know the URL I think there may be a link to it on RGKeen’s page? Chris
Response:
writes: >I’ve a few questions about building my own amp?
Hi Joeri: I’ve been teaching myself amp building and have built a small amp to gain experience with. Here’s what I learned from it.. >1)Is building an guitar amp (solid state/tube) from a kit cheaper than >buying one?
Not even close. If money is an issue to you your best bet is a good *used* amp. Factories that stamp out amps buy their parts in big volume at a huge wholesale discount. Some of that savings they pass on to the consumer in the form of a competitive price. That’s why you’ll be unlikely to beat the price, even if you value your labor at $0. >2)Is it difficult?
Somewhat. I don’t think I could have built much without reading a couple hundred dollars worth of books first. Consider buying Dave Funk’s Tube Amp Workbook available from http://www.tubesandmore.com. You’ll also find that there really isn’t a one-stop shopping place for parts and supplies. I found this an annoying aspect. I also underestimated what it would take to package the amp I built into something that didn’t look like crap. >3)I’ve got a GX-700 effect processor. Can I use this as a pre-amp, and >only build a power-amp in order to get some decent sound?
Is this unit marketed as a ‘pre-amp’ as well as an effects processor? If ‘yes’ you should be able to use it as the pre-amp stage. You’ll need to build the phase inverter/driver stage and power-amp stage and power supply. >4)I want to use tubes. Tube sound rules. Do I get ‘tube sound’ if I only >build the power amp with tubes and use my GX-700 as pre-amp(like in >question 3), or just use a solid state pre-amp with a tube power amp?
No. If you build a hybrid system you get a hybrid system <g>. Sorry, I don’t know how else to say it. I often use an effects processor in front of my homebrew amp (it has no eq or reverb – just volume). Since I’m addicted to reverb I prefer the combination myself. >5)Is building a solid state amp cheaper than one with tubes (I guess so)
I haven’t tried to build a SS amp but its gotta be cheaper. Lots of expensive iron and glass inside tube gear. BTW: I would guess that SS is SAFER for a novice, voltages on tubes can kill ‘ya if ‘ya ain’t careful. >6)where do I get information on building a proper guitar amp?
See #2 above.
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > In an earlier posting I mentioned buying a new guitar amp, but isn’t > building one yourself cheaper? > I’ve a few questions about building my own amp? > 1)Is building an guitar amp (solid state/tube) from a kit cheaper than > buying one? > 2)Is it difficult? > 3)I’ve got a GX-700 effect processor. Can I use this as a pre-amp, and > only build a power-amp in order to get some decent sound? > 4)I want to use tubes. Tube sound rules. Do I get ‘tube sound’ if I only > build the power amp with tubes and use my GX-700 as pre-amp(like in > question 3), or just use a solid state pre-amp with a tube power amp? > 5)Is building a solid state amp cheaper than one with tubes (I guess so) > 6)where do I get information on building a proper guitar amp? > I know these are a lot of questions, but could somebody please answer > them? I’ve got no experience (yet) with building guitar amps, but I have > experience in building other electronic kits (like ones for car alarms, > light show equipment etc.). > Thanks in advance > Joeri
If (and this is a big if) you really want to build one for fun, your best bet is to start with someone else’s mistake. Any old-fashioned tube amp is basically a kit. With a few alterations you can replicate something else. Your first step is to identify what kind of amp you want to copy and then study the schematic. Stuff you need to know includes: the tubes, B+ voltage and general layout. From there you can determine the current draw. Then hit the sales. Old guitar amps are the easiest targets but also consider tube PA’s, or other obsolete equipment. I have had really good luck on circuit boards and transformers at electronic surplus stores. One amp worth considering is the Fender 5E3 Deluxe circa 1955. Simple, wonderful tone and a minimum of components. It drives a single 12. Two words of caution. If you only want one amp, buy it. If you are going to go for it, be a quick study on electronic safety precautions. The components in a tube amp can shock you hours after it has been unplugged. Skip
Response:
Search the Web for "Duncan Amps" or try "Firebottle.com" (good Name), lots of Good info. Dave.
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