Im new to the forums, but ive been trolling for some time now, and people defiantely seem to know what their talking about here, so I thought it would be a good place to ask this, ive built a few simple amps before, namely because I dont have the money to build anything really big, but a friend of mine is willing to put 900 bucks on the line and let me build him a Bass amp. so now Ive got 900 bucks to spend, this needs to get me a cab, with speakers, and obviously the amp, so I was wondering if anyone had any ideas on what type of amp I should build. and possibly any schematics, if anyone needs mroe info on what im looking to build just say so, and ill post whatever youd like to know.
*******his shouldnt be in solid state***
^^^ Im looking to build a tube based amp ^^^
Thanks for that tip, ill defiantely keep that in mind when im deciding on the design. Im really having a tough time finding plans for building a tube based bass guitar amp, so if anyone has any ideas for that id really appreciate it, im looking for something that would put out around 150W, bass guitars, generally speaking produce tones down to about 41.20Hz (E1) and possibly even as low as 30.87Hz (B0) and all the plans that ive seen for tube based guitar amps seem to fall off around 80Hz, which definately isnt going to work out for this application, so once again if anyone has any even remotely relavent suggestions / ideas for a newb, id love to hear them.
^^^ Im looking to build a tube based amp ^^^
Thanks for that tip, ill defiantely keep that in mind when im deciding on the design. Im really having a tough time finding plans for building a tube based bass guitar amp, so if anyone has any ideas for that id really appreciate it, im looking for something that would put out around 150W, bass guitars, generally speaking produce tones down to about 41.20Hz (E1) and possibly even as low as 30.87Hz (B0) and all the plans that ive seen for tube based guitar amps seem to fall off around 80Hz, which definately isnt going to work out for this application, so once again if anyone has any even remotely relavent suggestions / ideas for a newb, id love to hear them.
Aswethinkweis said:
Get a copy of "The Tube Amp Book" by Aspen Pittman . It's got circuit diagrams of just about every tube guitar & bass amp you've ever heard of. Highly recommended.
A 150W tube amp is going to be heavy, expensive, and LOUD. It's almost certainly overkill, especially if $900 includes the cost of cab.
Cheers
IH
Take a look at the attila on http://www.triodedick.com
The website is in dutch but I think Dick is more than willing to help you out.
The website is in dutch but I think Dick is more than willing to help you out.
This sounds like a theme for a new program on the Discovery Channel-
"Monster Amp Builders"
$900, 5 days and an obnoxious host, can they complete the challenge?
- Sorry, just got cable TV and it has permeated my very essence. I need to drop the service and spend the time and money on some new speakers or something.
Hmmm...I haven seen a bas cab with a tweeter though...send or post some pics...maybe I'm just to oriented to studio stuff...I do recording in school with a pair of Behringer Thruth monitors...good sound and using the Hi-Z input with some effects on the Yamaha AW16-G gets me what I need....we do have a small 50W bass for practice though...it's fully enclosed and does NOT have a tweeter...not sure if the bass will spoil the tweeter there though...wadoyou think?
you might also keep in mind what your friend could purchase from a music megastore for that much money - Not tubes, but a 300+ watt head with lots of tone shaping possibilities and 4x10 cab. You'll need to give your friend something special so he doesn't feel ripped off.
A hundred watts is more than I need for practicing, but if this rig is intended for gigging, 150 watts isn't really all that much. A high power tube amp isn't something I'd like to lug around.
Coincidentally, I was just perusing Plitron's web site - power and output transformers and a choke will just about consume your entire budget. I'd suggest going for a mosfet power amp and a tubed preamp. Fender has some schematics available on their web site.
Some things I'd like to see if someone was making a bass head for me (in no particular order):
tube overdrive - allow mixing of clean and overdriven signals
(at least) 3 band tone controls, preferably parametric
compressor - 2+ band so the fundamentals don't modulate the harmonics.
external effects loop
Footswitch control of above
balanced DI output for recording/ PA connection. switchable pre-post effects
tuner out
Line out with internal active crossover
A web search should turn up enough to get you going on implementing these features.
Reliability is crucial for gigging - make sure that you'll be able to get rid of the heat (thermostatically controlled fan?) and provide short circuit protection.
In a Fender guitar amp that my son trash picked the tube was held in the socket with heat shrink tubing. Seems like a reasonable way to ensure that it doesn't come loose. The reason it was in the trash was the power transformer primary winding was open. The manufacturer said it was a proprietary design and would not divulge any details. However it was physically the same size as a 60 VCT/ 2 amp transformer I had on hand. That's seems like using the transformer a little too close to its ratings for my taste, but the tradeoff is weight vs. reliability.
I agree with the above post that the cabinets and amp should be capable of reproducing the whole spectrum. If you want a reggae sound you can always EQ the top end away, but it is hard to EQ in enough top end to make slapping sound good if the system rolls off early. You might want to include casters in the cab and a handle to make it like a big suitcase.
