At last I found a cabinet for my TW Express clone. I picked up this maple cabinet from Allyn, who might have others for sale in the future. With careful measurements, I managed to install the chassis without any real problems. I used a set of boards from UR12 and Nik's chassis.
Man that is a nice looking build. How does it sound? Now we have 2 of the same amps (Express and Fender SR). I just finished up my Express Clone about 2 weeks ago. Man they are beast. Have you tried 6V6's yet?
There's an earlier post with a discussion about how this and other people's Express clones sound. The 6V6s are a great choice too, so try them. I've been playing through a 4x12 with Celestion blues, and I gotta try G12H30s and V30s too.
I have tried both EL34's and 6V6's. I like the EL34's the best. I have a 4x12 loaded with Greenbacks and a 2x12 loaded with Hellatone 30's (G12H30's). I like the EL34's and 4x12 Greenbacks combo the best.
Wow! Ron, that's a very tasty looking build. Been building amps long? It seems you really nailed the Express. I sense some of KF's 'organic flow' to be sure. Looking forward to the clips.
All excellent things are as difficult as they are rare__B Spinoza
Clips? Only paper ones... but thanks for the comments. Yes, I've been building tube equipment for decades and amps in particular for about 11 years (King Amplifier Co.).
The boards were made by UR12 on this forum. I would like another set or two for future amps, but I haven't heard him volunteer to make more.
If you want to build an Express, you can buy a very nice set of unperforated G10 boards with turrets from Nik (in Malaysia, IIRC). Nik has a business website but I don't recall the URL, I'm sure others do. He produced the chassis and has completed amplifiers on his menu as well.
Last edited by Ron on Fri Feb 02, 2007 9:34 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Yes, Nik is great to deal with and has the express/liverpool boards. I got my 18 watt board from him, unpopulated. However, I am going to do a liverpool in a gutted laney VC30 and the chassis is too narrow for the cap board. Hence, my trying to find some perf board so i can cut it to fit the chassis. I can use regular un-perforated garolite, but then I would have to drill the turret holes, and i am basically lazy.
This perforated board material has seemed to vanish from the planet though. I have seen people on other boards ask about it and nobody seems to have a source in the US.
Ampmaker in the UK has it, but last time I looked at his site, it said something to the effect that he was out of it.
Weird. It is not like this stuff is made from a rare earth element or something.
I think UR12 had some factory perf material, but later had to drill the holes himself. Hey, someone's gotta do it!! Good luck on your quest for the right stuff.
rsi wrote:Yes, Nik is great to deal with and has the express/liverpool boards. I got my 18 watt board from him, unpopulated. However, I am going to do a liverpool in a gutted laney VC30 and the chassis is too narrow for the cap board. Hence, my trying to find some perf board so i can cut it to fit the chassis. I can use regular un-perforated garolite, but then I would have to drill the turret holes, and i am basically lazy.
This perforated board material has seemed to vanish from the planet though. I have seen people on other boards ask about it and nobody seems to have a source in the US.
Ampmaker in the UK has it, but last time I looked at his site, it said something to the effect that he was out of it.
Weird. It is not like this stuff is made from a rare earth element or something.
Yes, it has all but vanished. I make it when I get in the mood these days. There is a lot of work involved in drilling all of those holes. I found that I was spending all of my time building boards and I would much rather build amps. I should be doing some more in the next few weeks. Shoot me an email with your specs and if your not in any hurry I'll see what I can do.
Ron
If you still want a couple of sets I'll make you up a couple soon.
I used a set of boards from UR12 and Nik's chassis.
