Where to buy

[inboil]

H all. Just getting started in amp building. I have done a few mods to a couple of old Valcos, but would like to get a Bassman kit and start building. Any recommendations on where to shop? Thanks all in advance. So glad to have this forum.
William
Seattle, Wa

[pompeiisneaks]

H all. Just getting started in amp building. I have done a few mods to a couple of old Valcos, but would like to get a Bassman kit and start building. Any recommendations on where to shop? Thanks all in advance. So glad to have this forum.
William
Seattle, Wa

Welcome to the forums,

I'm across the water from you in the lovely town of Redmond.

I built my bassman based off the boards sold from hoffman amps. I dug it. But you'd have to source a chassis and other parts elsewhere, you could try mojotone's kit, it has the option for the entire thing, example:

https://www.mojotone.com/kits/Blackface ... crews-Etc-

then you have the links to the faceplates, backplates, chassis etc.

BUT they've gotten not the best support rating I think for the quality of their kit layouts etc. I think? Unless I'm confusing them with someone else. They do have a lot of kits. Blackface, tweed, brownface, etc.

Others might know of better options?

~Phil

[Phil_S]

It's worth mentioning, especially for a beginner, that a kit is a good idea. When you source parts separately, the shipping charges can take away any savings you thought you might achieve. Also, you'll forget just one thing, and you'll do that twice. Those last two $1 parts will cost $10 each with shipping. Look for a kit. Google for what you want and see what comes up. When you do that, be specific about which Bassman. 5F6A? AB763? What circuit? It's important to know because these are not interchangeable. Good luck.

[inboil]

Thank you for the replies. Mojotone seems the way to go. Hopefully their products are reliable.

[maxkracht]

I have built a few mojo kits for people in the past year. The parts are pretty high quality, though everything seems to err in looking period appropriate instead of being the most functional, quiet, or up to modern safety standards. (your fuse should go on the hot side, not neutral) This isn't really a knock on mojotone, they are just offering what people seem to want. I believe a select few of their kits come with step by step instructions, all seem to come with a large printout of schematic and wiring diagram. Mounting holes on the chassis won't necessarily match up the ones on the boards, so you have to dry fit everything and plan ahead. This seems to be a problem with a lot of companies putting together kits, not just mojotone. I guess part of the process is thinking through all of these little issues.

[maxkracht]

Slightly embarrassed to post this where technical people will see my mistakes, but I did a time lapse video of the last mojo kit I built for the guy who asked me to build it. At least I caught the big mistake before turning it on... Maybe this would be helpful to someone starting out. Also, another bit of advice that I didn't think to mention. A SF or BF Bassman chassis is much easier to build/work on than a tweed chassis, especially if it is one of your first builds. https://youtu.be/8SMm8t9jUO4

[echuta13]

I've only built one kit and that was a 5E3 from Mission. I replaced a few items in the kit, but for the most part, it was a great build & well documented! That being said... Bruce isn't in the kit biz anymore.

If I was going to do another kit, I would probably go with one from Trinity. They use decent parts, their instructions and documents are excellent, and they have a great forum for support & amp building in general.