Where do I begin with building an amp?
Question:
I have an OK workshop, and funds for parts, but I have no idea where to look for a good beginner’s project. I would like a nice sounding small-ish amp when I’m done, but I’m completely new to this and need something simple. I’m OK with a soldering iron, and am willing to do my homework, I just don’t know a good book or site to get me started, Any advice?
Response:
www.ax84.com is the only thorough site I’ve found as I’m in the same boat as you.
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> I have an OK workshop, and funds for parts, but I have no idea where to > look for a good beginner’s project. I would like a nice sounding small-ish > amp when I’m done, but I’m completely new to this and need something > simple. I’m OK with a soldering iron, and am willing to do my homework, I > just don’t know a good book or site to get me started, > Any advice?
Response:
I was in the same boat a couple of years ago. What I found was that I had to read a lot of books, view some amp servicing video’s (Weber and Mitchell), read a lot of the posts on here, ask a lot of questions, check out a lot of websites, and start studying circuit layouts. I don’t know if it’s still true today, but at the time, I couldn’t find just 1 book that gave instructions on building an amp. It seemed like there was a lot of information out there, and that I had to get a few pieces of information here and there, and then try to put it together to make sense of it all. The more I studied, the more things started to click and make sense. You may want to check with Bruce at Mission Amps. He put together some 5E3 Tweed Deluxe kits awhile back and they seemed to go over very well. They were reasonably priced and you wound up with a nice tweed amp with a single 12" speaker. Gary Gerhart, who you can find on alt.guitar.amps, also has a killer little amp kit, it’s like 1/2 watt, but it’s a nice starter project. You need to provide your own chassis and enclosure, so you can select what size speaker you want to use. Also, check with Allen amps, they have a lot of different amp kits available. You may want to start with one of these pre-packaged kits as a first project, as they come with complete instructions for assembly. Mikey
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> I have an OK workshop, and funds for parts, but I have no idea where to > look for a good beginner’s project. I would like a nice sounding small-ish > amp when I’m done, but I’m completely new to this and need something > simple. I’m OK with a soldering iron, and am willing to do my homework, I > just don’t know a good book or site to get me started, > Any advice?
Response:
Hi, Speaking of soldering, ever looked at your joint with magnifying glass? You may be surprised. Soldering looks easy but there is lot to learn. Time to read lots of books, watch video, if you have a repair shop nearby, go befriend with the tech there and watch what he is doing. Buy him lunch/beer, get as much as you can from him. When I was a grade 4 kid, I used to hang around neighborhood radio repair shop so much, the owner one day asked me if I am interested in the radios. I said, "Yes" He then gave me a permission to come into his shop and learn. First thing he let me do was to replace a blown filter cap on a table top radio. He said I did good. The rest is history, I took EE major at U and already I am retired living thru the electronics evolution. Tubes to x-sistors-I.C. chips small, large, very large scales, computer systems occupying 1000s of sq. ft. space with tons of a/c, to table top/pocket wonders. Still like it best when I work on tube gears. Even now, if I blink my eyes I fall behind. The speed of progress in electronics is fastest. Long week end and start of camping season here. Weather sucks as usual. It rained, snowed, hailed and sunny now today. Going out to cabin with chain saw to clear out fallen branches from last snow storm. Have a Grea….t week end. And don’t give up. Get ready to be zapped few times. <<GG>> Tony, VE6CGX – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > I have an OK workshop, and funds for parts, but I have no idea where to > look for a good beginner’s project. I would like a nice sounding small-ish > amp when I’m done, but I’m completely new to this and need something > simple. I’m OK with a soldering iron, and am willing to do my homework, I > just don’t know a good book or site to get me started, > Any advice?
Response:
>ever looked at your joint with magnifying glass?
Is that the straight line of the week, or what?
Response:
Hi, Meant solder joint. When I was working for DOD, inspectors used to do that. checking the MDF wiring on auto VON. Tony – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->ever looked at your joint with magnifying glass? > Is that the straight line of the week, or what?
Response:
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