Advice on Gutting a Blues Deluxe and building a Hoffman

[yyr123]

I have a Blues Deluxe 1st generation that has PCB issues and is losing traces

What’s my best/cheapest way forward to getting my amp back up and running?

I can move on from the Fender design and go with an Hoffman design but

Which one closest resembles the Femder Tweed sound?

Can I use my Fender Transformers?

Can I use my Fender Tubes?

Can I use my Fender Cabinet?

I want to spend as little as possible (which is why I want to use as many existing parts as possible)

Thanks in advance

Daniel

Austin TX

[tubenit]

How about a 5F6A  Tweed Bassman?   Use the same transformers, tubes, speaker, cabinet.

Hoffman sells the 5F6A board.

What is your knowledge and experience working with or building tube amps? 

With respect, Tubenit

[shooter]

What is your knowledge and experience

there might be someone in this backyard that could help him in a pinch 

[MFowler]

Yes you can re-use everything in your amp: transformers and tubes.


But you have to be experienced with amp building to know and understand all the rebuilding and where all those transformer and AC wires go to.


I re-used the existing standoffs for my two new boards.


The circuit I chose was a very good designed tweed circuit called the Hot Rod Tweed.


http://blueguitar.org/new/articles/blue_gtr/amps/hrt_sfbm.pdf  All the schematics and layouts are there.


Mark

[tubenit]

Mark,

I genuinely always appreciate your contributions and admire your great amp building projects!  Thanks for sharing!

I can't seem to find the schematic following the link you posted.  It seems to reference a dead page that redirects to a new page that redirects to the original page with no schematic. 

Do you have a schematic and layout that you could post directly? Please.

With respect, Tubenit

[yyr123]

Wow thanks guys for the comments.

The deeper I go the more I find out I don't know..... :^)

I am experienced in electronics and theory. The older Fender style circuits are so much simple than most modern amps.

I am not opposed to buying new tubes and transformers....but I would like to keep the cabinet and speakers.

It appears that a 5E3 circuit doesn't have as much clean headroom. I liked the cleans in the original blues deluxe...I just got a great deal on a semi-new Fender Super Reverb ri.....and the cleans on that are a little bit thinner....Might be the 10" speakers and other inherent design differences.....but I do like the tweed clean sound. I would use pedals if I wanted grit.

I like the output of about 30-40w...I won't push it to breakup naturally on a 40w amp.....but I have the volume if I need it.


Would a bassman circuit  (5F6) be dependent on using the 4-10's?

[sluckey]

Would a bassman circuit be dependent on using the 4-10's?

No. Whatever circuit you decide to put in this project you should keep the speaker impedance the same as what you have in the Blues Deluxe if you intend to use the original OT.

[tubenit]

Would a bassman circuit be dependent on using the 4-10's?

I can think of several meanings to that question.  The Tweed Bassman 5F6A would "work" with one 12 inch speaker & probably sound great. (if that is what you're asking?)

I did something close to a cathode biased version of the Tweed Bassman and loved it with a single 12" speaker.

Having said that,  no it won't sound exactly like a Tweed Bassman with four 10" speakers.

You can also look at Hoffman's Plexi 50w design which could also be a good conversion for your amp. He carries boards for those also.

With respect, Tubenit

[yyr123]

Sounds great.....I will look into that.
Appreciate the info.

and I will check back later with more questions i am sure.

[PRR]

> Would a bassman circuit  (5F6) be dependent on using the 4-10's?

Which "Bassman sound"?

Leo Fender thought he was building a bass amp. Needs BIG cone(s). He probably found a full crate of Tens cheaper than he could buy a few Fifteens. Not the first, not the last, to try to shake big air with a herd of small speakers. (It isn't as easy as it looks.)

The Bassman was an uninspired bass amp. (The Ampeg was better.) So it was idle in the back of the garage when the guitar player needed an amp. Somehow it became legendary *as a guitar amp*. However it seems to have been used, and copied, with EVERY type of speaker system, from one JBL D-130 to Mashall's 8-Ten full-stacks, and probably a stack of Bose.

The Bassman is a fine amp for many purposes. The only thing I would change: the original output transformer had the -one- impedance suited for the speaker sold with the Bassman. If you buy a new OT you want the 4-8 or 4-8-16 impedance choices so you can run most any speaker. Of course if you are re-gutting an amp that already has a healthy OT, you just use it.

[MFowler]

Mark,

I genuinely always appreciate your contributions and admire your great amp building projects!  Thanks for sharing!

I can't seem to find the schematic following the link you posted.  It seems to reference a dead page that redirects to a new page that redirects to the original page with no schematic. 

Do you have a schematic and layout that you could post directly? Please.

With respect, Tubenit

https://el34world.com/Forum/index.php?topic=23122.msg248133#msg248133