5e3 kits. Which is the best?

[SoK66]

Let me add my vote for the Mission kit. Great quality and support from Bruce. I added NOS tubes and a vintage Jensen P12Q speaker to mine and it's simply great.

[wizard333]

I'd stay the hell away from anything involving Torres.

[Dagan8]

I would have to say the Trinity Amps Deluxe. Their customer service is top notch and their kits are top quality.

Welcome to Trinity Amps

[SoK66]

Ditto on Torres, hack-central.

[rudutch]

I bought a mission and everything is top notch, Bruce is da man

[BluesDude]

I used weber. I was a bit concerned about some people's comments on the parts. I had a few minor problems some parts
1) filter cap was bad - I replaced it.
2) pilot light needed a minor repair which I did. I since upgradedreplaced the pilot light with the fender style. I would recommend that you just order that upgrade when you order their kit (if you order one).
3) Also, the tube sockets did not fit tightly within the mounting bracket. THe nylon spacers were too tall... I dealt with that easy enough).

All in all, these were minor problems and I have provided feedback to weber.

I do not have expereince with the other kits. But my amp is working great. The quality of the chassis was great, the cabinet was great.

Aside from those minor problem I listed above... so far so good.

Regarding the ongoing durability of the electronics components... I will find that out over time.

[rudutch]

....

[SoK66]

I think you'd be very happy with the Mission Amps 5E3.

[pdf64]

Agree that Phil at Bluebell in Scotland is the best UK source for transformers etc - a very nice helpful guy to deal with.
For regular components resistors/caps, Farnell can't be beaten, as there's a good range (inc carbon comp resistors) and no additional P&P.
But if you're wanting to build a whole amp from scratch, you'll be wanting chassis, cab etc, so a complete kit is the best option.
If cost is not a problem, then Mission would be safest option, as there are so many good reports of how well engineered the kit is and how customer focussed the support is.
But a weber kit is so much cheaper, the quality is fine except for the transformers, and the speakers have got such a good reputation. So if you've got reasonable mechanical fitting skills, and you don't mind it being a project rather than a complete solution, I'd order the weber kit with the 'no transformers' option. Then include heyboer transformers from weber on the same order, or order hammond transformers from bluebell (with tax and importers fees, the cost will be about the same).

[T-LUXE]

I just completed a Mojo kit-quality components and true to the original design. I was going to build the Weber and upgrade some components, but Mojo had their kits on sale for about $100 more than the Weber and no need to upgrade. The Mojo comes with the correct 12AY7 in v1 and a glass rectifier whereas the Weber has a 12AX7 in v1 and a copper cap rectifier. Still, if the Mojo had'nt been on sale I would have went with the Weber- for the $ they're hard to beat. I believe Mission uses Mojo cabs and chassis in some of his kits and Marsh is also based on the Mojo kit. No instructions with the Mojo other than a schematic and layout but lots of good build info on the Weber forum. This was my first build and I was fortunate enough to have the amp fire right up and it sounds great-can't wait to experiment with some NOS tubes and speakers!

[Bruce / Mission Amps]

I... I believe Mission uses Mojo cabs and chassis in some of his kits and Marsh is also based on the Mojo kit. No instructions with the Mojo other than a schematic and layout...

Nope, not quite correct.
Although I support MOJO kit builders because the owners of MOJO are friends of mine, the only MOJO product I use is the 5E3 cabinet with a couple minor custom tweaks... Victoria and I (maybe another like Mike Clark) used KC (the actual cabinet maker and now lead carpenter/manager in MOJO's cabinet shop) well before he moved his shop to MOJOs place and became one of their employees.

[rudutch]

Nope, not quite correct.
Although I support MOJO kit builders because the owners of MOJO are friends of mine, the only MOJO product I use is the 5E3 cabinet with a couple minor custom tweaks... Victoria and I (maybe another like Mike Clark) used KC (the actual cabinet maker and now lead carpenter/manager in MOJO's cabinet shop) well before he moved his shop to MOJOs place and became one of their employees.

the cabinet I got from bruce is very nice, whoever made it