starting amp build advice/suggestions

[Chuck H]

Maybe in the lobby or the pub, but how did an amp thread turn to speculation of how the butterfly effect, as executed by a large brea... uh, armed waitress could have changed the history of the holocaust?!? You whacky guys. Of course, all this talk of frauleins and grip strength would make most men "whacky".

[Leo_Gnardo]

how did an amp thread turn to speculation

That's how we roll around here . Sometimes frustrating to the OP so let's get back to it then. YES building new lamps from old, so to speak, nothing wrong with that. Saves a bundle on chassis & box & maybe iron & other bits too. It IS absurd what it costs to kit together an amp unless you have your own wood & metal shop, and you're good at stretching grill cloth, and pasting on tolex or doing wood finishes.

First a big +1 to Tooboob's comments.

I've just finished the amp part of a 5E3 Deluxe for a customer, and when we get 'er done with box & speaker it's going to be just north of a grand. OW. OTOH it's fresh & new, circuit built on fresh white fiberglas eyelet board, not leaky black cardboard. Quality parts - not the most costly - just what's appropriate for the job, and some wires & parts placed a little differently from the stock build. Better hi voltage filtering for sure. The box won't be rattly nor emitting a cloud of asbestos dust with every note. The customer will use his own ears to find the ideal speaker to match. What could be better? Future troubleshooting should be accomplished by tubes changes, nothing more. It sounds clear and fat at the same time, and starts to crunch at just the right place, all of 9 watts at clip. His closest choice was a $1500 beater Deluxe that looks like it's been to too many prize fights, as the losing contender. Had he bought that, would needed to have rebuilt the innards to make it reliable, and worry the cab would bust to flinders all on its own. Let some collector buy that one.

Couple years ago, kitted together a Princeton Reverb. Though the customer insisted on black cardboard "just like Fender", it sounded marvelously clear and full though loaded with carbon comp R's only please.. Another 1000+ by the time it was done, at a time when rare showroom-fresh BF Princetons were trading for double that and more. I'm sure these stories, and costs, could be echoed hundreds of times here and on other builder-friendly sites. Conclusion: there's a huge cost advantage to building your dream amp into a junker chassis. Go for it!

Whew all that typing has wore me out. Ich habe fürchterlich Durst - Gnädige Fräulein, ein mehr Liter Spaten bitte!

[J M Fahey]

Ausgezeichnete Deutsch sprech !!

As of the "building just one" cost, yes, you will never source parts or external shop time for the price paid by larger scale manufacturers.

I also recommend customers and friends who want to get their feet wet and ask for advice that they get some dead or not dead but unwanted amp and use it as a platform.

In a few cases , for very simple builds, even a former SS donor will do, think an AX84 built inside a typical 15W combo , because transformers are relatively small and light (and inexpensive) so their weight does not burden a chassis which was not expecting them.

Now a 50 or 100W amp has serious iron and won´t fit the typical budget Peavey/Laney/Crate/Fender/Marshall chassis.

In that case Fender would be the worst, because they use thin aluminum.

Now that Super 60 will do fine.