pix of Custom built guitar amps/cabs

[geertjacobs]

AX84 P1


Orange OD80 copy


MBLE Hifi kit amp (same as Birt's) converted to Vox AC15 Lite
Best amp I made, unfortunately not mine.

But I have an almost identical amp and parts lying around.
Just need some round tuits :-)

[John Lyons]

Some serious transformerage there!

[geertjacobs]

Some serious transformerage there!

Indeed  
Orange transformers are quite big (Partridges and Parmeko's).
Also for the OT's they often used the same for the 2xEL34 as for the 4xEL34.
I found a renowned local repair guy who wound his own replacement transformers.
For the PT he offered me a Marshall 100W replacement PT that matched to exact voltage requirements for an Orange.
For the OT he made me a custom OT wound with (2xEL34) 50 watt wiring wound on a 100 Watt OT core.

It needs new powertubes now, it's still on its first set of unmatched tubes.

I've made some webpages with some more info, in case someone likes to get into amp diy.
http://users.telenet.be/orangefg/personal.htm

edit: forgot to mention that my Orange clone is quite a bit smaller than the original amp.
My amp has a 40x20cm chassis , an original Orange is 55x25cm or so.
Makes the transformers stand out even more :-)

[diydave]

Hi-octane from AX84.com.
I have a modded 36watt as well. Pics will follow




Still needs a grill for the front.

[birt]

Doug Deeper and Glops, as GeertJacobs said its from an old belgian amp (MBLE company from Brussels, they manufactured the  ADZAM tubes). i just stripped the chassis and had it chromed. however it's not very well done. on the sides there are quite a lot of spots where the chrome comes off and you see the nickel under it. still shiny tough since the nickel plating doesn't come off.

oh and it's an AC15. one channel has the old pentode preamp (but subbed a 6AU6 for the EF86. more gain and less microphonics... and cheaper) and one has the normal-brilliant setup with a 12AX7. both channels feed their own side of the pi so they are out of phase.

[davent]

Dave, I'd really like to get the plans you used for those!

Jacob

Do you have any plans for this head cab? where did you buy that kind of tolex?

Thanks!!!

Hello,

I didn't really have a cab plan but based the cab on Marshall cab plans  i'd seen, info at the Silvatone site and the chassis i had, Hammond 17x8x3" with 1½"  "L"  wings on each end to allow attaching the chassis to the box.  http://www.silvatone.bravepages.com/HO/Pdf/Cabinet.pdf. Lot's of good amp and cab building info to be found at Silvatone, be sure to check it out. Some time after i built mine,i came across plans at Ampcabs.com which are really close to what i built. http://www.ampcabs.com/   None of the links in the site seem to be working today, not sure if it is still a functioning site.

http://www.aronnelson.com/DIYFiles/up/Head_Cab.pdf

My cab ended up 22lx9hx9½" deep. Used ¾" Baltic Birch plywood for the sides and ½" for the top and bottom. Front and back panels are ½" as well.  Wanted the front face edge to be ¾" all the way around so glued in ¼" strips to the front of the top and bottom. The back  i wanted the edges to be ½" so routed a rabbet in the side pieces so they matched the thickness of the top and bottom. I don't have a set up for doing finger joints like in the plan so i just routed rabbets into the side pieces for the top and bottom to fit into then added dowels through the top and bottom to reinforce the joints. Used Miller dowels.  http://www.millerdowel.com/

Another difference from that plan is i only used glue and dowels for construction and then ¼" threaded inserts and bolts to attach any parts that might be removed later.





For Tolex i used upholstery vinyl from locally, European Textiles for the yellow and Fabricland for the black. In town here we have a real good fabric ghetto , 10-12 stores maybe more. spaced over a block or two so i just headed down there and found something i liked. Was down there today and hit a half dozen stores and came home with three different pieces of vinyl, 2 yards total and spent less then twenty dollars. The one store i was in, new since last time shopping, easily had over a hundred different vinyls, a rainbow of colours, snakeskins, weaves, smooth  and various other textures, gave me a bad case of decision paralysis just in the one store. Another store had this wild, very three dimensional piece, silvers and golds as well as a colour shift roll,  the choices were pretty mind boggling.

Now i've never worked with real Tolex but just comparing commercial cabs with the stuff i've used, the upholstery vinyl seems heavier and softer so is probably not as rugged as the real Tolex but for my purposes, ie. livingroom amp, i can choose based on form over function.

Take care,
dave

[Taylor]

I really like all the amps in this thread. From birt's chromed chassis, to John's impeccable craftsmanship and materials choices, to Top Top's 50's hobo-tech styling, and everything else here, I think you guys all have a cool and unique thing going. So much more interesting than the usual amps we see all the time. I'm building a 200-ish watt solid state amp; will post it here when done.

[bancika]

a couple of mine:

AX84 4-4-0





5 watt SLO





SLO inspired preamp



Kalamazoo 1

[davent]

^ Great looking collection there, nicely done! Like the stacked/layered PS filters in the Slo preamp, efficient use of chassis space.

Take care,
dave

[bancika]

thanks mate!
There was plenty of space in the box for both high voltage and heater supplies to be mounted next to each other but one would be closer to input stages...this way they are both as far as possible. The best thing about that preamp is that it's very very quiet (noise wise), despite enormous amounts of gain.

[DougH]

Two different amps:

[Wasted_Bassist]

some of you will love this, others will no doubt throw up in your mouths a little bit

(made almost entirely of re-purposed materials - including the wood for the cabs and the amp head)

Are those car speakers in the top cab? I may have just found a use for the pile of speakers I have sitting about the house. Summer project: Build something to out-ghetto this picture.

[MikeH]

Not mine, but I had to share this post from the weber forum-  The most beautiful amp I've ever seen, DIY or otherwise:

http://www.weberorders.com/forum/index.php?topic=3445.0

[John Lyons]

Can you post the pic rather than the link?
Me no have membership there. 

[MikeH]

Here's a couple:

[Kitarist]

Here's a couple:

What kind of colors did you use here?

Amber and... ?

Thanks!!!

[G. Hoffman]

Here's a couple:

What kind of colors did you use here?

Amber and... ?

Thanks!!!

I'm pretty sure he's just re-posting someone else work, but at a guess, the person who did it probably used the Vintage Amber and Tobacco Brown from STEW MAC

That's not a bad sunburst.


Gabriel


Gabriel

[MikeH]

He said the wood came from his friends, and he got the stain from the Guitar ReRanch:  http://www.reranch.com/

[craigjames]

hey ya'll i just finished my new cabinet its made from black walnut. coming soon is a hand wired circuit board courtesy of acorn amps with a bunch of upgraded caps and stuff : ) you guys have some bad ass projects on here, i love it!

[deadastronaut]

BEAUTIFUL.......

arghhh...makes me wanna sell my amp...and build one..very inspiring .

i used to restore antiques, so appreciate a nice bit of wood...lovely..