Just finished this little cabinet. 1x12 Eminence CV75 inside. I let the kids pick the covering and grill cloth. I never built a speaker cabinet before so I'm happy it came out nice.
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Show posts MenuQuote from: pryde on June 23, 2014, 01:32:06 PM
Sorry for your loss indeed.
I just had a close friend take his own life less than 2 weeks ago so I am no stranger to your pain. Hang in there.
Quote from: midwayfair on June 07, 2014, 03:51:25 AMQuote from: das234 on June 07, 2014, 02:57:13 AM
Those of you who have built the 5F1, how's the head room on that? Can you get a nice clean tone before it breaks up?
I haven't built one (yet ), but I've played a couple: Like almost every tweed circuit, it gets to about 4 on the dial before it starts to distort and doesn't get much louder after that, and perhaps 3 before there's noticeable distortion on a hard chord (keep in mind that early Fenders are also 30% audio tapers! So 3 is more like 5 on a modern 10% taper). It's not super loud at that point; louder than an acoustic, but certainly reasonable. The 5E1 has a bit more range on the dial, but the total volume isn't appreciably different. BUT it can take a larger INPUT signal before it distorts because it doesn't have a cathode bypass. So the 5E1 is better for hotter pickups for headroom. But you're not going to be overdriving the first tube by much if at all regardless without a boost.
I'm still in the process of buying parts for my build. I ran across this power transformer, which is a "big iron" for a champ: http://store.triodestore.com/40-18031.html. Those transformers have gotten good reviews across a lot of sites. Anyway, that transformer will put out a few more Watts when running a 6V6, but you can also wire it to run a 6L6 instead and get a lot more headroom. I'm really on the fence about getting it, because I look at it and say, "Hey, those all sound like good things for my playing!" Buuuuut ... then I remember the whole purpose of the project. The champ is made for two things: A practice amp (clean at really low volumes), and an "ow what are you doing to me" amp at somewhat low volumes. You can't expect a single 6V6 to do much beyond that.
Oh, and based on plugging a couple different types of champs into 12" speakers, and confirmed by Morgan and others: A 12" speaker is awesome with a champ circuit, especially for a little perceived headroom (i.e., pure volume before you get distortion).