Mission 5E3 completed

[n5oet3h]

My Mission 5E3 is complete, and working beautifully.

"Purity of Tone" is how I'd describe it so far. And plenty loud!

Here are some pics...

You'll see the West Labs conductive pots I rave about - the best. I used a few extra shielded wires to the pots and 1st stage tube; the small green wires that you see are from their shields. You can't see it, but I flowed solder on both sides of the brass plate around all the holes for contact to the chassis, so tarnished brass would not become an issue.

The extra toggle switches are for the Humbucker 1 & 2 mods. For each mod, one switch makes it standard or modded; the other selects different values for the mod.

You'll have to forgive the output binding post. I couldn't bring myself to use a 1/4" jack that was never made to carry power, even if it is only a few watts. I guess you'd say I'm vintage-modern. Same reason I used a 1/8" thick epoxy board with turrets, instead of a fiber board.

The Merc-Mag transformers mount perfectly, and the amp is very quiet.

You all know what the front of the amp looks, so here's the back. In the bottom of the cabinet is an attentuator circuit I made myself.

Feel free to ask any questions.

[xFallen]

That looks very nice. The board and wiring looks very good to my eyes.

I have a kit coming from Bruce too, and also opted for the turret board approach.

Is the cabinet the standard Mission Amps cabinet? It looks great.

I have RG174 I intended to use for shielding the usual suspects. Where'd you get the cloth covering for that shielded wire, or is cloth covered shielded wire available? Perhaps you covered the shielded wire with cloth from existing wire...?

I am curious, how many hours do you think you have invested in it?


Barry

[n5oet3h]

That looks very nice. The board and wiring looks very good to my eyes.

Thanks.

I have a kit coming from Bruce too, and also opted for the turret board approach.

Is the cabinet the standard Mission Amps cabinet? It looks great.

I got my board (1/8" thick epoxy) and turrets from TUBEDEPOT, and the turret mounting tool from Hoffman. Yes, it is the Mission cabinet, and there is nothing standard about it - it is superb quality

I have RG174 I intended to use for shielding the usual suspects. Where'd you get the cloth covering for that shielded wire, or is cloth covered shielded wire available? Perhaps you covered the shielded wire with cloth from existing wire...?

The shielded wires I used are not cloth covered. They are made from Mogami 2944, 2-conductor shielded cable. I put both conductors together. I do believe I've seen cloth covered shielded wire on the web; I just can't recall where. RG174 is fine, though.
I am curious, how many hours do you think you have invested in it?

Hard to say, exactly, but I would estimate about 30-40 hours, including a lot of prep time. I really took my time, though. Half the fun is getting there! It's working perfectly. Bruce's support at Mission is first rate. As little or as much help as you need, he'll be there with the answers.

Barry

Good luck.

[xFallen]

I just received my 5E3 packages from Bruce. The cabinet is exactly what I had envisioned and hoped for -- it is perfect.

Everything else looks great too. Just getting familiar with everything in the kit before diving in.


Barry

[myfoot]

I just received my 5E3 packages from Bruce. The cabinet is exactly what I had envisioned and hoped for -- it is perfect.

Everything else looks great too. Just getting familiar with everything in the kit before diving in.


Barry

I think you'll be very happy.My son took the one we built back to college with him last week and said he has no problems being heard above their drummer.

[xFallen]

Yeah, I am sure I will be happy with it. I have been wanting to build a 5E3 for a while.

I am not concerned about it being loud enough. In fact, I am quite certain it will be too loud.

Here's my 5E3 build that I started this evening.


Barry

[TD_Madden]

The Mission kit now comes with MusiCaps??

[Bruce / Mission Amps]

The Mission kit now comes with MusiCaps??

No, I still use the Mallory 150s in the standard kit.

[luis]

For those who tried.... Is there any difference in sound suing Musicaps?
I like Mallories in my Mission and I´m satisfied with the sound coming from it.

[TD_Madden]

My Missions all use Mallorys.

I was curious due to the pictures posted...I see a lot of difference in that amp and my Tweedys.

[n5oet3h]

My Missions all use Mallorys.

I was curious due to the pictures posted...I see a lot of difference in that amp and my Tweedys.

Well I went for the Hovland film caps straight away, so I can't compare. Seeing as the 5E3 is known for its great chimy clean highs, I went with them. If I were to build a Marshall style clone, I wouldn't bother. My guess is the Hovlands make a slight difference. I also used low noise metal film resistors in the input and first stage, and carbon comp. for the rest.

n5oet3h

[TD_Madden]

Forgive my ignorance then.....i didn't know that Mission kits could be bought with custom features like that.....probably better I DIDN'T know when I bought mine!

[n5oet3h]

Forgive my ignorance then.....i didn't know that Mission kits could be bought with custom features like that.....probably better I DIDN'T know when I bought mine!

That's Bruce's call, but I'm in the audio industry, so I have access to all kinds of parts. I can tell you though that Bruce is very accommodating. That said, don't worry about your sound with this or that component. Play it and enjoy!!

n5oet3h

[TD_Madden]

Sometimes it's better not to have too many options...I'd rather play than tinker!

Thanks for the insight.

[daho]

What do the Humbucker 1 & 2 mods do exactly?