Excellent video! People seriously underestimate how much finicky labor goes into producing nice wiring. It's just immensely time consuming. Inevitably, you try to maintain a standard of neatness and it just degrades as you get the build done. You had some good tips about drilling the parts board. It all seems easy, but every mistake you make is now immortalized in metal! I began building amps over 50 years ago, trying to duplicate Fenders. Back then, parts were so much more reasonable, and you could sometimes find surplus parts. Today, tube parts are ridiculously expensive. Pots and tube sockets and knobs and a few jacks can probably get you over 100 Euros where you are. When it's all said and done, for you to build an amp and cabinet sturdy enough to drag around to gigs, with Tolex, with amp corners and a handle and a speaker, you can maybe save 100 or 200 Euros over the parts cost and have something you can't sell that you put 30 hours of work into. Whereas the commercially-built thing you buy can be resold for that same 100 or 200 Euros less than what you allegedly saved building it yourself. Without the 30 or so hours of labor. I've sometimes built up amps inside of dead solid state amps you buy as junk for 20 Euros or so. That's a way to go, but you cannot escape the insane parts costs and the finicky labor.
Thanks Alan. Indeed, all true and valid points. One major advantage however, of building your own is the satisfaction of a) building something yourself that works and adding your own flavour, b) the experience gained, and c) knowing exactly what is in there. Even big name Amps these days include parts of dubious quality. A hand made tube amp that includes quality parts is going to cost many many thousands. I would wager that making your own with half decent components can save a decent amount. However, like you outline, you have to either have a bit of experience, or accept the fact that you will make errors and will learn from them. Like you say, its a hard road, but rewarding should you decide to go there. I am glad I did. Cheers
This is SO DAMN GOOD!!! The FX loop has some killer controls. This lower output jcm800 circuit is such a cool idea. I have GOT to prioritize an amp build this year.
Thanks Greg! I can't believe it took so long, but got there in the end. Thought it was going to take longer than your fantastic Porsche restoration. Good things take time. Hope all is well on your end, cheers..
A-MA-ZING!!!! F*****G AMAZING! I am so glad I stumbled by chance here! Man, what an OCD, almost as mine! Way to go! My utmost respect and understanding!
Thank you, really appreciate the kind words. I'm not sure if my OCD is a curse or a gift, however its something I must deal with ha ha. Have a good one!
I used to build amps, haven't done one in 10 years. Guess I have been looking at amp stuff on UA-cam, so this vid appeared in my feed. Very nice ! Never built a JCM 800, but made many Plexis with the JJ 6V6S, a really robust and good sounding tube, that amp with the Ken Fischer PPIMV sounds sooo good. Great playing also. The one thing that I would suggest to people making DIY stuff is that you are basically making a boutique quality amplifier, you don't do it to save money, you do it for the love of it and to make something kick-ass, sooo, I think it's worth it to have a custom faceplate made ( if you can't find an off-the-shelf chassis with one that will work ). Make a nice cabinet, or have one made. That way you have the full package. My dream for a long time has been to have a small business selling kits to make boutique-quality tube amps, with a UA-cam channel and website and social media and such. Your video and channel inspires me. Great Job !
@mrpete222 , turbalcain can you give some insight on the hand tool in this video at 14 minutes? Howard Tools, Bridgeport CT rings a bell, but I cannot connect the dots.
Wow!! Watching you solder the components to the turrets, and the solder flowing across the component leads and the turrets....It's like watching DaVinci painting the Mona Lisa!! Your attention to detail and this build are truly works of art! I was looking for my next amp build and I would love to do this, but it may be over my skill level for now.
Thanks for kind words Romeo. Not sure I deserve those accolades however very much appreciated. Although it's a difficult road to head down, it's very rewarding. Although many mistakes are made along the journey, you'll get there in the end, all the best!
Really nice work mate. I have to ask where you source your transformers from? I’m in Australia and buying transformers for tube amps is stupid expensive these days. Back in the 80s there was so much old gear being chucked out you could scavenge lots of useful parts for free but if you wanted to buy all new parts to build a valve amp there were lots of local places that stocked stuff, but those were the days when you took your ten year old television to a repair shop or they came out to you 😂
Yoooooo wait a second. Is it xmas already? That was unexpected. What a great return from the best builder ever AKA the kiwi diy god AKA geoffrey tesla kubrick. He goes away for 2 yrs and suddently punches you in the face with 3 videos in a row. Now that's a return. What a glorious morning. The youtube notification we've all been waiting for. Now I have to reschedule all my daily plans. I'm taken for the next hour and half. Enjoy the show
Just finished watching the whole thing. Amazing as usual. Love the he chassis plunge; vintage elams madness ahahah. Love the ocd and the zen patient mind. The little fx boards with the headstock inlay logo from the epic 1 piece LP is beautiful also. And thanks for having kept the little mistakes; You're human then ahahah. The cinematic is always top notch. And very cool string configuration your friend has. He plays great. Please tell me we don't have to wait 2 more yrs for another video ahahah
Yo G!! Nice to hear from you dude, thanks for kind words!! Way too kind as usual. Well spotted on the logo! Indeed, resurrected from Bad-News Brown LP headstock. This was never supposed to take 2 years, but too many errors kept surfacing and the FX loop blew my brains out. Now that the loop is finished it seems fairly straight forward, but sheesh, that was a long hard road. Then all my video/audio interface gear crashed and burned. So things just kept on going going, nuts.. Hopefully it won't be another two years 😂
@@elams1894 ahahaah what a bumma. Well repaid effort tho. It sounds veeeeery very good with my yamaha studio monitors. I wish I could test it. If it just wasn't for literally half of the earth in distance ahahahah. Everything is going great here my dude. Hope you, wife, kids, billy, ma and everybody else are doing good as well
Family is all doing good thanks G. Hope yours too. How are your beautiful guitars going? That last black and white one was something else man. Glorious.
