Messages

I'd prolly lean towards Inkscape for layouts. You can set up a grid and position everything exactly where you want it. You can have the outline of the box to scale and put the knobs and switches on it to see how it all lays out. You also get sharper edges because it's a vector file not a bitmap.

My $0.02

I like changing out caps on amps that are 10 years old or older. The electrolyte dries up over time and can cause the cap to fail... either by not doing its job and causing all sorts of hum, ghost notes and flub in the bottom end. Or they can short out and take all sorts of expensive parts with them. Its rather cheap insurance against more expensive repairs down the road. As far as cathode bypass caps, it will change the gain character of the preamp tube that is is used on.

Which model it this BTW? I'd like to see the tube chart and maybe a schematic on it and I might be able to tell you if its going to be a bright amp on purpose or if something isnt quite right with it and possibly offer some ideas to tweak it more to your liking.

I use Mojotone and Antique Electronic for parts. Gerald Weber has a few good reads, "Tube Amp Talk for the Guitarist and Tech" and "Tube Guitar Amplifier Essentials" are two that I'd recommend. Another good read of a more general nature is "The Guitar Amp Handbook" by Dave Hunter.


Hope this helps and keep me posted

Brian

Old amps, especially if they have sat for a few years, generally need a cap job. This entails replacing all of the electrolytic types in the power supply and also the bias supply (if it's fixed bias). Also, if there are any electrolytic caps used to bypass any of the cathode resistors in teh preamp, they should be replaced also. A good shot of cleaner/lube in the pots, cleaner (no lube) for the tube sockets and jacks and a tube socket tensioning are also good practice. The popping and crackling sounds might be bad plate resistors... maybe. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask. Im more at home in amps than pedals... hoping to fix that here

Good stuff here Really like my Weller WES51 Soldering Station. After using a "good" (cough) Shack iron, this was a dream to use. Nice, small and lightweight pencil and the thing heats from dead cold to ready too use in 30 seconds. Haven't had the need too get a Fluke but they seem to be real nice. I'm prolly going to get a decent used analog meter first and keep my Shack meter a while longer.

Ibanez tube king....

http://resources.ibanez.com/resourceservicehost/images/Ibanez/web/ProductMainZoom/TK999HT.jpg

And what pray tell does a "VOID" knob do? Sounds like it takes a dump :headscratch:

the twitching has now stopped Welcome back Bean!

Im with Timbo, looks... road worn I know it isnt what you were going for but still

Finalizing my order from Mouser/PedalPartsPlus and was thinking of socketing some of the caps and diodes for tone tweaking. Which caps do you guys recommend socketing? Im looking for the ones that most influence tone. Also, which diodes would you be most inclined to play around with?

Thanks in advance,
Brian

PS. Which sockets do you guys like? Mouser has a boat load of them :headscratch:

AC/DC, Black Sabbath, Thin Lizzy, Judas Priest, Foreigner, Pink Floyd, Eagles, Hendrix, Stones, Van Halen, Rush, Bowie, Clapton, Tull, Zep and much more that escapes me ATM

OK, not looking for a 2n2... its a 2u2. Should look more closely to the layout with the components outlined.

Brian here. Profile updated. Ironically, my nickname was Bean a long time ago

Thanks again guys for the warm welcome and encouragement! Perusing Mouser picking out caps and such. Looking at the WIMA 63V x 5mm lead spaced stuff... heard the name mentioned before so I thought I'd give them a whirl. Cant find a 2n2 from them so I'll just grab something else. I'd be interested to hear what some of you guys think of them or if you'd recommend some other brand.

The "n" suffix is simply another way to write the value of a component. It stands for nano-farad (where the Farad is the unit measurement of capacitance). So, the two standards you will most often find are the nano (n) and the micro-farad (u), and they are written as nF (or n for short) and uF. The difference in the scale of measurements is a factor of 100. So, for example:

.1uF = 100n
.22uF = 220n
and .15uF = 15n

Just wanted to note that it should be .15uF = 150nF! If you want a 15n, you need a .015uF cap...

Jacob

also, uF to nF to pF are factors of 1000 each conversion

Think I'll try to etch myself... why not jump in head first If I hit bottom, I'll deff check out that option

Been lurking for a week or two and thought I'd say HI! Been building amps for a few years and a customer of mine turned me onto a Riot pedal of his. I was blown away by the tone... and the price. Cant swing one the easy way, so while looking to see if I could find a schematic I ended up here. Great site and community from what I've seen. Never tried my hand at pedal building but I'm going to give it a go! Unfortunately it looks like I'm also going to have to learn how to etch boards too if I want a Riot clone We'll see how it goes I guess

Anyway, nice to meet all of you and looking forward to my first build. I'm sure I'll have a few questions along the way

TRADAmpGuy AKA Brian