How did you guys get started?

[blues junkie]

Well I'm very interested in trying my hand at building amps. A ODS mainly and my question to everyone is how did you get started at it? I've been doing alot of research and I am looking into buying some books about amps to help.i am very mechanically inclined (been a mechanic for 25 years) I'm good with a soldering iron,can read wiring diagrams,I can comprehend instructions very well. I was thinking of going with a Brownnote kit as my first build.So any help would be great to point me in the right direction.Also do you guys build your own chassi or do you buy it from someone and where do you get all your components? Again any help in pointing me in the right direction would be great.

Thanks.
Chuck.

[stelligan]

Chuck,

A D'Lite kit is exactly how I got started. It was a painless and very rewarding experience. Very convenient to have the chassis and parts ready to go. Even more rewarding was then to research, source, and build my next amp from the ground up. Drilling boards and pressing in eyelets, etc.. The support here was readily available, rapidly given, and invaluable. Welcome to the club.

[blues junkie]

Chuck,

A D'Lite kit is exactly how I got started. It was a painless and very rewarding experience. Very convenient to have the chassis and parts ready to go. Even more rewarding was then to research, source, and build my next amp from the ground up. Drilling boards and pressing in eyelets, etc.. The support here was readily available, rapidly given, and invaluable. Welcome to the club.

Hey thanks alot.

[JamesO]

I'm still very much in the learning stage, but all three of my amps have been from scratch (none of them have fired up on the first try ). I'm working on my fourth now. I just started by trying it.

Parts for my first were from http://turretboards.com. All of the others have been from http://mouser.com and http://tubesandmore.com.

[Structo]

Yep, it's great fun and I built a D'Lite 44 kit as well for my first.

How is your electronic knowledge?

Do you know about all the different components such as, resistors, capacitors, inductors, etc?

Probably the first thing you should learn and be aware of is the possiblity of high lethal voltages that can and do lurk inside amp chassis.
Even when the amp is unplugged the caps can hold a lethal charge.
The big capactitors that filter the DC voltages can exceed 400 volts which is far above what it takes to stop your heart if you happen to get a charge across your chest.
So before digging in, learn how to measure and discharge caps safely so you don't become a statistic.

A couple books suitable for a beginner I can recommend:

Dave Hunter - The Guitar Amp Handbook

Gerald Weber - Tube Guitar Amplifier Essentials

Aspen Pittman - The Tube Amp Book

As well as countless internet sources, some of which include:

http://www.aikenamps.com/

http://www.freewebs.com/valvewizard/index.html

http://www.pmillett.com/tecnical_books_online.htm

http://www.geofex.com/

http://www.el34world.com/schematics.htm

http://www.qsl.net/dl7avf/roehren/glossary.html

http://people.cornell.edu/pages/mt24/Am ... _main.html

http://www.vacuumtubes.net/How_Vacuum_Tubes_Work.htm

[Structo]

Oh yeah, and this great forum with kind helping people that answered a lot of my questions when I first came here.

[Bob-I]

I started at ax84.com building a California Dreamer in a Princeton chassis. I attacked several other simple designs and designed some of my own SE amps before I decided to tackle a Dumble.

Since the Dumble tone from David Lindley on "Running on Empty" was my yardstick, I started with Steve Aloha's "Humble Overdraft Specimen". It was a horrible disaster and never sounded very good at all. No fault of Steve's, in fact his work got this whole thing started for me so I have nothing but the most respect for Steve.

I decided to go low cost, so as to not upset the family... ok the wife.. I found an old Peavey SS/tube hybrid and gutted it. Turned out to be my first really great sounding amp. Eventually I sold that one to a friend who uses it as his main gigging amp.

To date I've build 3 Peavey transplants, one I kept and the 3rd was build for another friend, the Princeton chassis that was the California Dreamer is now a Dumble non-hrm and is still my best sounding amp.

I also have a Super Reverb clone, a SLO Clone, a Train Wreck transplant from a Bassman and I've built several amps for friends, some of who I've met here.

Very cool hobby, and I get to use my work at gigs.

