pix of Custom built guitar amps/cabs

[vigilante397]

I'm almost embarrassed posting this after all those other sweet amps, but am doing so at the request of the owner. My manager at work is a big antique guy and recently picked up an old radio console from a shop. He had me gut the chassis and rebuild a 5W tube amp inside, as well as put in a better speaker and re-do the grill cloth. I also laser engraved the knobs with their labels, but it's pretty faint so you can only really see it up close.

The amp itself is essentially a modded Valve Jr. with a Baxandall EQ and a master volume. I really like how the tonestack drops the gain, because the owner plays mostly acoustic guitar, and while the amp sounds good with an electric guitar, it absolutely sings with an acoustic guitar.

[bluebunny]

Nice job Nathan.  I had it in mind to do something similar a while back, but never found a suitable donor carcass.  Now you've rekindled that backburning idea. 

[vigilante397]

Nice job Nathan.  I had it in mind to do something similar a while back, but never found a suitable donor carcass.  Now you've rekindled that backburning idea. 

It was kind of a fun project. My wife really liked the look of it, which got me thinking it could be a good way to get her to let me keep an amp in the living room.

[bluebunny]

My wife really liked the look of it, which got me thinking it could be a good way to get her to let me keep an amp in the living room.

Good luck with that daring enterprise!   

[thomasha]

that looks really nice!

some time ago I saw something similar, kind of steampunk, really loved the idea.

[thomasha]

Every time I make a video, I always remember that I should be practicing and not building another amp.

[tca]

> Every time I make a video, I always remember that I should be practicing and not building another amp.

Hear, hear!

[tubelectron]

OK, it's not finished...

I'm working on three amps prototypes :



But only the biggest one has his cab finished :



And I don't know when all that will be ready 

A+!

[davent]

Bruno, your Tolexing always looks perfect, so nice!

dave

[Cozybuilder]

Bruno- Very nice, inspirational work. Looking forward to the finished amps.

[tubelectron]

Bruno- Very nice, inspirational work. Looking forward to the finished amps.

Bruno, your Tolexing always looks perfect, so nice!

dave

Thank you, Guys !

I never forget that many of you are skilled and tasteful stompbox decorators  unlike me 

I'll post the finished amps pictures... ASAP... ... One day... ...

A+!

[stallik]

Well that's not true. Your boxes look really good to me but thanks for letting us down gently

[deadastronaut]

bruno, yeah, they are lovely cabs...

[tubelectron]

Thanks !

Well that's not true. Your boxes look really good to me but thanks for letting us down gently

Oh sorry  , I had in mind the numerous etched and painted boxes that I see on the forum : I'm just admirative and in no way confident nor tooled to do that...

bruno, yeah, they are lovely cabs...

Thanks Rob... My problem is that I am so slow for designing and building, due to a lack of spare time  ...

A+!

[thermionix]

More awesome work by Bruno.  A+ indeed.

My least favorite thing to do is grill cloth.  Keeping it stretched and maintaining proper alignment of the pattern while staple gunning with your other hand...seems almost impossible to do by yourself.  I tend to get it about 95% right but that last corner has some ~curvy~ lines.  I can imagine a tool, a stretching rack, but I don't have the budget to build one.  I think next time I will look for a cloth with no clear horizontal or vertical pattern to it.  Marshall-style "salt and pepper" might be a good one, but it depends on the tolex choice whether that would fit visually.

[tubelectron]

More awesome work by Bruno.  A+ indeed.

My least favorite thing to do is grill cloth.  Keeping it stretched and maintaining proper alignment of the pattern while staple gunning with your other hand...seems almost impossible to do by yourself.  I tend to get it about 95% right but that last corner has some ~curvy~ lines.  I can imagine a tool, a stretching rack, but I don't have the budget to build one.  I think next time I will look for a cloth with no clear horizontal or vertical pattern to it.  Marshall-style "salt and pepper" might be a good one, but it depends on the tolex choice whether that would fit visually.

Yes thermionix, thanks !

You're right : "tolexing" and "grillclothing" are not so difficult except if you want a neat, flawless result : straight, square and well stretched grillcloth, perfect glueing, cuts and invisible seams Tolex covering (especially in angles, corners, curves)...

