Places to order Amp Kits?

11 Gauge · December 4th, 2003, 12:13 PM

Hey All-

I'm about to build another amp. This time I need everything minus the cabinet, tubes, and speaker.

I'm still open as to what I may build, but here's what I've sort of whittled it down to:

-something low power - either 40 watts or less
-preferably a 6L6 class AB design, but will consider 6V6, EL34, and single ended designs.
-no EL84 designs.
-no reverb, vibrato, normal channels, etc.
-VERY stripped down design.
-tube recto circuit, preferably one ready to drop in a 5Y3.
-4 and 8 ohm taps on the OT.

Circuit design can be based on BF, Marshall, Tweed, or even any mix of the 3.

I'm shooting for the 'less is better' finall product - you know, K.I.S.S.

So please give me URLs of all of your favorites. I really want to move on this one, so if you could email me at:

keaviles@sweetheart.com

that would be even better!

ps- I've already checked out Allen Amps' website. Any thoughts on their kits (and NOT their preassembled amps)? I like the 'upgraded' trannies...

JDO · December 4th, 2003, 12:48 PM

i can't speak for david's amp kits but i can say that he's a wonderful guy to do business with. and his trannys are great. i got a set for a blown champ i have. wonderfully built trannys. and i have a solemate kit that is top notch. if his amp kits are anything like it then they are well worth the money.

reading your discription, you don't really leave room for much. my first thoughts were a 5E3 from bruce at mission amps. you could tell him you want to be able to use it with 6l6's and he'll provide the extra parts that are needed for the conversion. it's about as simple as you can get. http://www.missionamps.com/5e3.html he also plans on offering other tweed kits. he's just waiting on trannys.

mojo has some amp kits. i've never ordered one from them so i don't know much about them. http://www.mojotone.com/

and depending on how much money you want to spend, you could look at an 18watter. i know you said no el84's but it's a pretty cool little amp. and if you don't want the trem, many people on the 18 watt site have put a traditonal tone stack in place of the trem. i think the kit is 750 from graydon and you can get the faceplate with the TMB tone stack.

i think there's also a company in new york called marsh amps that is selling kits. that's about all i got for ya. hth

Caper · December 4th, 2003, 01:01 PM

http://www.marshamps.com/
This guy sells stuff on ebay every now and then.

tjalla · December 4th, 2003, 02:11 PM

...you can order a handwired chassis from Winfield Thomas (posts as Zook here on the tdpri). No affiliation, but am a satisfied customer!

http://rfd.cc/winamp

Cheers,
Trevor

El Capitan · December 5th, 2003, 12:39 AM

http://www.missionamps.com/5e3.html

Doug T. · December 5th, 2003, 01:20 AM

Daivd is a nice guy to deal with and sells high quality components. I've built two so far ... and looking at another one!

Sounds like the V18 might be close to what you want ... just leave out the reverb.

http://www.allenamps.com

Wayne Alexander · December 5th, 2003, 01:25 AM

If you want a blackface-themed amp as a kit, you can't do better than Allen. I built an Old Flame. It's got better reverb and transformers than the Super Reverb it's loosely based on, no vibrato, bias jacks, a raw control that dials out the tone controls from the circuit, leading to a brownface approaching tweed tone. Excellent parts and instructions.

11 Gauge · December 5th, 2003, 11:47 AM

thanks for all the url's.

i think i'm leaning towards the Winfield Thomas Elizabeth - it seems to have all the features i want (and nothing i don't), with a preassembled chassis.

i'm intrigued by all the 5E3 kits, but due to the fact that this amp will probably end up as something a little left of center i don't want the kit to hold me back -possibly a Mission amp with upgraded iron, a 5AR4, and the ability to run 6L6s could be the ticket, though.

the November looks cool too, but i want nothing to do with EL84s any more. too bad.

thanks again. now it's time for the hard part - which one to go with?

