Have been pondering the idea for the past few months on doing a scratch build amp...
On the current wish list is 1/ all tube audio path design with 6L6 finals, 2/ 40 to 50W output, 3/ an EF86 clean input channel, 4/ a Marshall'esk crunch or Soldano'ish OD channel, 5/ possible tremolo, 6/ bass, mid, treble and presence controls, 7/ master volume control, 8/ effects loop, 9/ maybe a built in spring reverb, 10/ 4 and 8 ohm outputs, 11/ footswitch control of channel, and if fitted tremolo/reverb,
The physical building isn't the problem. What is the problem is the style of tone that would be most universally useful, by which I mean 'is a Soldano style OD through a Fender 6L6 type final worth listening to'? My gut says the EF86/6L6 combination will produce very interesting cleans, as will the near universally used 12AX7/6L6 combination will produce very useful Fender type crunch tones ... And other things like what frequencies should the tone controls be set around.. Fender or Marshal frequencies, or something else?
'Universally useful' is ambitious, probably too ambitious... but guidance through wonderful examples would be immensely helpful. Even loves or hates about existing amps can have a important role in how this one turns out ....
As a start I'm looking at a Fender Hotrod Deluxe style amp as the starting point and adding the EF86, and then tinkering the design from there... If it all works out then I might make a few of them and offer them for sale...
Comments anyone???