450W guitar amp

[apunker]

Hello!
I am a newbie in electronics. I am also a guitar player. So I wanted for my first big project to build myself a good amp for my guitar. I have a 450W amp. I am not sure if its spacifically for a guitar. So anyways, I have two questions for you...
One is that I wanna build the circuit for this amp, and I have searched google and didnt find anything. So if anyone here have one, please let me know!
Second is what are the parameters for a speaker to be fit for guitar and what are the parameters for a bass amp?

Thats it! Thanks and this is one heck cool forum!

[Brett]

Originally posted by apunker
Hello!
I am a newbie in electronics. I am also a guitar player. So I wanted for my first big project to build myself a good amp for my guitar. I have a 450W amp. I am not sure if its spacifically for a guitar.

450W for geetar! Are you deaf? Well you soon will be, and so will most of the neighbourhood. 100W-ish is usually enough for the heaviest metalhead unless you're playing a huge venue.

So anyways, I have two questions for you...
One is that I wanna build the circuit for this amp, and I have searched google and didnt find anything. So if anyone here have one, please let me know!

There are tons of schematics out there, but first, what are you looking for in terms of features, tone, SS or tube, combo, seperate head etc? Is there an amp on the market that you like and would buy? That would help narrow down the design options.

Second is what are the parameters for a speaker to be fit for guitar and what are the parameters for a bass amp?

For a guitar, use guitar speakers. Which ones depend on the sound you like, and that's very personal because many are designed to distort so designing the amp/EQ/speaker combination is hard to do without being there and testing options. Normally guitar speaks are high efficiency, hence the moderate power requirements.
Bass is easier to specify, but it can be really hard to get right; generally cleaner and about 4x the power the guitarist is using is a good starting point, but again it depends on the efficiency of your speakers. Some speakers like the Acme's are low efficiency but go lower in frequency than most bass cabs.

To get a better idea of what you might need, what are you going to be using the amp abd cab for? Recording, stage (with what other instruments), style of music, how big an area it needs to fill etc Also, are you looking for theis amp to be "it" or are you willing to breadboard a few designs to see what you like best and refine it from there. As I asked before, is there an amp/cab on the market that you particularly like the sound of?

[apunker]

Originally posted by Brett

450W for geetar! Are you deaf? Well you soon will be, and so will most of the neighbourhood. 100W-ish is usually enough for the heaviest metalhead unless you're playing a huge venue. There are tons of schematics out there, but first, what are you looking for in terms of features, tone, SS or tube, combo, seperate head etc? Is there an amp on the market that you like and would buy? That would help narrow down the design options.For a guitar, use guitar speakers. Which ones depend on the sound you like, and that's very personal because many are designed to distort so designing the amp/EQ/speaker combination is hard to do without being there and testing options. Normally guitar speaks are high efficiency, hence the moderate power requirements.
Bass is easier to specify, but it can be really hard to get right; generally cleaner and about 4x the power the guitarist is using is a good starting point, but again it depends on the efficiency of your speakers. Some speakers like the Acme's are low efficiency but go lower in frequency than most bass cabs.

To get a better idea of what you might need, what are you going to be using the amp abd cab for? Recording, stage (with what other instruments), style of music, how big an area it needs to fill etc Also, are you looking for theis amp to be "it" or are you willing to breadboard a few designs to see what you like best and refine it from there. As I asked before, is there an amp/cab on the market that you particularly like the sound of?

[QUOTE]

Hello there! :-)

Well, first of all thanks for writting!!! Every piece of information is more than important to me.
Yes, the amp will be played in gigs and such, about 200 people vanue.. Thats why I wanted to use a really high Watt. But I have consulted a few friends and I have decided to go for the a 100W amp. I will gather more questions soon and post them here. But for now you have answered a few questions that I soon wanted to know. Anyways thanks for the help and I will be in touch! :-)
Thanks so much!!!

[eeka chu]

I play the lead guitar as well, and 100W is seriously loud... this coming from a guy who regularly has to replace headphones due to running them too loud.

A 100W amplifier in anything less than a large club is going to put your hearing at risk. One of the last live bands I saw was playing in a large bar. There were about one or two hundred people in there. They were just over comfortably loud to listen to.

After they finished, my friend and I went over to speak to them. The guitarist had been playing using a 50W amplifier with the volume turned down.

450W will simply be too much, almost no questions asked.

If you ever want to play thru your amplifier at home, and have it sound good, you definitly want to be aiming at 50W or less.

I have mine at 50W and never have it over 2 on the volumes because after there it starts going straight through the walls.

If you're not sure about wattage, try a few amps out at a local guitar shop. You'll find out very quickly just how few amps you really need.

I bought a 100W halfstack. Something I regret doing now. Even 50W is too much really.

Remember that human hearing sensitivity works through a Logarithmic like curve. So 100W is only going to sound about twice as loud as a 10W amplifier. The extra 90W is just ear damage.

Don't get too wound up in the wattage wars with other guitarists, none of them really play their amps at 10 while they're at home!

[Brett]

Originally posted by apunker
Well, first of all thanks for writting!!! Every piece of information is more than important to me.
Yes, the amp will be played in gigs and such, about 200 people vanue.. Thats why I wanted to use a really high Watt. But I have consulted a few friends and I have decided to go for the a 100W amp. I will gather more questions soon and post them here. But for now you have answered a few questions that I soon wanted to know. Anyways thanks for the help and I will be in touch! :-)
Thanks so much!!!

Glad to help. The more you can detail what you are looking for, referring to types/styles of music, accompanying instruments and commercially available amps that you like, the better you'll be able to determine the details of the project. Also, as it's DIY, you could make a single, dual or sextuple channel amp all with different topologies if that's what you want. Cost, size and weight will be the only limiting factors.

eeka chu's comment are on the money too. I have a friend I'm building an amp for now. He's a guitarist in a very heavy style band and wanted a Peavey 5150 (120W) clone. I built one and we started to refine it towards the sounds/expression he was after, and now it's a long way from where we started. Using a pair of 4x10 cabs and an honest 120W, this rig is stupidly loud, too much so even for him in a large club. I'm going to substitute another 50W amp I have into the development chassis and I think it will sound better, as he'll not have to go as loud to get the crunch he wants. For smaller venues, one 4x10 will be enough, and practicing in his living room I'm going to add a switch to only drive one speaker (still too loud but less so) and later I'll make a 3W and 1x10 for his apartment.

[Optical]

450W??

I run a 140W marshall setup, it never goes more than half way without people running for the hills.. and thats in big halls...