Not sure if you were inspired by Rob Robinette’s plans, but I think he built one of these. I’m actually building a 6v6 SLO style build like your 800. But after hearing your 800, I think I may build one as well! 😂
I really like the sound and noise floor of Source Audio pedals, but that phase inversion problem drives me nuts. They should know better and it's not a difficult problem to fix in a digital pedal. Their editing software should be able to fix it, but it's not an option. I've emailed them about it and never got a response. Running split stereo effects to different amps just has to be always on and phase fixed with an active ABY pedal.
I hear you brother. The whole phase thing wrecked my brain. Its a bit silly having pedals that invert phase as it throws all attempts at a parallel mix into chaos. A phase invert switch on an FX loop in the amp is a simple affective fix. Then you don't need an external device that does the same thing. I was also staggered at the amount of noise some pedals produced. They were big name pedals too, and were almost unusable. Cheers, good insights.
Excellent build and video, I will add tip though, I used to build military equipment using valves and solid terminals much like yours, for the larger resistors that you know will get warm we used to add a kink in the leads to allow for expansion and contraction, greatly reducing the stresses on the resistor body under operation. The mains power input ground should have its own dedicated fixing on the chassis, not shared - that is part of the electrical code for many countries. Phase isn't always out 180 degrees in FX pedals, and some effects just don't work in parallel, which is why almost everyone uses serial these days. Just make the FX loop switchable to take it out of the circuit when required.
@@TheSizzlingBadger Thanks Badger, good points. There is a Bypass switch on the FX loop which takes the loop completely out of circuit. I would wager very few pedals are out of phase much more than 180 degrees. At least with a phase invert switch on the loop, you can use almost all loops, whether inverted or not, in a parallel setup. I don't understand the obsession with series loops. Why have a tube amp if one is going to put the WHOLE signal into silicon after the preamp? Makes no sense to me, however horses for courses I guess.
Hi, great work. I was wondering if using Hammond transformers instead of drake had any effect on the sound. Are you happy with the results from the Hammond transformers. Many thanks for the video.
I am happy with the Hammond transformers. The Hammond power transformers are well built and well priced. I built another version of this amp also with Classic Tone trannies to compare, and although the Classic Tones to my ear are slightly more pleasant with a distinctive note separation, the Hammonds are perfectly fine. The Hammond output transformer I chose for these amp plans packs a heap of punch for the size and cost. The Hz start off at 100 and I havent really missed the extra bass of a more expensive OT that goes down too around 50-70Hz. Certainly the Drakes will be very nice, and if you want that extra bass, go for a bigger OT in terms of Hz range. 25Watts should be more than enough for anything. cheers!
nice work, inspiring for when i have the funds to build a amp. bookmarking, saving and making it a point to return one day. probably been asked, but i see a left handed guitar being played left handed, but strung up as a right hand? impressed in a good odd way... maybe a little jealous 😂, did you figure out why the reason for the feedback?
Thanks Redkurn. Yes Tez plays backwards back to front Jimmy styles. Thats how he learned as a kid and it stuck. Very awesome for the brain to contemplate. The reason for the feedback was that the primary cables of the output transformer were connected reverse. That is, eg, instead of the blue cable going to V4, and brown cable going to V5, the brown cable was connected to V4 and blue to V5, or vice versa, cant remember exactly, however you get the idea. Every output transformer seems to be different in this regard, so reversing these cables should be one of the first things to check if you get screaming feedback on initial start up. Its very common for this to occur. Cheers
I believe that tool is from the 60's or earlier, and that Howard Tools is a defunct company in Bridgeport (BPT), Connecticut (CONN), USA. I did a quick search on those words but came up with nothing.
@@MarhtiSan thanks for research. That's what I found also, a dead end. An amazing tool all the same, extremely handy to reach in tight places and cut close. It's the amp builders dream tool. Cheers
I'm a player, not a builder, but even though I might just understand a low percentage of what you do, it still is a pleasure to watch how you go about it. I only change wirings in guitars but, how you do certain things school me how to go about my next projects to make them rock-solid. Keep it up. I'm a subscriber.
This was a lot of fun to watch! Sharing the plans was really generous. I also appreciate the inclusion mistakes and the trial and error that goes into optimizing a design or layout.
I'm nowhere near being as good a guitar player to need anything like this but am blown away by the ambition of making this and documenting it as thoroughly
Its the exact same preamp circuit as the JCM800, same voltage. You can swap in 6L6 or KT66 tubes. But certainly slightly different sound from the EL34. Going by the schem, it is closer to an 800 rather a Princeton however. Cheers!