JDO · December 5th, 2003, 12:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 11 Gauge

thanks for all the url's.

i think i'm leaning towards the Winfield Thomas Elizabeth - it seems to have all the features i want (and nothing i don't), with a preassembled chassis.

i'm intrigued by all the 5E3 kits, but due to the fact that this amp will probably end up as something a little left of center i don't want the kit to hold me back -possibly a Mission amp with upgraded iron, a 5AR4, and the ability to run 6L6s could be the ticket, though.

thanks again. now it's time for the hard part - which one to go with?

this isn't going to make it any easier but ... winnie seems like a great guy so i don't think you can go wrong ordering an amp from him. and i've only read great things, and the few times i've emailed him he has been more than helpful. but so you know, if i understand correctly, his elizabeth is basically a 5E3 (and winnie might jump in to clarify) with one input. i'm not sure if he's done any "tweaks" to the 5E3 or not.

and the missions kit already has beefed up iron. the PT can handle 6l6's - not sure what bruce does about the OT if you want to run 6L6's. email bruce and ask him about it. but basically, his PT has the ma for 6L6's and the voltage too. for the 5E3 kit you have to put a zener in to drop the voltage so you can get it in the proper territory for the tweed 6V6 sound.

i think both will be wonderful choices. just email both and tell them what you're looking for and i'm sure both will be more than happy to answer any questions you have and lead you to the amp for you. especially since they're both pretty much the same amp.

11 Gauge · December 5th, 2003, 01:59 PM

...the Elizabeth, which to me seems more like a stripped down BF variant, and an actual 5E3 clone.

he also offers the November, which is his Marshall-ish offering.

so it seems to me that he has the 3 bases covered:
-Tweed variant
-Marshall variant
-BF variant,

with the word variant being very loosely tossed around, and all 3 amps being in the low watt category.

i know that the 5E3 circuit is a holy grail design, i just don't know if it's what i'm looking for exactly. i want a bit of headroom before the thing starts breaking up. that's why i'm leaning towards a 5E3 with 6L6 capability, to try to juice it upwards a bit before it breaks up. but it seems sort of like trying to get blood from a stone.

i have no problem altering a 5E3 kit, just don't know how much alteration i want to do... i'm just not sure if the 5E3 has enough B+ without totally reworking the circuit as well.

maybe what i actually want is a stripped down AB763 kit, which, to my knowledge, doesn't exist...

but i will email them with my queries - thanks.

zook · December 5th, 2003, 06:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 11 Gauge

...the Elizabeth, which to me seems more like a stripped down BF variant, and an actual 5E3 clone.

he also offers the November, which is his Marshall-ish offering.

so it seems to me that he has the 3 bases covered:
-Tweed variant
-Marshall variant
-BF variant,

11 Gauge,

You are correct, the Elizabeth is a Blackface style amp.

The 5E3 head is a Tweed, and the November is the Marshall style.

The Elizabeth and Novembers are not knock-off circuits, but similar.

Winnie

Lance · December 6th, 2003, 09:31 AM

On the Mission 5E3 kit, Bruce will sell you the parts to build your 5E3 with 6L6 tubes. It'll give a little more headroom and a somewhat different tone. For what it's worth, I got 6L6 kit but haven't made the change...the 6V6s sound great.

Lance

JDO · December 6th, 2003, 01:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zook

You are correct, the Elizabeth is a Blackface style amp.

The 5E3 head is a Tweed, and the November is the Marshall style.

The Elizabeth and Novembers are not knock-off circuits, but similar.

Winnie

winnie, i'm glad you jumped in. i was giving wrong info. when i thought of the elizabeth i had this picture in my mind

which is your 5E3.

zook · December 7th, 2003, 02:12 AM

Quote:

winnie, i'm glad you jumped in. i was giving wrong info. when i thought of the elizabeth i had this picture in my mind which is your 5E3.

JDO,

Well it does have an Elizabeth tag on it, confusing I guess.

The fellow that owns that amp is right here in Vermont. He uses 6L6s and a SS plug-in rectifier, He loves the amp.

