Affordable tweed champ clones?

[Jmilla]

Are there any out there under 500 built that are fairly well built?

[oldhousescott]

How handy are you with an iron, and how comfortable are you working with high voltages? Weber has a Champ kit for under $500. When they first starting shipping kits, years ago, some of the parts were a bit sketchy, but the new kits use all good quality stuff.

[Jmilla]

Im ok wth an iron but the voltages scare the bajeezus out of me.

[Morgan]

Check out Reverb!

https://reverb.com/item/104026-50-s-fender-handmade-all-tube-clone-head-tweed-champ-w-1x12-speaker-cab-2012-blonde-stain

Not tweed, but a helluva deal: https://reverb.com/item/157117-fender-70s-silverface-champ

[atreidesheir]

You can easily get a silverface Fender for less than that.  There are simple mods to make it a tweed.  But it sounds awesome stock.

[miter53]

I've built a 5E3 and a Firefly for myself, and I do careful and pro quality work. There's a thread around here with pics of the Firefly. I can build a Champ from the kit of your choice for $100. Mojotone has a good one for just under $500 that includes chassis, transformers, tubes, speaker and tweed case. Boot Hill has excellent kits also. PM me if you have any interest.

The amp on Reverb looks like a hell of a deal btw.

Good luck!

Mike

[thesameage]

How is the firefly? From what I've read, it's hard to get a good, clean tone out of it. True or not?

[miter53]

It definitely leans towards growl over clean. With the boost switch off, and the volume not cranked too high, you can get some nice cleans, but it really shines overdriven.

[pryde]

Dave at Boothill Amps might build you one for close to that price. He sells complete 5E3's for ~$850. Should give him a message.

However, I think you should build the kit yourself. If you can build pedals you can build the 5F1. Just have to obey the safety rules and you will be fine. 

[miter53]

And it's refreshing to work inside a box that is bigger than 3" x 4"! As long as you follow some simple safety procedures, there's no danger. The biggest risk is to your wallet; building amps is pretty addictive. I'm thinking of an Allen Brown Sugar next...

[Jmilla]

Do you fellas have any tips for safety with this stuff? I kinda want to try building one now.

[pryde]

Do you fellas have any tips for safety with this stuff? I kinda want to try building one now.

Here is a good start for you:
http://www.aikenamps.com/index.php/safety-tips-for-working-on-tube-amplifiers

[oldhousescott]

Paul Ruby has some good links for a safe build (Aiken's is one of the links).
http://www.paulrubyamps.com/info.html

[davent]

And here's a good overview of putting a small single ended amp together starting from scratch.

http://www.ax84.com/static/p1/AX84_SE_Builders_Guide.pdf

The Firefly is pretty much a one trick pony, if it's not loudly ripping your face off it's not on. For the cost of the iron necessary for a Firefly you could get the iron for a nice versatile SE 6v6 build that would work well with all the Madbean projects you've been putting together.

Have fun... another addiction to manage!
dave

[miter53]

Dave/Boothill Amps forum at TDPRI. Lots of great info...
http://www.tdpri.com/forum/shock-brothers-diy-amps/