I don't fully understand the ground scheme. I mean through which path do the ground ripple currents of C22 and C23 go? Those ground points 4 and 5. In my amps I use very strict star grounding which means that all B+, C+, D+ etc. main caps grounds are directly connected to the same star ground node point of the bridge rectifier minus out, or in case of tube rectifier the center tap of the PT secondary. So the ripple currents to grounds of those electrolytics do not travel even 5 milimeters on the turret board or chassis mixed with audio ground signal or other caps ripple currents, and are kept totally away of the path of the audio signal ground.
Thanks for great question. The electrolytics of nodes 4 and 5 filter the preamp, and in this layout, they are separated from the power-amp. I have designed the amp in this configuration as I have found it advantageous in terms of unwanted noise, both hum and hiss. I have a number of circumstances in the past when I have detected unacceptable parasitic noise (mostly hum), and after much experimentation I found that when the preamp is separated from the power-amp, the unwanted noise was significantly reduced. As to why this occurs, I am not certain. Now, as a matter of practise, I layout all of my amps in this fashion. Grounding is indeed an enigma wrapped up in an enigma. Fields (magnetic) is a subject that has been of great interest to me for a long time. I think it is important to consider first, that perhaps there is no 'current' flowing anywhere in an amplifier. There is only either the creation or the elimination of magnetic fields. Whether or not one subscribes to this is of little importance, however one thing is certain, a magnetic field is first presented to the amp (signal), it is then induced by a larger magnetic field (mains supply) which is ultimately displaced by the speaker magnet voice coil. It makes sense to star ground each tube with its corresponding filter capacitor, as well as any shielding. I split the filter caps to either preamp or power-amp as explained above. As long as the mains earth and secondary centre taps are grounded near the mains entry, and the signal star grounds (with filter electrolytics) of the preamp are grounded at the signal input, generally this is an acceptable scenario for low noise. As I have found, this is not always the case. If you have experimented and found that favourable results are achieved by separtating the grounding of ALL filter electrolytics from the signal path, then that is great. Experimentation and results are what counts. I would add that, in my eyes, the fewer the grounding points the better. Maximum of two. Nothing is set in stone when it comes to magnetic fields. I do not subscribe to 'currents'. I do not think in terms of currents, nor electron flow. I try to look at the system as a field based entity and go from there. Cheers!
@@elams1894 What I am trying to bring out is that for example IF (I don't know if they do, and that's why I asked) those capacitors 22 and 23 share the same a few inches long wire which is not supraconductive and has some resistance, going finally to the center tap of the PT secondary, for example the ripple current of C23 causes ripple voltage into that shared part of that wire. In that situation the next amplifier stages which are involved, do not only amplify the audio signal which only should be amplified, but instead they amplify audio signal + the ripple voltage in the ground path between those stages created by the ripple currents in those caps if the cap grounds are not star grounded . And the stage fed by node C plate voltage will amplify ( if it's gain is >1) that ripple voltage as well. When using a perfect star grounding, those ripple voltages caused by ripple currents of minus leads of main filter capacitors are totally eliminated from the audio ground path, and so cannot be amplified unintentionally either. And those ripple voltages between grounds of different stages cannot be measured either because it is like you are trying to see what you AC millivoltmeter shows when its clips are shorted together! 😁 That is the idea of star grounding. The presence of those ripple currents causin ripple voltages in audio signal ground is totally eliminated because those ripple currents of minus leads of all main caps are flowing to the PT center tap only in that one single node, creating no any existing or measurable ripple currents whatsoever into the grounds of the audio path because the ground of audio path is kept totally away of the path of all ground ripple currents of main caps. Star grounding works like traffic control when heavy truck traffic (ripple currents) is tracked away from residential areas (preamplifier stages) going there where it does not cause noise to people who want to sleep. 😁
Thanks Z. I havent gone there yet with HiFi design. Different kettle of fish indeed. I may drag out my fathers HiFi designs a bit later, lets see. cheers!
I checked out the schematic/layout and it seem like it would be possible to add a 4th preamp-tube, it would give you some more gain and while on it maybe add a depth knob as well, you got some serious mighty fine wiring going on right there, looks awesome. I do not like how any amp sounds trough a 1X12.. I like the fullness of a 4x12, well a good 2x12 would maybe do it for me.... thanks. :D
Awesome! Very handy skill to have. Many are scared about solid state stuff mixing with tubes, however opamps can be incredibly beneficial in tube circuits as you are obviously aware. I'm a big fan and love PCB design also. Integrating pedal type circuits in amps is real fun.
G'day Elam(?), This is a great video. I really enjoyed it. I'm also impressed with your mate Tez's technique - I'm not left-handed, but I know it's difficult to learn guitar, since chord charts are written for right-handed players. Anyhow, I'll check out your channel soon. 🙂 Thanks for a great video Andrew
Thanks H. For sure, Tez has got the upside down-backward playing skillz honed. That's how he started and that's how it is. He plays a million times better than me and I can only look on with a boggled brain. Cheers!!
I was traveling on the same fx loop rabbit hole. Solved when i try the Egnater Rebel 20 design that just works really well in series. My amp is a 5150 based build with 6v6 PP Power amp and opamp fx loop.
That's very interesting. Indeed, not many functional opamp based loops out there, as it ain't easy. I'll have to check out the Egnater schem. Glad it worked out well, a total win!!
