Hiya from Oklahoma

[WintersHarvest]

Hey guys, what's up? New to the board. I'm a 21 yo from Oklahoma. I play in a stoner metal band and I'm into big rigs and lots of fuzz. Currently running a Verellen Loucks 100w head and an Emperor 6x12 cab. Really into the boutique amp scene right now and wanted to get my foot in the door build wise. I usually run my Verellen flat and control my tone with my fuzz pedals and guitar. Sometimes I run out of headroom onstage so I've been looking at other options. I recently bought a Valve Jr. for my mini home rig and LOVED the way it took my fuzz pedals. This got me thinking about builds and I really want to build a 200w(ish) single volume amp head. Disclaimer: I have lots of experience with soldering and guitar electronics and took a digital electronics course in high school, but have very limited knowledge when it comes to amp building. I decided to put this here instead of starting an amp build thread and totally floundering. I figured this build is a bit out of my reach right now, but maybe if I get involved with the community or start a suggested smaller build then I'll be able to tackle it eventually. Is there a similar kit out there now? I like the sound of KT88's. I searched, but found nothing. Is this as simple as taking a Valve Jr. Circuit and using bigger components? Or maybe taking something like a Thunderverb 200 or an SVT and stripping all of the tone circuits? Like I said, total newbie. Just looking for a place to start digging in. Thank you!

[EL34]

Welcome to the forum

[Ritchie200]

Welcome aboard!  As a dedicated KT88 200watt abuser I can assure you that it IS the best sounding tube in the universe.  HOWEVER, I do have a few questions...  First, do you really need that much stage volume?  Second, the cost for iron is not cheap.  If you are micing it up anyway, how about something similar to valve Jr with a few KT88s and reasonable voltages (= less high dollar parts) to get you where you want to be sonically?  There was a thread recently about my Marshall Major and how to build a more reasonable 100wattish version with one wire mod and master.  http://el34world.com/Forum/index.php?topic=17548.0  This is a wicked sounding amp and you may want to throw away a few of your pedals!  KT88's and UL design will thump your brains out and still have some headroom.  Also do a search in the video section for Marshall Major and listen to Michael RT's rig.  Or some of my stuff in the Soundclips section.  Don't be afraid to post your dreams in Tube Amps Building section.  You will get plenty of opinions and lots of help.

Jim