Hoffman Amplifiers Tube Amplifier Forum

Amp Stuff => Tube Amp Building - Tweaks - Repairs => Topic started by: gimmeskelter on February 28, 2026, 09:46:37 pm

Title: Re-purposing burnt out Solid State amps
Post by: gimmeskelter on February 28, 2026, 09:46:37 pm

If I've thought of this, surely someone has already done it...
I have a Frontman 25R that has numerous things wrong on the board. I thought what if I used the cabinet, chassis, reverb tank, etc., and put in a 5F1 or MOD102+ system with the components to add reverb? Has this been done by anyone here and how well did it work out?
Also, I'd be interested in general opinions about cutting costs by re-purposing amps this way.

Title: Re: Re-purposing burnt out Solid State amps
Post by: dogburn on February 28, 2026, 10:57:39 pm

I do this a lot - basically using old solid state amps (usually dead or with issues) as donors for cabinet and chassis. It is cheaper than buying these items new but presents some challenges. The Frontman 25r has a chassis that has a weird slope, which may makes it hard to convert (unless you have one of the older versions). But in most cases, turning an old amp into a 5F1 is not too hard. My favorite amp build so far has been the Sidekick Reverb 35 I turned into a 6G2 Princeton.

Title: Re: Re-purposing burnt out Solid State amps
Post by: sluckey on February 28, 2026, 11:05:56 pm

I've repurposed three SS Vox Pathfinders...

https://sluckeyamps.com/vox/vox.htm
https://sluckeyamps.com/dual_lite/dual_lite.htm
https://sluckeyamps.com/lil_maggie/lil_maggie.htm
 

Title: Re: Re-purposing burnt out Solid State amps
Post by: kagliostro on March 01, 2026, 02:46:36 am

AA1164

or

Super Champ (you can sub the 6C10 with a pair of 12ax7)

Too big ?

-----

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Vhp5OWuPUtjRkUjZXaiHTKrblkx1G1PX/view?usp=sharing (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Vhp5OWuPUtjRkUjZXaiHTKrblkx1G1PX/view?usp=sharing)

https://en.uraltone.com/blog/ut-vibro-champ-with-reverb-build-guide/ (https://en.uraltone.com/blog/ut-vibro-champ-with-reverb-build-guide/)

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwieu-P0qv6SAxXI9LsIHUaFJGUQFnoECB0QAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.uraltone.com%2Furaltone-overdrive-special-eyelet-board-pcb1-1.html&usg=AOvVaw2a7hcfT7pBWurS58riCE5k&opi=89978449 (https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwieu-P0qv6SAxXI9LsIHUaFJGUQFnoECB0QAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.uraltone.com%2Furaltone-overdrive-special-eyelet-board-pcb1-1.html&usg=AOvVaw2a7hcfT7pBWurS58riCE5k&opi=89978449)

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1VISCcLB05IkB1YjmrPyW1gCyJuvA_hiQs9oxO6YOXzc/edit?usp=sharing (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1VISCcLB05IkB1YjmrPyW1gCyJuvA_hiQs9oxO6YOXzc/edit?usp=sharing)

Franco

Title: Re: Re-purposing burnt out Solid State amps
Post by: gimmeskelter on March 01, 2026, 10:25:00 am

I like the Vibro Champ with reverb idea. The chassis of the 25R will work nicely and the 10" speaker size will give me a chance to experiment. Everything I've done so far has either used an 8" or 12".

Title: Re: Re-purposing burnt out Solid State amps
Post by: tubeswell on March 02, 2026, 12:52:20 pm

I’ve done a few SS-to-tube amp conversions.


One of those SS amps was even burnt out LoL.