1st Post, 1st amp, 1st time luck......meet Flo

[timg]

Hi All. I just finished up an Express & AB build that came out wonderfully! Thanks to Ron W and all involved with the BOM and build guide, I followed it and had success. I got the chassis, boards, and majority of components from RJ, speakers from Jim @ Scumback, NOS Tubes from Bryan Sanborn, other parts from Sonic Craft and Watts Tube Audio, and a whole lot of help and ideas from all of you who have made the many posts on this site. In that spirit of feminine names, meet "Flo" who is named after my elderly mother. This has been a great experience except for the 4 hours I spent freaking out over why I couldn't get a heater voltage reading as described in the "start up with bulb limiter" section of the guide. Who knew an "auto ranging" DMM still needed to be set between AC and DC..... I now have the upmost respect for you that build amps for a living! Thanks to all!!! Tim Grace

[M Fowler]

Looks good and even has the engine turned chassis effect nice.

Had much chance to run her through some cabinets?

Mark

[paulster]

Nice looking build.

The PRP GP1 resistors are some of my favourites, although I haven't tried them in an Express build yet. How'd they work out for you?

Paul

[Gibsonman63]

I noticed you have wire insulation over the pots. I had to leave two screws off of my cover because I evenly spaced them instead of paying attention to where the treads would end up, but now I have a solution.

Nice looking build.

[Big Jim]

Nice looking amp Tim! You gotta respect a guy that goes right for an Express on his first build! What kind of PS caps do you have there? I, (and I'm sure others here) would love to hear some sound clips.
Jim

[Scumback Speakers]

Nice looking build, Tim. Glad to hear the M75's worked out for you as well. Enjoy cranking that amp!

[timg]

Looks good and even has the engine turned chassis effect nice.

Had much chance to run her through some cabinets?

Mark

Hi Mark. So far I have tried a Celestion K100 - very smooth, makes it a jazz amp. Vintage 30's made it a bright edgy sound, that's kinda appealing for when you feel the need for a rude uncultured tone....but..the Scumbacks make it come alive, rich lows and highs, very nice - I would recommend them highly!

[timg]

Nice looking build.

The PRP GP1 resistors are some of my favourites, although I haven't tried them in an Express build yet. How'd they work out for you?

Paul

Hi Paul! Quite honestly, this is the very first amp I have built, so I have nothing to compare to sonically. But I can say that the tone controls seem to have a great deal of effect and interplay and the range of tones that you can pull from just the guitar's volume and tone would make me repeat the choice if I was to do this again....

[timg]

I noticed you have wire insulation over the pots. I had to leave two screws off of my cover because I evenly spaced them instead of paying attention to where the treads would end up, but now I have a solution.

Nice looking build.

Hi Gibsonman63! I hear you, I drilled out the chassis and then during the build noticed that I had a hole in the worst possible position. Necessity is the mother of invention!

[timg]

Nice looking amp Tim! You gotta respect a guy that goes right for an Express on his first build! What kind of PS caps do you have there? I, (and I'm sure others here) would love to hear some sound clips.
Jim

Hi Jim! Thank you for the kind words! Here's the newbie showing thru again....if by PS, you mean power supply (the big blue things), then they are Mallory's that RJ supplied me. I would like to post some clips to get you and the forums' opinion on the sound. To me, it sounds better than any of my other amps, but I am in a vacuum, I have only heard clips of others.

[timg]

Nice looking amp Tim! You gotta respect a guy that goes right for an Express on his first build! What kind of PS caps do you have there? I, (and I'm sure others here) would love to hear some sound clips.
Jim

Hi Jim! Thank you for the kind words! Here's the newbie showing thru again....if by PS, you mean power supply (the big blue things), then they are Mallory's that RJ supplied me. I would like to post some clips to get you and the forums' opinion on the sound. To me, it sounds better than any of my other amps, but I am in a vacuum, I have only heard clips of others.

[Big Jim]

Nice looking amp Tim! You gotta respect a guy that goes right for an Express on his first build! What kind of PS caps do you have there? I, (and I'm sure others here) would love to hear some sound clips.
Jim

Hi Jim! Thank you for the kind words! Here's the newbie showing thru again....if by PS, you mean power supply (the big blue things), then they are Mallory's that RJ supplied me. I would like to post some clips to get you and the forums' opinion on the sound. To me, it sounds better than any of my other amps, but I am in a vacuum, I have only heard clips of others.

Yes I was talking about the Power supply caps....I used Mallorys in My Express as well. rj is a great dude to deal with. He made my build go so much smoother than I thought it would. And I feel like I saved some dough in the process. Have you got a headcab yet? Ideas?
Jim

[timg]

Nice looking amp Tim! You gotta respect a guy that goes right for an Express on his first build! What kind of PS caps do you have there? I, (and I'm sure others here) would love to hear some sound clips.
Jim

Hi Jim! Thank you for the kind words! Here's the newbie showing thru again....if by PS, you mean power supply (the big blue things), then they are Mallory's that RJ supplied me. I would like to post some clips to get you and the forums' opinion on the sound. To me, it sounds better than any of my other amps, but I am in a vacuum, I have only heard clips of others.

Yes I was talking about the Power supply caps....I used Mallorys in My Express as well. rj is a great dude to deal with. He made my build go so much smoother than I thought it would. And I feel like I saved some dough in the process. Have you got a headcab yet? Ideas?
Jim

Yes, that's the next step, I have picked up some exotic hardwood, "Bocote" from Mexico (Gilmer Hardwoods on the 'net) that should make a pretty albeit heavy cabinet.

[timg]

Nice looking amp Tim! You gotta respect a guy that goes right for an Express on his first build! What kind of PS caps do you have there? I, (and I'm sure others here) would love to hear some sound clips.
Jim

Hi Jim! Thank you for the kind words! Here's the newbie showing thru again....if by PS, you mean power supply (the big blue things), then they are Mallory's that RJ supplied me. I would like to post some clips to get you and the forums' opinion on the sound. To me, it sounds better than any of my other amps, but I am in a vacuum, I have only heard clips of others.

Yes I was talking about the Power supply caps....I used Mallorys in My Express as well. rj is a great dude to deal with. He made my build go so much smoother than I thought it would. And I feel like I saved some dough in the process. Have you got a headcab yet? Ideas?
Jim

Yes, that's the next step, I have picked up some exotic hardwood, "Bocote" from Mexico (Gilmer Hardwoods on the 'net) that should make a pretty albeit heavy cabinet.