Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Ron "Oily" Sprague on March 29, 2016 at 6:58am

Bill,

Start here:

http://diyaudioprojects.com/Tubes/

http://guytronix.com

https://www.tubedepot.com/t/diy-central/kits-tube-amp/guitar-tube-a...

http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/instruments-amps/126893-cheap-guitar...

And especially here:

http://ax84.com

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Permalink Reply by Bufo Bill on March 29, 2016 at 10:11am

Thanks Ron, that will keep me busy for hours.
All the best from Bill. :D

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Permalink Reply by Scott aka Farmer Ted on March 31, 2016 at 12:14pm

Hey Bill,

Lots of tube amp kit options out there. If you have a particular amp in mind, a clone DIY kit should be available. One thing about tube amps is that volume is relative to "break-up". Most amps require the volume to be elevated (not maxed) to get dirty.

If you're looking for gain/overdrive in an amp without the volume, perhaps a tube screamer or other overdrive type pedal is the less expensive answer?

There's a cool DIY schematic for the Matsumota Tube Reamer pedal, which runs on a single 12AU7 tube and a 9 volt battery.

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Permalink Reply by Bufo Bill on March 31, 2016 at 11:09pm

Very useful info, many thanks.
All the best from Bill. :D

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Permalink Reply by Paul Craig on April 1, 2016 at 8:29pm

Just be careful too. Tubes carry enough voltage to be lethal. Read up on the subject all you can if you don't know much about them.

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Permalink Reply by Scott aka Farmer Ted on April 1, 2016 at 11:42pm

Good point Paul. But the tubes only have power present when the amp is turned on. The bigger danger in tube amps is the filter capacitors, which can store the DC power long after the amp is turned off. Each of the filter caps can store as much as 450-500 volts DC, and will light you up like a Clark Griswald Christmas tree.

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Permalink Reply by Paul Craig on April 2, 2016 at 6:59am

Thanks for that. I meant to say "Tube Amps", but for some reason only got "Tubes". Must have been a senior moment.

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Permalink Reply by Ron "Oily" Sprague on April 3, 2016 at 3:38pm

Easy way to dump voltage from a capacitor, if it's already on the amp board, and everything else is constructed, is to plug in a guitar to the amp. Turn the amp on briefly, then turn it off with the git still plugged in and the volume knob cranked up.

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