Andy40's Mojotone Tweed Deluxe build diary

[DrNomis_44]

That reminds me, I need to order one of those 5W Pitbull Guitar amps, we'll see how we go this coming month.

[Simon Barden]

That reminds me, I need to order one of those 5W Pitbull Guitar amps, we'll see how we go this coming month.

You may have missed the boat on those as they are no longer sold on the PBG site. Adam may have a couple still lying around, so I'd email him ASAP just in case, but I don't think they sold quickly enough to make it worth getting another batch made-up.

[Simon Barden]

Interesting kit. A friend built a Ceriatone 5E3 and and it sounds very nice. I see they've gone for 'bright' and 'normal' channels rather than 'inst. vol ' and 'mic. vol' (for a high-impedance harmonica mic) as on the original amp's channel labelling.

One thing you might want to consider is internally linking the two channels together, rather than have to always use an external patch cord to do so. I've got a 5E5-A based amp and I'm planning to do that to that amp (the idea came to me in one of those semi-awake moments that I keep having at the moment when struggling to get to sleep and just went round and round in my head for about an hour). It looks like the jack sockets provided have a switching function on them (which means that you can use the channels separately for two inputs if you want).

[Andy40]

Thanks Simon. that's a pretty good idea. I hadn't thought of that.

[Andy40]

Wow so many learnings!
Before I touch anything, I need to know as much as I can about the circuit etc. I am going to get my father-in-law to put this together with me as he is a sparky, but I don't just want to let him do it. I want to learn as much as I can.
For those of you who don't know Uncle Doug on You Tube. He's a legend. Let me introduce you:
How Tube Amplifiers Work, Part 1: The Power Supply https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5SSKX74DKg
How Tube Amplifiers Work, Part 2: The Pre-Amp and Power Amp https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=901iaPVVzY0
(the 5F1 circuit is similar to the 5E3 circuit)

This is also a pretty nifty video on saftey: DIY: Amp Safety 101 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkEc58-vWc4

Edit: I put this here to remind me to read it. https://robrobinette.com/How_The_5E3_Deluxe_Works.htm

[DrNomis_44]

Wow so many learnings!
Before I touch anything, I need to know as much as I can about the circuit etc. I am going to get my father-in-law to put this together with me as he is a sparky, but I don't just want to let him do it. I want to learn as much as I can.
For those of you who don't know Uncle Doug on You Tube. He's a legend. Let me introduce you:
How Tube Amplifiers Work, Part 1: The Power Supply https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5SSKX74DKg
How Tube Amplifiers Work, Part 2: The Pre-Amp and Power Amp https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=901iaPVVzY0
(the 5F1 circuit is similar to the 5E3 circuit)

This is also a pretty nifty video on saftey: DIY: Amp Safety 101 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkEc58-vWc4

I've watched quite a few of his youtube videos, he certainly knows his stuff, I've even subscribed to his channel too, always great to watch and informative.

[Andy40]

Thanks Doc. No doubt I'll have some questions

[Richy17]

I’ll be keeping a close eye on this. Always something I’d like to try. As for the cost of the kit - I think it’s pretty reasonable considering what you will learn building it. I’ve always been fascinated with electronics and would love to learn more about it. Sure you could just walk into a shop and buy a nice valve amp for $1500 but what you’ll get from this is priceless. Good on you for having a crack Andy!

[DrNomis_44]

Yep I agree, you gain more from building an amp yourself than by buying one, plus you can customize it to your liking as well.

[Marcel]

There are so many times I've considered getting a kit like this... all the parts, a nice chassis and cabinet, nil stress on getting hard to find bits, and a set of instructions to put it together... and I always have rejected it because of the shipping and import duties.

Getting parts locally for my AC18W head cost me close to AU$900, and we all know how that shaped up... Lol.. My Blues Jr IV brand new and delivered only cost me AU$800...

Maybe one day when I win big on Lotto...

Happy birthday, and have fun...