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Taking the plunge - another newbie starts his first 5E3 project.

Discussion in 'Shock Brother's DIY Amps' started by SteadieEddie, Jun 29, 2019.

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  1. Jun 29, 2019 #1
    SteadieEddie

    SteadieEddie TDPRI Member

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    Hello everyone.
    After months of deliberation, research and down right admiration for the work of others, I've finally taken the plunge and started a 5E3 build.
    Many thanks to RobRobinette and his excellent site and others on here for the inspiration.
    I hope to share my journey and probably seek some help along the way.
    I've built a couple of guitar pedals in the past and assembled a Partscaster Strat (which I'm pretty proud of, I have to say).
    So I thought I'd step it up a bit and try a DIY amp.
     
    bigguy12321, Paul-T and JohnnyCrash like this.
  2. Jun 29, 2019 #2
    SteadieEddie

    SteadieEddie TDPRI Member

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    I thought I'd start with a homemade turret board... IMG_20190525_132936.jpg IMG_20190525_133239.jpg
     
    BobSmith, sds1, D'tar and 4 others like this.
  3. Jun 29, 2019 #3
    MrGibbly

    MrGibbly Tele-Afflicted

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    Nice! I just started ordering parts for my first amp build, too. Will be following with interest. Nice looking ground bus!
     
    JohnnyCrash likes this.
  4. Jun 29, 2019 #4
    jsnwhite619

    jsnwhite619 Friend of Leo's

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    Nice job -- you've got to let us kick the tires on your transformers though! :D What did you go with?
     
    King Fan likes this.
  5. Jun 29, 2019 #5
    King Fan

    King Fan Poster Extraordinaire Ad Free Member

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    I have a good feeling about this build... :)
     
  6. Jun 29, 2019 #6
    checkmate110

    checkmate110 TDPRI Member

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    Just finished my first amp, a 5e3 also.
    After some initial hiccups it went well and it sounds great!
    Lots of great advice here, Good Luck!
     
    JohnnyCrash likes this.
  7. Jun 29, 2019 #7
    SteadieEddie

    SteadieEddie TDPRI Member

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    Thanks for comments.
    Not sourced all the components yet. I'm in the UK here. Got most of the board components from Mouser including a Hammond 1750E OT.
    Thinking of chassis and PT from Modulus Amplification. Any recommends greatly received.
    Good luck with your build too MrGibbly.
     
    JohnnyCrash likes this.
  8. Jun 29, 2019 #8
    SteadieEddie

    SteadieEddie TDPRI Member

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    Made the most of the sunny English weather and started a bit of woodworking in the garden.... IMG_20190622_193149.jpg
     
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  9. Jun 29, 2019 #9
    JohnnyCrash

    JohnnyCrash Doctor of Teleocity

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    It always makes me happy to see people rolling their own!

    This will be a fun project to watch.
     
    bigguy12321 likes this.
  10. Jun 29, 2019 #10
    MrGibbly

    MrGibbly Tele-Afflicted

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    Thanks! What's the spec of the wire you're using for your ground bus? Looks perfect...think I'll want some. :)
     
    Last edited: Jun 29, 2019
  11. Jun 29, 2019 #11
    SteadieEddie

    SteadieEddie TDPRI Member

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    Simply stripped some twin & earth household wiring cable. Used the central earth core; twisted the single core in power drill while pulled straight to stiffen up the core - works a treat to get in nice and straight. Then just used some strategically placed heatshrink for insulation.
     
    MrGibbly likes this.
  12. Jun 29, 2019 #12
    Paul-T

    Paul-T Tele-Holic

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    I am mid 5F2a build, and in the UK.

    I got my chassis from Ampmart. I emailed to check shipping and it came in cheaper, $18. Chassis is great. For $28 it's phenomenal. I suspect these are the same that Modulus supply. Mable audio is a sister company of Ampmart. Customer service is erratic but they're great for the price and take about five days to deliver!

    I bought a Hammond 290CAX from Mouser - it has 275-0-275 which a few here recommend, for various reasons. It fits my 5F1 chassis perfectly. However, Mouser add (illegally I suspect) VAT after you've checked out. I think Tube-town, who don't, and who have shipping for around €10, would be cheaper. Tube-town are great for loads of other stuff too, I bought most of my complicated Deluxe Micro bits (yes, before I completed the 5F2) from them.
     
    King Fan likes this.
  13. Jun 29, 2019 #13
    SteadieEddie

    SteadieEddie TDPRI Member

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    Thanks for the great advice Paul-T I'll check them both out. Good luck with your builds.
     
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  14. Jun 29, 2019 #14
    jsnwhite619

    jsnwhite619 Friend of Leo's

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    That Hammond 1750e is a great OT for the 6v6 Fenders. I thought I loved it for early saturation until I built a Princeton Reverb with it. Amazing glassy cleans with it until halfway up the dial, so I think it really just lets the circuit do it's own thing. I little warmer & softer sounding the the bigger 6.6k Deluxe Reverb OT, and that's why it's perfect for the Tweed stuff and a 5e3. If Hammond stuff is readily available/decently priced, I used their 290BX power transformer for my 5e3. It fit my Mojotone chassis perfectly, has a high current rating, and I've used 3 of them and an export model for different projects through the years, and they all end up with the same readings every time - even the export model on 220v. Nice clean finish & wires are plenty long. I just don't have a bad thing to say about Hammonds. In my 5e3, the B+ lands right around 370v with it and all new JJ tubes and a 5y3. Also has a bias tap in case you want to mod it for fixed/cathode bias later.

    So, it's not the only thing out there, but if they are available in UK and others are not as easy to get, I wouldn't shop around too much.
     
  15. Jul 2, 2019 #15
    Jorgen83

    Jorgen83 Tele-Meister

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    That ground bus looks great.
     
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  16. Jul 2, 2019 #16
    sds1

    sds1 Tele-Afflicted

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    This ain't no first build!! Can't be!!
     
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  17. Jul 6, 2019 #17
    SteadieEddie

    SteadieEddie TDPRI Member

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    Update:
    Well progress has been a little slow. Work and needing to fix a reluctant lawnmower has got in the way. (it was a carb problem btw - but that's probably for another forum).
    Here's a partial filled turret board...
    IMG_20190706_181322.jpg
    I haven't gone for any "boutique", pretty caps and resistors; trying to control costs but hope it will be OK.
    If you spot any problems please let me know.
    Cabinet has moved on a bit....
    IMG_20190706_180804.jpg
    Also bought myself a chassis (metal work being a bit too difficult for me to make a good enough job of it).
     
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  18. Jul 6, 2019 #18
    SteadieEddie

    SteadieEddie TDPRI Member

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    Oh and I've bought a couple more things on ebay.
    WGS G12C speaker.
    PT from Italy! Hope that's going to be OK.
     
  19. Jul 6, 2019 #19
    SteadieEddie

    SteadieEddie TDPRI Member

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    Quick question:
    Do I need to route radius on the back panel apertures?
     
  20. Jul 6, 2019 #20
    SteadieEddie

    SteadieEddie TDPRI Member

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    I'm struggling to find proper woven tweed for the cabinet in the UK and costs seem pretty high.
    As I'm not really building a truly authentic tweed deluxe I may go for something different.
    Thought about proper Harris Tweed fabric (from Scotland) - sort of Leo Fender in a Saville Row gentleman's suit. What do you think?
     
    tubegeek likes this.
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