Portable DIY valve amp for beginner?

[Andy123]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/KLD-Pilot-1...8AAOSwbpVbeD8g

Chassis is available and they will ship to Aus

Looking at that now, I'm having second thoughts. My "Plan A" of butchering a cake tin seems inadequate now looking at the precision that's gone into this. Buying the chassis puts the amp part of this project around the $250 mark. Throw in a speaker and materials for building the cab and we're getting well north of $300 - which is about what you'd pay for a ready made 5w amp (well the Pit Bull one anyway).

[Simon Barden]

Things you'll certainly need to get are: IEC mains input connector, knobs and valves. It's not shown, but it struck me that the the amp sockets are probably on the underside of the board. So as shown in the pictures, the amp is shown is a chassis suitable for combo mounting where the valves hang down from the chassis. In a head, you'd rotate the chassis so the valves pointed upwards and the inputs would be on the left of the knobs. You may want to get shielding cans for the pre-amp valves and spring retainers for the power valves if you make a combo.

If you want to make a combo then you'll need a speaker (at least a 10", though I'd go 12" myself) and wood for the enclosure. Don't underestimate the complexity of making a suitable amp chassis as it needs to reasonably strong and you'll need to be able to either bend metal or find a suitable sized chassis where you just need to drill and punch holes etc. The transformers would sit in holes cut in the chassis, normally outside the chassis hanging down in a combo. Ideally the chassis would be fully metal enclosed to reduce the electrical noise emitted and picked up by the guitar.

The input transformer might be an issue with 240v as it's primarily a 110v or 220v transformer. With 240v rather than 220v, the output voltages will be 9% higher, so the internal 260v supply will now be 283v etc, which could possibly be an issue with some component ratings or their longevity. The valves will also be driven that bit harder. Someone like Marcel would be better to advise you on this.

[Simon Barden]

And for just over $300 you could get a new 50W Boss Katana, which whilst a solid state modelling amp, is a very nice sounding amp indeed, and with its 1/2W mode, is fine for home practice but loud enough for gigs and also has decent effects. Or get a used valve amp for that amount.

[Dedman]

And for just over $300 you could get a new 50W Boss Katana, which whilst a solid state modelling amp, is a very nice sounding amp indeed, and with its 1/2W mode, is fine for home practice but loud enough for gigs and also has decent effects. Or get a used valve amp for that amount.

I've found this with a lot of the pedal kits too, fine if you just want the experience of building your own, but if you want a pedal and can't afford to stuff it up , it's cheaper to go buy one.
In this case the PB 5w or a Vox Nutube head and a Boss EQ pedal would probably work out cheaper.

[Simon Barden]

In fact Evatco do a 5W amp kit with B/M/T controls which might fit the bill.

https://www.evatco.com.au/ak5-5watt-amp-pack