Practice amp recommendations

[Govmnt_Lacky]

I really want to make a small carry-size practice amp that is tube based. I would like to have a tone stack in it as well as a good gain/crunch channel. Nothing more than 10" speaker. Just want to be able to play without having to break out the big amp.

Any ideas are appreciated.

[p_wats]

I just built a Princeton 5F2-A. Depending on the speaker it can be real loud, but I've currently got it in a small cab with an 8" vintage speaker and it sounds great (also won't get me kicked out of my place).







Not a very complex build as far as amps go either, so a very fun project.

[Jaicen_solo]

Get yourself a Harley Benton GA-5 or a Valve Jnr. Cheaper than buying the parts, and easily modded. I love mine!

[stringsthings]

I really want to make a small carry-size practice amp that is tube based. I would like to have a tone stack in it as well as a good gain/crunch channel. Nothing more than 10" speaker. Just want to be able to play without having to break out the big amp.

Any ideas are appreciated.

i know that you mentioned "tube-based" as a preference .... but, for true portabliity, a battery-powered practice amp is difficult to beat ... you can take it to the beach ... and impress the beach bunnies ...  

beach bunny:  my, what a nice, portable amplifier you have
dude with amp:  i'm glad that you approve ...
beach bunny:  would you like to practice at my house?

see what i mean? ... there's all kinds of advantages to battery-powered devices  

[p_wats]

Get yourself a Harley Benton GA-5 or a Valve Jnr. Cheaper than buying the parts, and easily modded. I love mine!

That's actually a good point. While I love the amp I just built, even with salvaging most of the parts the cost was still higher than a used Valve Jr. I went this route because I wanted to learn how to build one from start to finish, but if you want to save cash and have something you can mod Jaicen's suggestion might be the way to go.

[Govmnt_Lacky]

Thanks for all of the advise guys. My thing is that I really want this amp to be "my own." I want to create something that I know thew ins and outs of and is built to MY liking. I am looking forward to cutting and shaping the box and creating the PCB and circuit. This is all a hobby of mine and I really enjoy it. If I were to just "buy" another amp then that is no fun! 

[Jaicen_solo]

I applaud the sentiment for sure, and I feel the same.

However, in the UK I can get a brand new GA-5 for £69.
When you look at the cost of equivalent new iron, just a power transformer will usually set you back that much.
So you get a valve jr, strip out the parts and sell the cab. Then build what you want, I think you'll find it's much cheaper.

[stringsthings]

Thanks for all of the advise guys. My thing is that I really want this amp to be "my own." I want to create something that I know thew ins and outs of and is built to MY liking. I am looking forward to cutting and shaping the box and creating the PCB and circuit. This is all a hobby of mine and I really enjoy it. If I were to just "buy" another amp then that is no fun! 

exactly ! .... building something with your own two hands is incredibly rewarding ... ( and educational )

in the spirit of the football season, three cheers for DIY :

give me a D! give me an I! give me a Y! ... what's that spell?  DIY ! 

[Mark Hammer]

Thanks for all of the advise guys. My thing is that I really want this amp to be "my own." I want to create something that I know thew ins and outs of and is built to MY liking. I am looking forward to cutting and shaping the box and creating the PCB and circuit. This is all a hobby of mine and I really enjoy it. If I were to just "buy" another amp then that is no fun! 

If your goal is to make a little single-ended 5-watter, there isn't a whole heckuva lot of flexibility there, really.  Take a gander at any of the classic 3-tubers, and you won't see that much variation; 12AX7, 5Y3 and either EL84 or 6V6, plus volume or volume and tone.

Having said that, what is so wrong with taking a cost-effective commercial 5-watter, and dolling it up a bit?  For example, few of them have a proper tonestack (the Fender Champion 600 foolishly has the makings of a standard fender tonestack, only converted to fixed component values on the inside; a "fixed EQ", if you will).  None have any provision for monkeying around with the negative feedback, or have a bright switch, or any of the other things we might seek out of a 20 or 50-watter.  If the manufacturer is willing to machine the chassis, and get the iron together for you, why not take that ball and run with it?  You can take the amp out of the cab and stick it in a cab of YOUR design, and save yourself wads of time, effort, and potentially error.

[Govmnt_Lacky]

If your goal is to make a little single-ended 5-watter, there isn't a whole heckuva lot of flexibility there, really.  Take a gander at any of the classic 3-tubers, and you won't see that much variation; 12AX7, 5Y3 and either EL84 or 6V6, plus volume or volume and tone.

Having said that, what is so wrong with taking a cost-effective commercial 5-watter, and dolling it up a bit?  For example, few of them have a proper tonestack (the Fender Champion 600 foolishly has the makings of a standard fender tonestack, only converted to fixed component values on the inside; a "fixed EQ", if you will).  None have any provision for monkeying around with the negative feedback, or have a bright switch, or any of the other things we might seek out of a 20 or 50-watter.  If the manufacturer is willing to machine the chassis, and get the iron together for you, why not take that ball and run with it?  You can take the amp out of the cab and stick it in a cab of YOUR design, and save yourself wads of time, effort, and potentially error.

Thanks for the advice Mark. I will let that seep in for a while. Might just be worth it to get a cheapo Fender or other, strip it out, and rebuild it in a cabinet of my own.

[tubelectron]

Hi Govmnt_Lacky,

I agree with Mark too - but it also is possible to do the opposite : find the suitable cabinet and built your own amp in it. That's what I have done with a 70's VOX Escort mains/battery solid-state amp, which cab was mint but the electronics ans speaker were out of duty. Now, it's my VOX AC3 Top Boost practice tube amplifier :







A+!