I have been hallucinating for years with everything this man does, in fact, I have to look for my first comment but I have been here for at least 11 years, since the first videos but I have a problem, I bought some plans years ago that I publish but I studied humanities I know how to speak Greek, I know how to speak Latin but I was also endowed with the fear that my house would explode if I touched something electrical, I hope to soon be encouraged to get rid of this desire to do something like that... let's see if nothing explodes haha, Europe prepare your electrical installations well
Really appreciate the kind words. Far out it has been a long time, I'm very slow as you are well aware I'm sure. I like to try to get things right. Thanks for tuning back in and hanging in there. You can do it! All the best!
@@bltvd That is a left handed guitar though. That's why I am asking. I have left handed friends that are used to playing the guitar upside down if it is a right handed guitar but never a left handed guitar.
@@matthewearl9824 if you play that way then it would make sense to have left handed guitar strung backwards. I have a friend in Chicago that is the best guitar player I know that does this as well.
I guess he started out on a reversed right handed guitar so learned to play with the strings flipped. And then probably switched to a left handed guitar later on to not have the control knobs in the way on the top of the guitar where your arm would rest. Not being able to play a left handed guitar he would then have to flip the strings again as if it were a reversed right handed one 🙃
Thanks for kind words. I checked out your channel. Very nice work on the boost pedal. Love the BIG knob. regarding some of your other posts, I suffer big time from many similar conditions of the brain. Gift or a curse, depending upon the day. Hence I took years to design and build this amp. It was in aheap in the bin. more than once. Shes a hard road, but rewarding indeed. Keep up the fine work, great to see other determined builders out there!
Indeed, that is the way. I like to do things in reverse ha ha. Instead if deceiving people with a shiny package, I bamboozle them with a bland exterior. With tube amps, its all about whats going on inside. Cheers!
@@mead1353 look back at his other videos if you haven't yet. You are in for a beautiful shiny surprise. Some of the most tasteful elegant/exotic design work.
That's Tez's LP standard, a very nice piece. Sounded beautiful to my ears as well, esp with the G12T75's, one seriously underated Celestion in my opinion. Cheers!
Got the Lefty Les Paul custom. You do not see those everyday. Let me tell you that is a very rare guitar. Am impressed and boy it sounded wonderful. A lot of that's in the in the fingers though. To be honest people think it's the guitar and the amplifier but it's not. It's the player. It's how well you fret and pick and depends on your sound. Clarity if you know how to play well, you'll sound good. If you don't know how to play, will you won't sound good. You sound good. So kudos man way to go
Totally agree Thomas! Tez is very particular with his gear, and he has a fine ear. Thats why I get Tez to both play the demos and provide feedback. He lets me know when things are on track and also when things are not good. Invaluable information. I only wish I could play half as good as him. That burst LP of his is my pick as well for tone. Not sure what it was about it however it seemed very thick and luscious to my ears. Cheers!
![Great Tone Ideas For Two-Channel, Four-Input Guitar Amps [For Classic, Non-Channel Switching Amps]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/ie0ucIjeUkc/mqdefault.jpg)
Excellent video! People seriously underestimate how much finicky labor goes into producing nice wiring. It's just immensely time consuming. Inevitably, you try to maintain a standard of neatness and it just degrades as you get the build done. You had some good tips about drilling the parts board. It all seems easy, but every mistake you make is now immortalized in metal! I began building amps over 50 years ago, trying to duplicate Fenders. Back then, parts were so much more reasonable, and you could sometimes find surplus parts. Today, tube parts are ridiculously expensive. Pots and tube sockets and knobs and a few jacks can probably get you over 100 Euros where you are. When it's all said and done, for you to build an amp and cabinet sturdy enough to drag around to gigs, with Tolex, with amp corners and a handle and a speaker, you can maybe save 100 or 200 Euros over the parts cost and have something you can't sell that you put 30 hours of work into. Whereas the commercially-built thing you buy can be resold for that same 100 or 200 Euros less than what you allegedly saved building it yourself. Without the 30 or so hours of labor. I've sometimes built up amps inside of dead solid state amps you buy as junk for 20 Euros or so. That's a way to go, but you cannot escape the insane parts costs and the finicky labor.
Thanks Alan. Indeed, all true and valid points. One major advantage however, of building your own is the satisfaction of a) building something yourself that works and adding your own flavour, b) the experience gained, and c) knowing exactly what is in there. Even big name Amps these days include parts of dubious quality. A hand made tube amp that includes quality parts is going to cost many many thousands. I would wager that making your own with half decent components can save a decent amount. However, like you outline, you have to either have a bit of experience, or accept the fact that you will make errors and will learn from them. Like you say, its a hard road, but rewarding should you decide to go there. I am glad I did. Cheers
This is SO DAMN GOOD!!! The FX loop has some killer controls. This lower output jcm800 circuit is such a cool idea. I have GOT to prioritize an amp build this year.
Thanks Greg! I can't believe it took so long, but got there in the end. Thought it was going to take longer than your fantastic Porsche restoration. Good things take time. Hope all is well on your end, cheers..
Some top notch wiring there!… Excellent!
Many thanks!
i'm left handed but never mastered the string flip like you!
Thank M! Thats my mate Tez playing. I wish I had half his talent. My mind boggles watching him play.
A-MA-ZING!!!! F*****G AMAZING!
I am so glad I stumbled by chance here! Man, what an OCD, almost as mine!
