I am only 19, I play guitar for a living and go to university. Before this build, I didnt know the difference between a diode and a transformer. I picked up a copy of The Guitar Amp Book by Dave Hunter, which helped tremendously.
This amp sounds UNBELIEVEABLE! So Rich! So much sustain! My 69 335 just sings with this amp! No squeal, microphonics, are even hum!
Dont feel intimidated if you dont know anything about electronics. With the help of the BOM, Build Guide, and the members of this forum, you can easily complete this build.
Lessons I Learned on this Build:
1. It DOES matter with Output Transformer Plate Wire you wire to a certain power tube socket... they are not the same.(lots of squeeling ocurred)
2. Soldering to a copper buss bar is a pain in the @$$... unless you have a super high powered soldering iron.
3. Burning PVC insulation with your soldering iron smells terrible.
4. Burning skin with your soldering iron smells even worse.
5. Check your pots before you install them. My 1 meg pot actually has a max resistance of 10 meg... the first quarter turn is 10 meg - 6 meg, then it jump to 1 meg, and decreases value for the rest of the turn. And I got the high quality PEC's
6. Radioshack soldering irons are garbage. I went through two in this build(first one exploded with sparks... so pretty.)
7. Dont check your plate voltages across a 1 ohm resistor to ground. (learned that one the hard way)
A Few Tube Questions
Layout
V1 - Mullard, Blackburn Code, Long plates
V2 - Brimar
V3 - Sovtek LPS, balanced triodes from KCA
V4-V5 - GT EL34M #4, plates at 400 and 404
Is my preamp selection ok for a wreck? Is it worth the money to buy a NOS PI tube?
I have 43mA bias current on my EL34M's right now.... is that ok? I dont see any redplating, and they sound thick, tight, and full.
Thanks to Ron and the Amp Garage Community!
Chris