FXBDM 1832
TDPRI Member
Hello everyone,
First of all, thanks to everyone for making this forum such a great resource. I have been reading and getting ideas from here ever since I started playing guitar a year ago.
Having been a DIY fan forever, I built a few guitars, one pedal, and now will be attempting a Tube Amp.
I usually learn better by jumping directly into the deep end, so I decided to do what most people here advise against, and build something from an old non-guitar tube amp. This is mostly due to me being pound foolish and penny wise, and also because I like making things complicated.
The donor amp is a Rogers console radio and phonograph. It has a 290-0-290 PT. A dinky little single ended OT, a 4 ohm 8 inch speaker, 5y3, 6v6, and three more tubes.
Since I already have a Kalamazoo model one that I like, my plan on buying the donor was to follow my amp’s layout and build a ptp Champ. I also noticed that one of the other tubes was a triode with two diodes, so I figured I could use that triode to build a tremolo like the Kalamazoo Model two (which is roughly similar to the vibro-champ, as I understand it).
I don’t plan this to be a conversion job, I will strip out everything but the transformers and sockets and use new components.
So my first realization on starting the strip is that my three other tubes have Loctal sockets, which I will have to swap out most likely. The 6v6 is also probably dead, and the plastic center pin disintegrated in my hands.
So I removed all the big radio parts and now have much more room to play with.
My reason for posting this thread is that I can be a bit careless with making my builds pretty, and sometimes I rush to make a project work and never complete the job properly. I hope posting updates will keep me honest until the end.
First of all, thanks to everyone for making this forum such a great resource. I have been reading and getting ideas from here ever since I started playing guitar a year ago.
Having been a DIY fan forever, I built a few guitars, one pedal, and now will be attempting a Tube Amp.
I usually learn better by jumping directly into the deep end, so I decided to do what most people here advise against, and build something from an old non-guitar tube amp. This is mostly due to me being pound foolish and penny wise, and also because I like making things complicated.
The donor amp is a Rogers console radio and phonograph. It has a 290-0-290 PT. A dinky little single ended OT, a 4 ohm 8 inch speaker, 5y3, 6v6, and three more tubes.
Since I already have a Kalamazoo model one that I like, my plan on buying the donor was to follow my amp’s layout and build a ptp Champ. I also noticed that one of the other tubes was a triode with two diodes, so I figured I could use that triode to build a tremolo like the Kalamazoo Model two (which is roughly similar to the vibro-champ, as I understand it).
I don’t plan this to be a conversion job, I will strip out everything but the transformers and sockets and use new components.
So my first realization on starting the strip is that my three other tubes have Loctal sockets, which I will have to swap out most likely. The 6v6 is also probably dead, and the plastic center pin disintegrated in my hands.
So I removed all the big radio parts and now have much more room to play with.
My reason for posting this thread is that I can be a bit careless with making my builds pretty, and sometimes I rush to make a project work and never complete the job properly. I hope posting updates will keep me honest until the end.
