Fender burst my bubble

[lmolter]

I guess it pays to visit your local music store once in a while to see what the manufacturers are selling. Case in point: Over the last 5 months or so, I have been accumulating parts for a 5F6A replica. My _plan_ was to build a quality Bassman clone to possibly sell (no comments on my aspirations, please). I have everything now but the cabinet and speakers. And I believe this is a good thing because on a recent trip to Sam Ash, I noticed (to my dismay), a Fender '59 Bassman Ltd. with: 1) All tube design (no ss rectifier); 2) All pine cabinet (no plywood); 3) Lacquered (sp??) tweed covering; 4) Original 5F6A control layout (4 inputs, no drive button or reverb), and; 5) Jensen P10Rs. All for $1299. There is no way in heck I can make one that good for that price. Why buy a replica for $1400 when you can get the 'real' thing for less? So... I think I may have to regroup and think about a boutique version of the Bassman for the wealthy doctors and lawyers out there instead of the road-worthy tweed covered gig amp. I'm actually kind of bummed out because I have a lot invested in this project and I have to see it through. And I don't really think it's an option for me to build this amp purely for myself. I had visions of it generating enough seed money so that I could build some smaller, Champ-sized amps later.

Am I delusional?

[MWJB]

Yes you're delusional, and frankly opportunistic, but don't worry you're not alone. :-)

You don't build your own handbuilt amp to save money, it's a bit optimistic to expect to make money on your first build (especially once you've factored in an hourly rate for your labour)...anyone who wants to pay ballpark "boutique" (I hate that word - it's hugely overused) prices will want to be sure of your pedigree, will want peace of mind rergarding parts quality and expect the amp to sound better than an RI when put back to back. I very much doubt that if you were going to use parts of a quality consistent with Clark/Victoria/Kendrick that you could even get all the components together for ?1400.

Fender benefits from discounted parts pricing due to buying in bulk, labour saving PCB construction, low cost components - no small scale producer is going to be able to take them on regarding cost...and pay themselves a realistic wage (many, many homebuilders do it for the enjoyment and don't pay themselves anything like market rate for their labour).

Go ahead and build your amp, screw the cost difference, you'll learn a lot. Maybe in a few years you may be in a position to really offer a top dollar build? A few words of advice...before you start soldering, get a real good look at both original amps and current production hand-built jobs - check out how things are laid out, where parts are grounded etc - there is NOT enough info on the Fender schems & layouts to ensure a reliable, good sounding build.

Or sell the parts you've accumulated to someone who does want to build a 5F6A, then start with the Champs (following same recommendations above).

[dai h.]

if you want to build an amp a doctor or lawyer (who I assume would be discerning) would want to buy I think you'd be facing some really stiff competition these days. You might have to be really exceptional quality-wise or in terms of price/performance. Or make something really nice and end up losing money. Not everything from DIYers trying to be amp builders looks professional(from the chassis I've seen) though, so if you are really good maybe there is space for you in the market.

[lmolter]

Well, I've tried to purchase items with quality in mind. I have Mercury Magnetics iron throughout (with red end bells), a professional chassis from Hoffman, Sprague Atom electrolytics (even though they are under a cover), and Vitamin-T oil-filled coupling caps. I haven't started wiring yet because I was waiting for the trannies to come in, but I plan to wire in accordance with proper technique regarding the heaters and signal wires and such. Remember, my plan was to make a sellable product the first time out. This is also why I had not decided on a cabinet yet (pine/tolex, or hardwood/stain), nor which speakers to buy. Unfortunately, this was all delusional, and what I'm going to do now is finish the amp as if I had a buyer, then lend it around to friends and family to try out. Since I'm not selling it, I won't have to worry about it getting dinged up. I can also tweak it as necessary to get the sound _I THINK_ it should have. I say 'think' because I am not a player, just a builder. I hack but don't play. And I don't have anything to compare it to. No one I know has a vintage '59 Bassman -- all I've got is a 1995 Peavey Classic 20 to listen to (and my wife's cousin in Vermont with a '65 Blackface Champ that he won't let me borrow [I live in Florida]). So... that's my story so far. I just want to get it done.

L

[MWJB]

Sounds like a good plan, good luck & enjoy.

[tubeswell]

You need to just get on with it and enjoy the learning experience.

I built a 5G9 recently with no idea what one should sound like, and I've had to tweek it a bit. Sounds great now and I still don't know what a production one sounds like.

[distorto]

"I built a 5G9 recently with no idea what one should sound like, and I've had to tweak it a bit. Sounds great now and I still don't know what a production one sounds like"

Funny how that works huh? The www opens up this whole world of cool, rare stuff that you can build for a fraction of what it would cost to buy the original. But then when you're done you have to wonder if it sounds at all like the original. You can always go on Youtube and find some guy ( usually in shorts) absolutely annihilating the blues on an example of the original but that only serves to confuse you more. In the end you only hope for a good sounding amp.

Sorry for the sidejack,

carry on...

[withnail]

Well .. like a lot of other reissued Fenders, the Bassman probably isn't hand wired on an eyelet board. It most likely contains a printed circuit board with lousy components. Even the new reissue 5E3 which is "hand wired" ($1800.00)can't compete with the quality of some of the amps made by guys on this forum.