Weber Trainwreck kit

[pureoldsound]

Looking at the schematic once more the 4th gain stage is Express...

[Richie]

I'm not sure why some people are down on him.

Maybe you don't know him as well as others that have seen how he can be.
All you have to do is post something negative in a forum,stating your opinion,and you'll probably see him or one of his legal advisors that circle the forums like vultures looking for things like this,swoop in to put a stop to it.

Quite a few long time amp builders have helped on his forum,only to get BBQ'ed. So yeah i'd say he has made a few people not want to have anything to do with him or his products. Might even be surprised how many people that is.

Same here, you can buy from anyone you like.


I have got chassis from Nik, great to deal with.

[smokin' tone]

I'm with UR12 and Richie. There are plenty of other places to get parts. Also another vote here for Nik @ Ceriatone.

[geekmacdaddy]

Nik's customer service, components, and attention to detail are second to none. FWIW.....

[philmanatee]

I got both my express and rocket chassis from Nik, and I couldn't be happier with both of them. Phil

[Allynmey]

I have one experience with Ted Weber. It was bad. I purchased something and paid with paypal. I received nothing for a month. I called to check on the order and was told by a woman "Generally we only ship things to our paying customers". I cut and pasted the paypal transaction numbers and faxed her while she was on the phone. She said "oh, I see, we will ship it immediately" "No problem I said". Three weeks later, still no package. I went through the above BS with the next person I called and they promised to overnight the item to me. I received the order 2 weeks later!

That's my personal experience. Ted, you can now threaten the mods to have this post removed!
Not to mention what he did to 18watt.com, BYOC Pedal Board etc. etc. etc.
I can guarantee he is cruising the next forum looking for new "great" ideas!

[ampman1961]

+1...
I cannot understand why a person can't handle criticism especially when he is in business to make money and develop good relationships. This is the case with Ted. On numerous occasions, when one of his products became the topic of discussion and someone chimed in with criticism, Ted would blast the forum with legal threats. Now, I can understand this because he pays for advertising on most of those forums, but his choices of dealing with these situations are very flawed. Instead of noting the criticism and trying to understand why the CUSTOMER is upset he chooses to flame that person instead. He apparently does not use this to benefit his bottom line...IE: Improve the product for future customer satisfaction or continually perfect his products from flaws that are well noted in the field. On the other hand, he has been cordial with me in the past...that is until I called him out on the gear page regarding the dangers of using his COPPER CAP. Man, I got blasted from all angles with all kinds of rhetoric but no one would listen to the message which was completely backed with tests, evaluation, and why the failure occurred. My findings were also backed by numerous highly respected amp builders who had the same results as I, but again...the same thing happened. To this day, that product is still for sale with no apparent improvement in design or enhanced safety factor. All I can say, is proceed with caution at your own risk.
I hope that this post doesn't bring down the thread or this fine forum in any way. I'm just stating FACTS and I certainly have nothing to gain from this. I hope your amp building experience is a good one but nothing is fun about a vendor who doesn't have your back. I would recommend that you shop around. If you have to spend a few more dollars on better quality backed with customer satisfaction and support, that would be a wiser investment. Just remember this...You get what you pay for.
Good luck.
Billy Yates

[dartanion]

Ted has not made many friends in the industry with is shenanigans, however some of his products are good (speakers) others not so good. Years ago I had no problems dealing with him, then he got big and problems ensued. I won't go into details, but speakers are about the only thing that I'll order for a customer from him.

Nik has been very courteous and has very nice products for a great price. Shipping can be expensive, but that doesn't detract from the quality of product or service.

That said, I arranged for a group purchase of Nik's Liverpool kits, but I'm sure I can lump Express kits in with these. Including a Reason cab for $675. Killer deal and they will be extremely close to a real Wreck!!!

Not sure Ted would ever deal with people in this way. Nik was all for it.

