Chassis make and material

[Chad]

nan I must have had a mini stroke when I was reading those posts. It seems like I missed everyone's point. What can I say, I'm an idiot.

In my opinion Barry your far far away from anything that resembles an idiot!! BTW wonderfull job on the Airbreak layout.Thanks, Chad

[Funkalicousgroove]

I love how you guys all rush to my defense, I feel so loved here!!

At any rate, lets all get along, there are plenty of chassis to go around(I think!) and those who don't want one definitely don't have to get one!!

I certainly don't feel that this is the only way to go, but I do feel that it represents an excellent value for the dollar, makes for a SMOOTH build, and takes ALOT of the guesswork out of making one of these amps that not only looks right, but sounds right as well.

The lead dress and grounding points in these amps are EXTREMELY important, this system takes the trial and error out!

I have been taking pictures at each stage of the build process for a modified hybrid amp(Non HRM) and the current amp I am working on (HRM) and I will make those available as well so that there is no guessing!

[bnwitt]

I have been taking pictures at each stage of the build process for a modified hybrid amp(Non HRM) and the current amp I am working on (HRM) and I will make those available as well so that there is no guessing!

ooh yummy. Thats what I'm talking about!

[JamesO]

This is totally interesting. What do you guys think about those Allesandro chassis'? He has the gold plated copper chassis, the silver chassis, and the solid gold chassis.

[Funkalicousgroove]

I think if you are talking about a home Hi-Fi then a copper, silver, or gold chassis makes sense, they are better conductors, and they will make for a faster overall slew rate, but I don't know that it is necessarily a desirable characteristic for a guitar amp.

The thing is, I think that George Allesandro makes beautiful stuff, but not everything that is good for Hi-Fi is good in guitar amps, the amplifier is as much an instrument as the guitar itself, and is not necessarily designed to accurately reproduce the guitar, plug your les paul into a PA system sometime and you'll see what I mean!

[tubetek]

As a "recovering" audiophool, I agree 100% with what funk says...
I believe it was Bob Carver who said "The perfect HI-FI amp would be a straight wire with gain" (no coloration) The classic electric guitar sounds we've come to know and love are all colored by the compromises, imperfections, etc. found in classic amplifiers. In HI-FI, we want accurate reproduction; in guitar amps, the desire is anything but.
tubetek

[Drumslinger]

uummm....$50,000 for a solid gold chassis OR parts to build 50 amps? This is a tough one.

[jaysg]

There's a thickness tradeoff with Al. If it gets too thick, you can't use panels and you have to have silkscreened markings. Certain pots and misc. parts don't have long thread bushings.

[dguidry]

I would just like to add one comment...

When you put tons of time any money into a build and you start with a Bud or Hammond project box you end up with something that still looks and feels like a science project (no value implied here). I'm not smart or experienced enough to make claims that there is a scientifically measurable difference to a professionally made enclosure.

On the other hand, I think we are all smart enough to appreciate that when you take a custom made enclosure that resembles the state of the art of for boutique grade amps, it is finally possible to produce a result that has the possibility of comparing with them in every way.

You'll notice I said possible, because there is still a lot of skill, experience and tweaking to produce a really great amp. Finally, however there is no barrier to creating something on their level.

I build stuff for a living, but I lack the economies of scale as an individual to have a professionally fabricated chassis made. Our good friend is harnessing the power of this forum with his hard work to bring that scale to our hobbies.

I won't ever swear off science projects, but it is very exciting to be able to produce a $2-3k amplifier for an extra $150 bucks.

Dave

[JamesO]

I actually hadn't thought about the controls. When you start using thicker chassis', do you make that front panel thinner in order to have room for control threads? I'm using wood veneers for my faceplates thicknessed to .06".

[Funkalicousgroove]

if you use .09 there is plenty of room for a standard fender style faceplate, .10 you are pushing it, .125 you need to use long shaft pots or screenprint directly onto the chassis.

I think Nik at Ceriatone uses.09 and it works fine with a wooden faceplate.