183 Build Report

[UltraHookedOnPhonix]

Yes a very nice build you should be proud of.

Do you like playing through the amp so far?

Yeah, it’s cool. I’ve been playing through my BM for so long that it’s nice to hear and feel something with a different texture. It has a bump in the mids the BM doesn’t have, sounds very sweet. I really dig this voicing!

The ones you posted are the ones I mention being bad.... Steer clear of the long plate Sylvanias! You want the short plate GE.

Not the Sylvania long grey plates. Avoid these. They are also sometimes labeled JAN.

Thanks for the tube info. I must to confess, I’m such a blueberry with the NOS thing but maybe this serves as a good introduction. I see Doug’s Tubes and The Tube Store each sell the JAN ones for $50 a pop. These are the 12AX7WA you are referring to right?

http://thetubestore.com/12ax7wa.html

Cool, thanks for steering me straight.

[crbowman]

Don't think I've seen a prettier build.
You've done the big guy proud (whether HE would say so or not)!

[angelodp]

Man that is Spartan. Textbook build. I was thinking more Mies Van Der Rohe. Your build is architectonic in nature.

Congrats Ange

[UltraHookedOnPhonix]

Don't think I've seen a prettier build.
You've done the big guy proud (whether HE would say so or not)!

Man that is Spartan. Textbook build. I was thinking more Mies Van Der Rohe. Your build is architectonic in nature.

Congrats Ange

Whoa! Thanks guys!

Mies Van Der Rohe huh? My Swedish, utilitarian roots simply won’t allow me to build anything that wouldn’t be able to hold its own in an IKEA store.

Enough praise already! If you’re not careful, I’m gonna have to whip-out my best Sally Field acceptance speech imitation, alright?

Seriously though, I try to keep things neat for reliablitiy's sake. I hate the notion of having to go back in and prod and poke my way around, debugging it, not knowing what the hey I'm looking for.

[Joost]

gorgeous build and pics. I just made a folder in my 'Dumble' folder with your pictures in it and labelled it 'lead dress and build quality'

What is that blue stuff under the caps? Is it there to make sure they don't start to resonate? Can you easily change caps with that underneath it?

[da Geezer]

That really IS the cleanest build I've ever seen! Way to go!

I had a little chuckle, looking very closely @ the gut shots & imagining some group of amp builders in the future in deep discussion......

"No, no.....UHOF used PURPLE zip-ties on the coax, and GREEN ones on the switch wires......you've got them reversed! That's why you're not getting the tone!"



Geezer

[Structo]

I remember his Dumbleator builds, they were just as clean.

UHOP really sets the bar high.

#1
https://tubeamparchive.com/viewtopic.ph ... light=loop

#2
https://tubeamparchive.com/viewtopic.ph ... light=loop

[Drumslinger]

Indeed, a most excellent build there UHOP! Congrats on your build sir!

[da Geezer]

"No, no.....UHOF used

UHOP really sets the bar high.

I guess I took the "fonics" a little too literally
That's what I get for thinking too early in the morning.......

G

[Structo]

That's funny.

Isn't it strange that phonics means to spell words the way they sound but they use a PH for an F sound?

English is a strange language.....

[amplifiednation]

The way you took the pictures make this amp look like a dream! Sweet job man and thanks for posting. These gut shots are so helpful for aspiring builders and are just plain flippin cool. Unreal job.

[UltraHookedOnPhonix]

gorgeous build and pics. I just made a folder in my 'Dumble' folder with your pictures in it and labelled it 'lead dress and build quality'

What is that blue stuff under the caps? Is it there to make sure they don't start to resonate? Can you easily change caps with that underneath it?

Thanks Joost! I consider it the highest honor to have pics of my build included in someone’s "anal retentive" folder. I keep some of those myself…

The blue stuff is RTV and you've guessed right, it's there to dampen mircophonics and take stress off the solder joints in high vibration environments. I like it loud! It's fairly easy to replace caps attached with RTV. A simple X-acto knife will do.

That really IS the cleanest build I've ever seen! Way to go!

I had a little chuckle, looking very closely @ the gut shots & imagining some group of amp builders in the future in deep discussion......

"No, no.....UHOF used PURPLE zip-ties on the coax, and GREEN ones on the switch wires......you've got them reversed! That's why you're not getting the tone!"



Geezer

Damn it! You’ve exposed the masses to my ultimate tone secret!!! Well, at least I won’t mention what brand they are…and that goes for the red toggle switch socks as well. So there!!!

Thanks G!

I remember his Dumbleator builds, they were just as clean.

UHOP really sets the bar high.

#1
https://tubeamparchive.com/viewtopic.ph ... light=loop

#2
https://tubeamparchive.com/viewtopic.ph ... light=loop

Thanks Tom!

Indeed, a most excellent build there UHOP! Congrats on your build sir!

Thank you very much! Did you get started on your loop build yet?

That's funny.

Isn't it strange that phonics means to spell words the way they sound but they use a PH for an F sound?

English is a strange language.....

The height of irony, thanks for bringing that one up. Funny as hell!

The way you took the pictures make this amp look like a dream! Sweet job man and thanks for posting. These gut shots are so helpful for aspiring builders and are just plain flippin cool. Unreal job.

I love taking pics and I love watching builds other people have done. I think it’s part of the essence of this awesome amp community. When I was a super blueberry building electronics, I’d love to look at pics, they really tell you a lot.

Thank you very much Taylor! I really appreciate it.

Here are some more pics:

[IMG768]http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb17 ... /Pic12.jpg[/img]

[IMG768]http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb17 ... /Pic13.jpg[/img]

[IMG768]http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb17 ... /Pic14.jpg[/img]

[IMG:768:1024]http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb17 ... /Pic15.jpg[/img]

[IMG768]http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb17 ... /Pic16.jpg[/img]

[IMG768]http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb17 ... /Pic17.jpg[/img]

[rogb]

I'm just crying - what a build!
Totally brilliant pics too.

You set that bar so high, buddy, we've all gotta try a bit harder now.
Well done mate

[OneWithNot]

This is one of the nicest builds I have ever seen. The pictures are excellent. Thank you for posting them. You obiously spent hours sourcing and planning this build, and it shows.

I am currently building my own 183, and I will use this build as my standard. I hope mine comes out looking half as good as this one.

It seems a shame to put it in a cabinet where it can't be seen.

I have two questions:

What make is the cube shaped cap on the board? It would be C19 (1uF tant.) on the 183 schematic in the presence circuit.

Where are you sourcing your suede? My 3-year-old son is adamant that I cover my amp in burnt orange suede.

[ER]

Hey UHOP-
What can you tell me about the multiple bias test points, I'm trying to do test points and a 50 watt switch and can't wrap my head around it. If you could give me some insights into how you test with the multiple points it might make some connection in my brain on how I can lay it all out. Are you just dividing the current for each tube?

Just a really beautiful build you have there. I used to love looking at the insides of my hiwatts, but now that I know more about circuit constants, component selection and lead dress, form follows function and there really is beauty there.

I see trainwrecks as a haiku and Dumbles as a great historical novel, the amp you built is like a Joseph Campbell book that analyzes other works but becomes a great work in it's own right.

-ER