Dave Hunter's '2 stroke' amp - Which cab?

[Steamboat Willy]

Hi Everyone

Totally new to this forum. I'm a musician first and foremost (currently use Fender Blues Deluxe and Vox amps) with little experience of electronics but I'm keen to build my own small valve amp for recording/bedroom use (under skilled supervision!).

I've picked up Dave Hunters' Guitar amp Handbook' (Backbeat Books) and am quite taken with his plans for a little 8w all-tube amp with tube rectification and multi-speaker format (8" & 10 " Jenson drivers).

Where I'm really confused is that he recommends using a chassis that approximates a Fender Princeton type layout and that would normally fit in a cab that has the controls on a slanted panel at the front of the amp yet the photographs of his amp show the controls on the top of the amp in the same style as my Deluxe and Vox amps.

I'm hoping someone has built one of these amps and can guide me as to the best cab to buy. I live in a part of the UK where there aren't electronics or music stores that could guide me so I've got to buy everything blind on the Internet and I don't want to make an expensive mistake! Thanks in advance.

[MWJB]

The type of chassis you buy won't make a great deal of difference to the sound the amp produces, the cabinet & baffle board (fixed vs floating) will however.

If you're going to make your own cab, have a think about how you will mount the speakers, then how wide the chassis needs to be (will you really need 2 speakers?). Nothing technically wrong with having a cab taller than it is wide, but visually they often look a bit odd.

Without more info on the amp's features (vol & tone, or vol, treb, bass - how many preamp tubes, what kind of power tube & power transformer spec?) it's difficult to recommed a specific chassis.

If you're going to buy a chassis & cab look at what's available and how it suits your requirements...a well made fascia and cab will give the outward impression of professionally built amp...until you look inside.

Also, being in the UK your choice of proprietry chassis is rather limited, TAD & Mojotone, Hoffmanamps & others have various tweed & BF style Fender chassis (plus transformers, tube sockets to fit) and can deliver to you in about a week.

If you're going the full on scratch build route Bluebell Audio in Dundee have Hammond transformers & chassis (plus everything else you'll need to complete the chassis), but for your first build I would advise using a well proven chassis so that you know the tubes & transformers are all mounted in the right place.

Torresamps.com (Vyse Ltd) in Pinner have a range of chassis, cabs & transformers that can be mixed & matched modular style, so check them out too.

At the end of the day the deciding factor for me would be the cosmetic effect you're after.

Lastly don't get too carried away with the favourable exchange rate when buying from the US, once you factor in shipping & duty final price to your door will be about the same in GBP as was in USD! If you can build the amp for less than £500 you're doing well.

[The Captain]

TAD are good- princeton chassis/ cab page http://www.tubeampdoctor.com/advance...47532b3311dc8f

Ive been thinking along similar lines, ie a front panel princeton build but decided would only make a cab with a top panel type only: Ive no pricey fingerjoint tools to hand so cleat joining my only option; there'd be an horrid gap at sides where cleats are with a front panel-mount and would look odd- unless the chassis' facia panel has at least ~1.5" overhang at each front side which presumably it doesn't. Maybe this will all sound utterly daft..