Tube Amp Archive

I'm gonna' try owning a bandmaster or showman first. I think that will give me a take on where I want to go form there. If owning one of those amps does the trick, awesome! If not, you can count on seeing me asking every question known to man. Maybe not every question; I figured out a few things on ...

I went down to a shop that has a bunch of fenders (BF, SF, bassman, showman, dual showman reverb, pro reverb, bandmaster, bandmaster reverb, super reverb, etc.) I got to play a ton of different amps and it was such a treat! I felt like I was at a 5-star restaurant eating a 5 course meal! I didn't ge...

Thank you both for your responses. They are much appreciated. I guess what it comes down to (for me) is that amps have more subjective value (what cool things I can do with it) than objective value ( the cool thing that it is on its own). I only learned this about myself after spending close to 200 ...

Hey all! I want to get a new amp. I'm thinking I'd like to mod an existing amp vs. build a new one from scratch. Of course, if the amp is just right from session one, I'll leave it alone. Here's my problem and why I need y'alls help: I haven't played a ton of amps in my life, so I don't know exactly...

I'm emailing Joe (at amplates) a jpeg of my faceplate tomorrow, as the new one needs to match the holes I've drilled out in the existing faceplate. I'm not sure what comes after that, but I'll let you all know.

Hey all, I'm building a new 18-watt circuit inside of my old Blues Jr. I'm not running a reverb circuit in it. Instead, the reverb knob is going to be used for a "cut" feature (though I still don't know how to succinctly describe how that works). Two questions: Where would you look to get a new face...

hey guys, I just wanted to say thanks to both of you for your help! I'll probably use the shielded wire in a few choice spots (like dehughes was mentioning) -- mainly because I've already got it lying around to use. Good point though, PRR, about all the amazing-sounding amps out there with nary a sh...

Hey all! It's good to be back! I'm trying to actually finish my first build this summer (an 18 watt build). I have this wire with this metal braiding beneath the first layer of insulation. I have a few questions: Where do I use this? On all wire runs between the pots and components? Between all comp...

Hey, thanks guys! I will gonna' start soldering stuff up as soon as I get a new pencil for my soldering iron!
steve

I wanted to get some people's take on how to do a layout for an amp I'm building in the chassis of my old blues Jr. The issue I'm having is that I'm a little cramped for space. So, I was going to solder some of my components directly to the pins on the tubes (see schematic. For example, the 1k5 resi...

Hey all, Just wanted to let you know, I contacted the service rep for the weller soldering products, and he was really helpful. I can't remember his first name off the top of my head, but his last name is "smith". Anyway, he said he'd get a new pencil out to me right away. hooray for good customer s...

Thanks David(s)! Yes, I just got the switch figured out with the DMM like you (David R.) suggested. I think the old blues jr. circuit had some sort of delay on it from the time you would flip the switch to "on" to the time the tubes would amplify. I'm really excited to have an actual standby positio...

Hey David, I just thought of something in response to one of your previous posts on this issue: You used to have the ef-86 channel wired with a fader/pot, rather than a 7-way selector with individual wires running to the tube. Did you have the noise problem back then? I don't remember any hiss befor...

Thanks guys, I'll see if I can't get some of that tip cleaner at radioshack tomorrow. I remember reading in the manual something about "wettable" surface on the iron that gets covered up by corrosion of the tip. But I'll also call the service number listed on the back of my manual. I hope they're as...

Hey all! Well, I've wired up the heaters off the PT, switches, lamp, fuses, and first two stages on my preamp grid. I was hoping to get some help with 2 things: 1. I have a heyboer 18watt OT. I was sent the pdf schematic for it, but I honestly don't know which color wires go to what in my schematic....