Guys,
I got to crank the JTM45 Bluesbreaker I built from the Ceriatone layout on Sunday. And all I can say is "Holy Shit!"
This thing is awesome. I put in the Celestion G12m -70s I got for $40 a piece and let her rip. You can get everything fom bluesy clapton to AC/DC and beyond. With a Les Paul, this thing is a tone chameleon. It can play clean fendery tones, and with a tweak of the volume on the guitar, go to creamy tube distortion. The bias modulation tremolo is beautiful, and even with the KT66s biased at 40 ma, it works great.
Build wise, I used orange drops, the Classic Components iron, Valve Art KT66s and NOS GE 12ax7s. I thought I might not be happy with the Celestions, but I see no need to try anything else, since it sounds so freekin' great. And it can crank for days! I mickey moused everything into a dead solid state Stereo Chorus Marshall twin combo by cutting, bending and rewelding the chassis so it would fit the tubes and iron above the speakers. I don't recommend this to anyone unless you are a masochist or cheapskate like me. I must have 40 hours in all the freekin' metal work and body work. It's not worth the time, unless you like a challenge.
I can recommend this build 250%. The Ceriatone layout works great (if you don't screw up the wiring the first time, like I did.) If you haven't actually heard one of these, you don't know what you are missing.
Thanks to Sluckey and everyone who helped with the troubleshooting. Now all I have to do is pretty up the cabinet... and bam... a sows ear into a faux-silk purse. I probably have right around $450 in it (but a lot of the parts and wire I collected from the Pitt Physics department electronics shop when they moved last year.)
Topic: JTM45BB finished...and WOW!! (Read 2132 times)