[Thiago.zanato]

I'm pretty sure the way Weber deals with his customers might not be the best, but I build amps and I started because of his kits. I learned everything I know, which might not be a lot, but it's all I got, building 4 amp kits I bought from him. My perception is that he's running a business the best way he can, but he got big too fast. One of my kits had all the resistors missing for example, but even though their treatment wasn't the best I've ever had to deal with, it worked and I got my parts back in a few days. When you buy something from him, you know it'll not be perfect, that a few parts are low-end quality, but the point is, you know that, and that's why he can offer affordable kits. When you start building amps, and you don't know anything, Weber kits are really nice, than you learn a bit more and start swapping parts from his kits for parts you got somewhere else, than you swap the transformers, and the good thing is, he gives you the option to buy the kits without the parts you want to swap. I don't know anything about his behavior as far as forum criticisms go, but I would be lying if I said weber sucks. That said, you know what you're dealing with when you buy from Weber, which doesn't mean you're buying a bad product, you're buying a more affordable product. I also have to point out that his community is huge and works really well. There's a lot you can learn there. my 2 cents...

[ampman1961]

Thiago...
Point taken.
You are quoted...
"That said, you know what you're dealing with when you buy from Weber, which doesn't mean you're buying a bad product, you're buying a more affordable product. I also have to point out that his community is huge"
Un quote...

"An Affordable product IS bad if it's not complete or has problems when purchased"
Like I said , you get what you pay for. As far as his community being huge, great. They all support a guy who sells mediocre amp kits.
Let me put it this way, so we are all on the same page. How you spend your money is your business and your right. From my experience in building amps which is extensive, I have learned (the hard way) that if it's worth doing once, it's worth doing right. There is nothing wrong in the process of building an inexpensive amplifier, and the lessons learned from that experience are wonderful. This includes "Oh drats, I should have spent 3.00 on that switch instead of .29 cents"
When you get that long awaited kit, you're jacked up and feeling great about getting started, only to find out that all of the parts are not there, or when you fire it up for the first time, a component malfunctions. You go through the routine of getting things straight with the supplier...it's just a waste of time, which when you look at the grand scheme of life, is pretty darn precious. Being myopic will not get you any closer to your goal of the ultimate DIY "Throne O Tone" experience. Spending your hard earned dollars on something that is proven to be very good without COMPROMISE is the better way to go. I am hoping that you understand what I am saying here without offending your sensibilities. Rome was not built in a day, same with Fender, but Weber is neither and never will be.
Billy Yates

[UR12]

Thiago

If nothing else I hope we answered your questions. This is the Trainwreck forum and the amp you asked about doesn't resemble a TW and as pointed out, probably won't sound like one. If your goal is to build an amp that sounds like a wreck in a combo cab, I think you are barking up the wrong tree by going with a Weber kit. It's your money and your ears and I wish you the best of luck.

[Thiago.zanato]

I totally understand what you're saying, I know pretty well how it feels to wait for a looooong time for your kit to arrive, to you find out that half of it is missing. It's pretty frustrating too, to find out that those weeks of planning were worthless because the parts you got are so bad they'll destroy your tone. I understand all that, and that's why I'm not getting a kit, I'm buying the parts from all over the place to put it together, which in my opinion is a lot more fun than buying the whole thing as a kit. I just feel like I can respect Weber because that's where I started, and don't get me wrong, I called them a couple times with the intention of returning what I got to get my money back. Maybe I'm being a little sentimental trying to protect weber a little bit, but at the same time, I'm glad I met people here that went through the same frustrations I did.

[Allynmey]

Thiago, good luck with the build. If you need help, we'll be here.

[Thiago.zanato]

Hey guys,

thanks for your support, I've just ordered a transformer set from tone slut and I'll be bombarding you with questions pretty soon. I'm really excited about this project. I have a question to post about the pre-amp tubes, but I'll start a new thread, enough of this one.

peace

[dartanion]

So Thiago,

Are you building a TW or the Java?

If you are going through the trouble of getting Toneslut transformers and sourcing parts from various vendors, I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND building a Wreck.