I've always been terrified of tube amp voltages, but over the past year I've done a lot of reading and have talked to a few people who have built amps or who work as techs and finally decided to give it a shot.
I'm basically building a 5E3 from the mojotone instructions, but sourcing all the parts myself. I did some calculations and I think it will basically cost the same either way, but the difference for me is that I find it very hard to save a chunk of cash, but can budget for small spends each fortnight.
So, even though the postage costs rack up quickly, at least this way I know I'll end up with all the bits over a couple of months!
Most of the parts have been ordered, apart from the transformers and the tubes (I think I actually have some tubes I can use already, but will have to check my stash).
The plan is to build a head unit, so I can use leftover ply from my cab build, and there's no need to buy a speaker. I have lots of black tolex left over, but am kind of tempted to just buy a little bit of an ivory tolex for the head.
I'm also going to buy a variac and a better soldering station, and build a light bulb current limiter and a cap discharge tool.
I hope it will give me a good project for the xmas holidays, and will definitely post progress pics
Reply With Quote
