[andrewsadlon]

Originally Posted by charisjapan

Hay back at ya!

What BoredGuy said plus a few more questions you have to ask yourself to find out what you need. The real-life difference between building a 5W 1X8" Champ clone and a 40W 4X10" is mostly size, weight and money. Of course there is a certain amount of added complexity in the circuit and more tubes, but not an order of magnitude. If you get into amps with tremolo and reverb, yeah, a lot more study is necessary to understand the workings.

You need to define 'gig-sized' a little better... in an auditorium with a loud drummer and bass, you'll need more than 25W. The 4X10" Bassman is physically big, and will put out quite a bit of sound. But even so, after a certain size venue you will either need a huge amp head with multiple stacks, or just mike it into a PA system, at which point a 12W 5E3 will be your monitor. So, you have to map out your needs, or you could end up with way too much amp, or too little.

The other consideration is your guitar and the kind of tone you're pursuing. Here on TDPRI, single-coil Telecasters and Tweed amps are the cat's meow! Over at Strat-Talk you might get pointed toward a Blackface tone, and at MyL-P a British tone from a Marshall clone. I know that might sound a bit 'bigoted,' but it's relatively true. That said, some of those old Tweed circuits can be tweaked to make just about any guitar sing!

Here at Shock Bros., you'll find a lot of 'crossover' folks that know about most any imaginable amplifier, so whittle down your needs and these guys will help you make some decisions.

Finally, ANY amp you make with your own hands will make you proud! When BoredGuy said 'kit,' he didn't mean a snap-together model. Even a 5F1 Champ kit from a full-source supplier like Weber will challenge you. But Oh, the reward!

Edit: forgot to add, take a peek at this site Boot Hill Amps. You'll see him here by the name Hackworth1, and offers great deals and lots of help to us TDPRI-ers.

charisjapan

Okay here's the thing: I'm a worship leader (as in music worship) at a church currently. I've got a band there, we play every Sunday, weve played a handful of small gigs for events around the church and stuff, etc. I'm actually lining up a fall concert with other local bands as well. Chances are, throughout my senior year, I'm never gonna have a gig that big ("auditorium with a loud drummer and bassist"), although there's a chance the fall concert will be that big. My plans in college though, is to get with a band and start playing some real gigs. I want something pretty decent-sized, but not too big because I wanna be able to crank it and have it not be too loud (that may sound like a contradiction, but hopefully you know what I mean). I can always mic it for a PA.

I mostly play a custom Tele that a buddy made. And I mostly play through a Peavey Studio Pro (?)(which i dislike) solid state, not sure what the wattage is... Or, a fender super champ tube, again not sure o the wattage (which I LOVE and would LOVE to be able to crank the volume past 3 in church... I might get a scolding though). I play a lot of rock, and love the blues. If that gives you any idea of the tone I go for. Obviously, if I don't like what I hear, I'm gonna change something. I won't sit there cringing at my own playing. I must say though... The Peavey that I've been playing through has made me appreciate that SC much more :)

I'll check out those kits, and Boot Hill. Thanks!