Zenith phonograph amp to guitar amp

[Chuck H]

Most think I'm BSing them when I say I built it out of old Zenith parts.

I love that sort of thing.

My strat is a home made Warmoth. I actually got to hand pick the parts from barrels, so lots of knocking on the wood and hefting for weight. It has Van Zandt SC's and a Duncan JB mini rails type humbucker in the bridge. The wiring is fully custom with series/parallel options but looks stock. The amp I used to take to gigs was a Marshall JMP with my own circuit inside,but looked stock. Guitar players at gigs would ALWAYS ask me how I got my sound. My answer was "I dunno... It's just a strat through a Marshall." He he.

[olddawg]

If you are going to convert to an 18 watt Marshall clone or variant the drill is always the same. Gut the chassis and start over. Go to 18watt.com and chose a known good and debugged schematic and layout. (Brown Note, etc) Replace all of the tube sockets with new ceramics. If you want more heater current, use a solid state rectifier and an LED pilot lamp. Build up a new turret/eyelet board from new fresh components. Use new quality pots and jacks. You will find that all of this will not be expensive at all and will save you hours of debugging and frustration. Also, these are not good amps to add a reverb or an effects loop to. You will get much better results placing all of your effects on the input. Another good amp possibility is a Vox AC 15. I gig clubs with an 18 watt Marshall variant that has some Zenith parts. I mounted the chassis in an old Lead 100 MOSFET head box and use the matching red 1965A cab. People are always asking me what the hell it is because it looks sharp, pro, and I can dime it in a club without a power soak. Most think I'm BSing them when I say I built it out of old Zenith parts.

I should also add that using a diode bridge rectifier will raise your B+ voltage and therefore your output watts a little. If you go that route, make sure the OT doesn't get to hot.

[olddawg]

And.... Make sure your filament wires are tightly twisted pairs run along the back edge of the chassis. And use different colored wire for various circuits. And follow the suggested ground scheme. And on and on on on and on.

[olddawg]

I love that sort of thing.

My strat is a home made Warmoth. I actually got to hand pick the parts from barrels, so lots of knocking on the wood and hefting for weight. It has Van Zandt SC's and a Duncan JB mini rails type humbucker in the bridge. The wiring is fully custom with series/parallel options but looks stock. The amp I used to take to gigs was a Marshall JMP with my own circuit inside,but looked stock. Guitar players at gigs would ALWAYS ask me how I got my sound. My answer was "I dunno... It's just a strat through a Marshall." He he.

My favorite Strat is my 1983 black headstock Japanese Squier. But I've replaced everything but the neck, body, and trem unit though. People scratch their heads at that too. I originally bought it for $135.

[Chuck H]

Notorious guitars now. I got my MIJ standard Stratocaster for $249 new. Traded up (?) for a Fender Esprit (now collectible because of Larry Carlton) and then donated that to a charity auction. Those two and my Yamaha SBG1300ts are the ones I wish I still had.