5F6A Bassman clone from Hell

[Randall]

Guy brings me a kit Bassman combo amp, says he builds amps for a hobby. Well, he sucks at it. Says usually when he builds one, he has to have someone go thru it and fix whatever he got wrong, and the last one was "maybe two wires he got wrong, but now the amp sounds AMAZING".

I open it up and it is a hot pile of mess. It is maybe the worst looking build I have ever seen. But, the guy is standing there, so I reluctantly take it in. I ask him what is it doing, and he tells me, not much. It is a KLD clone with some "upgrades", whatever both of those are.

Today I get into it, and turn it on. BIG HUM. So much for it doing nothing. I go to the power supply first, and not only are the caps not matching the schematic, three of them have floating grounds. But the wiring is so bad that I can't really see where they are connected, or when I do, on this aftermarket cluttered board I really can't tell what is going on until I Iook back at the schematic. Wait, is t this pink wire, or this other pink wire, and why is it wrapped around this cluster of....

Something tells me to stop. NO. This is over the line me at his time of my life in this place right now. This guy made a total horror show, spent about a grand already, and now wants someone to bail him out like it's nothing. I don't need this. I don't want this. I can make $250 in a half day sometimes doing several easier jobs. Why should I subject myself to this?

Tomorrow I am going to call him and tell him I must pass on this. Unless he wants to put down a retainer to the tune of $500. And even then we don't know what else is lurking if and when the power supply gets fixed.

[Jazz P Bass]

Nice!
What a 'botch' job.

[Jon Snell]

Take it all out and start again. Bearing in mind the last person who works on a piece of equipment is liable if something goes wrong due to missing a safety issue, fire hazard, etc not to mention a dry joint giving intermittant problems caused by the original builder.
Seriously, the hot glue and extention on the safety electrical earth puts me off!

[pdf64]

The build is irredeemable, realistically it’d cost more in your time to fix it that the customer would be willing to pay.

[Chuck H]

Too much potential for safety issues (as Jon pointed out). Without a budget to fix everything you shouldn't fix anything because you don't want it leaving your bench and lighting something on fire later. (<period)

[glebert]

I've had people give me this advice so I pass it along: You don't owe anyone your time.

Also, KLD is like the cheapest of the cheap for amp kits, if he spent a grand he must have splurged on the cabinet and speaker. Or is full of BS.

[Pedro Vecino]

It has a lot of NOS tubes, Jensen and Sozo capacitors, and even some European resistors (which have always been the best in input circuits)

[Tom Phillips]

I've seen bad workmanship but never so much all in one place.
Unless you strip it all out and rebuild it, I'd be afraid that there would always be something left over to go wrong later and the owner would think it was your fault.
Reminds me of the phrase "Toast can't ever be bread again."
Run away! Run away!

[g1]

You had me at "KLD clone".

[The Dude]

......usually when he builds one, he has to have someone go thru it and fix whatever he got wrong......

How surprising.

[DrGonz78]

Even a nice tidy amp build might need some troubleshooting when first powering up. That’s why I recommend that you really should have repair experience before building any amp. Even then this build could be corrected but it’s going to cost you a bunch more money.

[Chuck H]

Even a nice tidy amp build might need some troubleshooting when first powering up. That’s why I recommend that you really should have repair experience before building any amp. Even then this build could be corrected but it’s going to cost you a bunch more money.

I never built a "whole amp" before I had a huge amount of experience with tone tweaks and bigger modifications. And I was still a little fuzzy on some important points but delved in. When I did I felt under educated and green as hell. But then, I was building my own designs. I would use what knowledge I had and copy from examples what I didn't. This came up short for the obvious reason that amps are all inclusive and you can't just cut and paste. So I continued learning. And still am to this day. Every day.

My point is that when I built my first amp I was more primed than average. And it wasn't enough.

Building amps that you already have a notion others have to finish is a strange and frivolous effort. Especially when you build point to point on a PCB purchased on the cheap and extend the AC cord safety ground on a splice with the most narrow lead wire you have on hand. This guy is a douche.