Way to go! My utmost respect and understanding!
Thank you, really appreciate the kind words. I'm not sure if my OCD is a curse or a gift, however its something I must deal with ha ha. Have a good one!
I used to build amps, haven't done one in 10 years. Guess I have been looking at amp stuff on UA-cam, so this vid appeared in my feed. Very nice ! Never built a JCM 800, but made many Plexis with the JJ 6V6S, a really robust and good sounding tube, that amp with the Ken Fischer PPIMV sounds sooo good. Great playing also. The one thing that I would suggest to people making DIY stuff is that you are basically making a boutique quality amplifier, you don't do it to save money, you do it for the love of it and to make something kick-ass, sooo, I think it's worth it to have a custom faceplate made ( if you can't find an off-the-shelf chassis with one that will work ). Make a nice cabinet, or have one made. That way you have the full package. My dream for a long time has been to have a small business selling kits to make boutique-quality tube amps, with a UA-cam channel and website and social media and such. Your video and channel inspires me. Great Job !
Wow, long time no see! Great to see ya back!
Hey, thanks!
@mrpete222 , turbalcain can you give some insight on the hand tool in this video at 14 minutes? Howard Tools, Bridgeport CT rings a bell, but I cannot connect the dots.
Wow!! Watching you solder the components to the turrets, and the solder flowing across the component leads and the turrets....It's like watching DaVinci painting the Mona Lisa!! Your attention to detail and this build are truly works of art! I was looking for my next amp build and I would love to do this, but it may be over my skill level for now.
Thanks for kind words Romeo. Not sure I deserve those accolades however very much appreciated. Although it's a difficult road to head down, it's very rewarding. Although many mistakes are made along the journey, you'll get there in the end, all the best!
Really nice work mate. I have to ask where you source your transformers from? I’m in Australia and buying transformers for tube amps is stupid expensive these days.
Back in the 80s there was so much old gear being chucked out you could scavenge lots of useful parts for free but if you wanted to buy all new parts to build a valve amp there were lots of local places that stocked stuff, but those were the days when you took your ten year old television to a repair shop or they came out to you 😂
This is amazing! And welcome back!
Thank you! Thanks for checking in again!
it's amazing! thank you mate for the video!
I'm just getting into this and its extremely informative for me!
such a cool video and nice playign !!! Subbed.
My friend i commend you on you clenliness and your great work, i am an electrician by trade i dont think i could do better than you. Great work
Yoooooo wait a second. Is it xmas already? That was unexpected. What a great return from the best builder ever AKA the kiwi diy god AKA geoffrey tesla kubrick. He goes away for 2 yrs and suddently punches you in the face with 3 videos in a row. Now that's a return. What a glorious morning. The youtube notification we've all been waiting for. Now I have to reschedule all my daily plans. I'm taken for the next hour and half. Enjoy the show
Just finished watching the whole thing. Amazing as usual. Love the he chassis plunge; vintage elams madness ahahah. Love the ocd and the zen patient mind. The little fx boards with the headstock inlay logo from the epic 1 piece LP is beautiful also. And thanks for having kept the little mistakes; You're human then ahahah. The cinematic is always top notch. And very cool string configuration your friend has. He plays great. Please tell me we don't have to wait 2 more yrs for another video ahahah
Yo G!! Nice to hear from you dude, thanks for kind words!! Way too kind as usual. Well spotted on the logo! Indeed, resurrected from Bad-News Brown LP headstock. This was never supposed to take 2 years, but too many errors kept surfacing and the FX loop blew my brains out. Now that the loop is finished it seems fairly straight forward, but sheesh, that was a long hard road. Then all my video/audio interface gear crashed and burned. So things just kept on going going, nuts.. Hopefully it won't be another two years 😂
How's it all going in beautiful Italy? Hope all is smoothing out. Time has flown..
@@elams1894 ahahaah what a bumma. Well repaid effort tho. It sounds veeeeery very good with my yamaha studio monitors. I wish I could test it. If it just wasn't for literally half of the earth in distance ahahahah. Everything is going great here my dude. Hope you, wife, kids, billy, ma and everybody else are doing good as well
Family is all doing good thanks G. Hope yours too. How are your beautiful guitars going? That last black and white one was something else man. Glorious.
Wow!
Not sure if you were inspired by Rob Robinette’s plans, but I think he built one of these. I’m actually building a 6v6 SLO style build like your 800. But after hearing your 800, I think I may build one as well! 😂
BTW: you’ve got a new subscriber after this viddy!!
I really like the sound and noise floor of Source Audio pedals, but that phase inversion problem drives me nuts. They should know better and it's not a difficult problem to fix in a digital pedal. Their editing software should be able to fix it, but it's not an option.
I've emailed them about it and never got a response.
Running split stereo effects to different amps just has to be always on and phase fixed with an active ABY pedal.
I hear you brother. The whole phase thing wrecked my brain. Its a bit silly having pedals that invert phase as it throws all attempts at a parallel mix into chaos. A phase invert switch on an FX loop in the amp is a simple affective fix. Then you don't need an external device that does the same thing. I was also staggered at the amount of noise some pedals produced. They were big name pedals too, and were almost unusable. Cheers, good insights.
Sounds legit to me! Excellent work!
