A bit more ambitious than a pedal....

[duhvoodooman]

I've been wanting to do a full-blown amp build for some time, specifically an 18W Marshall clone. Well, thanks to some pretty brisk pedal sales of late, I built up the GAS fund to the point that I could pretty well cover the purchase. Did some homework on the various 18W kits available, considering quality, features, customer service reputation and (of course!) price. I settled on an 18W head kit from Trinity Amps up in Toronto. A couple of the regulars at the BYOC forums have built Trinity kits and really like them. They also sell finished amps, and have a nice lineup of products based upon classic amp models. Their 18W model is available in four different versions; I opted for the classic TMB version, so named for its treble-mid-bass tone stack. The amp features are described here:


http://www.trinityamps.com/Trin18Over.htm

Here's the page on their site describing the kits:


http://www.trinityamps.com/Product_Parts.htm

I'm getting the amp kit, a set of transformers, and a pre-built head cabinet (Fender rough blonde tolex, gold piping & gold vent grille, leather dogbone handle). Should match my 1x12 tweed cabinet nicely; I didn't want to have the head cabinet finished in tweed, which didn't seem right for a Marshall clone! The only other thing I'll need to buy is a set of tubes (3 12AX7's, 2 EL-84's, and an EZ-81 rectifier tube).

Placed the order last night; should ship in 2 - 3 weeks, so I hope to start building shortly after Thanksgiving.

Heads up, Tung! Get ready for the panic e-mails & stupid questions! ;)

[Tig]

Wow, you'll save over $700 by building it yourself instead of them.
I'm sure you will get plenty of screaming solos with this amph!

[duhvoodooman]

Wow, you'll save over $700 by building it yourself instead of them.
Well, no, not quite that much. I suspect you were looking just at the kit price. The kit, transformers and head cabinet came to $735 including shipping. So once I buy tubes, I'll be right around 8 Benjamins. Still, that's a $300 savings over their prebuilt 18W TMB head, plus I have the enjoyment & satisfaction of building it myself (assuming success!), not to mention the experience and skills derived from the project.


I'm sure you will get plenty of screaming solos with this amph!
Planning on it!! :AOK :dude :rockon:

[Tig]

Doh! :thwap

Still, it will be a good savings, and you'll be able to troubleshoot (hopefully not need to) possible problems if you assemble it yourself.

Their Matchless/Vox 15 looks kinda' cool, too. Also, I browsed their photo section and they make some great looking custom cabinets.

[marnold]

Well, no, not quite that much. I suspect you were looking just at the kit price. The kit, transformers and head cabinet came to $735 including shipping. So once I buy tubes, I'll be right around 8 Benjamins. Still, that's a $300 savings over their prebuilt 18W TMB head, plus I have the enjoyment & satisfaction of building it myself (assuming success!), not to mention the experience and skills derived from the project.
That makes more sense, I looked at that site and saw the $1000-1100 price tag and thought, "This is saving money how?"

[duhvoodooman]

Also, I browsed their photo section and they make some great looking custom cabinets.
Yeah, some really nice looking cabinets, both heads & combos. That's a skill set (not to mention the required tools and supplies) that I lack totally, so I opted for one of their prebuilt 18W head cabinets ($235). But if you have the requisite carpentry & "upholstery" skills, that would be a great place to save some more $$....

[kiteman]

That sure sound like fun. :)

Me, I'll settle for a BYOC like yours.

[sunvalleylaw]

Wow, killer project! Have a great time with it. I look forward to your always informative updates, pics, etc., and ultimately to your screaming solos from your new amph! :AOK :AOK

[Robert]

Can't wait to hear you demo that build! Just don't fry yourself in the process... :)

[duhvoodooman]

Just don't fry yourself in the process...
Amen, bruddah! 300+ VDC is a wee bit more dangerous than those 9V pedals I'm used to. :eek:

[tot_Ou_tard]

I knew it was just a matter of time Vood.

Good luck!

I can't wait for the clips.

[oldguy]

Go for it, Bob!
(just take your time, be careful, and post clips when you're done, OK?):AOK

[tunghaichuan]

Excellent. Can't wait to see and hear the results of this project.

Just take your time, and don't try to rush things.

In the meantime you may want to read up on safety precautions for building/working on tube amps.

http://www.drifteramps.com/safety.html

http://www.geofex.com/tubeampfaq/tube_amp.htm#Section0

Another thing that has helped me when building amps is when you've got all the wiring finished, put it away and don't look at it for a day or so. This will probably kill you (always does me). Then after, triple check everything.

It should go well, you've built enough pedals that this amp shouldn't present any problems at all.