Winnie

JDO · December 8th, 2003, 12:25 AM

winnie,
i just wanted to make sure you knew that me posting that pic wasn't me being a smartie pants. i was just trying to clear up why i was confused. and i'm easily confussed. i'm glad this came up because up 'til now i had it in my mind you had two basic amps you offered. now i know you have three and if someone is looking for a BF voiced amp i can give them another option.

one question though. do you have a mouser part number the switch you used on that amp? i need a good solid on/off/on switch to put in an amp for standby/off/on. thanks. oh, and you probably could charge more :D

zook · December 9th, 2003, 10:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JDO

winnie,
i just wanted to make sure you knew that me posting that pic wasn't me being a smartie pants. i was just trying to clear up why i was confused. and i'm easily confussed. i'm glad this came up because up 'til now i had it in my mind you had two basic amps you offered. now i know you have three and if someone is looking for a BF voiced amp i can give them another option.

one question though. do you have a mouser part number the switch you used on that amp? i need a good solid on/off/on switch to put in an amp for standby/off/on. thanks. oh, and you probably could charge more :D

JDO,

I didn't take any offense, It was just a mistake.

I don't have theMouser #, but it's a double pole double throw with center Off. One side is On/ Off/On The other is Standby/off/on. Switching it though the off position quickly doesn't really cause much of a concern.

Winnie

eryque · December 10th, 2003, 02:15 PM

Mouser doesn't have a the On/On/Off switch needed, I don't think, I think theirs are all On/Off/On. Mark Norwine gave me a source for the right switch long ago, but I can 't find the reference anymore. Might send him a note.

December 4th, 2003, 12:13 PM	#1 (permalink)
11 Gauge Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: The East Coast Posts: 3,016 10 Photos	Places to order Amp Kits? Hey All- I'm about to build another amp. This time I need everything minus the cabinet, tubes, and speaker. I'm still open as to what I may build, but here's what I've sort of whittled it down to: -something low power - either 40 watts or less -preferably a 6L6 class AB design, but will consider 6V6, EL34, and single ended designs. -no EL84 designs. -no reverb, vibrato, normal channels, etc. -VERY stripped down design. -tube recto circuit, preferably one ready to drop in a 5Y3. -4 and 8 ohm taps on the OT. Circuit design can be based on BF, Marshall, Tweed, or even any mix of the 3. I'm shooting for the 'less is better' finall product - you know, K.I.S.S. So please give me URLs of all of your favorites. I really want to move on this one, so if you could email me at: keaviles@sweetheart.com that would be even better! ps- I've already checked out Allen Amps' website. Any thoughts on their kits (and NOT their preassembled amps)? I like the 'upgraded' trannies... __________________

December 4th, 2003, 12:48 PM	#2 (permalink)
JDO Tele-Holic Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Pittsboro, NC Posts: 601	i can't speak for david's amp kits but i can say that he's a wonderful guy to do business with. and his trannys are great. i got a set for a blown champ i have. wonderfully built trannys. and i have a solemate kit that is top notch. if his amp kits are anything like it then they are well worth the money. reading your discription, you don't really leave room for much. my first thoughts were a 5E3 from bruce at mission amps. you could tell him you want to be able to use it with 6l6's and he'll provide the extra parts that are needed for the conversion. it's about as simple as you can get. http://www.missionamps.com/5e3.html he also plans on offering other tweed kits. he's just waiting on trannys. mojo has some amp kits. i've never ordered one from them so i don't know much about them. http://www.mojotone.com/ and depending on how much money you want to spend, you could look at an 18watter. i know you said no el84's but it's a pretty cool little amp. and if you don't want the trem, many people on the 18 watt site have put a traditonal tone stack in place of the trem. i think the kit is 750 from graydon and you can get the faceplate with the TMB tone stack. i think there's also a company in new york called marsh amps that is selling kits. that's about all i got for ya. hth __________________ clean as a whistle

December 4th, 2003, 02:11 PM	#4 (permalink)
tjalla Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 1,897 7 Photos	For not much more than kit price... ...you can order a handwired chassis from Winfield Thomas (posts as Zook here on the tdpri). No affiliation, but am a satisfied customer! http://rfd.cc/winamp Cheers, Trevor

December 5th, 2003, 12:39 AM	#5 (permalink)
El Capitan Tele-Holic Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: AUSTIN, Tejas! Posts: 810 2 Photos	........ http://www.missionamps.com/5e3.html __________________ virescit vulnere virtus

December 5th, 2003, 01:20 AM	#6 (permalink)
Doug T. Tele-Meister Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 118	Allen Amps = great stuff! Daivd is a nice guy to deal with and sells high quality components. I've built two so far ... and looking at another one! Sounds like the V18 might be close to what you want ... just leave out the reverb. http://www.allenamps.com

December 4th, 2003, 01:01 PM	#3 (permalink)
Caper Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 2,169 7 Photos	http://www.marshamps.com/ This guy sells stuff on ebay every now and then.

