To build or not to build

[Littlewyan]

Hi guys

I have a Marshall 1987xl which sounds pretty good but has a bit of corrosion on the chassis (think the previous owner spilt something on it) and I fancy building another amp but am trying to save money atm. Anyway I was thinking I could sell the amp and then build myself a new one. I've worked out that I should be able to build the amp with money from the sale and maybe even have some left over. Here are my thoughts so far:

Pros
- It'll be a nice clean new amp that I'll keep in great nick
- New amp will have a turret board not a pcb, much easier to work on
- Could easily voice the new amp, even add some extra switches
- Can layout the new amp my way, i.e. Make biasing easier with 1ohm resistors and possibly end up with a quieter amp if I wire it myself

Cons
- It won't be a real Marshall so if I EVER try to sell it I will struggle
- New amp may not sound right, i.e OT may not be right, could cost more in the long run

What are everyone's thoughts?[/list]

[skyboltone]

This guy right here always made the best kit/collection of parts for Marshall clones. And he's a great guy to boot. I talked to him a couple of years ago and he had to get out of the kit business and get a real job due to lack of sales.

I'm not sure what is going on today but he can for sure lead you to the right iron and maybe hook you up with some turret boards too. I dunno. Contact him:


https://www.facebook.com/MetropoulosAmplification

[Littlewyan]

Yer I've heard of him, was a sad story his business going down. Whilst looking on forums for suppliers I've noticed that a lot of them aren't around anymore. Anyway parts aren't the issue, I'm just torn as to whether or not its a good idea :/

[ToneMerc]

Yer I've heard of him, was a sad story his business going down. Whilst looking on forums for suppliers I've noticed that a lot of them aren't around anymore. Anyway parts aren't the issue, I'm just torn as to whether or not its a good idea :/

George got out of the ala carte parts/kit business, not the amp building business.

TM

[JoeCon]

Little

Any amp you build will be better as you'll keep tweaking it till its exactly what you want. And the guys here have plenty of experience to help you get just that. Plus you can add controls that a stock Marshall just does not have.

And you won't want to sell an amp you built and love.

HTH...

[overtone]

My thoughts are beware of the idea of saving money by building your own. You have to weigh up the true financial cost for yourself and face up to the fact that a DIY build will probably not even recoup the cost of parts if you need to sell. But you probably know that.

It is like with anything in life, if you have something tailored, or make it yourself exactly to your wishes, you will pay a premium that 99% of the time will not be recoverable through a later sale. Exceptions to this are if you can employ an exceptional and sought after tailor, architect, luthier or amp builder etc. But you only live once and there are many more ways to measure a project than in pure monetry terms.

Selfishly, I guess we'd all really enjoy to see your build in progress!

[rp]

And you won't want to sell an amp you built and love.

Or amps. I live in a very tiny place full of amps I built and love and can't sell (my children). And I keep planning more. This isn't a good thing, not good at all.

[JoeCon]

Little

While not cheap my Rocket 2 x EL84 and Rockster 2 x KT66 amps cost just over $400 each to build with no cabinet ( yet ). And I see RJ has a really nice cab for $215. So for around $650 you'd have a great custom built amp.

I did as much as I could myself which cut down costs. But you won't find any amp for that price that sounds as good as they do.

[Littlewyan]

Well today I was home alone so had a chance to crank my Express I built and the Marshall. The Marshall was kinda fun to play but sounded nowhere near as good as the Trainwreck. Now I know they are different amps and all but the Marshall didn't have anywhere near as much clarity or harmonics as the Express. Could be tired valves but I've heard a lot of Marshalls which have more clarity than this amp. So I'm going to put the Marshall up for sale.

Now when I do build the Marshall clone/copy/whatever I am definitely going to include a PPIMV and maybe even a switch between valve and solid state rectifiers. Also you guys are right I wouldn't sell an amp that I built myself, although I did sell one amp that I'd built but that ws a kit so I didn't really feel like I built it if you see what I mean.

[JoeCon]

Little

You've got an express you should try the rocket/rockster as your next build. It's a lot of fun and if you want a more versatile one go with the Rockster so you've got the octal tubes to play with. I put a PPIMV in mine and with the KT66 tubes it sounds great. Also takes to pedals really well. I do a 60's band thing and use a fuzz,wah, and overdrive with it thru two single 12 cabs. A blast and even our keyboard player noticed how good it sounds!

[Littlewyan]

Never really been interested in a Rocket to be honest, always wanted to build a Marshall though. So many different variations in the Pre Aml that I wish to try out!

[skyboltone]

Little

You've got an express you should try the rocket/rockster as your next build. It's a lot of fun and if you want a more versatile one go with the Rockster so you've got the octal tubes to play with. I put a PPIMV in mine and with the KT66 tubes it sounds great. Also takes to pedals really well. I do a 60's band thing and use a fuzz,wah, and overdrive with it thru two single 12 cabs. A blast and even our keyboard player noticed how good it sounds!

What the heck is a Rockster? Lead me to the scheme man.

[Phil_S]

The Rockster is a Rocket with high wattage tubes.

[skyboltone]

The Rockster is a Rocket with high wattage tubes.

That's cathode biased! I almost swallowed my chew....

So I guess I never thought much about the Rocket eh?. Well now I need to look at the PI on the rocket to see what was done to raise the output to suit the EL-34 class tubes. I'll study it one day.

[Littlewyan]

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