I went to my band's bass player's house last night and drilled the chassis mounting holes in the cabinet. He's got an incredible work shop.
It came out great- nice and straight.
I could've probably finished building the amp last night if I hadn't stayed to enjoy some bourbon while listening to an original demo pressing of Springsteen's Darkness on the Edge of Town on his incredible sound system.
Rehearsal tonight then I'll finish the amp on Thursday evening or over the weekend.
It's finished! I still plan to open it up, add a few wire ties, recheck the bias and voltages and take a few pics.
It sounds really good. It's as quiet as any of my other amps and sounds great with my Strat, Tele, Carvin DC150, with my Zendrive and Keeley Fuzzhead. It gets dirty with the humbuckers and cleans up by playing lighter like my 5E3 clone does (not as dirty). I haven't really cranked it yet.
IT'S ALIVE!!!! MWUHAHAHAHA!
"don't worry, i'm a professional!"
I warmed up the bias a little bit tonight and like the sound and feel a lot better.
Here's the finished product!
It needs a logo!
Beautiful Don !!
I have decided to be happy because it's good for my health.
VERY nice work and VERY nice amp!!
Got them Statesboro Blues
Totally on topic...which bourbon? Being from Louisville, KY I have an appreciation for a good sipping bourbon.Originally Posted by Don
Got them Statesboro Blues
Thanks!
I put an RCA 7025 in V1 earlier and it sounds great! I put my old C10Q in it and hardly noticed a difference.
I really like this amp a lot! At first, I liked it with my Strat and Carvin DC150 but not as much with my Tele and Hamer Echotone. It also didn't respond well to overdrive pedals. Increasing the bias and the installing the old tube changed that.
I'm not impressed with the Mojo reverb tank. It's the "correct" model for the amp (4AB3C1B) but it sounds tinny and metallic and the delay goes on way too long. Where you can/sould crank it up to 8 or so for a surf like tone with my Vibrolux Reverb and previous '68 Princeton Reverb, it doesn't sound good set that way in this amp. Reverb tanks are cheap. I'll have to research them.
Can you get a logo made using Fender font that says "Dumbass"? That'd be pretty slandy.
"don't worry, i'm a professional!"
+1!
A real solid piece of engineering and assembly, Don......pro-level stuff though and through.
Better than anything coming out of Corona these days.
"When injustice becomes law then rebellion becomes duty."
I'm starting to stockpile a collection of clones- this amp, my 5E3 clone, a USACG T-Style blackguard style Tele clone and my early 2000s Hwy1 Strat that only has the original Fender body on it.
My only Fender guitar is the Jazz Bass that I bought new in '99. My only Fender amps are the cheap bass amp that I bought with the bass and the '66 Vibrolux Reverb that I bought around 1990.
If I had tugboat's skills I'd build me a clone of a Gibson!
You totally overestimate my woodworking skills! I still have a lot of work to do and plenty of opportunity to screw it up!
Having built an amp myself (1x10 5F1 Champ) I admire anyone who can complete a good BF Fender!
Got them Statesboro Blues
I just used the amp at a rehearsal tonight. The amp kept up well though it could use more mids at times. I had it set at 7 all night with no issues.
So you're saying you have "genuine forgeries"?
"don't worry, i'm a professional!"
I just added a "raw" control to the amp. It sounds great! It adds a lot of volume and mids. It's like adding a touch of my 5E3's tone to the amp. When it's turned down, it's completely out of the circuit.
I put the pot in the ground switch hole.
That's a real beauty, Don.
Thanks! I REALLY enjoyed the project and am thinking about what I'm going to build next.
Last edited by Don; 03-29-2013 at 07:21 AM.
A scratch built Gibson clone!
Got them Statesboro Blues
I'm more of a mechanical kind of guy. Things like shaping wood, even body work on cars, doesn't appeal to me at all (though I love looking at someone elses work)!A scratch built Gibson clone!
Last week I put Tung-Sol power tubes in the amp and adjusted the bias with great results! More twang and punch.
Last night I installed a brand new, broken in Weber 10F150 speaker. It's even better! It's smooth and warm like the C10Q that I had in it but it's just a little better in every way.
The amp sounds really good with the Prince of Tone OD pedal that I just bought and my Hamer Echotone.
BTW, Mojo has a tweed Champ kit on sale for $375 with free shipping for Memorial Day. I might buy one!
Do it! Tweed champs kick arse! If they have a kit in a Princeton cabinet with a 10" speaker get that one. 10" is perfect in a champ. 12" are flubby in the low end, 8" just sound small. 10" speaker are just right.
Got them Statesboro Blues
I just spent the evening drinking bourbon and playing jazzy blues (or was it bluesy jazz?) with my friend Franklin on bass with the PR clone and my '59 ES-225TD. They sounded great! Franklin is a hell of a bass player! He played his double bass through his mid '60s Ampeg B-18 and it was incredible! He also played his early '70s P-Bass through the same amp. We worked out some stuff that'll sound incredible when the harmonica player in our band solos over it.
I love the 10F150. I'm glad that I had them break it in. It sounds like a nice old speaker right out of the box.
The sale price is on a Champ with an 8" speaker. I like them as long as they're placed on a platform closer to ear level. I find that a 12" speaker sounds "slow" in a Champ. The best that I've heard is a Champ through the two 10" Jensens in my Vibrolux Reverb! It kinda defeats the purpose of a Champ though.
I'm hesitant to buy the Champ kit because I kinda already have one- I have a mid '90s Gibson Les Paul GA-5. It was built by Mojotone in the mid 00s. It's a nice amp and differs from a Champ in only a few features. Best of all it only cost a couple hundred bucks!
It's possible that I'll buy this amp just for the fun of building it, play it a while and then sell it.
The 5F1 Champ kit has been ordered!
Great looking work,Don!
"My flesh and my heart fail...but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."
PS. 73:26
MY JAMS--
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/defa...&content=music
Don, you whore!
"don't worry, i'm a professional!"
I just can't help myself!
Like I'm one to judge...
"don't worry, i'm a professional!"
I performed one more tweak on this amp- DRRI bright cap clippers might be scratching their heads over this one!
I replaced the volume pot with a push/pull pot and installed a switchable 45pF bright cap. I like it a lot! It's nowhere near as bright as the bright switch on my Vibrolux Reverb (which I never use). It's really subtle- it adds just a touch of sparkle.
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