who sells high quality Fender type kits ?

[hebaton]

Wondering where to source a kit for a Princeton reverb build.
I read good things about Mojotone kits, but would appreciate input from poeple with experience !
Thank you !

[GAStan]

My first build was a Mojotone kit, their Studio One Watt. I still have it and really like it. If I needed a Fender kit I wouldn't hesitate to get one from Mojotone.

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[didit]

Hello —

This caught an eye a week or two ago ::

https://www.stewmac.com/kits-and-proje ... w-amp-kit/

It seems decent quality, quite well thought out, and the instructions appear thorough. Some comments suggest it’s a MojoTone kit resold through Stewmac. With their current 15% sale discount, “free” shipping in Canadian dollars with “membership”, etc. it might be hard to beat.

Best ..

[martin manning]

I was going to suggest StewMac too. It does look like they are having Mojo provide components, and they are doing the packaging and providing a complete construction manual of their own.

[hebaton]

That looks interesting except I was hoping to find something without cabinet and speaker... or tubes for tha matter...

[sluckey]

That looks interesting except I was hoping to find something without cabinet and speaker... or tubes for tha matter...

Look at mojo again! Their kits are for a chassis and all components. Cab and speaker are separate.

[hebaton]

Got it !
Thanks !

[syscokid]

Wondering where to source a kit for a Princeton reverb build.
I read good things about Mojotone kits, but would appreciate input from poeple with experience !
Thank you !

Another high quality option is Allen Amplification. A few years ago, I built their Blackface style Princeton Reverb kit called the Sweet Spot in a head format. They offer this kit as a chassis only, head, 1x10 combo, and 1x12 combo. Also, a lot of options for cosmetics like tolex, grill cloth, knobs, handles, etc. The Sweet Spot and all their other kits are designed with modern and worthy enhancements of the original circuits. Take a look at:
http://allenamps.com/sweetspot.html

If you’re interested, private message me, and I’ll send you any documents like a layout of the Sweet Spot. I also more recently, built an Allen Amp Chihuahua 1x10 kit, which is loosely based on a BF Champ. I could help you with documents on that amp kit too.

On the other hand, I have a local friend who built a Stewmac Princeton Reverb 1x10 combo kit and it turned out really nice. Great instructions and the loose parts very well organized.

[didit]

Hello --

I've had good experience with Allen Amps, though just in buying transformers and a few other components back when they were also offering parts. My few interactions by email and phone with David Allen were really quite good.

As an overall design his Sweet Spot has lots to recommend. His tweaks all are improvements on the original. If you have the confidence to build, and can source your own cabinet and speaker, and can afford all additional costs of going with his barebones kit then my advice would be go for it rather than Stewmac or Mojotone.

Best .. Ian

[syscokid]

I found this pic which was taken 14 years ago! Damn... time flies. All good stuff in the package. The head cab that was finished in tweed, and the reverb unit was sent about one month later.

[dragonbat13]

My build is a Hoffman build.

While not a kit, I was not terribly difficult to purchase everything needed to build it.

I used a mojo chassis and faceplates. A mojo cabinet. Jensen P10Q. Now discontinued classictone iron, and Doug Hoffman's turret board.

Doug has enough info on his site to guide you along. The only thing I overlooked was not installing tubes while soldering so I had to replace one socket.

[hebaton]

Hello --

I've had good experience with Allen Amps, though just in buying transformers and a few other components back when they were also offering parts. My few interactions by email and phone with David Allen were really quite good.

As an overall design his Sweet Spot has lots to recommend. His tweaks all are improvements on the original. If you have the confidence to build, and can source your own cabinet and speaker, and can afford all additional costs of going with his barebones kit then my advice would be go for it rather than Stewmac or Mojotone.

Best .. Ian

That sounds like an interesting option. How is the documentation ? Detailed enough step by step for a newbe ?

[didit]

Hmmm --

I cannot comment directly but expect there will be schematics and a layout, with some limited construction procedures and advice. His Princeton derived design is listed as "bare bones" with the following caveat: "parts list and color coded wiring diagram only - email tech support".

The general guidance is:

"These kits are definitely not for everyone! Don't buy a kit just to save a few bucks, but rather because you enjoy this type of work, know how to solder well, pay attention to instructions and details, and typically finish large projects that you start. You MUST have ALL of the tools shown at the bottom of this page! These are advanced kits, so you should have some basic kit building skills, and most important, soldering skills! Typical kits can take from 15 to 25 hours to complete. If you follow the instructions, you are never exposed to live circuits or dangerous voltages."

If you are worried, perhaps you need to enlist someone to build it for you or at the least someone to sit at your shoulder while you work.

Best ..

[cdemike]

Based on a few of the previous threads of yours I've seen, it sounds like you know how to solder decently well and know the differences between resistors, capacitors, etc. So I think you're ahead of some. The question you may need to ask yourself is whether you have the interest and patience to look things up when approaching a bigger project. So questions like

How is the documentation ? Detailed enough step by step for a newbe ?

might be best answered by yourself. The conservative option is to buy a simple project to nail down basics like heater wiring, lead dress, build order, etc., with a kit with very detailed instructions. The instructions from Stewmac and Mojotone are available online, so if the schematics and chassis layouts match, you could use those for other kits replicating the same circuits. If you're concerned at all about ending up with a project that can't get finished or an amp that could be unsafe, I'd recommend starting with a 5F1 or 5E3 kit from either Stewmac or Mojotone. I built a Hiwatt DR504 clone using a Mojotone kit, and was very satisfied with their documentation, packing, organization, fit-and-finish, and customer support.

[martin manning]

The instructions from Stewmac and Mojotone are available online, so if the schematics and chassis layouts match, you could use those for other kits replicating the same circuits.

This is a good suggestion, but has some risk for newbies, who may not catch the significance of some details. I read through one of the StewMac construction manuals, and they are very thorough. I did see some practices that I would not follow, though.