DIY Amp

[newbieguitarmaker]

I think there was another thread sort of like this but I couldn't find it. I have been wanting a new amp for awhile but I am a DIY kind of guy and so I was thinking could I make myself an amp. I have my father to help me work on it, he use to do electrical work and he has made his own speaker cabs and he works on amplifiers for Disklavier pianos so I think I won't have much trouble. What are good places to find parts to make the amps?

Also I have a wiring diagram for the Carvin Legacy and parts list but I was thinking of doing a Bogner Ecstasy, does anyone know if there is a parts list for the XTC?

Also I saw these

http://www.randallamplifiers.com/pro...ts/modules.asp

do you guys think it would be easier to make an amp like a the RM100

http://www.randallamplifiers.com/pro...s/mtsheads.asp

and possibly make modules for it (or buy at least one to learn how they make the modules)

Just give me your ideas on what I should do and how I should do it.

Btw: I know this post is pretty crappy but I am about to lie down with like the 3rd migraine this week so bear with me and my rambling and sentences that dont make sense >_<

[jemplayer55]

http://www.schematicheaven.com/newam...er_ecstacy.pdf

[jemplayer55]

http://www.schematicheaven.com/index_HTML.htm

Finding a accurate parts list for the Bogner is a whole different story. Good luck on that! Finding out the tranny specs will be fun too.

If this will be your first build I'd suggest buying a kit to see if you're really going to enjoy it. Start with like a 18 watt Marshall clone or a Trainwerck Express clone. Build it, tweak it, get a hang of what tonal changes occur by substituting various components. Then tackle something that's more of a challenge and complex.

http://www.ceriatone.com/index.htm

http://www.trinityamps.com/Product_Parts.htm

BTW..... an 18 watt or Express amp will fill a room with sound! So unless you're gigging larger venues and really need 100 watts of sound start out small. It'll be easier to get grind/tone out of something smaller than a 100 watt'r but that's JMHO.... YMMV!

Here's a parts supplier in St. Pete Florida that's very reliable too.

http://www.turretboards.com/

[David McCarroll]

Absolutely no-one needs a 100 watt tube amp today - the average pub/club sound system will have difficulty coping with anything bigger than the 18 watt Marshall mentioned above - especially if you are talking about a tube amp running flat out - as Jemplayer says, if you are starting out, look at one of the many 18 watt plexi clone kits available, or even better, a Trainwreck clone - if you don't know what a Trainwreck Amp is, and you're interested in amps, it's time to do some homework!!!!

At the other end of the scale, amps as complex as an Ecstasy or an RM100 have had many, many hundreds of hours of prototyping to get them to work properly - in high gain tube amps it is often the final minutae of wiring loom placement, where the transformers are placed and all that sort of stuff which really makes them sing - and non of this is shown in a circuit diagram!

[LonePhantom]

I am seriously thinking of getting one of these Ceriatone 18Watt JCM 800 clones. Would love a modded JCM800, but too expensive, and way too loud. 18W + the price is so good. My Dad's an electrician, so wouldn't be too hard for me to put it together.

Just need the money now...

[newbieguitarmaker]

Originally Posted by LonePhantom

I am seriously thinking of getting one of these Ceriatone 18Watt JCM 800 clones. Would love a modded JCM800, but too expensive, and way too loud. 18W + the price is so good. My Dad's an electrician, so wouldn't be too hard for me to put it together.

Just need the money now...

yeah I was thinking of doing that one too, even though they don't have the version Vai played which is my fav version of the JCM800. 2305 I think it was