Which Weber Amp?

[cmattdabrat]

Hey guys,

New here and looking to build my first guitar tube head and cabinet. I've figured I'll build a 4x12 cab from the Marshall 1960a slant plans I found here on the forum. I'm a little confused about which amp will suit my needs / requirements.

A little about my needs...I play in cover band here in Houston, TX. We gig 2-3 times a month and price weekly, sometimes bi-weekly. We play pub type venues that are, just guessing, 2,000 - 3,000 sqft areas. We always hire sound so we have monitors and what not. We play mainly 80's to modern day music (pop / rock / alternative / some rap).

Now that I got that out of the way, how many watts do I need? I'm looking to build a tube amp head. I recently had a Marshall 1960a and a 100w Peavey Valve King and loved the setup, but the head was too much power. I never used it pass 1 on the dial. I sold the amp to recently help pay for my fianc?s engagement ring and I'm now using a single 12" Fender, which seems to suit my needs but I'm looking for a little more.

Any suggestions on wattage? Also, I'm looking for a single channel amp possibly with volume, bass, mid, and treble adjustment. I have a GNX3000 in which I program amp models to get the sound I'm looking for.

What do you guys suggest? I've been looking at Weber amps and I was considering either a 5E3 head, 5E3x2 head, Java, or Natalie head.

Last but not least. Not looking to spend more than $375 on everything minus the head cabinet.

Thanks in advance,
Matt

[corworld]

I would think about the 6M18 head kit. The 5E3 is going to be better for blues. 36 watts will give you some headroom for clean gain as well as being able to crank at a reasonable volume. If you mic your amp at gigs, you don't need a huge amp. Visit 18watt.com for more info on this type of amp.

[cmattdabrat]

Thanks for the reply.

I'm looking for a head with 6L6GC(R) power tubes and with 12AX7 preamp tubes. I prefer that setup. Looking for something with about 50-60 watts. Single, no fx, volume / bass / treble / mid adjustment.

So far I'm think Webers Java is probably the best route for my budget.




Anyone else have any suggests for an amp or maybe other kit amps out there that are similar to this Java model?

Thanks,
Matt

[hasserl]

The Java is Weber's take on the T-wreck X-press circuit. That circuit is nototriously difficult to build due to it being tuned very much on the edge of instability. First time builds of this circuit even by experienced builders can be challenging to sort out, wild oscillations, shrill piercing highs, etc. It would be pretty reckless to take this on as a first amp build. The 18watt recommended above is much more appropriate for a first time build, and even then I would stick with the standard build and avoid the TMB version. Get your feet wet first and experience amp building that you can actually finish yourself, and without enough frustrations to put you off from ever trying again.

Actually, the Smokin Joe II head would probably do it for you. It'd be easier to build, is fairly stable, same power as an 18 watt, but with a bit more gain. It won't have a ton of headroom though, but with a pedal should be able to cover most of the territory you mentioned above.

[cmattdabrat]

Cool! Thanks for the advice. I just might grab up one of the Smoking Joe II kits. Seems very simple and something that I could easily maintain / troubleshoot when problems arise.

[cmattdabrat]

I've changed my mind about the direction I'll go for the cabinet. Instead of the Marshall slant I plan to do almost a knock off of this head and cab design minus the piping on the tops and sides.






The reasons I decided to go with this is:

1) The design is simpler than the stant.
2) Less materials and speaker costs.
3) Still a closed back design to get the bottom end I like.
4) It'll be easier for me to load / unload this thing solo when gigging.
5) Blues my favorite color.


I also like the head design cause the chassis is similar to a combo unit.






I'm not sure if on the Laney if the front grillcloth has wood behind it, but I intend to have just the grillcloth there with no wood behind it so the front and back will be open eliminating the top vents.

I'm not sure what speakers to go with yet. Think about the Texas Heats but I'm worried I'll have too much bottom end and not enough honk and highs.