Build recommendations

[dbaum]

I need suggestions for my next amp project. I have built a Princeton Reverb (Mojotone kit) and a Fender Champ in the last few months and am ready for something new.
I’d like something for home use in the 5-10 watt range that offers a different tone to what I already have.
A few things I’ve considered:
- Gibson g5a - basically another Champ
- RobRob’s “Blackvibe”- too similar to my PR?
- Something in the VOX Family. AC4?  AC10?  AC15 is probably too much for home use. Would need help finding a good schematic/layout to follow.
- Marshall TMB18- love the sounds I’ve heard on YouTube of these amps. Even the cheap KLD kit sounds good but I’m not a huge Fan of their kits. 

Any other suggestions?  Ideas?
I feel fairly capable as a builder but still very new at it. Something a little more challenging than a Champ but still fairly straight forward would be nice.

[Mike_J]

I need suggestions for my next amp project. I have built a Princeton Reverb (Mojotone kit) and a Fender Champ in the last few months and am ready for something new.
I’d like something for home use in the 5-10 watt range that offers a different tone to what I already have.
A few things I’ve considered:
- Gibson g5a - basically another Champ
- RobRob’s “Blackvibe”- too similar to my PR?
- Something in the VOX Family. AC4?  AC10?  AC15 is probably too much for home use. Would need help finding a good schematic/layout to follow.
- Marshall TMB18- love the sounds I’ve heard on YouTube of these amps. Even the cheap KLD kit sounds good but I’m not a huge Fan of their kits. 

Any other suggestions?  Ideas?
I feel fairly capable as a builder but still very new at it. Something a little more challenging than a Champ but still fairly straight forward would be nice.

There is a Steel String Singer 2 on the Hoffman site. I have a variation of it and it is probably my favorite amp. Has that deep Texas blues sound. Also very good if you do slide guitar work.

[shooter]

My last build;
1482Esq (el34world.com)
if you roll tube combos, ( 6K6, 6V6, AX, AU) you can get 8 - 13W
ranges like 50's C&W, 70's Pop to 90's Alt, It doesn't distort well, but it'll pass a distorted sound just fine

[brewdude]

I recently built a single channel 6k6gt powered amp inspired by the brown face deluxe 6G3.  At somewhere around ten’ish watts, it’s pretty loud for home, but is very fun to play (usually through an attenuator).


I still think all these amps are too loud to keep from annoying the neighbors/family if playing at home (at levels capable of overdriving the amp) without some sort of power scaling or attenuation. 


I think an 18 watt Marshall variant is a great amp to build and have.  I think it works quite well with a VVR for use at home levels.

[sluckey]

I highly recommend this...

     http://sluckeyamps.com/dual_lite/dual_lite.htm

Simple, easy build that covers two distinctive British sounds. One of my favorites.

[dbaum]

I highly recommend this...

     http://sluckeyamps.com/dual_lite/dual_lite.htm


Simple, easy build that covers two distinctive British sounds. One of my favorites.

@Slucky, that looks perfect! I may need a little handholding on something like this but it looks like it would be a perfect project for me. Is there a build thread I could look at anywhere?  What transformers did you use and what kind of output volume can I expect?

[sluckey]

It's an 18 watt amp. On par with your PR but a completely different sound. More in your face so it may seem louder than your PR. I used a Hammond AO-39 for donor iron but the iron for a Marshall 18W clone is perfect for this build. Several people have built this project. Search this forum and maybe some threads will turn up. But really, everything you need to know to build this is on the link I provided.

[dbaum]

Thanks. Only thing that looks foreign to me is the brilliance control. Never built one of those before. Looks like a great project.

[sluckey]

That 6 position rotary switch is fairly easy to wire up if you understand what you're doing. It's also easy to do it wrog, so just take your time. The original AC-15 just used a single cap and simple switch.

[Bieworm]

In the 18 watt genre the Superlite TMB is great.  It has a great preamp overdrive that's accessable at lower volumes.

[jordan86]

Not to push you away from any other options suggested but just two more to consider...

https://www.trinityamps.com/kits/

Ive built a Trinity TC15. Great little amp for Vox and Matchless tones. Not much clean headroom to it but a great (defeatable) Master volume to keep decibels manageable.

I’m also borrowing a friends Trinity 18 watt at the moment. It’s a great little amp. They do several variants of the 18watt, including some more Plexi like spins on the circuit with 6V6. Loud for 18 watts but the do have a master volume control.

[dbaum]

Thanks @Jordan86.  Great suggestions!
I'm still undecided but will keep you all posted.

[AnalogDok]

There is always the Tweed Princeton sound. 5F2-A
A lot more distortion than a Champ. 5F1

I'm doing a Supro S6606 right now. Similar to a 5F2-A but the values are all different with some circuit differences.

[Willabe]

There is always the Tweed Princeton sound. 5F2-A
A lot more distortion than a Champ. 5F1

Why would a 5F2-A have more distortion than a 5F1? 

If anything it would have slightly less distortion because of the single tone control losses.

[sluckey]

5F2-A has a big bypass cap on the preamp cathode so more gain. 5F1 does not.

[dbaum]

5F2-A is definitely on my list!

[Willabe]

5F2-A has a big bypass cap on the preamp cathode so more gain. 5F1 does not.

But isn't that to help make up for the tone control loss?

So it's a wash?

[dbishopbliss]

I built Sluckey's Vox AC15. The Trinity kit is pretty similar. Great sounding amp, but not a lot of clean once you get it past 2 or 3 (at least with mine). In retrospect the Dual Lite would probably have been a better amp for me to build since I don't really use tremolo and I pretty much exclusively use the EF86 channel. Definitely, wire up the brilliance selector as opposed to the original single switch. That is one of the most useful controls. There are 6 settings; Off and 1-5 where 5 is the original Vox value. My 335/PAF style guiltar likes setting 3 or 4. My Gretsch with filtertrons likes 2. I keep it off with my Telecaster. Your mileage may vary.


On the other hand, I have a modified 1482 as well. Such a great sounding amp. I added cathode bypass caps and tweaked some of the cathode resistors to adjust the gain to my liking but seriously so good. My friend describes it as Tweed Deluxe-like with out the flubby low end, but still different enough that you could have both. I like it so much that I was considering making another one in a head using Sluckey's layout.

[shooter]

I have a modified 1482 as well

love my version, probably the last amp i'll build or need!  with Sluckey's Trem-o-lator addition the amp covers all the bases for me

[dwinstonwood]

I also built an AC15 based on sluckey's version. I made some changes to simplify it: mine has a single EF86 channel with 6-way tone selector (which is great), and I built it in a 6G2 Princeton chassis and cabinet. So, it's compact and relatively lightweight. Guitar Cabinets Direct sells the 6G2 cabinet for either a 10" or 12" speaker for the same price. I got a quality 6G2 chassis off ebay from zachmdhunter for $50. I really enjoy using this amp at home.

https://el34world.com/Forum/index.php?topic=26947.msg295629#msg295629

Here are the final files. I can share the SVG files I drew for engraving the faceplates, too.