I just joined as I'm planning to build my first guitar amp (I've built two OTL headphone amps and 3 effects pedals so far.) I'm leaning toward AB763 DR head at the moment but wanted to flesh out some thoughts:
My favorite tone is actually a clean Mesa Mark III, but I don't need all the complexity or 95% of the rest of it's capabilities, so buying one feels like the wrong move. AB763 DR is obviously different, but you just plug in and play something and it sounds/feels great. Also there are a ton of proven modes, so maybe I can get at least part way toward a clean Mesa tone? (adjust preamp tube plate voltage, add raw pot, add mid pot, presence pot, add late circuit tone shaping, add master volume, etc.) Either way, I feel like you can't go wrong with a hand wired AB763 DR, especially for the cost of a kit.
I don't need vibrato and would love if it was smaller, but the flip side is having a proven circuit, widely available information, hardware, etc. Princeton doesn't sound as good to me, Allen Accomplice Jr makes future mods more challenging since it's a different circuit, etc. If I were to build an AB763 in a different enclosure, I risk not knowing what happens if I delete vibrato, move something, get noise, etc.
I'm leaning toward a MojoTone kit since it's got a good reputation, decent quality parts, and makes buying everything easier. But I'm on the fence - I haven't priced out components separately yet, and I know I'll want to change at least a few things - some metal film resistors, for example, maybe a few push-pull pots. But I guess buying everything separately feels a little daunting.
I guess that's enough for now
Thanks for reading and any comments!-Joe G.