18 watt build

[M29]

I got started on my GDS 18 watt single channel amph. I recently had a chance to hear fellow Fret.Netter guitardan777's 18 watt single channel and I knew I had to get one. I had built an 18 watt GDS tremolo head a couple years ago and ended up selling it. I have missed it ever since, here are some pics.

http://webpages.charter.net/tankm4/gds18sca.jpg

http://webpages.charter.net/tankm4/gds18scb.jpg

[333maxwell]

Looks like a heck of a project..

Any time lines in mind?

Ever do one like it?

[tunghaichuan]

Very cool. Graydon makes good stuff. In fact he was one of the first to rediscover the 18W amps and was offering kits back before they became common place.

[M29]

333max,
I have a good start I will probably back off a little now and pick at it. I am in no hurry and I want to get more done on my Tele project. If I get too much going I start loosing time to play and that is priority.
I have built many amphs over the years, mostly audio stuff but this is my second 18 watt and both were GDS, I especially like their transformers.

tung,
Yeah Graydon sure knows the 18 watt. I am fortunate to have met him, he only lives about 40 miles from here. If you have any questions about the build he is more than happy to help.

[Bloozcat]

Graydon has always been more than gracious about sharing his knowledge as well in the true guild craftsman tradition.

[F4DPhantomII]

2400 posts wow!:applause

[M29]

How time flies F4DPhantomII :dude


Well I finished her up today and got a chance to play it a little. I am very pleased. It is fat, defined, goes into a sweet feedback with ease and is very touch sensitive. I like the simple, to the point design and it is very quiet. Everything is right at your fingertips.


http://webpages.charter.net/tankm4/gds18scg.jpg


http://webpages.charter.net/tankm4/gds18scd.jpg

[guitardan777]

Looks great Barry :applause
And I understand it sounds fantastic too.....
Just volume and tone, but bad to the bone : )

M29 and I were putting mine through the paces out at Graydon's one afternoon, trying out different speakers, cabs, pedals, and guitars....
I recall that Screaming Yellow Voodoo pedal that was just pushing that little monster over the top.......fun stuff....:dude

[M29]

You got it Danny, bad to the bone! :dude Haven't got a chance to introduce the ZYS on mine yet but I have a feeling it will be happenin soon. :socool

[M29]

Well...I had a good size of Marshall dark green style tolex setting around here that I forgot about. I decided to use it on the cab of this amph. I have the basic birch plywood panels cut with dimensions graciously provided by guitardan777. Thanks Danny!

Not sure what I am going to use for front and back panels. I would like to do something different. Also I am trying to decide if I want to go without cab corners or go with chrome or black. Decisions decisions decisions. I just want to get it done at this point. I have too many projects going right now and a daughter that will be having a graduation open house this spring. No money left for a pre-built cab on this one.

http://webpages.charter.net/tankm4/gds18sch.jpg

[Tig]

Not sure what I am going to use for front and back panels. I would like to do something different.


Inspiration by Hughes and Kettner...
Show off those internals!
http://www.hughes-and-kettner.com/images/products/normal/triamp_head_450px.png

[M29]

Tig, Yeah that is something like I was thinking. I thought about milling some thin gauge aluminum with cooling slots or some sort of pattern. Then I thought about incorporating some sort of small automotive grill-work pieces. Your mind can go wild with stuff to try. I am going to save the front grill for last and then have some fun with it.

They have some great looking nontraditional amphs now, like the Hughes and Kettner you mentioned, the new Vox Night Train. I like the looks of the new Mesa Transatlantic too.
All this stuff is good for cooling too.

Cool stuff Tig!

[duhvoodooman]

Whoa!! Where the heck have I been looking that I missed this thread, M29?!? Between pedal builds and bangin' on that new Agile LP of mine, I obviously haven't been keeping up!

Looking great so far, M. :AOK :dude Can hardly wait to see it in the green tolex cab. And don't embarass me by asking how my own 18W project is coming...

