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Hello world! (Sorry about the old programming joke 
Every winter, I set out and pass the time with a project; usually something unique and fun, just to push (sometimes aggravate) myself, and see what happens. I'm a shift troubleshooter with Michelin by day, freelance programmer by night; and in between the jigs and reels, family life, work, etc. I get to play.
Close to 20 years ago, trained to be an electronics engineering tech; have been into guitar previous to that (lately v-drums, but that's another story). During one jam session, a local guy came in with a Fender Twin Reverb and sat to play with us. I remember being memorized with the amp and how it sounded, and have wanted one ever since. The price, availability, politics (wife!), life, the universe, everything, haven't made it viable in the past. C'est la vie.
I've recently taken up guitar again after a long hiatus, but have sold off my old 75W Peavey long ago. I've scrounged and saved umpteen magazines, articles, plans over the years thinking I'd get back into it; seems that the time has finally come.
This time around, it's not so much the cost really. I *could* afford a Twin, but there's no fun in just buying one. I've decided on prototyping a 2x12 Fender Twin clone. Dual channel, (one low Z input for guitar, one high Z input for ipod, mp3, v-drum, etc.), vacuum tube preamp and 100W class-D power amp stage, feeding into 4ohm Eminence Texas Heat 12" speakers. My wife has called it the "OverCompensator", which is actually not a bad name for it!
It's actually been an interesting project thus far. From building the PCBs, acquiring parts, the cabinetry, working through various issues has been quite rewarding and fun.
I'm hoping to go with a yellow tolex and black trim (if there's any car guys on board, they will tell you yellow adds +10hp just on principle alone!); one potential issue I foresee is if the chassis straps and tilt legs can be sand blasted to remove the chrome and then painted black. We'll know more next week. If it doesn't turn out, I'll go with the original Fender colour scheme.
Various pics of assembly below, comments welcome.
Chris
Every winter, I set out and pass the time with a project; usually something unique and fun, just to push (sometimes aggravate) myself, and see what happens. I'm a shift troubleshooter with Michelin by day, freelance programmer by night; and in between the jigs and reels, family life, work, etc. I get to play.
Close to 20 years ago, trained to be an electronics engineering tech; have been into guitar previous to that (lately v-drums, but that's another story). During one jam session, a local guy came in with a Fender Twin Reverb and sat to play with us. I remember being memorized with the amp and how it sounded, and have wanted one ever since. The price, availability, politics (wife!), life, the universe, everything, haven't made it viable in the past. C'est la vie.
I've recently taken up guitar again after a long hiatus, but have sold off my old 75W Peavey long ago. I've scrounged and saved umpteen magazines, articles, plans over the years thinking I'd get back into it; seems that the time has finally come.
This time around, it's not so much the cost really. I *could* afford a Twin, but there's no fun in just buying one. I've decided on prototyping a 2x12 Fender Twin clone. Dual channel, (one low Z input for guitar, one high Z input for ipod, mp3, v-drum, etc.), vacuum tube preamp and 100W class-D power amp stage, feeding into 4ohm Eminence Texas Heat 12" speakers. My wife has called it the "OverCompensator", which is actually not a bad name for it!
It's actually been an interesting project thus far. From building the PCBs, acquiring parts, the cabinetry, working through various issues has been quite rewarding and fun.
I'm hoping to go with a yellow tolex and black trim (if there's any car guys on board, they will tell you yellow adds +10hp just on principle alone!); one potential issue I foresee is if the chassis straps and tilt legs can be sand blasted to remove the chrome and then painted black. We'll know more next week. If it doesn't turn out, I'll go with the original Fender colour scheme.
Various pics of assembly below, comments welcome.
Chris
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