Any DIYers?

jimi_t

Just wondering if anyone here has built/builds their own stuff; be it synth, outboard or whatever else from scratch or with a kit?

PaulBrewer

I built a mixer years ago. Acid bath for the circuit boards the whole 9 yards!

I also built a power amp from a klt and some guitar fx pedals.

The NS10,000 came out well.

I'm going to build a 5 watt guitar amp over Christmas.

Ive been seriously considering knocking an 1176 clone together..it'l have to wait until i put this telecaster together first though..

PaulBrewer

Deleted User wrote: »

Ive been seriously considering knocking an 1176 clone together..it'l have to wait until i put this telecaster together first though..

Are there kits available?

For the tele or the 1176?..tele, yes..1176, dont know really..

anders

I've seen the 1176 been mentioned a few times on GroupDIY.com and there's the Gyraf Gyratec III http://www.gyraf.dk/g3/index.html which is more of a LA-2 or LA-3 type of deal.
Trying to get in to DIY myself. Build some very basic stuff from scratch and fixed some simple circuits. My project for a long time now has been to rack mount a pair of Yamaha PM-1000 channels. Also looking at making a ReAmp box after christmas.

jimi_t

What I'd like to find is a consensus on a nice mic pre or valve pre-amp kit - something whose original iteration would cost serious money to buy but a 'clone' could be put together from a PCB + parts kits for like 40-50% of the cost.

PaulBrewer - is the 5 watter the Ruby by anychance? I've always wanted to get one of those dirty Harley Benton 5 watt valves and see could it be modded into something useful

PaulBrewer

jimi_t wrote: »

PaulBrewer - is the 5 watter the Ruby by anychance? I've always wanted to get one of those dirty Harley Benton 5 watt valves and see could it be modded into something useful

No, what's a Ruby?

Here are a few I'm looking at all suggested by Boarders -

http://www.evatco.com.au/sonic.htm

http://www.torresengineering.com/maktubam.html

http://www.diyguitaramp.com/parts.html

PaulBrewer

jimi_t wrote: »

I've always wanted to get one of those dirty Harley Benton 5 watt valves and see could it be modded into something useful

I tried one modding one of those Electone amps before , new speaker and valves (or was it valve?)

The quality of the core components like the transformer put a lid on how 'hi-fi' the tone can be .... made an interesting squawk though.

jimi_t

The ruby is a really tiny and simple amp project adapted from a battery powered amp schematic; http://runoffgroove.com/ruby.html . Definitely more of a 'sunday' project than a 'christmas' one

Some of those valve projects look nice, but I reckon I'd get more use out of a valve mic-pre then a dedicated amp head. Plus, being a student, if I had that kind of money in my hand I'd probably end up going out to Temple Bar with it only to wake up the next morning in Amsterdam a very poor and confuddled man.

Re:Electones; its a pity to hear how limited they are. Upside is that, for that price, you could rackmount the head, dump the original speaker (which is bound to be cack) and have a very feasible little cabinet for your project

PaulBrewer

jimi_t wrote: »

The ruby is a really tiny and simple amp project adapted from a battery powered amp schematic; http://runoffgroove.com/ruby.html . Definitely more of a 'sunday' project than a 'christmas' one

Some of those valve projects look nice, but I reckon I'd get more use out of a valve mic-pre then a dedicated amp head. Plus, being a student, if I had that kind of money in my hand I'd probably end up going out to Temple Bar with it only to wake up the next morning in Amsterdam a very poor and confuddled man.

Re:Electones; its a pity to hear how limited they are. Upside is that, for that price, you could rackmount the head, dump the original speaker (which is bound to be cack) and have a very feasible little cabinet for your project

The Electone's cool ! It's great for something odd that's not your standard rock tone. There's a guy who offers flat pack amp and speaker cabs too.

Robert Mullen

What I'd like to find is a consensus on a nice mic pre or valve pre-amp kit

www.gyraf.dk Check out the G9. It's not a clone of anything. It's an original design by a great guy called Jakob Erland.

It sounds great. No kits available, you'll have to source all the parts but you can buy the pcb off a guy from Denmark. Of course I'd only attempt this project if you're really comfortable with buildng tube gear. It's not the best idea for a first project.

Rob

jimi_t

Robert Mullen wrote: »

www.gyraf.dk Check out the G9. It's not a clone of anything. It's an original design by a great guy called Jakob Erland.

Recommended twice in 5 posts - must have a more serious look at it then.

Edit: 1,500 for the actual yoke and no sign of the PCB?

Of course I'd only attempt this project if you're really comfortable with buildng tube gear. It's not the best idea for a first project.

Whats the big caveat with tube gear, asides from the voltages you're dealing with? Surely doing SMC work is far trickier?

Robert Mullen

Jakob sells them for quite a bit. But they are fully built. There's a guy selling the pcbs here:
http://www.prodigy-pro.com/diy/index.php?topic=10776.0

It's mainly to do with the high B+ line. Of course you have to be careful no matter what you're building. You have to be thoroughly meticulous to make sure everything is put in right. To be honest I got straight into doing tube stuff without loads of experience. You just have to be careful is all.

Rob

jimi_t

Robert Mullen wrote: »

Jakob sells them for quite a bit. But they are fully built. There's a guy selling the pcbs here:
http://www.prodigy-pro.com/diy/index.php?topic=10776.0

Great link! I'm trying to track down parts lists for the various PCBs now - I like to get a rough idea of what kind of money I'm throwing down before I start.