[petemoore]

  Input jack...fine units lately.
  Capacitor...probably fine.
  Input tube...if the aim is good, the first toss is into the refuse can.
  The other tubes...maybe theres a non-crap in the bunch ?
  Filtercaps...can't say much about them because I had bad experience with newer 'inexpensive built' amp...except how hard are they to get to for swapping if need be.
  Transformers...not sure that these small amps 'test' the transformers or how much 'upgrade room' they leave, it's worth checking out.
  New amps are fine...amazing amounts of whatcha getcha for nexta nothin'...
  Haven't had any unusual troubles with the chassis or pots [generally not too hard to change anyway, try cleaning first].
  There really isn't that much more to them that matters.
  The best deal-amps I've had are the ones that ''appeared'' and I gutted them down to the transformers/tubesockets/chassis, cleaned them up and built the circuit that matched the old one [in terms of what I left of it, the tube compliment], using the left-intact and working filament heater supply.
  They appeared for me relatively easily [takes patience], old organs or amps, allowed to get beat on when worn down...a mess that just needs swept out to make room for the neat new circuit.
  Another reason new amps are fine...changing the tube sockets out with the circuit-guts change is also a good idea on 20year+? old amps, or amps that were allowed to bake the sockets once or twice.

[askwho69]

Get yourself a Harley Benton GA-5 or a Valve Jnr. Cheaper than buying the parts, and easily modded. I love mine!

That's actually a good point. While I love the amp I just built, even with salvaging most of the parts the cost was still higher than a used Valve Jr. I went this route because I wanted to learn how to build one from start to finish, but if you want to save cash and have something you can mod Jaicen's suggestion might be the way to go.

WOW this Funny!!!!

[askwho69]

I really want to make a small carry-size practice amp that is tube based. I would like to have a tone stack in it as well as a good gain/crunch channel. Nothing more than 10" speaker. Just want to be able to play without having to break out the big amp.

Any ideas are appreciated.

i know that you mentioned "tube-based" as a preference .... but, for true portabliity, a battery-powered practice amp is difficult to beat ... you can take it to the beach ... and impress the beach bunnies ...  

beach bunny:  my, what a nice, portable amplifier you have
dude with amp:  i'm glad that you approve ...
beach bunny:  would you like to practice at my house?

see what i mean? ... there's all kinds of advantages to battery-powered devices  

I mean this FUNNY@@@

[Philippe]

Gilmore Jr. (1-2 watts) or Ardmore (8 watts) & 'modable'...www.guytronix.com  [kit]                                  
                                        OR
Emery MicroBaby (2 watts)...www.emerysound.com [pre-built]

5 tube watts can be a bit loud, enough to get you evicted from an apartment complex unless your neighbors really dig hard rock & competant playing.

[Govmnt_Lacky]

5 tube watts can be a bit loud, enough to get you evicted from an apartment complex unless your neighbors really dig hard rock & competant playing.

Neighbors digging Hard Rock...... CHECK! 

Competant Playing....... Ehhh 

[p_wats]

5 tube watts can be a bit loud, enough to get you evicted from an apartment complex unless your neighbors really dig hard rock & competant playing.

Neighbors digging Hard Rock...... CHECK! 

Competant Playing....... Ehhh 

Ha!

I'm an "Ehhh" on the former (but the real complainers moved out...) and a "competent at noise-making" for the latter.

[markeebee]

Or alternatively, why not mod out an old valve radio or record player?

They frequently turn up on eBay or whatever for pennies. Often the radio tuner or record deck doesn't work. But you still have the right iron, valves, caps (maybe), even a wacky cab with an inappropriate speaker.  Usually you'll find that if you replace the rectifier valve with diodes, there's enough spare ooomph in the input txf to drive an additional preamp valve to make it more juicy.

I never pay more than ten pounds for the donor, and I've got some real good stuff for that. Currently making a five watt push-pull with ecc83 and two ecl86 from an old powered extension speaker cabinet that I got for seven quid. Only had to replace the filter caps.

[petemoore]

  One way was start with a factory combo.
  Then I upgraded:
  The speaker, the tubes, had to do the OT and PT then too.
  Not sure which wins out: Curiosity satisfaction or tonal improvement [I got a lot of both concerning the comparison of tubes and speakers].
  Another way was:
  Start with a wreck and build a beauty from the 'foundation', use the heater wiring, change everything else except the chassis/layout & transformers [using replacement tubes but following original compliment], expect fine results if the transformers test good and you're relying on [or seeking] amp building experience.
  Tube job ? yepp, it's a hurdle to get a good one, once past that you have it though. What you need, defined as simply as possible [Vjr. as example] is good advice to start with.
  Leave room for TC, maybe try some 9v 7-band graphic EQ and compare the settings you choose to many looks at Duncan Tonestack Calculator graphs..of the various tonestack responses [twiddle the dials at the TSC...total informational kick to watch the response curves change], see what mostly makes a Fender sound like a Fender, Marshall like a Marshall etc.

[MartyMart]

Unless you MUST build your own - which is fine and dandy, here's another vote for
the little Epiphone VJ
There's plenty of info out there for it, mine was modified to the point of almost not containing
any original parts.
New OT / Valves caps and resistors a "gain" knob etc etc.
I can now get it quiet enough AND crunchy ....

MM