New Rocket

[stratpaulguy86]

Wow, the amp really opened up yesterday! We had a chance to really put the amp through its paces and it sounded at least 30% better than on its initial fire-up. I'm fairly confident that I need one of these for myself, truly incredible sounding amplifiers. Just one question, do you guys have trouble gigging these due to volume? The amp doesn't sound too loud to me but some sound men might disagree lol.

[Big Jim]

Well, I guess I'll call this one pretty much done. I may fiddle with it some more who knows.... Picked up a Mullard rectifier today pretty cheap, got the facplate back from the engraver, and buttoned it up. The amp just sounds amazing, sound clips to follow.
By the way named her "Miss Molly". Always liked the saying "good golly Miss Molly!" Here are a few photos.
Jim

[M Fowler]

She's a beauty that's for sure.

I've gigged with four EL84 Rockets without volume problems but I always lower the V1 plate resistor to 120K for more headroom without the crazy early gain the 220k gives you.

Mark

[Randy Magee]

Nice looking cabinet! I'm sure she sounds nice too!

[stratpaulguy86]

Pop you really outdone yourself on this one. Incredible amp inside and out.

Amp demos to follow whenever I get the green light from the man.

[Big Jim]

Thanks Mark, Randy,
I probably have more time invested in the cabinet than the amp! And I'm still not happy with it. I learned something on this cab that I am willing to share. I have a special technique for doing tung oil. First, I sand it 'til my wife moves in with the guy down the street. Then I painstakingly apply about 8 coats of tung oil, using a scotchbrite pad in between to scuff it up a little. Then, when I have scrutinized the finish for a week, or two, I get pissed off and steel wool it all off in a fit of anger. By then, the wife is tired of the guy down the street and moves back in. Here comes the important part......I then go buy some Minwax finishing wax. That stuff made the cabinet look really nice. You just apply it like any wax, then buff it off. I used a rotary pad and my cordless drill. It shined that baby up nice! I could have saved myself a BUNCH of work. I'm betting you could put a couple of heavy tung oil coats on, steel wool it off, and do the wax and be done with it. GREAT STUFF!

[M Fowler]

Yeah but will it stop the beer can stain rings, that's the real question

Mark

[Big Jim]

Yeah but will it stop the beer can stain rings, that's the real question

Mark

Time will tell.....I'm pretty picky about who sets what on my Wreck. Having said that, the main reason I use oil finish is that I LOATHE doing wood finishing. Oil is easy to do, and easy to repair. I do feel that it is a fragile finish. There are certainly more durable ones out there. I have the means to spray finishes.....maybe on the next one.

[Reeltarded]

When your wife finally plays through it I am sure all will be back to normal.

Haha!

Looks great!

[marcoloco961]

Nice work, sweet cab. Now I'm getting Rocket fever.

[dano-rator]

Oil finishes are certainly not the most durable (read bar gig resistant), but touch up/repair is way easier than a film finish. Really good job on that amp!

Dan

[Randy Magee]

Thanks Mark, Randy,
I probably have more time invested in the cabinet than the amp! And I'm still not happy with it. I learned something on this cab that I am willing to share. I have a special technique for doing tung oil. First, I sand it 'til my wife moves in with the guy down the street. Then I painstakingly apply about 8 coats of tung oil, using a scotchbrite pad in between to scuff it up a little. Then, when I have scrutinized the finish for a week, or two, I get pissed off and steel wool it all off in a fit of anger. By then, the wife is tired of the guy down the street and moves back in. Here comes the important part......I then go buy some Minwax finishing wax. That stuff made the cabinet look really nice. You just apply it like any wax, then buff it off. I used a rotary pad and my cordless drill. It shined that baby up nice! I could have saved myself a BUNCH of work. I'm betting you could put a couple of heavy tung oil coats on, steel wool it off, and do the wax and be done with it. GREAT STUFF!

I know what you mean about the time spent on the cabinet! I made my Express cabinet out of tiger maple and tried an oil stain at first... very bad mistake on my part. What I intended on doing was to stain then sand pretty aggressively, then restain to make the figure "pop". Let's just say the oil finish wouldn't sand for squat. I ended up stripping all of it off and starting over. I ended up using Trans-Tint dye in a water base... sanded it down and restained, then like you, I used tung oil for the finish. Mine in not nearly as shiny as yours... maybe I need that finishing wax!

[Gibsonman63]

Nice work, sweet cab. Now I'm getting Rocket fever.

Me too! I'll be lucky if I make it through the summer without building one after seeing this one.

[Big Jim]

Thanks for the kind words guys.
Randy,
I'm certainly no expert on finishing wood. I have learned however, that I have never been able to get a glass like finish with tung oil. You put it on and wipe it off, and it doesn't build. You put it on and leave it to eventually dry, and it (to me) doesn't look right. It also gets gummy and takes forever to dry leaving it on. I simply buffed the gloss out of the oil finish with OOOO steel wool, then waxed and buffed it with a polishing pad. The wax is $10 a can, but it goes a long, long way. I don't however know if you could go back to adding oil once you've waxed it, so use it at your own risk. I think I will do a pore filler and spray either poly or lacquer on the next one.

[Big Jim]

Just a heads up. I had to work all weekend, but my son and I have slated some time monday to do a Youtube video of the new amp. Justin is a great player, and gets the most out of an amp. I'll do a post as soon as it's available.
Jim