[SuperSwede]

Planning on it!! :AOK :dude :rockon:

You know its gonna be a fat amph with no dirt in the pullgain :applause

[duhvoodooman]

Another thing that has helped me when building amps is when you've got all the wiring finished, put it away and don't look at it for a day or so. This will probably kill you (always does me)....
You really know how to hurt a guy, Tung! I'll be so hot to flip the power switch at that point that I'll have to wear a drool bucket like Dan Akroyd in that famous "Miles Cowperthwaite" SNL routine....


You know its gonna be a fat amph with no dirt in the pullgain
I'm just hoping that it will turn on 999999 times out of 1000000.... :D

Thanks for the encouragement, guys! :AOK

[bigG]

You go, vood! You da man! Hopeless tinkerer, indeed!

Can't wait to hear how it turns out! :drool

[oldguy]

I've never heard a Marshall 18w TMB in person, but I like all the clips of them, and their clones, that I've heard. (By any decent players, anyway).
They always sound fat and full of timbre.
:applause

[SuperSwede]

I'm just hoping that it will turn on 999999 times out of 1000000.... :D


Awesome... just imagine when your are playing all those Steely Dan songs with ultra high gain! :D

Speaking of that you really should name the amph "The Dustin Special screaming solo head".... and add a really scrathy gain nob!

[sumitomo]

1lozkT1zrIU

[sumitomo]

Vood are you still with us? Sumi:D

[duhvoodooman]

Yep, sure am. Of course, I haven't even received the kit yet (it's 2 - 3 weeks, to allow time for the cabinet to be fabricated) and it's tough to electrocute yourself building 9V pedals....

[sumitomo]

I am doing an amph built also a tweed princeton,I got the plans from Tung.Something for the snowy days this winter.No SouthAmerica this year.Sumi:D

[duhvoodooman]

Cool. Depending on how my 18W build goes, the next project I'm tentatively thinking of undertaking (though not for a while!) would be some flavor of vintage Fender Tweed amp. Prolly a Princeton or a Deluxe....

[@nthony]

I've always wanted to do this, but dont have the skills or the money to be able to. I guess I'll stick to my cheap Harley Benton transistor amph until at least the cash situation changes!

[duhvoodooman]

Just heard from Trinity Amps. My head cabinet is being tolexed now, and they expect to ship the complete kit out on Monday. :AOK :happy

[duhvoodooman]

Well, it took 2 weeks to travel the 293 miles between Toronto & Albany, but look at what showed up today:

http://duhvoodooman.com/miscimages/musical/Trinity18W/Trinity_cab_front.jpg

http://duhvoodooman.com/miscimages/musical/Trinity18W/Trinity_cab_back.jpg

Sweet job on the cabinet! This is exactly how it came out of the box. The chassis, transformers and all parts were inside the cab when these shots were taken. Now that the kit is here, the real journey begins....

[Radioboy950]

Wow, that is gorgeous (is it cool for a dude to say to another dude?)
I'm sure it'll sound as good as it looks. Can't wait to hear it!

[Ch0jin]

WOW! That looks awesome already!

[duhvoodooman]

I'm sure it'll sound as good as it looks.
I'm almost certain that I'll be able to get screaming solos with this amph! ;) :D

[Robert]

I don't see any photo in here?

[duhvoodooman]

I don't see any photo in here?
Odd. I'm looking at two of them, as posted. Anybody else having trouble viewing?

[Robert]

Oh man, look at that cabinet! I am drooling!

Yeah the photos shows up now, but they didn't a little while ago.

[sumitomo]

Robert it was it cold for the photos to show! I know I dont have to tell ya to take you time Vood,Have fun.Sumi:D

[duhvoodooman]

Oh man, look at that cabinet! I am drooling!
Yeah, he said he was sure I'd like the cabinet, and he wasn't kidding. Beautiful job on it. The 18W head cabs aren't cheap ($235), but if you have zero carpentry skills like I do, it's well worth it! That's certainly a very fair price for this quality of workmanship! :AOK


I know I dont have to tell ya to take you time Vood, Have fun.
Yup, I'm in no hurry. I won't be starting the actual buiild process until my vacation starts on the 23rd. In the meantime, I'm going to assimilate the wealth of info in the provided build guide--all 67 pages of it!

P.S. Finally bit the bullet and ordered a proper soldering station for this project. Decided the cheapo unregulated 25W Weller iron I use for pedals really wasn't up to tackling this puppy. So I ordered one of those Hakko 936 stations that Tung recommends so highly (http://www.thefret.net/showthread.php?t=8636), and the FedEx guy just delivered it this morning, before I left for work....

[Blaze]

DVM that s the ultimate project ,this cabinet looks awesome..

Lookin forward for some pics and clips..

My tech just purchased a use Ceriatone Marshall (74) 18 watts Combo clone ,this amph is pure tone..

[tunghaichuan]

Sweet! That's one good-looking cabinet.

Trinity has custom wound transformers, AFAIK, so it will sound great too.:AOK

Can't wait to see how this one turns out.