Excellent build and video, I will add tip though, I used to build military equipment using valves and solid terminals much like yours, for the larger resistors that you know will get warm we used to add a kink in the leads to allow for expansion and contraction, greatly reducing the stresses on the resistor body under operation. The mains power input ground should have its own dedicated fixing on the chassis, not shared - that is part of the electrical code for many countries. Phase isn't always out 180 degrees in FX pedals, and some effects just don't work in parallel, which is why almost everyone uses serial these days. Just make the FX loop switchable to take it out of the circuit when required.
@@TheSizzlingBadger Thanks Badger, good points. There is a Bypass switch on the FX loop which takes the loop completely out of circuit. I would wager very few pedals are out of phase much more than 180 degrees. At least with a phase invert switch on the loop, you can use almost all loops, whether inverted or not, in a parallel setup. I don't understand the obsession with series loops. Why have a tube amp if one is going to put the WHOLE signal into silicon after the preamp? Makes no sense to me, however horses for courses I guess.
Hi, great work. I was wondering if using Hammond transformers instead of drake had any effect on the sound. Are you happy with the results from the Hammond transformers. Many thanks for the video.
I am happy with the Hammond transformers. The Hammond power transformers are well built and well priced. I built another version of this amp also with Classic Tone trannies to compare, and although the Classic Tones to my ear are slightly more pleasant with a distinctive note separation, the Hammonds are perfectly fine. The Hammond output transformer I chose for these amp plans packs a heap of punch for the size and cost. The Hz start off at 100 and I havent really missed the extra bass of a more expensive OT that goes down too around 50-70Hz. Certainly the Drakes will be very nice, and if you want that extra bass, go for a bigger OT in terms of Hz range. 25Watts should be more than enough for anything. cheers!
nice work, inspiring for when i have the funds to build a amp. bookmarking, saving and making it a point to return one day. probably been asked, but i see a left handed guitar being played left handed, but strung up as a right hand? impressed in a good odd way... maybe a little jealous 😂, did you figure out why the reason for the feedback?
Thanks Redkurn. Yes Tez plays backwards back to front Jimmy styles. Thats how he learned as a kid and it stuck. Very awesome for the brain to contemplate. The reason for the feedback was that the primary cables of the output transformer were connected reverse. That is, eg, instead of the blue cable going to V4, and brown cable going to V5, the brown cable was connected to V4 and blue to V5, or vice versa, cant remember exactly, however you get the idea. Every output transformer seems to be different in this regard, so reversing these cables should be one of the first things to check if you get screaming feedback on initial start up. Its very common for this to occur. Cheers
I believe that tool is from the 60's or earlier, and that Howard Tools is a defunct company in Bridgeport (BPT), Connecticut (CONN), USA. I did a quick search on those words but came up with nothing.
@@MarhtiSan thanks for research. That's what I found also, a dead end. An amazing tool all the same, extremely handy to reach in tight places and cut close. It's the amp builders dream tool. Cheers
I'm a player, not a builder, but even though I might just understand a low percentage of what you do, it still is a pleasure to watch how you go about it. I only change wirings in guitars but, how you do certain things school me how to go about my next projects to make them rock-solid. Keep it up. I'm a subscriber.
Really appreciate the kinds words and glad it was of some help. All the best with your projects!
41:29 Just need to swap the grids or the primary winding
I call this amp meditation 😮
Thank you!
Please don't take it as a sign to build Line 6 Spider amps...lol That amp sounds really realloy good. Too noisy though.
Thanks for the intel. Cheers!
Those are some mad skills there mate. Your attention to detail is amazing. What a very cool build. Now you've got me jonesing to build one 😂.
Thank you, much appreciated!
This was a lot of fun to watch! Sharing the plans was really generous. I also appreciate the inclusion mistakes and the trial and error that goes into optimizing a design or layout.
No probs, glad you enjoyed it and it might be of some use, cheers!
I'm nowhere near being as good a guitar player to need anything like this but am blown away by the ambition of making this and documenting it as thoroughly
Thanks SK! Really appreciate it!
Is it an 800 if it has 6v6s? I’m sure it’s a great amp, and competently designed; but that doesn’t make it a JCM800, just a high gain Princeton.
Its the exact same preamp circuit as the JCM800, same voltage. You can swap in 6L6 or KT66 tubes. But certainly slightly different sound from the EL34. Going by the schem, it is closer to an 800 rather a Princeton however. Cheers!
@@elams1894 You are so kind...lol
I don't fully understand the ground scheme. I mean through which path do the ground ripple currents of C22 and C23 go? Those ground points 4 and 5.
In my amps I use very strict star grounding which means that all B+, C+, D+ etc. main caps grounds are directly connected to the same star ground node point of the bridge rectifier minus out, or in case of tube rectifier the center tap of the PT secondary. So the ripple currents to grounds of those electrolytics do not travel even 5 milimeters on the turret board or chassis mixed with audio ground signal or other caps ripple currents, and are kept totally away of the path of the audio signal ground.
Thanks for great question.
The electrolytics of nodes 4 and 5 filter the preamp, and in this layout, they are separated from the power-amp. I have designed the amp in this configuration as I have found it advantageous in terms of unwanted noise, both hum and hiss. I have a number of circumstances in the past when I have detected unacceptable parasitic noise (mostly hum), and after much experimentation I found that when the preamp is separated from the power-amp, the unwanted noise was significantly reduced. As to why this occurs, I am not certain. Now, as a matter of practise, I layout all of my amps in this fashion.
