Can you recommend a small clean sounding bench amp?

[Mario]

Hello everyone, this is my first post...
Thanks to everyone who contributes here, this place is great!
I have been building guitar effects for years, as well as low power tube builds.
I have many types of transfos and tubes, so I am open to many designs.
Although, as a "guitar amp", I would like it simple and transparent, so, no tone controls.
Can you suggest a particular build?
thanks!

I would like to build a small sized bench amp that would be my monitor amp I would use to test other builds.

[sluckey]

How would you use this bench amp to test other amps?

[shooter]

suggest you have both line out from the Pre and a line in to either the Driver tube if SE, or the pi if PP.

[Mario]

How would you use this bench amp to test other amps?

I build guitar effects, tube and transistor based, more than I build proper guitar amps. So anything I build I would like to pass thru this small tube based amp to monitor the work.

[Mario]

suggest you have both line out from the Pre and a line in to either the Driver tube if SE, or the pi if PP.

Thanks, yes a line out would be nice, maybe PP.
For example, I could go with a 6sn7 pre and 2 6v6 PP.
I think thats 12 watts, something like that.
That could be too much for the bench, so single ended 6v6.?
I realize a guitar amp is not flat in frequency response and so I won't get into the symantics of what good sound is. Still you kind of have too....lol....I just want something that is not muddy and would play well with pedals.
No tube rectifier.

[Mario]

Just to mention, there are so many schematics out there, I am just hoping someone has already built what I am looking for and so I can save some time/grief.
 

[bmccowan]

For testing/monitoring builds and repairs I use a small, cheap solid state amp - horrors! $10 Dean Markley at a yard sale.
But if you are looking for a small tube amp build with no tone controls, the early Champ, or Gibson GA-5, or one of many Valco SE amps with no trem and no tone controls. For example, Mojotone has a GA-5 kit.
Any of those can be built with SS rectifier.
If you want PP, I agree that 12 watts is a bit much. You may want to look toward a simple 2x6BM8 amp. For example you could strip the Mini-Bassman/Little Wing down to its essentials.

[Mario]

For testing/monitoring builds and repairs I use a small, cheap solid state amp - horrors! $10 Dean Markley at a yard sale.
But if you are looking for a small tube amp build with no tone controls, the early Champ, or Gibson GA-5, or one of many Valco SE amps with no trem and no tone controls. For example, Mojotone has a GA-5 kit.
Any of those can be built with SS rectifier.
If you want PP, I agree that 12 watts is a bit much. You may want to look toward a simple 2x6BM8 amp. For example you could strip the Mini-Bassman/Little Wing down to its essentials.

Thanks, will check those out.
Yes, I been monitoring on all kinds of stuff as well as thru converters and software.
As a 10 yr old boy, I could not wait to listen to The Platters record on our tube amp system. Now, I want to go back to that sound as my daily monitoring...

[bmccowan]

I hear you. After years of Marantz and Onkyo SS amps and receivers I rebuilt 4 Fisher Tube amps and a pair of Grommes monoblocs. I love the warmth of the sound. And tubes last a lot longer in audio gear than they do in the guitar amps we crank up to 11! I do have SS in my truck though