No we actually thought it would be cool to have a place specifically for musical instrument amplifiers.. No social engineering involved here.
This is a great thread and I would love to participate, but not owning either a guitar or suitable speaker - nor having the required guitar playing skills it seems kind of pointless. 🙁 I keep telling myself I should get into this, but lack of time and other concerns has kept me away. I do find the thread very interesting.. 😀
Thank you Cassiel, But I would point out that "Instruments & Amps" ISN'T a new thread, it is just the "Musical Instruments" thread renamed . Why? Because its chock full of threads about instrument amps, which apparently many of you weren't aware of, from your responses. All the posts and threads about musical instrument amps, the majority of which are tubed and you guys never checked it out.
I ask the posters here to look through the "Instruments & Amps" thread and see that it is full of tube amp goodness and has been for quite a while. I hope this fertilizer will help, but it is already growing..
Mark
I ask the posters here to look through the "Instruments & Amps" thread and see that it is full of tube amp goodness and has been for quite a while. I hope this fertilizer will help, but it is already growing..
Mark
Yes. There were posts about tube guitar amps here and on the the tubes forum. Not bad idea to have them all in the same place. I was aware of the existence of this forum but the reason I din't check this place out is that there weren't many threads about tube amps. Only occasionally. Hope the trend changes so I can also learn interesting things here.
Too bad I can't DIY this idea for this challenge:
SPECIMEN Horn Speakers - Custom Horn Speaker and Tube Amp
😀
SPECIMEN Horn Speakers - Custom Horn Speaker and Tube Amp
😀
A thread like this one would have generated several hundred emails in the first week. I am going to look here every day anyway. It is easier to check once a day than to delete a bunch of emails every day. It is useful on threads that have cooled off though.
I knew about the Musical Instruments thread. I check every once in a while for oddball stuff like DIY music synthesizers. I have been resisting the guitar amp temptation for over 10 years because I knew what would happen when I finally caved in. I got 4 amps and 3 speaker boxes in the works with a bunch more ideas coming.
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For what it is worth: I am subscribed to this thread since joining the forum. I was receiving email notifications when people posted to this thread. Since the thread was shifted to a "new" place, I may get email notification of one post ONLY and at other times I do not get any notifications despite the fact that there are many posts since I last looked! As such I/we can't rely on notifications at present. So, I must assume there are still some issues to be resolved by the moderators!
Was it necessary to move this thread to a new place? I doubt it, but I suppose those in charge thought it would serve some useful purpose. This move certainly will not make me interested in non-tube musical instrument amplifiers just because they are now grouped together.
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Suitable speaker, I have a SS guitar amp with a 8" public address speaker that may not have the sound of a regular guitar speaker, it tends to sound smother, actually it sounds quite nice. I also have a 10" speaker that came from an old tube consol stereo, great little speaker for a bedroom amp.
For a guitar there is another option to play with. I came across some cigar box guitar vids and decided to build my own. Three strings is all you need, can always progress up to four. I took some pictures on the progression of this build, might put it in another thread. Hope to fret it this weekend. Tried it with a pickup suspended above the strings and it sounded pretty good.
So if a Mod wanted to, he could probably slap together a guitar for $25 and join the fun.
How about old car muffler steel guitars.
HOMEMADE JAMZ BLUES BAND bamboozled BLUES BBQ NYC PIER 54 08.23.09 - YouTube
😀
HOMEMADE JAMZ BLUES BAND bamboozled BLUES BBQ NYC PIER 54 08.23.09 - YouTube
😀
I finally finished stuffing the PC board for AMP2.0. My first discovery is that it is possible to have too much gain.....WAY too much gain. With the master gain on 1 and the volume on 1 the amp is completely clean and loud. Turn the volume all the way down and dime the master and the board is so microphonic that acoustic feedback erupts. Some tendency toward oscillation is present and so is hum. With both on about 3 or 4 you get a Marshall stack cranked to 11 sound. Turning either knob up further allows for some cool guitar feedback (I am using high output DiMarzio pickups). Unusual for a little "practice amp". The little amp makes 20 watts before clipping though.
