Why buy and build amp kid which is very expensive?

[Alan0354]

Try here for the eyelets, staking tools, boards etc:

Watts Tube Audio ~ Everything Tube Amps!

(oh it's Kits not Kids)

Thanks.

[Twin]

Alan,

If you want to start from scratch with an "all inclusive" package, I recommend the Weber kits for the $. If you want to pick & choose your own custom amp I recommend figuring out a desired wattage & specific tube compliment then going from there.
You said you like Fender clean, so go after the tone you desire in the wattage scale your wife won't kill you over...! If you love cleans at lower volume & a bit more grit at higher volume the Princeton Reverb is a great lower watt combo! If you want a bit more balls to keep up with say a loud rock band without breaking your back the Deluxe or Tremolux would be perfect(that 15" in the Vibrolux combo aint super light either). In my opinion the 4 6L6GC's in a Twin are the benchmark of clean headroom, but you'd be surprised just how loud a 1x12 Deluxe can get! Also the 6L6's do add a bit of desirable "dirt" to the amp when it's cranked...

For mid-sized clean this may be what your looking for:

Weber 6A20HP2 - 2 6L6 in a 1x12 combo cab with MM transformers

If you want a bit more tube breakup at lower volume the 6A20(2 6V6's) is the way to go.

Another huge thing to consider is the speaker(s) you put in the amp. The Bandmaster is known for great cleans but it does matter what it's driving... Crappy or improperly matched speakers can make a great amp sound not near as good as it could.

Happy tone hunting!

[Steve Conner]

(oh it's Kits not Kids)

Kids are even more expensive than a Plexi!

[jbennett]

Here is what the Watts eyelet crimping tool looks like. It's just a milled stamping die that you smack with a hammer. It works really well and relieves stress!

[JoeM]

Kids are even more expensive than a Plexi!

Yep, and I've got two teenagers!!

[Gtr_tech]

The wife makes you hide a little 1-12 combo? Sell the wife and buy more amps....

Sounds like she wants to live in "knick-knack town" and guitar amps don't compliment the decor. Suckage...

[Alan0354]

The wife makes you hide a little 1-12 combo? Sell the wife and buy more amps....

Sounds like she wants to live in "knick-knack town" and guitar amps don't compliment the decor. Suckage...

Hey, if it is not because of my big boss, my place will look like a disaster zone.

[Steve Conner]

Yes, it would look like my house. A spectrum analyzer for a coffee table and so on.

[hasserl]

I want a sweet clean sounding amp to start with, but I am interested in doing a distortion amp. I don't want to start with like a Marshall platform as the clean sound is not as good. Actually the clean sound of plexi is not good at all. It's there distortion that's second to nobody.

Have you actually played a Marshall? A plexi played cleanly is one of the sweetest sounding amps ever IMO. Of course that is subjective, but it surprises me to see someone say that the clean sound of a plexi is not good at all.

[Boxbie]

Have you actually played a Marshall? A plexi played cleanly is one of the sweetest sounding amps ever IMO. Of course that is subjective, but it surprises me to see someone say that the clean sound of a plexi is not good at all.

I think this comes from a 100 watt marshall being turned up to .03 (so its not too loud) sounds horrible. A plexi/jmp turned up to 3 for clean sounds great (and also too loud for the 21st century!)

As an aside, I HATED marshall cleans for years based off my friends vs100, which was my first exposure.

Also back to the initial question, apart form the FUN of building and learning, I also would not feel comfortable dragging around an amp worth more than my car to all the crappy dives I play at. And I know if I blow something up (which happens from time to time) I havent desecrated a holy relic.

[big_teee]

Also back to the initial question, apart form the FUN of building and learning, I also would not feel comfortable dragging around an amp worth more than my car to all the crappy dives I play at. And I know if I blow something up (which happens from time to time) I havent desecrated a holy relic.

You contradicted yourself.
If you are building a amp for fun, how would it be worth more than your car.
Also how are you descecrating a holy Relic, if it is something You built.
It's a clone not a vintage Marshall amp!
I agree with hasserl, have you ever heard a true vintage Marshall Plexi?
They sound great clean!
The JTM45 really sounds good Clean.
BTW the Valve State 100 is not a Vintage Tube Marshall.
B_T

[Enzo]

I think what he was saying was that aside from the fun of building and learning by making a kit amp, you also don;t have to feel the discomfort of hauling around a commercial, expensive amp, and if you break it, you have only broken your clone and not some $1500 fancy amp.

At least that is how I read it.

[Boxbie]

You contradicted yourself.
If you are building a amp for fun, how would it be worth more than your car.
Also how are you descecrating a holy Relic, if it is something You built.
It's a clone not a vintage Marshall amp!
I agree with hasserl, have you ever heard a true vintage Marshall Plexi?
They sound great clean!
The JTM45 really sounds good Clean.
BTW the Valve State 100 is not a Vintage Tube Marshall.
B_T

You seem to have completely missunderstood my post.
And yes, I have played though real vintage plexi's, tweeds, oranges, voxs, selmers etc.

[big_teee]

You seem to have completely missunderstood my post.
And yes, I have played though real vintage plexi's, tweeds, oranges, voxs, selmers etc.

Sorry:
I just quoted what you said.
I understand that you don't want to drag a relic around, I wouldn't either.
Read your own Post again, It Probably didn't come out right.
We can't guess what Your thinking, just what you say!
I'm not Picking on you!
BTW, Welcome to the Forum!
B_T

[rf7]

I worked on a JTM45 with Mercury iron in it. I was really surprised at how great the clean tone was. The best clean tone I've ever heard.