Grounding is indeed an enigma wrapped up in an enigma. Fields (magnetic) is a subject that has been of great interest to me for a long time. I think it is important to consider first, that perhaps there is no 'current' flowing anywhere in an amplifier. There is only either the creation or the elimination of magnetic fields. Whether or not one subscribes to this is of little importance, however one thing is certain, a magnetic field is first presented to the amp (signal), it is then induced by a larger magnetic field (mains supply) which is ultimately displaced by the speaker magnet voice coil.
It makes sense to star ground each tube with its corresponding filter capacitor, as well as any shielding. I split the filter caps to either preamp or power-amp as explained above. As long as the mains earth and secondary centre taps are grounded near the mains entry, and the signal star grounds (with filter electrolytics) of the preamp are grounded at the signal input, generally this is an acceptable scenario for low noise. As I have found, this is not always the case. If you have experimented and found that favourable results are achieved by separtating the grounding of ALL filter electrolytics from the signal path, then that is great. Experimentation and results are what counts. I would add that, in my eyes, the fewer the grounding points the better. Maximum of two.
Nothing is set in stone when it comes to magnetic fields. I do not subscribe to 'currents'. I do not think in terms of currents, nor electron flow. I try to look at the system as a field based entity and go from there. Cheers!
@@elams1894 What I am trying to bring out is that for example IF (I don't know if they do, and that's why I asked) those capacitors 22 and 23 share the same a few inches long wire which is not supraconductive and has some resistance, going finally to the center tap of the PT secondary, for example the ripple current of C23 causes ripple voltage into that shared part of that wire. In that situation the next amplifier stages which are involved, do not only amplify the audio signal which only should be amplified, but instead they amplify audio signal + the ripple voltage in the ground path between those stages created by the ripple currents in those caps if the cap grounds are not star grounded . And the stage fed by node C plate voltage will amplify ( if it's gain is >1) that ripple voltage as well.
When using a perfect star grounding, those ripple voltages caused by ripple currents of minus leads of main filter capacitors are totally eliminated from the audio ground path, and so cannot be amplified unintentionally either. And those ripple voltages between grounds of different stages cannot be measured either because it is like you are trying to see what you AC millivoltmeter shows when its clips are shorted together! 😁
That is the idea of star grounding. The presence of those ripple currents causin ripple voltages in audio signal ground is totally eliminated because those ripple currents of minus leads of all main caps are flowing to the PT center tap only in that one single node, creating no any existing or measurable ripple currents whatsoever into the grounds of the audio path because the ground of audio path is kept totally away of the path of all ground ripple currents of main caps. Star grounding works like traffic control when heavy truck traffic (ripple currents) is tracked away from residential areas (preamplifier stages) going there where it does not cause noise to people who want to sleep. 😁
I love this assembly, very clean! Have you made avaible plans for a hifi amp ?
Thanks Z. I havent gone there yet with HiFi design. Different kettle of fish indeed. I may drag out my fathers HiFi designs a bit later, lets see. cheers!
Workmanship and dedication to quality is just stunning 👏
Thank you very much!
I checked out the schematic/layout and it seem like it would be possible to add a 4th preamp-tube, it would give you some more gain and while on it maybe add a depth knob as well, you got some serious mighty fine wiring going on right there, looks awesome. I do not like how any amp sounds trough a 1X12.. I like the fullness of a 4x12, well a good 2x12 would maybe do it for me.... thanks. :D
Youll need the bigger chassis, 14 inch, to add a 12ax7, however indeed a 4th preamp tube opens a heap of high gain opportunity. Cheers
I am a big fan of the TL07X family, and have also been successful in integrating them in my vacuum tube circuit designs 😊
Awesome! Very handy skill to have. Many are scared about solid state stuff mixing with tubes, however opamps can be incredibly beneficial in tube circuits as you are obviously aware. I'm a big fan and love PCB design also. Integrating pedal type circuits in amps is real fun.
@@elams1894 yeap, every time I mention to my more traditional minded friends that I bias my tubes using LEDs, they frown 🙁 😀
I love your vídeos, its so inspiring.
Thanks D!
Does anyone knows How much ALL the components will cost approximetly
Great question. I hope to have a comprehensive BOM for this amp on my website. Cheers!
For me in Australia.....$1000
Cool, nice build and thanks for the video
Thank you!
Truly stunning work. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you! Cheers!
G'day Elam(?),
This is a great video. I really enjoyed it. I'm also impressed with your mate Tez's technique - I'm not left-handed, but I know it's difficult to learn guitar, since chord charts are written for right-handed players. Anyhow, I'll check out your channel soon. 🙂
Thanks for a great video
Andrew
Thanks H. For sure, Tez has got the upside down-backward playing skillz honed. That's how he started and that's how it is. He plays a million times better than me and I can only look on with a boggled brain. Cheers!!
I was traveling on the same fx loop rabbit hole. Solved when i try the Egnater Rebel 20 design that just works really well in series. My amp is a 5150 based build with 6v6 PP Power amp and opamp fx loop.
That's very interesting. Indeed, not many functional opamp based loops out there, as it ain't easy. I'll have to check out the Egnater schem. Glad it worked out well, a total win!!