I am still using a real guitar amp OPT to remove this variable until I get the board sounding right. The next step is to revove a stage of gain. The cabinet is a pine box with a Jensen P8R Alnico speaker. The cabinet has no back....I haven't made it yet. 12 inch cabinets are under construction.
Assuming a $15 or less OPT, this all fits in the $100 budget including a switchable 10 db attenuator to drop the power to 2 watts. I have a bigger version with sweep tubes but I haven't built that one yet.
I am still using a real guitar amp OPT to remove this variable until I get the board sounding right. The next step is to revove a stage of gain. The cabinet is a pine box with a Jensen P8R Alnico speaker. The cabinet has no back....I haven't made it yet. 12 inch cabinets are under construction.
Assuming a $15 or less OPT, this all fits in the $100 budget including a switchable 10 db attenuator to drop the power to 2 watts. I have a bigger version with sweep tubes but I haven't built that one yet.
Attachments
I came to the same conclusion George. Mine has a theoretical gain of over 35000 minus tonestack loss. The P-T291 is 17.95 at AES.
Speaking of which, I've donned my asbestos long-johns....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8OON5qLirAhttp://
Demo - YouTube
Speaking of which, I've donned my asbestos long-johns....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8OON5qLirAhttp://
Demo - YouTube
Attachments
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I have no doubt you can build an amp head with no cabinet for $100, Fender sells a "Champ 600" combo amp with speaker and cabinet retail price of $149. and I assume Fender, the guy in China who builds them and Guitar Center all make a profit, all of that $149 price.
I curious what does your PCB add to the price if you had to sell them. I'm guessing that a third of the $100 budget would have to go to the PCB so I was surprised to see a PCB based amp being proposed. Not that it is a bad idea.
The problem with having so many forums is that there is less crossover of ideas. If this thread were in the tube amp forum other non-musiicans who know more about tubes and and musicians who know sound can exchange ideas.
Historically great new ideas tend to come from the places where culture intersect. In the Ancient times it was on the trade routes
About not owning a guitar or being able to play. Those are easy things to fix. Find an $80 guitar on Craigslist and in a few weeks you can play simple stuff. The trick to gain the time also requires craigslist, sell your TV.
George that is really cool.. 😀 I actually have a custom made PP guitar OPT for a pair of 6BQ5s.. Perhaps once I finish my GM70 amps I will tackle something.. I have most of the parts so I might come in under $100.. I can blow up a couple of FE167 worst case, they certainly don't seem good for much else.. 😛...
I can pick up a cheap used guitar on CL I suppose or at the local music center.. Of course what I really want is an old Parker Fly.. Now I will have to get one of those course books..
Nothing imminent, but hopefully I can get something banged together in a couple of months..
I can pick up a cheap used guitar on CL I suppose or at the local music center.. Of course what I really want is an old Parker Fly.. Now I will have to get one of those course books..
Nothing imminent, but hopefully I can get something banged together in a couple of months..
I have a confession, I watch less than 5hrs of TV a week as it stands, and most weeks much less than that. Most of the free time I have is devoted to tweaking my TD-124/Shick/SPU for the moment. The Big Dig/Central Artery here in Boston consumes about 3 hrs of my day average in commuting time - I only commute 30 miles, but the usual commute is 90 minutes one way, and at least two days a week 2+ hr commutes are often the case. Moving is not an option.. 🙁
I do understand what you are saying about the cross-pollination issue, but I am here, and so is George who is one of the most knowledgeable designers on the forum so you/we/us are in good hands.. I think we can probably drag more people here.. 😀
Most of the TV I watch is (1) News), (2) Deadliest Catch, and (3) occasional history programs.
I think it might be a good idea to put the thread here, I've started reading other threads in the section.
I may have to try my hand at a PCB again. I haven't done one in over 10 years and gave all my supplies away years ago. It might be interesting to see if I could get the hum out of the guitar amp.
By the way, this amp will make near 7W if you crank the B+ up to 350V, and change the OPT to a Edcor GXPP10-8-10K. The tubes will take over 10W without going RP.