[toneman]

It"s a sickness run while you can!!! Other wise you gonna build and build and build....HELP I can't stop Started with a Fender Bandmaster and should have been hung for what I did But I can build what my ears want to hear.......I think. Can't learn this stuff any place else and have so many that want to help.. A Fender Champ should have been the start,like a 57 Chevy..you can get under the hood and see whats going on.

[Normster]

Another old ex-mechanic here. For my first build, I gutted a Pignose G60VR and built a Dumble with reverb. Not a great sounding amp, but I still have it and my son likes it. Next up was a Bassman conversion to a Dumble HRM with reverb. I still love that one!

Since then I've built more amps than I can count...mostly D'Lites but also the usual suspects. (3 Dumble clones, 3 Trainwreck clones, 1 Komet clone, 1 18watt, 1 Vibroverb, 1 Twin, maybe a few others I've forgotten about.)

As toneman said, "It's a sickness run while you can!!! "

[hipbluescat]

These guys have nailed it pretty well.

If you start believe me you will not stop and this can be a dangerous road so to speak.

Also I have it the most rewarding because when my amps are played by professional players i get compliments on the tone!!!

Go for it I would do it again without regrets.

[stelligan]

It"s a sickness run while you can!!!

Perhaps the best advice I now find myself surrounded by amps, capacitors, resistors.........

[Stanz]

I would have to add one to the "it's a sickness". I started building a Tweed Deluxe because it was cheaper than buying what have now become collectors items. I now have 5 amps that I have built, plus two "real" amps, and you guessed it, one more in the works (6v6 plexi for a friend).

But I have also branched out into studio gear as well and have built a tube mic preamp, a microphone (yep, tube), and am finishing up an analog (that would be tube) opto compressor. yummy

As for how I got started, I have a background in electronics working on mainframe diskdrives at a time when you actually troubleshot down to the bit level and replaced defective components on the pcb. Yes, that was a long time ago. I also worked in manufacturing plants both on mechanical and electronic products. To get a grasp on amps, I started with Keven O'Connor's TUT books. The first one is pretty good for getting an overall view of building amps. He does have a tenancy to babble on an on and jump from here to there in a sort of stream of consciousness format that does not lend itself well to a technical manual. His books are good though, in that they challenge established conventions, like making a tweed deluxe fixed bias with an effects loop.

This site is an excellent resource of experienced builders with a willingness to help out.

The best part about all of this though, yesterday, fired up my "old" tweed deluxe, trying it with a celstion G12-65 instead of the usual alnico speaker, and playing a Strat, just to see what would happen. Sounded great. I now have a set of amps that are truly a joy to play.

[doveman]

I always wanted to build one. Picked a Brown Note 22/33 ... did a bunch of research ... asked a lot of questions. Built it and enjoyed the process tremendously. Very satisfying. There's a thread detailing every step of the way at the Brown Note site ... it's link here too ... if your interested. A first timers journey.

http://www.brownnote.net/forum/viewtopi ... highlight=

I made one minor tweak and changed tubes a couple of times. One set of 6V6, 5881 and 6L6 ... I like them all but they are different.

I'm waiting for the receipt of an active loop for my reverb. I may also put in the switching relays sometime later.

Unlike many of the other guys, I may not build another. I just really like my gear right now.

[blues junkie]

Doveman, thanks alot for sharing your build experience that was awsome and congrats on a great looking build I really appreciate all the advice everyone has given me.

Thanks.
Chuck.

[Tonegeek]

Another X-wrench turner here
I started years ago building effects when Craig Anderton used to publish in Guitar Player mag (and even earlier when I converted a cheap tape recorder into a fuzztone). 2 years ago I stumbled on this forum and decided to build a HRM clone. It is the best decision I ever made in terms of a shot in the arm for my guitar tone. I have since built another Dumble for a friend and just finished some mods to the original one. It never ends... I will probably build more amps in the future. Read NEETS, TUT, and "the triode gain stage" by this guy: http://www.freewebs.com/valvewizard/index.html

Really, beyond the basics, you could do it all with just this forum. The folks here are very willing to help.
good luck!