I have been hallucinating for years with everything this man does, in fact, I have to look for my first comment but I have been here for at least 11 years, since the first videos but I have a problem, I bought some plans years ago that I publish but I studied humanities I know how to speak Greek, I know how to speak Latin but I was also endowed with the fear that my house would explode if I touched something electrical, I hope to soon be encouraged to get rid of this desire to do something like that... let's see if nothing explodes haha, Europe prepare your electrical installations well
Really appreciate the kind words. Far out it has been a long time, I'm very slow as you are well aware I'm sure. I like to try to get things right. Thanks for tuning back in and hanging in there. You can do it! All the best!
You got that Les Paul strung in reverse !
Indeed.
And after 3 yeaaaars there we go again! ❤❤❤
Thanks for tuning back in!
I'm actually also starting to build amps too 😎😎😎
Is there a reason why he is playing the guitar with the strings reversed? On a left handed guitar? Im just curious. Awesome video by the way.
Some lefties can just take a right handed guitar and play it left handed like that.
@@bltvd That is a left handed guitar though. That's why I am asking. I have left handed friends that are used to playing the guitar upside down if it is a right handed guitar but never a left handed guitar.
@@matthewearl9824 if you play that way then it would make sense to have left handed guitar strung backwards. I have a friend in Chicago that is the best guitar player I know that does this as well.
I guess he started out on a reversed right handed guitar so learned to play with the strings flipped. And then probably switched to a left handed guitar later on to not have the control knobs in the way on the top of the guitar where your arm would rest. Not being able to play a left handed guitar he would then have to flip the strings again as if it were a reversed right handed one 🙃
Excellent, thanks! Best!
Much appreciated, thanks!
Happy you are back!!!
@@dr.q332 Thanks for stopping by again, cheers!
FYI your using the wrong sockets for your IC chips. Your using sockets intended for wire wrap projects and IC chips use DIP sockets.
@@MidnightVisions I am not using wire wrap DIP sockets. The ones I'm using have pins of standard length. I'm not quite sure what you are referring to?
I've built several marshall amps, hope i can build one the way you do yours. Impressive!
Thanks Frank! You can do it!
So glad to see you back at it. (My OVERBURDEN is my go to amp.)
That's fantastic to hear Marc, glad all is working out. Thanks for checking back in, much appreciated.
A Clean Build😮
Thank you, much appreciated!
Such a craftsman. Why no faceplates? Great vid
I'll leave the faceplate up to the individual builder. The cabinet and faceplate are up to you guys. Cheers!
this is a work of ART!
Thank you!
He is playing the guitar stung backwards????????
Yeah man, Tez is a legend!
You are a incredible amp builder. Your attention to detail is quite exquisite.
Thank you, way too kind..
Cool build!
Thanks for kind words. I checked out your channel. Very nice work on the boost pedal. Love the BIG knob. regarding some of your other posts, I suffer big time from many similar conditions of the brain. Gift or a curse, depending upon the day. Hence I took years to design and build this amp. It was in aheap in the bin. more than once. Shes a hard road, but rewarding indeed. Keep up the fine work, great to see other determined builders out there!
Yes! This is exactly what I was hoping you would present. This will be my winter project.
Thanks for checking in Daddeo, all the best.
This type of work needs to be displayed in a glass (or lexan) box.
This is gold
Thank you!
wow elams has posted. Guess we'll see you again in another year or two
I'm like cheese, I take a lot of time. It's a curse.
Astonishing Build. Very pleasing. It makes me wonder why the outside appearance is comparatively bland, almost deceivingly careless.
Indeed, that is the way. I like to do things in reverse ha ha. Instead if deceiving people with a shiny package, I bamboozle them with a bland exterior. With tube amps, its all about whats going on inside. Cheers!
@@elams1894 Of course. It's a prototype, too. Didn't want to sound to judgemental or rude. Great work non the less.
@@mead1353 look back at his other videos if you haven't yet. You are in for a beautiful shiny surprise. Some of the most tasteful elegant/exotic design work.
Nice! Thanks for sharing 👍
Thanks for watching!
been waiting for a new video
I'm slow for, however glad you could stop by again!
This is brain massage!
Thanks!
Exquisite
Too kind, cheers
Why? They're a horrible bloody amplifier!
Therein lies the beauty though, and aint it just the way. May be the Laney AOR50 is next?? 😂
Man that burst Paul has a beautiful top on it. The one with the four cream bobbins.
That's Tez's LP standard, a very nice piece. Sounded beautiful to my ears as well, esp with the G12T75's, one seriously underated Celestion in my opinion. Cheers!
Got the Lefty Les Paul custom. You do not see those everyday. Let me tell you that is a very rare guitar. Am impressed and boy it sounded wonderful. A lot of that's in the in the fingers though. To be honest people think it's the guitar and the amplifier but it's not. It's the player. It's how well you fret and pick and depends on your sound. Clarity if you know how to play well, you'll sound good. If you don't know how to play, will you won't sound good. You sound good. So kudos man way to go
Totally agree Thomas! Tez is very particular with his gear, and he has a fine ear. Thats why I get Tez to both play the demos and provide feedback. He lets me know when things are on track and also when things are not good. Invaluable information. I only wish I could play half as good as him. That burst LP of his is my pick as well for tone. Not sure what it was about it however it seemed very thick and luscious to my ears. Cheers!