Building tube amp/ where to start/ suggestions.. etc

[brejna]

Hi everyone, I am thinking of building tube amp marshall plexi 18 or 36w.
Is there anyone who had build this amp with ceriatone layout? Help would be appreciative..
BTW Where can I buy parts in Europe (I don't meen kits or so..),how much will it cost an so on..

Thanks
Brane

[juansolo]

Even if you don't want one of his kits, it's worth sourcing a lot of the parts from Barry at Ampmaker. The other option is Tube Amp Doctor who stock parts as well as Mojotone kits.

[brejna]

Thanks for input, I've just search Tube Amp Doctor site and prices are bit high.. But anyway I really don't know how much decent  diy amp would cost..

[pryde]

Hey there,
If this is your first tube amp build I would consider not doing a plexi 18/36w. It is a fairly complicated build and will not be the best learning platform for valve audio. That being said, if you are adamant on this amp then get a kit that also offers great support from the seller.

A simpler and very cool amp to start with would be the Ampmaker Se-5a. I little 5w British beast that sounds great. I have built 18w plexis and the Se-5a and it sounds killer, even against the bigger plexi.

Anyway, a smaller and simpler build will help you really understand what you are doing and why during the build process. Also, it will be much easier to troubleshoot if the build is unsuccessful. Good luck whatever you decide.     

[brejna]

Hey pryde, thanks for responce.. I am really noob with amp diy, so I think that you are 100% right about trying something less complicated. I need to read a lot about amp building so I could start with it..
Any good pages to follow?

Brane

[pryde]

One of the best books for understanding tube amp construction and operation is Dave Hunter's Guitar Amplifier Handbook. It also evaluates and explains many of the all time great amps. Cool and inspiring read. There are many others of course but this one is well-loved.

http://www.amazon.com/Guitar-Amplifier-Handbook-Understanding-Amplifiers/dp/087930863X

[brejna]

Thanks, I will need it for sure.. hope that I am not going to be obsessed with amps like am with pedal

[juansolo]

Thanks for input, I've just search Tube Amp Doctor site and prices are bit high.. But anyway I really don't know how much decent  diy amp would cost..

It'll cost more than you think... As with everything, it's the hardware that gets you. The Ampmaker kits work out as not a lot more expensive than the parts, which is why I went that way for the first one. His PP-18 is a WEM Dominator which might be worth a look as a good place to start.

[pickdropper]

Have any of you guys tried the Trinity 18W kits?  They looks pretty decent.

[Darkknigh_t]

I havent built a guitar amp yet but i will soon and ive been looking at kits vs getting my own parts. You would need a workshop to build the chassis and box or buy them. Kits come with them so that's always good. Make sure you have all the tools and instruments. Price wise ive figured out if your getting your own parts its going to cost alot. Chassis plus speaker plus box plus transformers plus tubes and its already alot now other parts depend on how vintage you wanna go so that varies

Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk 2

[davent]

Have any of you guys tried the Trinity 18W kits?  They looks pretty decent.

ChrisM who posts here i believe has worked at Trinity and has built some of their other amps so you might want to get in touch with him. I used their 18w output transformer and it's a very nice piece of iron manutactured by Heyboer.

[TNblueshawk]

Have any of you guys tried the Trinity 18W kits?  They looks pretty decent.

Dave, Duhvoodooman at BYOC has bought one or two of theirs and swears by them.

I built my first Amp, Champ kit, from Triode. http://triodeelectronics.com/5f1kit.html

I am all sourced up for an 18w TMB Marshall as we speak. I got most of my parts from http://site.tubedepot.com/pdf/british18w_v18a.pdf

Brane, before I started down the amp road I read the following in addition to Dave Hunter's book mentioned above

http://www.aikenamps.com/TechInfo_2.htm

http://ampbooks.com/home/tutorials/lesson-001/

http://www.valvewizard.co.uk/

And then I've poked around here

http://ampgarage.com/forum/index.php

I also read many other things I ran up on. I still don't understand a damn thing but I'm as ready as I can be with my limited brain matter.

Safety is number one, two and three doing this stuff.

[davent]

ax84 is a great resource with proven designs and a very good forum for help.

http://www.ax84.com/

[brejna]

Woooow thank you all for infos, you make my day It will take some time till you hear some results but I hope that I will survive... 

@ juansolo: I so this coming really, my pockets will be empty

@  TNblueshawk: I will have to check those links for sure,I ve looked this one  http://site.tubedepot.com/pdf/british18w_v18a.pdf and it really has lot of details

@  davent: it seems like quite good resource for noob like me, thanks 

Cheers
Brane