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MJ Harnish · April 9th, 2003, 09:59 AM

Having built several amps myself (along with a bunch of pedals) I would suggest you go with a kit first. My reasons are that it's cheaper (Bruce's kits are priced very, very reasonably) and more likely to yield positive results right off the bat. It's also helpful to have some instructions and tech support the first time you build an amp b/c lead dress is critical in getting the amp to work well (or at all).

That said, old Fender amps are very well documented with all of the parts, including in most cases the chassis, readily available. The layouts shown in the G.Weber book (and others) tend to be very accurate so you can usually use them as a guide for doing your lead dress. My suggestion would be to create a spreadsheet in which you can enter all the parts you'll need so you can assess exactly what the cost is going to be: You're liable to be stunned at how expensive building an amp yourself can be. :?

In either case, putting the amp together shouldn't be too hard since you've got some soldering experience; I find building FX pedals a lot more frustrating in terms of troubleshooting and wiring. Just keep in mind that you're working with potentially lethal voltages and you need to be especially careful; e.g., a reversed polarized cap in a pedal only means the pedal won't work; in an amp it could explode violently. :(

Have you considered building the Tweed kit as a 15" combo? You'd get the best of both world then. :)

April 9th, 2003, 09:59 AM	#2 (permalink)
MJ Harnish Tele-Meister Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Hattingen, Germany Posts: 457	Having built several amps myself (along with a bunch of pedals) I would suggest you go with a kit first. My reasons are that it's cheaper (Bruce's kits are priced very, very reasonably) and more likely to yield positive results right off the bat. It's also helpful to have some instructions and tech support the first time you build an amp b/c lead dress is critical in getting the amp to work well (or at all). That said, old Fender amps are very well documented with all of the parts, including in most cases the chassis, readily available. The layouts shown in the G.Weber book (and others) tend to be very accurate so you can usually use them as a guide for doing your lead dress. My suggestion would be to create a spreadsheet in which you can enter all the parts you'll need so you can assess exactly what the cost is going to be: You're liable to be stunned at how expensive building an amp yourself can be. :? In either case, putting the amp together shouldn't be too hard since you've got some soldering experience; I find building FX pedals a lot more frustrating in terms of troubleshooting and wiring. Just keep in mind that you're working with potentially lethal voltages and you need to be especially careful; e.g., a reversed polarized cap in a pedal only means the pedal won't work; in an amp it could explode violently. :( Have you considered building the Tweed kit as a 15" combo? You'd get the best of both world then. :) __________________ MJ Harnish Suburbs: Where they cut down all the trees and then name the streets after them.