BYOC Tweed Royal Amp Kit Build

[Ch0jin]

@SVL As I understand it, the JTM45 (Marshall) was a revised 5F6A Bassman (Fender). Originally with 6L6's like Fender in '62, but by '64 they had KT66's in them.

The Fender Tweed Deluxe was an even older design ('55-'60 according to wiki) with the last and most popular being the 5E3 version, unique in Fender land for it's cathode bias and lack of power stage feedback (same as the Vox AC30 apparently) which gives it the ability for easily attained power tube distortion.

Most notable though is that the TD is a 15W 6V6 powered amp, whereas the Bassman/JTM is a 45W 6L6/KT66 amp. Different animals, but both very cool!

So back to the amph!

That's an interesting layout with the tubes sticking horizontally out the back like that. Obviously that's a tweed combo layout that happens to fit nicely into a head shell, but it's going to make tube swaps super easy! On the down side, I'd be very careful pulling the power cable out after a gig if that rectumfrier tube gets hot...

One question though.... What's the little blue hat that looks like some kind of crimped wire joiner doing in there?

Also, just for your consideration, but I'd be tempted to try and run those heater wires that currently go over the SE/PP wiring -under-. Closer to the chassis and less likely to work as transmitters. I found some pretty small changes to things like that made some big differences in my last amp build. But hey, if it's hum free now, box it up and rock on!

[duhvoodooman***]

One question though.... What's the little blue hat that looks like some kind of crimped wire joiner doing in there?

It's a wire nut, used to splice two wires together--strip & twist the two ends together and then screw the wire nut down over them to secure the mechanical splice. Because of the two-OT layout and the SE/PP switch, one of the leads for the SE tranny isn't quite long enough to reach the connection lug on the rotary switch. Keith included a wire nut in the kit to splice the lead to an added length of wire going to the switch. Not how I would do it personally--I'd do a solder splice and cover it with heatshrink--but I always build Keith's kits exactly to stock, at least for the first go-around. Seems to work just fine.

Also, just for your consideration, but I'd be tempted to try and run those heater wires that currently go over the SE/PP wiring -under-. Closer to the chassis and less likely to work as transmitters. I found some pretty small changes to things like that made some big differences in my last amp build. But hey, if it's hum free now, box it up and rock on!

It's pretty quiet as is, but the point is well taken as a matter of good lead dress practice. I have to open the amp up again in the next couple of days to clear up the Cut control squeal issue. Should be no problem to just push those heater wires over toward the rectifier tube socket at the back of the chassis and away from the rotary switch wires.