Aluminum or Steel Chassis?

[daz]

Not having read the thread someone may have mentioned this. As far as soldering to aluminum, you really don't need to. Put a sturdy bolt thru it as your ground point and put a few of those washer type goodies that have a tab to solder to. Tighten a nut down on them real good, then tighten a second nut down onto that one.(use those nuts with built in lockwashers or whatever they're called) If the amp lasts 20 lifetimes that thing will never come loose with one nut locking the other, and even if you could solder to it i doubt the connection would make any difference you could ever notice or measure.

I'll bet there is a sonic difference thats hearable. I just have no idea whether it would be subjective or one would be obviously worse to any ears, Or how obvious it would be. But i have little doubt there is a difference in tone.

[Old Tele man]

...aluminum is slightly "dia-magnetic" (anti-magnetic) so is somewhat better at "deflecting" stray magnetic fields.

...steel however, is magnetic and is better at "gathering (capture) and conducting" magnetic fields.

...so, it "sorta depends" upon whether you need to (a) stop stray magnetic fields from getting "in" in the first place (aluminum!) or (b) capture and channel them after they already are present (steel!).

...affects "ground-loop" formations too!

[imaradiostar]

You can have a local place fold up a c shaped channel for you for cheap- a place here in town is making 9 chassis for me and it's only about $65 bucks. They're 7" deep, 2" tall and made of .090" aluminum. I have them folded in 48" lengths so I can cut three chassis to length. I use aluminum extrusions from mcmaster.com to box in the ends of the chassis like an old Marshall. It makes for very easy builds!

jamie