About the grillcloth - here's my personal experience - that may cross yours :

- Like you, I do not have a stretching rack, nor any sophisticated tool like that to even the stretching of the grillcloth with a square pattern. I have a RAPID electric stapler with 6x10 or 10x10 staples (according to the thickness or the grillcloth to staple), a powerful (2300W) but adjustable CALOR hair-dryer, a painter pliers, a staple easy-remover, some other usual tools and of course a large, flat, well lightened surface.

- Some grillcloth are more easy to put correctly than others : it varies according to the material, and even the batch or the roll of the "same" material you intend to put.

- The larger the grillcloth surface, the most difficult the job (usually).

- When you have cut your grillcloth sheet to dimension (I usually left circa 40-50mm all around for gripping and stapling), you mark a straight ply in one of the lenght sides (usually the bottom) in accordance with the pattern to make your reference starting edge where you will place the matching edge of the frame.

- There is roughly 2 categories of grillcloth : the plastic and the vegetal. Maybe there is mixed ones, but I never had it to put. A quick difference can be made between the 2 with a lighter : if it burns = vegetal, if it melts = plastic.

PLASTIC :

- the plastic grillcloth accepts to be thermically stretched and this is done after stapling. This is the case for the Fender-like grillcloth.

- You put the frame (along the ply made) as flat as possible on the grillcloth resting on the table, you check adn corrrect the squarring and absence of waves of the pattern, and you staple it without stretching it, just flattening it as best as possible, without slack. I insist : perfectly squarred and straight, as flat as possible, NO stretching. It's important for the final result.

- If this is correct, then you use your hair dryer to stretch very evenly the grillcloth, alterning horizontal and vertical movements.

- It's often long (it can take one hour), depending on how much remaining slack you left (less is best and fastest), but the grillcloth will stretch evenly in the end.

- Be careful : too much temperature or a hot point (i.e. trying to correct a defaut you did not saw or you accepted while stapling) will melt without warning the grillcloth and jour job is ruined.

VEGETAL

- The vegetal grillcloth doesn't accept thermal stretching and must be stretched mechanically with a painter pliers while stapling. This is the case for the Marshall-like "Salt & Pepper" grillcloth.

- You put the grillcloth as described for the plastic one above, the difference is that you have to stretch it while stapling.

- You start with stapling the reference ply side that you don't stretch, or a very little locally by hand just in order to maintain a perfect alignment of the pattern.

- Once done, you go to the other side, mark a ply the same way just at the dimension (or just a bit below but not above, according to the pattern plying ease) using the frame.

- I stretch using my painter pliers and staple in the meantime, checking to maintain the alignment perfect. This is the difficult part of the job, and I wouldn't do this without an electric staple and a painter pliers... Fortunately, if a deviation starts, you can go back by removing the last staples and correct : this is the advantage of the vegetal grillcloth.

- I start to staple by the center of the side, and progress alternatively left/right by series of 5 staples, corresponding to the width stretched by my painter pliers.

- When the bottom and top sides are finally stapled / stretched / aligned perfectly (or at least satisfactorily), you do the same with the left and right side. Note that if you start with say the right side, there will be a vertical deviation of the pattern to the right, so you will have to correct that deviation while stretching / stapling the left side, so dont stretch too much at right to have enough stretching reserve at left.

The job is done, in both cases... Wow... The finishing is to cut the remaining extras or grillcloth all around the frame.

Hope this helps - I'll post some pics...

A+!

[tubelectron]

Some pictures :

The main tools for Salt & Pepper grillcloth :



The finished cabs :









As you can see, the grillcloth of the center cab (with upper stripes) looks different and less "neat" than on the 2 other cabs (L and R). It's nonetheless the same model, reference and supplier of "Salt and Pepper" grillcloth, but it's not the same batch or roll (bouth at different times). The canvas was a bit thicker, more coarse and less regular on the center one than on the 2 others...

A+!

[Lars F]

Really great looking cabs. Well done.

Regards,

Lars

[Cozybuilder]

I like the surfboard stripe in the middle cabinet. All are excellent, great job!

[tubelectron]

Thank you, Guys !

Next step are building / populating / wiring each chassis.

So Wait and See and... Patience... 

A+!