GuitarDan777: I can scratch that Zonkin' Yellow Screamer itch for ya, when you're ready to forget the rest and get the best! :poke ;)

[M29]

Thanks Vood!! Hey how is that 18 watt project coming......:poke :happy :happy :dude :socool

[duhvoodooman]

Thanks Vood!! Hey how is that 18 watt project coming....:mad :punch: :saw: :reallymad: ;)

[M29]

:bootyshake :socool

[marnold]

Huh. I thought I heard that DVM had an 18 watt project going. Guess I was mistaken.

[M29]

It is great to jam on your new amph but it is also great fun building it. Just knowing it is (In-House) and ready to start is a good feeling.
Time will free up Vood and it will be great fun stripin wire, solderin and boltin parts on.

:poke :rockon

[Tig]

I'd have a difficult time not calling a home assembled 18 watt amp,
the "Barely Legal" model! :mybad

[M29]

I ended up using a pattern that is at the top of this pic. I have the aluminum panel in the mill and got started on the cutouts. The round holes in the center are starter holes to get the end-mill into so I can cut the shapes in the picture.

I haven't decided on what type of screen to put behind the cutouts but what ever it is it will be gold in color to go with the gold plexi panel on the amph.

http://webpages.charter.net/tankm4/cabexamp.jpg


http://webpages.charter.net/tankm4/millpanel.jpg

[guitardan777]

GuitarDan777: I can scratch that Zonkin' Yellow Screamer itch for ya, when you're ready to forget the rest and get the best! :poke ;)

That's a great pedal, definatly on my GAS list.....

Lookin' good M29.....ya gonna have her ready for the amph show?
I'm gonna bring mine so peeps can try a GDS S/C rig.

[M29]

Hello guitardan777. Thanks! Yeah I thought I would bring it down to show ya's. Gotta check out that Strat of yours too.
I have some serious time to put into it yet though. Once it is milled there will be lots of filing and sanding and polishing. I have since mounted the feet and the rear panel is finished. I have the cab corners mounted. Oh, I still need to get a handle too. I am thinking of maybe a brown leather handle.

Thanks my friend.

[M29]

The rear is finally finished.

http://webpages.charter.net/tankm4/reardone.jpg

[Katastrophe]

Man, that amph looks great, M!

[M29]

Thanks Kat!

[M29]

Been looking at some fabrics I had laying around the house to put behind the cutouts. I wanted to put the same screen as the backside but it looks way too bright on the front. I might try some other type screen.

http://webpages.charter.net/tankm4/ampfront2.jpg

http://webpages.charter.net/tankm4/ampfront3.jpg

http://webpages.charter.net/tankm4/ampfront4.jpg

[M29]

She's done. I need to find three appropriate front panel screws and thats pretty much it. I need to do something with the logo. It is just a stick on right now but I need a break from this for a while.

http://webpages.charter.net/tankm4/ampfront5.jpg

[guitardan777]

That's ultra sweet my friend.....
Nice work !!

[M29]

Thank you friend.

[mrmudcat]

wowza !!!!

What color are ya going on the panel screws black?????

[M29]

Thanks mud. Not sure. I thought stainless to kind of hide them. I have three bronze colored screws that might look pretty good and kind of tie in with the wood color. One other thing I forgot was a handle. I noticed this when I tried to pick it up..... :thwap

[Tonz]

Very cool, where did the 18 watt kits come from , I want

[M29]

Thanks Tonz. This kit is from GDS. If you have an interest in an 18 watt, probably the best place to learn more about them is at 18watt.com. There are lots of demos on most of the brands on utub too.

[Tonz]

That amp looks so sweet, I am working on a new strat right now, but would like to build a small tube amp when the git is done. I googled amp kits and got tons, I will check out the one you listed, Thanks

[guitarhack]

Nice work, M! That is a very sharp-looking amp.