:dude

[kiteman]

Excellent! :french

Damn good deal I want one. :AOK

[sumitomo]

So how goes the project! Sumi:D

[duhvoodooman]

So how goes the project! Sumi:D
<< Hangs head in shame >> :o

I was so busy with holiday/family/domestic duties over the Christmas-New Years break that I haven't even started it yet!! I know, I know--truly pitiful.... :thwap :rolleyes:

Only progress to report is that I acquired the needed tubes for the amp over the past couple of weeks. JJ EL84's and 12AX7's from Bob Pletka at Eurotubes, and a couple of gorgeous NOS GE 6CA4 rectifier tubes from my pal Tunghaichuan, who is DA MAN!! :AOK :dude :beer:

[Commodore 64]

I'm gonna retube my Blackheart LG, and if that goes well and/or I still hate it, I'm going to embark on the Firefly build.

I still need to build my British Blues pedal too.

[Tig]

<< Hangs head in shame >>
:what

And we thought you were busy in your laboratory all this time, creating your next tone vehicle!

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_cMdbfkl3Rz4/SUjKe7qMQLI/AAAAAAAAEPw/nEusK8-JZOk/s800/fstshot.jpg

[duhvoodooman]

Well, I did manage a few stolen moments to enjoy some of my existing tone machinery (my Carvin CT6 --> "Aura & Mystique" pedal OCD side --> BYOC Analog Delay --> BYOC Reverb --> Egnater 20W head sounds HUGELY AMAZING! :rockon:), but the Trinity amp kit still awaits the solder iron....

[sumitomo]

So how goes the battle? Sumi:D

[duhvoodooman]

Got customer pedal builds taking first priority right now, so the kit is still sitting.... :cry:

[deeaa]

Hmm...my Ceriatone (TMB18W with 36W option) cost me 1200 all ready built and including shipping from Malaysia.

Great amps, them 18W EL84's!

[tunghaichuan]

Heads up, Tung! Get ready for the panic e-mails &
stupid questions! ;)

Still waiting for the aforementioned e-mails and questions. :poke :rollover

J/K :D

[Robert]

Has the shame gotten to you yet, Vood? :D

*Cough* noticed the first post is dated November 9th, 2009 07:58 AM * cough, cough *

Looking forward to a demo of this (by now, old) amph! Muahahahaha!

[duhvoodooman]

Occasionally. A lot going on recently, and very busy at the BYOC Forum, where we Moderators are the "technical support staff"....

[Robert]

Ah, no worries Vood. Just a little jest and tease from the "land up over"! :D

[Tig]

He's just letting the components age a little longer for vintage tone.

[duhvoodooman]

He's just letting the components age a little longer for vintage tone.Uh, yeah...YEAH!! That's the ticket! I'm aging the components! Yeah! For more MOJO! Sure, that's what I'm doing....

[marnold]

Uh, yeah...YEAH!! That's the ticket! I'm aging the components! Yeah! For more MOJO! Sure, that's what I'm doing....

Well it should have a metric you-know-what load of mojo by the time it's done!

[duhvoodooman]

You can't rush these things.... :nono: ;)

[Ch0jin]

Occasionally. A lot going on recently, and very busy at the BYOC Forum, where we Moderators are the "technical support staff"....

Funny you should say that. I note with some interest that BYOC have announced they will be doing a few amp kits soon.

I guess that makes it a tough choice between "Build my own first before I get burnt out (woo a pun) on amp building" or "Build a bunch of BYOC amps and apply new skillz to my own amp".

[duhvoodooman]

Yeah, Keith is going to start offering amp kits, starting with a 5F1 Champ clone. One of his next couple to follow that will be a 5E3 Tweed Deluxe, a classic tone machine that I've been interested in for quite a while. I have vowed to make that one my second DIY amp build....

[Ch0jin]

Yeah, Keith is going to start offering amp kits, starting with a 5F1 Champ clone. One of his next couple to follow that will be a 5E3 Tweed Deluxe, a classic tone machine that I've been interested in for quite a while. I have vowed to make that one my second DIY amp build....

That's cool, although I'd safely assume they wont be offered internationally, I'm really keen to see how they go. I've only done 2 BYOC kits, but the quality of instructions is fantastic and they really are pretty much "paint by numbers".

Both the 5F1 and 5e3 are of interest to me, but I have (finally) decided my next amp project will be to gut my homebrew 2204 and build a JTM45. I've just basically put a bill of materials together for it so it's time to hit up the intrawebs for parts :)

[Tig]

Yeah, Keith is going to start offering amp kits, starting with a 5F1 Champ clone. One of his next couple to follow that will be a 5E3 Tweed Deluxe, a classic tone machine that I've been interested in for quite a while. I have vowed to make that one my second DIY amp build....

The 5E3 Tweed Deluxe sounds like a winner. :drool