looking for a diy guitar amp.

[kostaz8]

I am looking for a guitar amp that i can make my own i have found a schematic but i don't know if it's good to make.Can you post any good schematics and give me any advise?Here is the the amp... http://www.high-voltage-lab.com/27/60w-guitar-amplifier

[wakibaki]

Look at http://sound.westhost.com/

You will find some designs there that have been built by many people.

The design you are looking at may well work OK, but unless someone here has built one it's hard to know for sure.

...or you can get this much power from a chip amp with a lot less trouble.

Google LM 3886, read the datasheet.

w

[Bigun]

It looks to me as if the circuit you posted will work OK. But half the fun is building it and trying it out, most of the parts are cheap enough that you can always 'upgrade' your design if not satisfied.

I like the idea of breaking it up into three sections, pre-amp, power-amp and power supply. You can test each one.

Whatever amp you build, if you know the power level you are looking for (e.g. 60W) then start by making a good power supply. You likely won't have to make any changes to it and it would work with different amplifier options. The link you were given above to ESP is a good place to start looking for a power supply design.

Then you can add the power amplifer. You could select from many options on this Forum such as DX amplifier if you want to build out of discrete components, but the suggestion of a chip-amp is also very good as it is a simple approach.

Then focus your fun on the pre-amp part, the most interesting part for different sounds.

Edit: if the distortions/effects really gets you interesting in doing more:
http://www.montagar.com/~patj/gindex.htm

Good luck.

[kostaz8]

Does this http://sound.westhost.com/project27.htm amp have distortion or if it doesn't how can i add one?

[nigelwright7557]

You can buy ready made amplifier modules at many places.

If you buy it ready made then you know it has been built, tested and aligned professionally.

Even ebay has a wide range of amp modules from MOSFET to valve to hybrids.

Having said that you can get great satisfaction from building your from scratch. The problems start when it doesnt work because you made a mistake or you have a built one that doesnt work anyway !

I design and build my own but I have 30+ years experience.
I thoroughly test mine out on prototype board long before I go anywhere near a PCB.

[wakibaki]

Originally posted by kostaz8
Does this http://sound.westhost.com/project27.htm amp have distortion or if it doesn't how can i add one?

Yes it does. The back-to-back diodes D1,D2,D3,D4 in the preamp provide 'clipping' distortion. Not everybody likes this, but you can run the amp 'clean' and use an external stompbox.

w

[destroyer X]

they will play sustaining tones and distortions...this sucks a lot from the supply that must be huge... also huge heatsinks to the power amplifier and several output pairs... double or tripple them.

All amplifiers can do the job, you will need to increase (at least double) the output transistor quantity, double the heatsink size, double the transformer power, double the condensers and double the rectifier.

Also install big heatsinks to the drivers and be happy!

Also do not bother with distortions of other specifications...as you will use it distorting..if the amplifier produces some by itself will give you some nice colouration that may result you building a champion amplifier and your friends will try to have one alike yours.

Music reproduction (not heavy metal or heavy rock..a special style of music) is average.... guitar will sustain clipping for long, long time...normal amplifiers, from the box..will burn!

Build a Dx Amplifier... increase the things i told and you will have a nice powerfull amplifier, perfect for guitars and will survive your childrens and may be playing while your granchildrens grown up.

Maybe Rodd Elliot (ESP pages) have something good..but i have not tested... i cannot say yes or no....mine is guaranteed... and a DIY for free stuff..tested by by noisy daugther that plays guitar plugged into a Dx Amplifier, the standard one.

If you're knew into the forum...here you have the Dx Amplifier...made to be reliable even when monsters use it... (guaranteed for music as standard)... tested together guitar too, and survived without any modification...but they are needed for long time shows.

http://users.tpg.com.au/users/gerskine/dxamp/

[kostaz8]

All of you told me about some great sites to look for.But what amp of all these do you suggest to build?

[teemuk]

If you are going to go onward from a schematic only, I suggest you take a look at the commercial designs instead. The Internet is full of such schematics.

Make a small list of amps you like and take a look at their circuitry to see what does what. You will have a much better understanding of what kind of an amp/circuit you need.


Edit: I have built the 60W guitar amp in question. In short: Stay away from it. Old-fashioned design that sounds terrible and doesn't work right without tweaking.

Rod Elliot's power amp is a somewhat good design but the preamp is not worth a dime unless you want to play with pristine clean sounds only - which turn into obnoxious buzz when the preamp gets overdriven.

To this day I haven't found DIY examples of solid-state guitar amps that could rival most of the commercial designs. Prepare to build some mighty complex stuff if you want the amp to sound good.

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