[M29]

Thanks gh!

[M29]

When you say working on new Strat do you mean working and saving for one or working on building a new Strat? If you are working on one, I would like to hear more about it Tonz. I get to go back and work on my Tele project now. Yea ha!

[Tonz]

I have put together a bunch of guitars over the years, my project right now is another strat. This is going to be my first Warmoth neck, in the past I have always managed to get my hands on Fender necks. I do like the Warmoth fatbacks, a little pissed that they couldn't send me one with a Brazilian rosewood fingerboard but I guess they have to respect the laws and treaties to protect what trees are left in Brazil. The Indian rosewood should come out nice, as it is a nice wood in its own right. I bought a body and some hardware from guitarfetish.com when it is put together I will post some pics.

[Tonz]

Now that you mention it I think my next one will be a tele, I have owned 5 or 6 but have never built one, I custom ordered a tele back in the 90s with a strat vibrato. That was a sweet guitar but was just to dang twangy for my liking so I gave to a friend of mine who fell in love with it. When I build a tele I will route it for the vibrato, cause I can't play a guitar without one. I am interested to hear how these p/u's I ordered from Guitarfetish are going to sound, the price was certainly right.

[M29]

Sounds like a nice project. Keep us up on how it is progressing.

Have you got your Warmoth neck yet. If not here is a little preview of how it might look when it arrives. This was for a Jazzmasster I built a while back. Very nice indeed.

http://webpages.charter.net/tankm4/warneck2.jpg

[Tonz]

Nope still waiting for the neck, but the flame maple shaft will be worth the wait.
Do you have more pics of that guitar.
This is my main strat right now, built from fender parts, 82 neck 96 lonestar body, nice axe plays real sweet and sounds like a nut.

http://www.thefret.net/imagehosting/thum_113344bec5bdbaeeac.jpg (http://www.thefret.net/vbimghost.php?do=displayimg&imgid=1595)

[M29]

Here is a pic. This was a special order (one) piece Warmoth swamp ash body.
I had Dimarzio Area 61 pickups in it. I don't remember off hand what the bucker was. I sold this a while back...a fool indeed. The guy that bought it wrote me and was excited about the surf green paint he was going to paint it. I told him, I don't want to hear anymore. :thwap

Hey that Strat looks great!

http://webpages.charter.net/tankm4/jazzgitjpg.jpg

[Tonz]

Looks like a great axe, I have had GAS for a long time, sometimes it turns into SGS, I wish I had never sold most of the guitars and amps I have owned over the years. I was thinkin on doin a wood grain with this new neck I am waiting for, but I found a flamed maple in cherry sunburst body that I could not turn down.

[M29]

I put the gold side out on the grill to see if it was too flashy. Any opinions compared to the black?

http://webpages.charter.net/tankm4/ampfront7.jpg

http://webpages.charter.net/tankm4/ampfront5.jpg

[Robert]

Gold looks great!

:AOK

[M29]

Thanks Robert.

[Tonz]

Seen this amp in pics from the amp show, along with some others

[M29]

Hello Tonz!

The Motor City amph show was great. The hosts were very friendly and very hospitable as they always are. Some nice equipment there indeed. Near the end a group of guys played some great music and demoed each vendors main amph, a different one for each song. What a great way to hear the amphs in action.

Graydon at GDS/Guytron had a small display of their built-up amph kits. I brought mine down and hung out with them most of the day.

I got to meet Joe Naylor of Reverend guitars. A very pleasant fellow indeed and a great player too. It is always a great time! it is a good thing I am reading your question as my hearing has not come back yet... Oh I just love it:happy

[guitardan777]

Here's a few snaps fom the show....

Graydon and the wall of Guytron amps:
http://i400.photobucket.com/albums/pp88/danmedawar/GuytronGraydon.jpg

The GDS 18 Watters:
http://i400.photobucket.com/albums/pp88/danmedawar/GdsAmps.jpg