A hundred watts is more than I need for practicing, but if this rig is intended for gigging, 150 watts isn't really all that much. A high power tube amp isn't something I'd like to lug around.
Coincidentally, I was just perusing Plitron's web site - power and output transformers and a choke will just about consume your entire budget. I'd suggest going for a mosfet power amp and a tubed preamp. Fender has some schematics available on their web site.
Some things I'd like to see if someone was making a bass head for me (in no particular order):
tube overdrive - allow mixing of clean and overdriven signals
(at least) 3 band tone controls, preferably parametric
compressor - 2+ band so the fundamentals don't modulate the harmonics.
external effects loop
Footswitch control of above
balanced DI output for recording/ PA connection. switchable pre-post effects
tuner out
Line out with internal active crossover
A web search should turn up enough to get you going on implementing these features.
Reliability is crucial for gigging - make sure that you'll be able to get rid of the heat (thermostatically controlled fan?) and provide short circuit protection.
In a Fender guitar amp that my son trash picked the tube was held in the socket with heat shrink tubing. Seems like a reasonable way to ensure that it doesn't come loose. The reason it was in the trash was the power transformer primary winding was open. The manufacturer said it was a proprietary design and would not divulge any details. However it was physically the same size as a 60 VCT/ 2 amp transformer I had on hand. That's seems like using the transformer a little too close to its ratings for my taste, but the tradeoff is weight vs. reliability.
I agree with the above post that the cabinets and amp should be capable of reproducing the whole spectrum. If you want a reggae sound you can always EQ the top end away, but it is hard to EQ in enough top end to make slapping sound good if the system rolls off early. You might want to include casters in the cab and a handle to make it like a big suitcase.
Her's a cabinet with a horn:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7...2154309196/g=bass/search/detail/base_id/54998
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7...2154309196/g=bass/search/detail/base_id/54998
thanks a lot you guys, and yeah lastnight, i decided that it woiuld be better if i went with a tube front end for all the tonal adjustments and gain, and paired it up with a solidstate amp for the power... thanks a lot for all the suggestions guys, im gonna be looking through all the links you posted, and hopefully ill figure out something that would work.. one quick question though.. it would be alright to use a front end designed for a guitar, and then just use a solidstate monoblock for power correct? or is there some type of solidstate amp i should be looking for in particular?
I found plans for a tube based preamplifier thats perfect for my needs, and i found all the stuff i need to build the cab, so that leaves just one thing left to figure out... what type of solid state power amp should I use? Ive been looking through these forums, and an aleph2 would be pretty simple for me to build... and has enough output for what i need, but would it work alright for what i need? any comments would be appreciated...
Since nobody else has responded, I'll try....
Well, it would probably sound great, but study up on it's power consumption. It is QUITE inefficient. I don't know much about gear for performing, but it seems that you might often be almost overtaxing the circuits in some venues that you play in. That amp consumes around 350 watts continueously (per channel, but I assume you are only making one chanel) if I remember correctly
which I might not!!!!!
Also I think that if there is any critisism of the Aleph range it might be that they don't have as great bass control as some other amps, which might be an issue for a bass amp
I think you need an x-Aleph for the best bass, but not too many of the the high powered ones have been built. Better study up on that thread and ask questions there.
I'll bet Nelson would think it's cool to have one of his amps used as an instrument amp so he would probably answer any general questions you have.
Well, it would probably sound great, but study up on it's power consumption. It is QUITE inefficient. I don't know much about gear for performing, but it seems that you might often be almost overtaxing the circuits in some venues that you play in. That amp consumes around 350 watts continueously (per channel, but I assume you are only making one chanel) if I remember correctly
which I might not!!!!!
Also I think that if there is any critisism of the Aleph range it might be that they don't have as great bass control as some other amps, which might be an issue for a bass amp
I think you need an x-Aleph for the best bass, but not too many of the the high powered ones have been built. Better study up on that thread and ask questions there.
I'll bet Nelson would think it's cool to have one of his amps used as an instrument amp so he would probably answer any general questions you have.
Amps
I agree with Variac that the Aleph amps are not the best choice.
An easy amp to build is using two LM3886 chips in parallel (4 ohm speaker) or bridge (8 ohm speaker), it will produce about 100watts. Or if you have the skill you can build the 100 watt (project 3A) or 300 watt (project 68) amp on the ESP web site.
http://sound.westhost.com/projects-1.htm
I agree with Variac that the Aleph amps are not the best choice.
An easy amp to build is using two LM3886 chips in parallel (4 ohm speaker) or bridge (8 ohm speaker), it will produce about 100watts. Or if you have the skill you can build the 100 watt (project 3A) or 300 watt (project 68) amp on the ESP web site.
http://sound.westhost.com/projects-1.htm
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