December 5th, 2003, 01:25 AM	#7 (permalink)
Wayne Alexander Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Los Angeles, CA, USA Posts: 1,062	If you want a blackface-themed amp as a kit, you can't do better than Allen. I built an Old Flame. It's got better reverb and transformers than the Super Reverb it's loosely based on, no vibrato, bias jacks, a raw control that dials out the tone controls from the circuit, leading to a brownface approaching tweed tone. Excellent parts and instructions.

December 5th, 2003, 11:47 AM	#8 (permalink)
11 Gauge Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: The East Coast Posts: 3,016 10 Photos	thanks... thanks for all the url's. i think i'm leaning towards the Winfield Thomas Elizabeth - it seems to have all the features i want (and nothing i don't), with a preassembled chassis. i'm intrigued by all the 5E3 kits, but due to the fact that this amp will probably end up as something a little left of center i don't want the kit to hold me back -possibly a Mission amp with upgraded iron, a 5AR4, and the ability to run 6L6s could be the ticket, though. the November looks cool too, but i want nothing to do with EL84s any more. too bad. thanks again. now it's time for the hard part - which one to go with? __________________

December 5th, 2003, 01:59 PM	#10 (permalink)
11 Gauge Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: The East Coast Posts: 3,016 10 Photos	i thought he offered... ...the Elizabeth, which to me seems more like a stripped down BF variant, and an actual 5E3 clone. he also offers the November, which is his Marshall-ish offering. so it seems to me that he has the 3 bases covered: -Tweed variant -Marshall variant -BF variant, with the word variant being very loosely tossed around, and all 3 amps being in the low watt category. i know that the 5E3 circuit is a holy grail design, i just don't know if it's what i'm looking for exactly. i want a bit of headroom before the thing starts breaking up. that's why i'm leaning towards a 5E3 with 6L6 capability, to try to juice it upwards a bit before it breaks up. but it seems sort of like trying to get blood from a stone. i have no problem altering a 5E3 kit, just don't know how much alteration i want to do... i'm just not sure if the 5E3 has enough B+ without totally reworking the circuit as well. maybe what i actually want is a stripped down AB763 kit, which, to my knowledge, doesn't exist... but i will email them with my queries - thanks. __________________

December 6th, 2003, 09:31 AM	#12 (permalink)
Lance Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 2,180	Just an FYI... On the Mission 5E3 kit, Bruce will sell you the parts to build your 5E3 with 6L6 tubes. It'll give a little more headroom and a somewhat different tone. For what it's worth, I got 6L6 kit but haven't made the change...the 6V6s sound great. Lance __________________ Lance "not very good...but I make up for it by playing loud"

December 8th, 2003, 12:25 AM	#15 (permalink)
JDO Tele-Holic Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Pittsboro, NC Posts: 601	winnie, i just wanted to make sure you knew that me posting that pic wasn't me being a smartie pants. i was just trying to clear up why i was confused. and i'm easily confussed. i'm glad this came up because up 'til now i had it in my mind you had two basic amps you offered. now i know you have three and if someone is looking for a BF voiced amp i can give them another option. one question though. do you have a mouser part number the switch you used on that amp? i need a good solid on/off/on switch to put in an amp for standby/off/on. thanks. oh, and you probably could charge more :D __________________ clean as a whistle

December 10th, 2003, 02:15 PM	#17 (permalink)
eryque Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: albany, ny [not chicago] Posts: 7,126 44 Photos	Mouser doesn't have a the On/On/Off switch needed, I don't think, I think theirs are all On/Off/On. Mark Norwine gave me a source for the right switch long ago, but I can 't find the reference anymore. Might send him a note.