• WARNING: Tube/Valve amplifiers use potentially LETHAL HIGH VOLTAGES.
    Building, troubleshooting and testing of these amplifiers should only be
    performed by someone who is thoroughly familiar with
    the safety precautions around high voltages.

ebay amp

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Hello guys, first off i would like to salute you all :D
i am so happy that i found this forum. For a while i wanted to build my own tube amp for my guitar... but i haven't got any time :( .

Well i been looking araund :whazzat: and i found schematics on some amps i like, like mesa boogie amps, Marshall, B52's, Peavey and other high end amps. However i dont want to spend a eternity tryng to locate parts and such.

I been looking in ebay and i found plenty of vintage tube amps there for a cheap price which are alredy assembled, and i also ALWAYS see huge lots of tubes for sale.

I am not really sure what to do :confused:

1) get tube amp from ebay and mod it.

(If so what should i look for?)

2) build a replica

(i looked at some schematics and some look pretty simple but transformers are hard to find for some models.)

3) someone share a schematic of a quick & easy make amp with a good sound.

(i been searching the forum but theres no decent post on a decent step by step build.)

For the time beign this is what kind of specs i am looking for:
* 30 to 100 Watts
* 4, 6 or 12 ohms speaker output
* 3 band EQ
* good clean chanel
The amp dosent really need an over drive distortion because i have a pretty good effects pedal.

Any ideas on howmuch something like this would cost?

I have a background with electronics, i understand schematics and know how semiconductors work, i have build high voltage circuits for small tesla coils and such. I been reading about tubes lately.
I will apreciate any help.



Thank you!
 
There are lots of choices.

Perhaps the easiest it to copy a Fender or Marshall amp, since schematics and kits are widely available and the sound/tone are well known.

I began with a Baldwin organ amp with 6L6's on ebay and showed it to a local amp builder that sold me the parts to make a Matchless Spitfire clone (Actually, I made two and one is for sale).

Since then, I've modified two amps for guitar. One was a Heathkit amp, and the other was a very old little amp. Pictures are here
http://www.naturdoctor.com/Chapters/Amps/Ampersand.html

It does take some time to figure out what to look for in an EBay amp.

Good luck!
 
PA Amp Head

I, for one, would try to find an old tube mono PA system and modify it for use as a guitar amp. You can often find them for extremely low prices (I paid $4 for a fully-functional 35W Bogen) and they require relatively few modifications, making for a cheap and easy build. Instructions on how to do so are here .
 
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