I think it might be a good idea to put the thread here, I've started reading other threads in the section.
I may have to try my hand at a PCB again. I haven't done one in over 10 years and gave all my supplies away years ago. It might be interesting to see if I could get the hum out of the guitar amp.
By the way, this amp will make near 7W if you crank the B+ up to 350V, and change the OPT to a Edcor GXPP10-8-10K. The tubes will take over 10W without going RP.
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Top Gear on the BBCA, NOVA once in a while, and a few things with my wife..
My thoughts when I get around to are for something simple, probably a pair of 6BQ5 or perhaps 6BM8 with a long tailed splitter using either a 12AT7/6201 or in the case of the 6BM8 the captive triodes. Since I use fixed bias everywhere else guess I will here too. Input stage(s) with level control, driving another stage driving a Fender or Marshall tone stack probably into another stage driving the phase splitter.. Master volume probably between the driver stage and phase splitter.. Probably pretty derivative..
Not happening for a while though, slated as perhaps a winter project. 😀
My thoughts when I get around to are for something simple, probably a pair of 6BQ5 or perhaps 6BM8 with a long tailed splitter using either a 12AT7/6201 or in the case of the 6BM8 the captive triodes. Since I use fixed bias everywhere else guess I will here too. Input stage(s) with level control, driving another stage driving a Fender or Marshall tone stack probably into another stage driving the phase splitter.. Master volume probably between the driver stage and phase splitter.. Probably pretty derivative..
Not happening for a while though, slated as perhaps a winter project. 😀
It puzzles me: why would you think it would be easier to get rid of your hum problem with a printed circuit board design?
In my experience amps with problems were/are far easier to resolve if they had point to point wiring and/or turret board designs compared to amps with printed circuit boards.
Also, how will you guys cost the printed circuit boards as part of your $100 budget for the amp and what companies will make the printed circuit boards available for newbies to purchase so that they can build your amp? I am not part of the competition, just curious.
If the winning design doesn't have a PCB, I may well lay one out anyway. I'll put my artwork up here for free for others to use as they will, and Variac may well be up for selling it via the forum shop.
The Beyma 8AG/N sounds GOOD. Dirt cheap.
Woooooow. Not used to see PCB DIY guitar amps. Looks good.
My pentode input tube WON'T behave, so the classic 220K resistor has to be lowered. Anyway, after seeing George pics....my build looks so amateur...I'm beginning to get depressed.
Yes you are. What are you doing here BTW? 😀 Funny thing, it was supposed to be the other way around. Instead of losing people from the tubes forum seems we gained a new one. 😀
Speaking of losing people....we probably have. DIY people are pretty independent by Nature and don't like to be messed around. I'm just getting older and mellower.
+1
Back in 2004 I joined this forum seeking help on a simple guitar amp project. I had not dabbled in tube gear since the early 70's.
Several of the tube forum members offered me help, Tubelab, Enzo Poobah, Sy and many others as well.
Later I started building/rebuilding some old HiFi gear including a MC240, some old 3 channel Motorola's and a few Magnavox's.
I even built a few versions of the RH84 with alternate tubes.
The crossover effect in the tube form got me up to speed on a good number of things I had long forgot.
I learned & re-learned more over there in 2 years than I had as a member in guitar forums in 5 years.
I always felt the tube section was a great 1 stop location for anything tube related as some of the greatest minds seemed to be located there.
I hope the new section works out, but as busy as people are these days, scanning several forum locations seems less likely for most.
Tubelab,
I noticed the speaker box, is that the Eminence speaker in there? Just curious what your impression was on that one.
Guitars,
Check Garage Sales!!!!
I grabbed a MIM Strat with a gig bag, cord & tuner for $15.00 and an old Conrad acoustic for $5.00 at a local garage sale.It did not even have fingerprints on it.
Some soccer mom had bought it for her spoiled son.
She held semi-annual garage sales to clear out last years junk for this years junk.
2 weeks later I bought a Squire Strat (Fender Korea) for $9.00
The bargains are basically endless hunting a couple hours per weekend.